On Translating English Songs from the Perspective of Skopostheorie

On Translating English Songs from the

Perspective of Skopostheorie

By

Bie AO

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the B. A. degree

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

May, 2016

Acknowledgements

My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to my supervisor Mr. Xia Yang, who offers me many important suggestions in the academic studies. In the preparation of my thesis, he has spent much time guiding my thinking and provided me with valuable advice. Without his patient instruction, insightful criticism and expert guidance, it isn’t possible for me to complete this thesis.

I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis, especially to my classmates who gave me encouragement. Last but not least, I want to express my gratitude to my family that supporting and encouraging all the time.

On Translating English Songs from the

Perspective of Skopostheorie

Bie Ao

Department of English

School of Language and Culture

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

Abstract：Nowadays, music had become an essential part in global communication, so does the songs translation. However, translators often face great challenges when dealing with songs translation on account of the differences on language and culture, and the art feature of song itself. To handle these problems, translators are required to have basic translation skills and music knowledge. This thesis makes a brief introduction to English songs translation history, and makes an analysis on the characteristics of songs translation from the perspective of Skopos theory.

Key words: Music style, the Perspective of Skopostheorie, Rhyme, Rhythm

摘要：目前，音乐已成为全球文化交流中必不可少的部分，歌曲翻译也日显重要。但是，歌曲自己所独有的特点，使译者面临着巨大的挑战。语言和文化背景的差异是译者们在翻译过程中面临的首要问题，而歌曲自身的艺术特性则是翻译的着重点，这不仅需要译者具备翻译的基本技能，还需要拥有相当的音乐素养。本文首先介绍了歌曲翻译的历史，分析和总结了歌曲翻译的特点，其次对目的论进行阐述，并将其运用到歌曲翻译中，最后对目的论在歌曲翻译中的应用进行了综述。

关键词：曲风； 功能论； 音韵； 节奏

Contents

Abstract 1

1. Introduction 3

1.1 Importance of Music in Cultural Communication 3

1.2 The Necessity and Possibility of Songs Translation 4

1.2.1 Functions in Spiritual and Mental Life 4

1.2.2 Functions in Mutual Cultural Exchange 4

1.2.3 The Possibility of English Songs Translation 4

1.3 The Necessity of English Songs Study 4

2. Literature review 5

2.1 The Development of English Songs Translation 5

2.1.1 Before the Founding of the People’s Republic 5

2.1.2 After the Founding of the People’s Republic 5

2.1.3 After the Opening Reform in 1980s 6

2.2 The Study of Songs Translation in My Thesis 6

3. The Introduction of Skopostheorie 6

3.1 Skopostheorie 6

3.2 Three Principles 7

3.2.1 Skopos Rule 7

3.2.2 Coherence Rule 8

3.2.3 Loyalty Principle 8

4. The Characteristics of English Songs 8

4.1 The Characteristic of English and Chinese Lyrics 8

4.1.1 Refined and Demotic Language 9

4.1.2 Approximate Poetry 9

4.2 The Characteristic of Rhythm 9

4.3 The Characteristic of Culture 11

5. The Application of Skopostheorie 12

5.1 Skopos Rule in Translation of Name 12

5.2 Coherence Rule in Lyrics 13

5.3 Loyalty Rule in Translation of Culture 14

5.4 The Comprehensive Application of Three Principles 15

6. Conclusion 16

References 17

1. Introduction

In his thesis, I try to make a comprehensive and systematic research on the translation of English songs. I sincerely hope that this article can not only explore the English songs translation, but also stimulate the readers to study the theory and practice.

The most important purpose of translation is to achieve the equivalence between the original meaning of two languages, which taking into account the various constrains places on the Translator.

As translation development, various specialized styles of translation have been classified: for example, administrative, commercial, computer, economic, financial, literary, medical, pharmaceutical, scientific, technical and so on. This article focuses on the study of a young branch of translation English.

1.1 Importance of Music in Cultural Communication

Music is one of the most important achievements in the human history and it is an essential part of human production and living. Music is the corporate wealth to all mankind, which is the first content to communicate among different culture. It is full of the inner world of people since music is coming, and it will be sung to a classic song by all people from different places and nations in all over the world corners.

Obviously, with the globalization advance, music has become natural the most signification aspect in communication among different countries. It is a high time and arduous task for translators how to translate different languages and cultures songs into own national music so as to be popular with people.

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