本文視原文與譯文之差異為一種表現型態的改變;並嘗試以Vermeer(1978)所提出之「Skopos(目的論)」的觀點,來評價原文與譯文間的不同。具體之例文乃取自繪本“The Fall of Freddie The Leaf"的日文翻譯本『葉っぱのフレディ』。本文分析結果可歸納如下:1.從譯文所使用之主語及敘述方式可得知,譯文之用語比原文更具體且幼兒化。另外,由日文版出版社之業務性質亦可推論日文版所設定的讀者年齡層比原文之讀者年齡層低。2.譯文中關於殘酷現實之描述,如「死亡」之用詞,多處被其他婉轉的詞彙代替或甚至省略。3.關於生命的延續性,原文所敘述的是世代交替的生命觀;而譯文所傳達的則是輪迴的概念。依據「Skopos」,譯文只要符合翻譯的目的,且與原文所欲傳達之意相關,調整譯文並無不妥。而『葉っぱのフレディ』原本即是以較年幼的孩童為對象,因此幼兒化的用詞及死亡表現之轉換或省略,可視為一種適當的改變。然而生命延續性之相關概念的翻譯,譯文與原文的中心思想相距甚遠,此類改變以「Skopos」的觀點來看,難以評價為適當之調整。
The current study regards the differences between the translated text and the original one as a kind of change of type. It is aimed to explore how to assess the changes of translated text from Vermeer's Skopos theory. The Japanese translated text of a picture book, "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf", is taken as a case example. The analytical results are summarized as follows: 1. The use of subjects and the illustrative examples in the translated sentences are more specific and naive than the original ones. 2. The terms (e.g., death) related to the cruel reality in the translated text are either eliminated or replaced by some other kind vocabularies. 3. The definition of continuity of life is elaborated from the perspective metagenesis by the author; while it is considered to be reincarnation by the translator. According to the Skopos theory, it is allowable to adjust the translated sentences as needed only if the purpose of translation and the original intention are consistent each other. Since the case example, "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf", is written for little children, it can be viewed as a proper adaptation to use naïve words, eliminate and/or substitute some brutal vocabularies such as "death". Still, about the translation of "continuity of life", the central idea of the translator is apparently different from that of the original writer. Hence, such a change (an adjustment) in the translated text would be questionable.