英语商务合同的文体特征和翻译技巧.docx

1、英语商务合同的文体特征和翻译技巧英语商务合同的文体特征和翻译技巧 成人高等学历教育毕 业 论 文 英语商务合同的文体特征和翻译技巧 办学单位: 外 国 语 学 院 班 级: 08级外贸英语(专升本) 学 生: 李东磊(501026) 指导教师:蔡苏露 提交日期: 2010 年11 月4 日 封面推荐用230克浅兰色皮纹纸Business English Contracts Literary Style features and Translation TechniqueBy Li Dong LeiSupervisor: Prof. Cai su lu NOV 04, 2010School of

2、 Foreign Languages, SCUTAbstractBusiness English Contracts Literary Style features and Translation Technique With the rapid development of international economy and trade,business English contracts have been widely used in international business activities. However, many business economic disputes a

3、re caused by the failure in translation of them, so how to translate the business English contract appears more and more significant now Up to now, lots of translators have been dedicated to studying the translation skills of business English contract, but most of them only place emphasis on the lit

4、erary level of the contract, but ignore its specialty that business English contract, as a legal document, has strict rules and conventional usages of its own, which is different from the average applied texts. So this paper, based on both the linguistic and legal characteristics of business English

5、 contract, analyzes its own language features and translation strategies Firstly, the paper analyzes its style characteristics on words, sentence and text levels. Then, the paper summarizes the translation strategies of business English contract and gives advice on its translation methods. Through t

6、he above research, the paper hopes to improve translators capability of comprehension and translation of business English contract.Key Words: business English contract; style feature; translation technique摘要英语商务合同的文体特征和翻译技巧 随着中国对外经济贸易的飞速发展,商务英语合同在国际商务活动中使用得越来越广泛。其中不少商务经济纠纷在很大程度上是由于合同翻译失误所引起的,因此,商务英语

7、合同的翻译问题也显得越来越重要。 到目前为止,已有许多翻译工作者致力于商务英语合同的翻译技巧研究。然而大部分的研究都强调从文本的文学方面对商务英语合同的翻译进行研究,而忽略了商务英语合同本身作为一种法律文本,有其严格的规则和惯例,有其独特的特点,因而不同于一般的应用文文体翻译。因此,本文从商务英语合同的文体和法律特征两个方面来分析其自身的特点以及其翻译技巧。 本文首先从商务英语合同的词汇、句子和语篇三个方面分析其用语特征。在此基础之上,第三部分总结归纳出合同翻译的策略,并提出商务英语合同的翻译建议。希望通过本文的分析能够提高翻译工作者对商务英语合同的认知理解和翻译能力。关键词:商务英语合同,文

8、体特征,翻译技巧ContentsAbstract EnglishAbstract Chinese1Introduction2 Literary Style features of Business English Contracts2.1 Lexical Features 2.1.1 Formal Words 2.1.2 Terminologies 2.1.3 Archaic Words 2.1.4 Borrowed Words 2.2 Syntactic Features 2.2.1 Statement Sentence 2.2.2 Passive Voice and Active Voic

9、e Sentences 2.2.3 Long and Complex Sentence 2.3 Textual Features 2.3.1 Application of the Legal Format 2.3.2 Parallel Construction3 Translation theory of business contract English 3.1 Translation principles 3.2 Requirements of translators 4 Translation Strategies of Business English Contracts 4.1 Wo

10、rd and its Translation 4.2 Sentence and its Translation 4.3 Text and its Translation 5.Conclusion References 1 Introduction With Chinas entry into WTO and the further deepening and widening of its opening up to the outside world, business cooperation between China and other countries has become more

11、 frequently and more contracts are signed in business circles. Most of these contracts are written in English, which has been accepted as an international business language. All this means that the translation of business English contracts is now playing a more important role in the business communi

12、ty both in China and abroad Business English contracts are legal documents which define the obligations and rights of both parties and bind on their economic activities. A good English business contract can improve the quality of business contacts and it is crucial to the success of international bu

13、siness activities. To produce effective business contracts, a deep understanding of the style features of English business contracts, such as the characteristics of English business wording, the phraseology of business contracts and the pragmatics and so on, is needed. The significance of the paper

14、is to promoting the development of international business activity. There are a lot of researchers both at home and abroad study on this field. Business contracts on the foreign field: International Contractsby Shippey. K; English for Contract and Company Lawby Chartrand and Marcella, etc. Among the

15、 domestic scholars, “the Lexical Features and Translation of Business English Contract” by Chen Jianping, it discusses and summarizes some basic principles and techniques of business contract English translation. Chen Xinsheng from the point of stylistic of the business contracts analyzes the stylis

16、tic features and its translation. Lan Tians International Business Contracts Course, summarizes the techniques of the writing of business contract, the technical terms of the business contract, the lexical features, the unique structure, and so on This paper mainly talks about the literary style fea

17、tures of business English contract and its translation. The research method of this thesis has adopted mainly includes: concept analysis method, evidence analysis method, comparison analysis method, and so on. 2Literary Style features of Business English Contracts The style features of business Engl

18、ish contracts on lexical, syntactic and textual regulation will be specified in this part 2.1 Lexical Features Word is the basis of any kind of texts. Therefore, lexical features of business English contracts specialize in the usage of words. It is known to us that business contract is categorized a

19、s both legal documents and business writing and business English contracts share the diction with the language of law and business. Lexical features mainly encompass the following points: formal words, terminologies, archaic words, as well as borrowed words. 2.1.1 Formal Words Different trade partie

20、s are from different countries and regions; therefore, owing to the discrepancy of their languages and cultures, it is very easy to have misunderstanding between them. So, business English contract adopts a set of formal expressions to do its utmost to avoid misunderstanding. It can be clearly prove

21、d by comparing Column A with Column B in the following table. Part A Part Bgrant givelevy chargetariff taxeffect makeinitiate begininform tellacquaint be familiar withpurchase buyconstitute includeterminate endwithin the first ten days of June in early Junein lieu of in place of Obviously, the words

22、 listed in Column A which are often employed in business English contracts are more formal than those in Column B. Thus the usage of formal words further enhances the rigorous of contracts and minimizes the possibility of misinterpretation. 2.1.2 Terminologies The vocabulary used in business English

23、 contracts consists of common words, semi-terminology, and terminology. The common words are used in a general way. The semi-terminologies derive from common words, and they have special meanings in the contracts, and they accounts for the most part in business English contracts. The range of termin

24、ology involved in the business English contracts mainly include: commerce, trade, finance, law, consignment, processing and assembling, joint venture, technology development, cooperation and transfer, construction, and so on. Take the legal terms for example. Terminology always consists of the uniqu

25、e legal terms to express the concept of common core in law, such as tort 侵权 and subrogation(代位权). However, the main problem in translation of foreign trade contracts is caused by failure to indentify the semi-terminology. It may result in false or distorted translation. For example: We consider it d

26、ifficult to file a claim against the manufacturers. 我们认为厂家提出索赔有些困难。 If a country is exporting more than it imports, it is receiving foreign currency and has a balance of trade surplus. 如果一个国家的出口大于进口,便是贸易顺差。 The contract is concluded in case of acceptance of the offer. 要约一旦承诺,合同即行成立。 In these sentenc

27、es, claim, balance, acceptance, offer, as terms in business English, is used in its special not normal meaning. More examples are as follows: Words General meaning Usage in Contractaccept 接受 承兑 credit 信誉 贷款collection 收集 托收honor 荣誉 承兑draft 草稿 汇票interest 兴趣 利息factor 因素 代理人policy 政策 保险单agreement 同意 协议p

28、romotion 提升 促销offer 提供 报盘average 平均 海损 2.1.3 Archaic Words Archaic words refer to the words that are seldom used in modern times but are frequently used in ancient times and middle age. According to what English linguist Geoffrey Leech 2008 points out in Taxonomy of English Words, archaic English be

29、longs to words with formal stylistic meaning, which completely meets the requirements of precision and concision of business English contracts. There are a lot of archaic words used in the business English contracts, which often appear in the form of compound adverbs, i.e., words formed by adverbs “

30、 here, there, where” combining with some particles “after, at, by, from, in, of, to, under, upon, with, as, etc”, such as “ herein”, “hereof”, “ hereinafter”, “ herewith”, “thereafter”, “ therein”, “thereof”, “thereto”, “whereby”, “whereof”, “wherefore”. There are more examples as follows: Example 1

31、: Matters not covered herein shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of the Letters exchanged on July 15th, 2003 as herein above referred to. Example 2: Whereas, this objective can be best achieved by the formation of a Joint Venture Company for the purpose of manufacturing, developing, s

32、elling, installing and maintaining elevators, escalators and parts and components thereof. Now therefore, in accordance with the principle of equality and mutual benefit, the three parties enter into the following Agreement。 Example 3: This contract is made and entered into Beijing on 8th December, 2005 by and between the Seller hereinafter referred to as the “Party A” and the Buyer hereinafter referred to as the “Party B”. 2.1.4 Borrowed Words The