商务英语函电翻译的用词技巧毕业论文.doc

本科生毕业论文（设计）题 目Diction of English BusinessCorrespondence Translation商务英语函电翻译的用词技巧专 业英 语（商务英语）院 系外国语学院学 号姓 名指导教师答辩时间商务英语函电翻译的用词技巧摘 要：当今社会，贸易扮演着十分重要的角色，各国间的贸易也越来越频繁。贸易来往有多种方式，例如电话，信函，传真，邮件，面对面会议等。其中，商务信函在对外贸易中是非常重要的书面文件，因此，它的翻译和用词都必须既要遵守准确和规范的原则，又要兼备商务的特点，不恰当的翻译可能会导致信息传递的偏差甚至影响贸易的顺利进行。本文通过举例和比较来总结说明商务函电翻译的用词技巧。关键词：商务英语函电；翻译；用词技巧Diction of English Business Correspondence TranslationAbstract: Nowadays, business plays a very important role in the society. And businesses between different countries are becoming more and more frequent. There are various ways of business communications. Such as business telephoning, letters, faxes, e-mails, face-to-face meetings, and so on. And business correspondence plays an especially important role in foreign trade. So, the translation of it should follow the principles of accuracy and formativeness, as well as the characteristics of business. Disproportionate translation may lead to the deviation of the information transfer even influence the trade. Examples and comparisons are used to make the conclusion of diction of business correspondence translation.Key Words: English business correspondence; translation; dictionContents1. Introduction12. The situation of English business correspondence translation12.1 The difficulties in business correspondence translation12.2 Analysis of the reason13. The importance of diction of English business correspondence translation23.1 The characteristic of English business correspondence translation23.1.1 The characteristic of translation23.1.2 The characteristic of English business correspondence33.1.3 The opinions of Nida43.2 The importance of diction53.2.1 The concept of diction63.2.2 The characteristic of diction in business correspondence63.2.3 The importance of diction74. Principles of diction of business correspondence translation84.1 Principles of writing English business correspondence84.2 Principles of business English translation95. Some methods of diction of business correspondence translation95.1 Comprehension of the original text105.2 Correct analysis of the meaning of words105.3 Diction of words106. Conclusion12Bibliography13Acknowledgements141. IntroductionWith the rapid development of economy, trade between different countries becomes more and more frequent. There are various ways of business communications, such as business telephoning, letters, faxes, e-mails, face-to-face meetings, and so on. English is the common language of the world. As a part of business, business correspondence plays an important role. Translation is a very important part of foreign trade. In business correspondence, words need to be clear, exact and simple. Only if coming straight to the point, making the language concise and on the basis of complete, correct, concrete and courtesy expression, an easy-to-understand, concise, pragmatic and efficient business letter can be wrote out. And business correspondence needs to follow the principle of “faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance”, as well as having extensive understanding about economy, trade, law, finance and so on. So diction of business correspondence is really very important. It can make a deal failure or success. Good translation can make better understanding, so its useful and meaningful to choose the right word.2. The situation of English business correspondence translationWith the rapid development of business, the translation of English business correspondence is becoming more and more important. Business English is totally different from common English. There are a lot of points should be paid attention to.2.1 The difficulties in business correspondence translationBusiness correspondence translation is an important part of foreign trade. To make good translation can mean a lot in a great business. But there are a lot of difficulties in business correspondence translation. First, since in English many words have different meanings in different situations, usually one word has several meanings. So it is hard to choose the best one. And if the less appropriate one is used, the translated text wont be so exact. Second, when talking about business, there are a lot of professional vocabularies. And some of them are really commonly used. If the meanings of the professional vocabularies cant be known very well, the translated text wont be clearly. Third, the structure of English sentences is different from that of Chinese sentences. To analyze the sentences and seize the main idea is very important. When the sentence is too long, its hard to make it clear. When doing translation, these problems often appear. 2.2 Analysis of the reasonTranslation means to change the state or form of a language into another. Essentially speaking, translation is the transformation of the language state or form. Different countries have different cultures. And thats the most important reason of the difficulties meet in translation. Without certain understanding of the culture of the target language, good translated text cant be worked out. Besides, to master a large amount of vocabularies is very necessary. Especially professional vocabularies, which should be bear in mind. The translation of business correspondences should be clear and exactly. To choose the most suitable word is of great importance. Because sentence is consist of words. So, generally speaking, the difficulties in business correspondence translation caused by these main reasons. The cultural diversities between different countries are one of the reasons. The other reason is the mastery of the vocabularies and sentences.3. The importance of diction of English business correspondence translationAs the competition of the international trade market becoming more and more fierce, the trade between countries is becoming more and more frequent. And business correspondence is the bridge of the international exchange, as well as the indispensable communication tool in the international activities. Business correspondence translation isnt a simple thing. It involves a very extensive territory in the professional fields, such as financial, transport, insurance, law and so on. So, the diction of translation should be rigorous. That the translation of the business correspondence is appropriate and rigorous is very importance. Every tiny translation mistake may cause trade dispute and then causes economic losses. Business correspondence is the very basic bridge to convey accurate business information, to process business trade successfully and to reconcile trade conflicts. So it is rather important to master the diction of business correspondence. Only to master the diction of business correspondence can get rid of all the inconvenience and loss when doing international trade.3.1 The characteristic of English business correspondence translationBusiness letters are different from common communication technique. It has distinct characteristics. According to tradition, it follows seven principles (that is considerate, complete, accurate, concrete, concise, clear, polite). Its purpose is to maintain good business relationship and communicate effectively. As an important way of communication, business letters has its own characteristics. 3.1.1 The characteristic of translationBusiness correspondence translation is intended to reflect the actual effect of correspondence, to send accurate information timely, rather than using luxuriant words to make the sentence beautiful. According to different types of trade, the purposes of the translation are not the same, different content should use different means to handle. Translation process is fixed, and have strict control of the error. Thus, the translator must not only be familiar with the professional knowledge, but also have a reasonable play.Translation not only cares about whether the meaning of the expression is accurate, precise terminology is also required; at the same time, it is necessary to use the language with limited vocabulary to express a more precise meaning, and the relevant information should use a more concise and accurate expression. As the business correspondence related to the English and Chinese language translation and application, and correspondence has its own language, grammar, sentence structure and other aspects of the specialty. At the same time, plus cultural differences, which led to the translation of business correspondence may not be accurate, the expression of its meaning can only be relatively accurate. Therefore, this should be realized, which plays an important role in the translation of business correspondence.3.1.2 The characteristic of English business correspondenceTo know about the stylistic characteristics of business correspondence is very important. As an independent literary form, business letter has its own body style. Nadas dynamic equivalence theory emphasizes on information integration. The reorganization process should be considered in the discourse structure, especially the style. He divided it into five categories, namely profession style, formal style, informal style, casual style and intimate style. According to his classification, business correspondence directly related to the trade between countries of information, and with banks, customs, transportation, and legal expertise are inextricably linked. So the letter should take the professional style or the official style.Business letter as an important media of non face-to-face business communication, forms its own characteristics in the long-term application, especially on the part of wording and phrasing, layout and pattern. The body of business letter should be concise. It is well known, business is war without bullets, and time is money. Every second counts. All business men have made it a deal that business letters should be clear and concise. In general, business letters is very short and easy to understand. It is necessary to use the least but proper words to express the main idea effectively in the letter.Business correspondence requires three basic principles: accurate, concise and clear. And it is for the attitude and perspective requirements. The language of business correspondence needs to be polite and considerate. And business letter is required to be with complete letter format. The content of it should be rich. Sentences should avoid using redundant meaningful words. Business correspondence not only has its own special background, but also has its own translation skills.The main language features of business correspondence can be summarized in two points: the scope of business correspondence related to trade, finance, foreign exchange, customs, commodity inspection, and many other areas. All of these show more obvious industry features of business correspondence language. Therefore, to make a reasonable choice of language is of great importance. While the specific mode of thinking of business people is rather carefully, they pay more attention to language choosing; the specific performance of business correspondence language is that it should be simple and clear, and should be focused. The terminology, grammar, structure, arrangement of the general fixed sentence order of business correspondence should be standardized. The logic of it should be strong and consistent.3.1.3 The opinions of NidaThe theory that used to support this essay is the Nidas translation theory which has been rendered as Nidas “equivalence theory”, “equivalent effect theory”, or “functional equivalence” in China. Because of the term “equivalence”, from the late 1980s to the present time, Nidas theory meets with strong objection in Chinese translation community. And his theory is dismissed by some scholars as impracticable, for in their judgment it is impossible to achieve “equivalence” in translation.“Equivalence” in Nidas theory, however, never means absolute sameness. When Nida fist put forward “dynamic equivalence” in opposition to “formal equivalence” in 1964, he just loosely indicated that the expression “equivalent” pointed “toward the source-language message”. It was not until 1969 that he realized the importance of delineating the term “equivalence” and elucidated it as follows:The translator must strive for equivalence rather than identity. In a sense this is just another way of emphasizing the reproducing of the message rather than the conservation of the form of the utterance (Nida and Taber 1969: 12).In the 1990s, Nida said that the real issue was in defining the nature of equivalence, and stressed more than once that it was impossible to achieve absolute “equivalence” in translating (Nida 1995). In his view, translating was not to get something completely identical, but to reproduce “the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message” in the receptor language (Nida and Taber 1969: 12). Later on, he said emphatically, “Equivalence can not be understood in its mathematical meaning of identity, but only in terms of proximity, that is, on the basis of degrees of closeness to functional identity” (1993:117). Obviously, the term “equivalence” in Nidas theory is used in a relative sense, i.e. the closest possible approximation to the source-language message.“Dynamic equivalence” is Nidas one major contribution to translation studies. The essential idea of “dynamic equivalence” is first mentioned by Nida in his article “Principles of Translation as Exemplified by Bible Translating” (Nida 1959). In his attempt to define translating, Nida writes:A definition of translating will inevitably depend in very large measure upon the purpose to be accomplished by the translation in questiona definition of translating could be state as follows: “ Translating consists in producing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent to the message of the source language, first in meaning and secondly in style” (Nida 1975: 33).In Nidas theory, “dynamic equivalence” is defined with “receptors response” as its nature. Unlike traditional translation theories, which focus in verbal comparison between the original text and its translation, Nidas concept of translating shifts from “the form of the message” to “the response of the receptor”. Thus, the importance of receptors role in translating is emphasized. In Nidas view, whether a translation is faithful to the original text or not, the critic should not compare the formal structure between the source text and its translation, but compare the “receptors response”. “Dynamic equivalence” has been adopted by translators. Language is a part of culture and therefore translating from one language into another cannot be done satisfactorily without adequate knowledge of the two cultures involved. The culture factors in translating are more significant than the purely linguistic differences. In Nidas view, the most serious mistakes in translating are usually made not because of verbal inadequacy, but of wrong cultural assumptions (Nida 1998: 29). He explains:the meaning of verbal symbols on any and every level depends on the culture of the language community. Language is a part of culture, and in fact, it is the most complex set of habitats that any culture exhibits. Language reflects the culture, provides access to the culture, and in many respects constitutes a model of the culture (Schffner 1995: 1).3.2 The importance of dictionWhen doing business correspondence translation, the most important part is diction. For it is the ingredient of sentence. Diction is used everyday and everywhere. Business English correspondence is a branch of the language system. It is especially for business trade. Business English correspondence has the basic grammar, sentence structure and phrase of English. But it also has its own language usage and expression. The diction of correspondence runs through the whole process of translation. The catachreses of translation may lead to international trade disputes. When translating business correspondence, have a great knowledge of common English characteristics is very important as well as the professional feature, then use certain skills of diction to make the translated text accurate.3.2.1 The concept of dictionDiction is the choice and the use of words. Diction is widely used in communication. Artful diction can make sentences more accurate and beautiful. So, diction is not just a kind of skill, but an art. 3.2.2 The characteristic of diction in business correspondenceGenerally speaking, business English has the character of technical terms, simplicity and multiplicity. The greatest difference between business English and general English is that business English has a large amount of technical terms and proper nouns. And many of the technical terms and proper nouns are endowed with special meanings. Business English serves particular language community with particular communicational purpose. More than that, many fields are concerned with business English, such as international trade, finance, accounting, bank, transportation, and insurance.First, a large amount of professional vocabularies has been used in business English correspondence. For example, in the sentence:Enclosed please find samples of our Nylon Table Bunners. If you are able to supple us with 5,000 dozen, we would be please to have you quote the lowest price CIF Kobe.随附尼龙长桌布样品，如能提供我方5000打，请报告最低神户价的成本加保险费、运费。“CIF” is translated as “成本加保险费、运费（到岸价）”, which belongs to the professional term of international trade