Skopos Theory: The Art Of Travel

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Introduction Skopos theory is a theory of translation put forward by the German linguist and translation scholar Vermeer in 1978. It not only provides an understanding of the nature of translation as a purposeful activity which can directly applied to every translation project, but also reflects a shift from predominantly linguistic and more formal translation theories to a more functional, social and cultural concept of translation. This shift drew inspiration from communication theory, action theory, text linguistics and text theory, as well as from movements in literary studies towards reception theories. Skopos theory focuses on translation as an activity with an aim or purpose, and on the intended addressee or audience of the translation: …show more content…

In the Art of Travel, he looked at themes in the psychology of travel: how we imagine places before we have seen them, how we remember beautiful sceneries, what happens to us when we look at deserts, or just stay in hotels or go to the countryside.
The thesis is divided into four parts, Chapter one is a brief introduction of Alain de Botton and his work the Art of Travel; Chapter two will focus on the skopos theory, which includes its historical development, three core rules and their relations. Chapter three comes to probe into the application of three rules of the skopos theory in the Alain de Botton’s book The Art of Travel. In the final chapter, the author will try to figure out the current
Chapter one Literature …show more content…

His first book, Essays in Love, closely studied the process of falling in and out of love. It’s a book of which many readers are still fondest . Then came his second book How Proust Can Change Your Life, and this is the one that Alain’s work reached a truly global audience. The book was a particular achievement in the United States. It was followed by The Consolations of Philosophy, in many ways it appeared to be an accompaniment. Though sometimes described as popularizations, these two books were basically attempts to dig into some original ideas (for example, friendship, art, envy, desire and inadequacy) with the help of the thoughts from other noted thinkers. Alain then returned to a more expressive and personal style of writing. In The Art of Travel, he looked at themes in the psychology of travel. In Status Anxiety, he pondered upon an almost universal anxiety but is rarely mentioned straight: the anxiety about what others think of us; about if we’re judged by a success or a failure, relating ourselves as a winner or a loser. In The Architecture of Happiness, de Botton discussed questions of beauty and hideousness in architecture. Much of the book was written at de Botton’s home in London, near Shepherd’s Bush roundabout, one of the uglier man-made places, which however gave useful examples of how significant it is to get architecture

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