Abstract

With the fierce development of China’s economy and the emphasis on the China’s policy of opening to the outside world, more and more foreign commodities and products have come into our market, including cosmetics as an important part. As everyone knows, most consumers will read the instructions of the cosmetics before they make up their mind to buy the products. Therefore, cosmetic instructions translations, as the distinctive part of advertisement and the bridge between consumers and companies, play a substantial role in cosmetics translation. In the face of the fierce market competition, a remarkable translation is the key component for the cosmetics companies.

A review of translation studies in China may lead to the conclusion that the research on the translation of cosmetic instructions are very limited and lack of guidance of the system theory. This thesis confines the study on E-C translations of cosmetic instructions from the prospective of skopostheorie of German Functional Translation Theory, find out some suitable translation principles and strategies, in order to help us to apply it to our actual life.

Key words: skopostheorie; cosmetics instruction; translation strategies

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-1

2.1 Historical Overview on skopos theory-1

2.1.1Earlier View-1

2.1.2Related Studies on Skopos Theory at Home and Abroad-2

2.1.3Studies on Cosmetics Instruction Translation-2

2.2 Functions of cosmetic instruction-3

2.2.1 Informative Function-3

2.2.2 Aesthetic Function-5

2.2.3 Vocative Function-6

2.3 The components of cosmetic instruction-6

3.Three rules of Skopos Theory and their application in E-C translation of cosmetic instruction-8

3.1Three rules of Skopostheorie-8

3.1.1Skopos Rule-8

3.1.2Coherence Rule-8

3.1.3Fidelity Rule-9

4.Methods Applied in the E-C Translation of Cosmetic Instructions-9

4.1 Literal translation-9

4.2 Free translation-10

4.2.1 Adaptation-11

4.2.2Addition-12

5.Conclusion-12

Works Cited-14