ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at a group of theories that have generally been opposed to the equivalence paradigm. These theories all insist that a translation is designed to achieve a purpose. If that purpose is to repeat the function of the source text, as is the case in Reiss’s theory of text types, then there should actually be little difference between the two paradigms: the relation between source-text function and target-text function is still one of equivalence. However, as soon as a theory accepts that the target-side purpose can be different from the source-side function, we are dealing with a new paradigm. For Vermeer, the target-side purpose (which he calls Skopos) is the dominant factor in a translation project. Vermeer thus claims to “dethrone” the source text and go beyond source-bound theories of equivalence. This approach accepts that the one source text can be translated in different ways in order to carry out different functions. The translator thus needs information about the specific goals each translation is supposed to achieve, and this requires extra-textual information of some kind, usually from the client. In this way, the linguistic frame of the equivalence paradigm becomes much wider, bringing in a series of professional relationships. Several different theories can be fitted into this extended interpersonal frame. Holz-Mänttäri focuses on the translator’s status as an expert in cross-cultural communication, working alongside experts in other fields. Hönig and Kussmaul consider how much information the receiver of the translation really needs, and they advise the translator to adjust the text accordingly. These approaches deal with “purpose” in a sense that seems more general than the target-side Skopos conceptualized by Vermeer. This more general sense enables us to close the chapter with insights that come from much closer to the translation industry itself. For Daniel Gouadec, translation concerns not so much texts as projects, understood as sets of material and information. Gouadec proposes numerous categories for the way translation projects should be organized, including extensive information to be supplied by the client. His general approach is similarly based on the translator achieving communicative purposes. Like all the theories covered in this chapter, he picks up many factors that were overlooked or sidelined in the equivalence paradigm.
