從功能目的論看法律文獻翻譯

摘要：本文對“功能目的論”適用于法律翻譯的可行性進行了分析，對法律文本從“功能”，“文體”和“目的”的角度進行了分類和分析，并闡述了“功能目的論規則”對法律英語的適用性。

關鍵詞：功能目的論；法律翻譯；北美自由貿易協定；誤譯分析

作者簡介：黎文雯；出生年月：1984年10月；工作單位：廣西外國語學院；職稱：助教； 學歷：研究生；方向:英語教育（商務英語方向）。

[中圖分類號]：H159 [文獻標識碼]：A

[文章編號]：1002-2139(2012)-08-0150-01

1、Functional Classification of Legal Text.

In the Skopos Theory where the inherent function of the text plays the prominent role， functional classification of the text would help shaping the Skopos. In terms of lLegal text， it should be noted that “lLaw” is a broad term， and contains a lot of subgenres. Thus the legal text can also be divided based on their functions. The two classification methods aforesaid areis suggested to be employedcombined together during translation.， as in the light of the Skopos Theory， ST and TT should both be considered and analyzed.

2、Text Typology Study of Legal Text

The overlapping and combination of the text type shows that the inherent functional and typology features of legal text should be taken into consideration in getting the exact “Skopo” of legal translation， and that varied translation principles and different translation strategy should be employed as different Skopos require so. Generally speaking， for the informative legal text (content-focused)， the TT should be objective， accurate， comprehensive， and no personal emotional should be involved. While for the appealing legal text， the TT should be solemn ， and prescriptive and culturally adapted.

3、Classification of “Skopos” of Legal Translation

“The ultimate goal of legal translation is to produce parallel texts that will be interpreted and applied uniformly by the court” (Sarcevic，1997:1). Yet from the early-mentioned functional classification and the text typology of legal text， we can easily found that there is a loophole in such definition， and variants should be taken into account.

3.1、Legal Translation for Legislative Purpose

Legal tTranslation for legislative purpose usually takes place in bi-lingual or bi-juridical countries， Canada for example. In the special legal system setting， pParallel legal texts in more than two official languages are needed to ensure the equal legal effect of legal text. Although more and more scholars tend to call these parallelTranslated legal tTexts as “vVersions”， and the practice of “tTranslation” as “cCo-drafting”， the boundary between the “translation” and “co-drafting” are rather blurry considering the actual situations， namely， the sequence of the action， the approach adopted， etc.

3.2、Legal Translation for Informative Purpose

The legal translation of this kinde translation of these legal texts is to acquaint the addressees about the foreign legal instrument.， Tthe TT is neither authoritative nor prescriptive， and sometimes a gross or explanatory note may be adopted to fill the gap caused by the legal system incongruity and to ensure the comprehensiveness of the TT.

4、The Application of Skopo Rules in Legal Translation.

The Skopos Rules decide the translation process to be “Top-Down”， and this process helps translator to get the clear direction， and make relevant adaptation or rendering on the based of the direction. It allows a spectrum of methods and techniques employment.

4.1、Legal Translation according to Skopo Rules.

On the micro scale， the application of the skopo rule can also be reflected in the translation of legal terms. For example， considerations will be included during the translation when the legal text is related to politics and the translated TT is to make specific political stand. Another example is that to meet the gap between two cultures， neologism are created .

4.2、Adaptation aAccording to the Coherence Rule

To meet the Skopo Rule is not enough to ensure an adequate legal translation， and Skopo Rule needs to be applied along with other two rules. If we say the Skopo rule focuses on the overall direction of the legal translation， and decides the TT on the macro scale， the “cCoherence Rule” makes the micro and detailed adaptation based on the Skopo rRule; iIf we say the Skopo Rule addresses the problem of the necessity of the adaptation and to what extent the TT should be adapted， the CCoherence Rule addresses the “How the TT should be adapted”.