Functional approaches to translation.

Skopos theory
We shall start our discussion by highlighting the multi-layered nature of Skopos and of
skopos theory.
Etymologically, "skops, derived from Greek, is used as a technical term for the
purpose, aim, goal or objective of a translation" (Schffner, 2009: 117). It is self-evident that
it shows multiple connections with the process of translation and the function of the target text
in the target culture to meet the readership expectations/client demands and comply with
quality assurance standards.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, reader-oriented perspectives prevail, and skopos relates
not only to the process of translation, but also to the function of the target text in the target
culture, based on awareness of the readership expectations. Accordingly, prospective views of
translation replace retrospective ones, and translation theorists postulate a general framework
of reference for professional practice.
It is common knowledge that Vermeer and Reiss (1984) and Vermeer (1989, 2000)
chart new territories into Translation Studies by endorsing Skopostheorie, which interrelates
the purpose of translation/skopos and the result/translational action, thus underpinning
product-oriented and function-oriented views to secure the feasibility of the goal and
functional adequacy. Skopostheorie allows for different translations of one and the same text
according to the purpose of translation, which is target language text-oriented, which
engenders variability.
Reiss and Vermeer (ibid: 119) enlarge on the principles shaping translation:

The target language text production (which the authors label translatum) depends on its
function, i.e. on the purpose of translation;

The target language text largely sticks to the informative content of the source language
text, but the two texts pertain to different cultural contexts;

The function that the target language text does not always coincide with the one that the
source language text had in its context of origin;

The target language text shows internal coherence, i.e. the translator is true to his/her
principles and shows consistency in the use of terminology, orientation, writing style, etc;

There is coherence between the target language and source texts, i.e. the information is
recovered accurately.
In the translation process the phase of analysis means considering the function of the texts.

First the translator should establish the text type and therefore should ask and answer
questions such as: which basic communicative form is realised in the concrete text with the
help of written texts? Is it
a. The communication of content information type
b. The communication of artistically organized concept expressive type
c. The communication of content with a persuasive character operative type.
(Ibid, 163)
The second stage is to establish the text variety, i.e. the classification of a given text
according to specifically structured socio-cultural patterns of communication belonging to
specific language communities. (Ibid, 165)
The third stage of the analysis means the analysis of style, where strategy and tactics are
directed by type and variety. (Ibid, 166)
After analysing the function of the text, text type and text variety, comes the phase of
reverbalisation. The theory behind this is:
The text type determines the general method for translating;
The text variety demands consideration for language and text structure conventions.
(Ibid, 166)

Nord (1991: 72) distinguishes between documentary/exoticizing translation vs.

instrumental/function-preserving translation to highlight that the communicative purpose of
the source text may be preserved or not in translation and in the target culture and that the text
type is of paramount importance in the former case.
Furthermore, Nord (1997) and Schffner (1997) seem to converge in advocating a
translation-oriented text analysis (including both source text and target text) at the microlevel, and the importance of culture-bound items in determining the skopos. Text analysis
engenders the translation brief, which involves the comparison and contrast of the source text
and the target text.
In this climate of opinion, we agree that the source text analysis becomes a pragmatic
analysis of the communicative situation to detect functional (a)symmetries and build a
hierarchy of translation problems, such as the intended function of translation, functional
adaptations, translation method and strategy and translation units.
In the new millennium, professional translators, be they in-house or free lance, are,
perhaps, more than ever, client-oriented since translation is not done per se; on the contrary, it
is demand-driven, commissioned and, therefore, this service provision has to meet the clients
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requirements and standards of quality. At the European level, for professional translators,
experts in multilingual and multimedia communication, client-orientation is equated to
product-orientation, and, the traditional dichotomy translation as process vs. translation as
product has made way to new ambiguities of the translation status: pocket translation (the
contemporary version of literal translation), adaptation (with reference to advertising),
localisation (of software, websites, video games), revision, summary translation, transediting
(of information from mass media), versioning (of audio-visual materials), etc. In this context,
the EMT six-competence framework for university translator training programmes (a flagship
project of the Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission, 2006) shapes the
following make-up: translation service provision competence, language competence,
intercultural competence, information mining competence, thematic competence and
technological competence. Product dimension falls within the first category, where the
"aim/skopos of translation" is correlated to "the situation of translation". In fact, we witness a
new paradigm shift, in which product becomes an all-encompassing term, incorporating
process (defining the translation stages and the appropriate strategies, mastering the
metalanguage to describe his/her work), and, in which the translator manages the situation,
being accountable for his/her work.
What we would like to emphasize is that unlike a translation brief, which is highly
specific in nature, being closely related to the performance of a particular translation, and
which is not always provided for the translator, the general framework of reference for
professional practice is re-usable and has a much wider situation coverage.
Hence, we favour a more complex approach of translation, combining the pure
descriptive level (product-oriented, process-oriented and function-oriented) and the applied
one (mainly directed at translator training), the normative level and the exploratory one, while
also enabling the translators critical thinking (including problem solving) and decisionmaking skills. We equally aim at unifying criteria so as to build a model that features the
profile of the legal translator.
Currently, and after having adopted the EMT competence model as a standard for
professional training and practice, translation, irrespective of its nature (literary or nonliterary) cannot be but reader-oriented to secure fitness for purpose.
It has been already agreed that irrespective of the translation type, i.e. broadly
speaking, general translation and specialised translation, the translators competence
harmoniously combines multidimensional complex features within the EMT framework:

interpersonal dimension: the translators work is not self-contained; it interrelates

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interactively, being shaped by internal and external factors alike. Translators initiate and
maintain socio-professional relations; they network and accomplish tasks on translation
events via cooperation.

the product dimension: the end product as the translation deliverable seemed to be

attached overriding importance as readily available for assessment and use. The translator is
committedly-orientated to quality assurance as a career management prerequisite;

language competence as twofold: language mastery (L1 and L2) as well as specialised

knowledge acquisition in order to secure a smooth, natural and an error-free version of the
original;

the sociolinguistic dimension: translation is context embedded; therefore, the translator

has to channel resources and perform accommodation work with respect to language
variation, more specifically in what concerns field-related variation, dialectal variation, etc.

text dimension: the translator should be able to recognise, internalise and produce a

variety of texts in a variety of formats;

thematic competence: the translator should acquire encyclopaedic or protocol knowledge

so as to enhance functional adequacy. In this respect, literature recommends the organisation

of information into thematic maps via top down or bottom up processing of information;

technological competences: undoubtedly, the mastery of IT tools will secure the

translators professional growth-orientation and career management alongside membership to

virtual communities of practices (forums, chat rooms, associations) and interconnectivity.