A Study Of Cosmetics Translation From Perspective Of Skopostheorie

With the rapid development of economic globalization and China's entry into WTO, economic exchanges become more and more frequent between China and other countries of the world. The internal market opens gradually and becomes more and more mature. Therefore more and more foreign products and commodities flood into our market including many cosmetics. China is a country with broad market and great consumption capacity. Therefore more and more foreign enterprises are eager to take predominance in our market. A variety of cosmetics are greatly welcomed by female consumers but at the same time they make the customers feel dizzy. In order to stand out in the fierce competitions, some well-known cosmetic companies pay more attention to the translation of cosmetic brands and cosmetic instructions besides assuring the quality of cosmetics. As a special kind of"advertisement"and"bridge"between consumers and companies, cosmetic brand names and cosmetic instructions play important roles in cosmetics translation. A perfect-translated cosmetics brand and better-translated cosmetic instructions not only can completely convey the information of products such as: the usage and notes of the cosmetic but also make consumers satisfied with the cosmetics and enhance the image of the enterprise, stimulate the purchase desire of customers. Otherwise, worse-translated cosmetic brands and obscure cosmetic instructions may contribute to the complaints of customers and damage the reputation of the enterprise. A review of translation studies in China may lead to the conclusion that the research on the translations of cosmetic brands and cosmetic instructions are very limited. And the theories which are applied to the cosmetic translation are inadequate and unsystematic.This thesis confines the study on the translations of English cosmetic brands and cosmetic instructions from the prospective of Skopostheorie of German Functional Translation Theory, providing a new perspective for cosmetics translations. German Functional Translation Theory is put forward in 1970s and it defines translation as a purposeful action. The purpose determines the adopted strategies and principles. By the way, this theory is applied to practical texts. The representatives of this theory are Katharina Reiss, Hans J·Vermeer, Justa Holz Manttari and Christiane Nord. As a practical text, cosmetics have purposes and functions. The purpose of cosmetic brands and cosmetic instructions are to stimulate consumers'desires which coincide with Skopostheorie and makes maximum profits for the company. This thesis discusses and analyses the principles and strategies of cosmetic translations under the guidance of Skopostheorie through abundant examples.