This chapter describes the historical development of functional perspectives in translational contexts in general and the situation of translator training in Germany, and moves on to the explanation of the basic principles and concepts of the skopos theory proposed by Vermeer, which set the framework for functionalist applications, first in translator training and then also in other areas of the emerging discipline of Translation Studies. Strongly drawing on action theory, functionalism in translation and interpreting studies lends itself to intersemiotic applications, which were included in the skopos framework from the very beginning, building a bridge toward other young disciplines, such as adaptation studies and transfer studies. The research perspectives of functionalism are rich. They include many areas of translation and interpreting, among them the translation of literary, religious, legal or medical as well as multimodal texts, although one of the most fruitful fields still is the training of professional translators and interpreters.