TRANSLATION PROBLEMS IN THE LIGHT OF SKOPOS THEORY

Abstract

Introduction. There are many theories of translation study. The Skopos theoryis a new
branch, which can explain and instruct many translation activities. It was established by
the German linguists H.Vermeer and K. Reib, who comprised the idea that translating and
interpreting should primarily take into account the function of the target text. This function
is specified by the addressee. This theory is based on the functional approach, whose aim
is to dethrone the source text (ST). This is done by emphasizing the role of the translator
as a creator of the target text (TT) and giving priority to purpose of producing TT.
Purpose. The paper aims at analysis of such basic concepts of the Skopos theory
as “functional principle”, “loyalty principle”, “coherence”, “translation types”, “intratextual and
non-textual factors”, “translation brief”, “translation problems”.
Methods. The research is grounded on the following methods: the descriptive method,
deductive and inductive methods, the method of generalization and grammatical transformations.
Results. According to Skopos theory, the prime principle determining any translation
process is the purpose of the overall translational action. The basic underlying “rules” of the
theory are the following: the brief translation, a term suggested by Skopos theory, a trunslatum
(or TT) is determined by its Skopos; a TT is an offer of information in a target culture and TL
(target language) concerning an offer of information in a source culture and SL (source language);
а TT does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly reversible way; а TT must be internally
coherent; а TT must be coherent with the ST. There are also some criticisms of Skopos theory by other scholars. These include: not all actions have an intention; not every translation can be
interpreted as purposeful, having such a purpose would limit the possible translation procedures
and thus the interpretations of the TT; what is to be a “general” theory is in fact that only valid
for nonliterary texts
Conclusion. Skopos theory claims to be general or universal model of translation.
The main idea of skopos theory could be paraphrased as the translation purpose justifies
the translation procedures. Like any other theories, Skopos theory is also not perfect, but its
knowledge is a essential component of the translators background knowledge.