A Study Of Functionalist Approaches And Translation Strategies Of Text Typology

Translation is not simply a matter of language, it is a cross-cultural communicative event. In the practice of translation, the translator faces not only the isolated words, but also the concrete discourse which contains certain functions in particular cultural circumstances that combined by various verbal and non-verbal signs. Therefore, there is a clear tendency which is prominent in the shifting from sentence to texts as well as language system to specific application in western translations studies recently. One of the most influential theories in these studies is the theory of functionalist approaches proposed by "German School".As a break with the concept of "equivalence" and an important supplement to translation theories, the functionalist approaches try to liberate the translator from the restrain of source language. From the standpoint of the translator, functionalist approaches regard translating as a purposeful activity which should take the requirements of both readers and clients into account. This kind of approach has provided a theoretical framework for some translations that used to be considered against the existing criteria of translation but with satisfactory result in translation practice. It has also opened up a wholly new and dynamic perspective to literary and pragmatic translation studies.In addition, one of the originators of functionalist approaches — Katharina Reiss has established a general correlation between text type and translation method in her "text typology". According to Reiss, the analysis of "text-type" and "text function" can help the translator choose the appropriate translation strategies. Peter Newmark also divided texts into three types in accordance with text functions: expressive, informative and vocative. His...