Paper 6
Skopos theory
A retrospective assessment
This is a critical assessment of skopos theory, looking at its basic assumptions, its problematic empirical and ontological status (descriptive or prescriptive?), and its conceptual and pedagogical contributions.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
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2.Axiomatic assumptions
- 3.Conceptual contribution
- 3.1Key terms and conceptual distinctions
- 3.2Underlying metaphorical structure
- 4.Ontological status of the theory
- 5.Empirical status of the theory
- 5.1Descriptive adequacy
- 5.2Explanatory adequacy
- 5.3Testable consequences
- 6.The ethical dimension
- 7.The competition?
- 8.Concluding remarks
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Notes