Different Translation, Different Effects

It has for centuries been taken for granted that translation merely takes place between languages. In translation, senders and receivers belong to different cultural groups because they speak different languages. Thus, both senders and receivers need help from someone who is familiar with both languages (and cultures) and who is willing to play the role of intermediary between them. For this reason, translation serves as a bridge in intercultural communication. The constructor of the bridge is the translator. The translator, as a mediator between cultures, can choose translation strategies which are suitable for the intended purpose according to the concepts of Skopostheorie. Different translators have different cultural backgrounds because of different time and space. Their translations will bring forth different effects.Translation study has grappled in different ways. The fact has been recognized by us. In the development of translation theory, translation theorists and translation critics tend to attach more importance to the relationship between the source text and the target text. Translation study accordingly puts emphasis on linguistic approaches. Considering the history of translation theory in China and even in other countries, we know linguistic approaches basically see translating as a code-switching operation. However, translation is an intercultural transfer as well, so translation study should not be confined to the linguistic level. Nowadays, in practice, documentary evidence shows that the quality of translation cannot be judged only by the linguistic approaches but also by the function which will influence the readers in the target culture. The thesis focuses on showing that translators who have their own purposes in a particular period of time can choose their different strategies and their translations havedifferent effects on readers. In this thesis two Chinese translation versions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will be analyzed in detail. By comparing two Chinese versions, we find out translation is an intercultural activity in which the translator has his or her own purpose. Translating thus involves the aim of reproducing the target-text function in the target culture that may or may not be identical with the source text that functions in the source culture. Translation is not only the combination of decoding and encoding, but also a cultural communication in which the target text will function in the target culture. As a mediator, because of their different purpose, the translator should adopt translation strategies, which arise in the course of translating. At last, the thesis concludes that the quality of translation also lies in the functionality in the target language. The thesis is divided into five chapters:Chapter one gives a brief introduction to the reason why the thesis has chosen this topic, which will be discussed from three aspects: the relationship between Alices Adventures in Wonderland and its Chinese versions, the theoretical value and the practical utility.Chapter two first starts out the literature review of Skopostheorie. Then, the differences between two translation versions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will be analyzied within the basic concept of Skopos in functional translation theory. Also, we will recognize the fact that it is sensible for translators in various social situations to render different translations because of their diversified purpose.Chapter three discusses that translators handle some extra-textual factors in translation according to their different purpose.Chapter four will make clear that translators will adopt different translation strategies in the process of translating with regard to the cultural specificity.Chapter five draws the conclusion of the thesis.