Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained

by Christiane Nord

German-language approaches to translation have been revolutionized by the theory of action (Handlungstheorie) and the related theory of translation's goal or purpose (Skopstheorie). Both these approaches are they seek to liberate translators from servitude to the source text, seeing translation as a new communicative act that must be purposeful with respect to the translator's client and readership. As one of the leading figures in this field, Christiane Nord gives the first full survey of functionalist approaches in English. She explains the complexities of the theories and their terms, using simple language with numerous examples. The book includes an overview of how the theories developed, illustrations of the main ideas, and specific applications to translator training, literary translation, interpreting and ethics. The survey concludes with a concise review of the criticisms that have been made of the theories, together with perspectives for the future development of functionalist approaches.

Genres: Language, Linguistics, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 1997

Reviews

[Carla]

ha sido una experiencia horrible

[Guille Osorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are studying Translation this book is a MUST. It is so easy to read and it explains pefectly the Skopostheorie. Every single item is explained with examples in more than 5 different languages. So there is no chance to not understand something.

This book was assigned to me by my teacher in order to write and essay about what Translation is. I chose to define Translation from a functionalist perspective so this book was really helpful.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid

A very good read. Easy to understand and a good introduction to translation theory. Suggested to me as pre-reading for my masters

[Muaz Smajlović · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب مفيد للمتخصصين، لغته مفهومة وترجمته رائعة.
كخطوة أولى يشرح كل النظريات التي ظهرت في تاريخ علم الترجمة - ما يعتبر مفيدا جدا - ثم يستفيض في شرح نظريته باستفاضة من خلال عدة فصول وبتطبيقها على كل نواحي وأنواع الترجمة.

[Paula Randazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to understand the funcionalist theory, but I haven't read it for pleasure. So I actually haven't enjoyed it. But it's a good book, provided the fact that I study translation.

[Andrew Kneeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A liberating perspective on non-Biblical translation.

[Mustafa Erdogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Translating As A Purposeful Activity