商务英语信函中的连接词及翻译.doc

本科生毕业论文（设计）题 目On the Text Conjunction and Its Translation in English Business Letters商务英语信函中的连接词及翻译专 业英 语(商务英语)院 部外国语学院学 号0804420612姓 名林琪琪指导教师舒 兰 讲师答辩时间二一一年十二月论文工作时间：2011年09月2011年12月2012届本科毕业论文（设计）商务英语信函中的连接词及翻译学生姓名：林琪琪指导老师：舒 兰摘 要: 商务英语信函是国际贸易的一种重要交流手段。在写作中，连接词的使用事关话语连贯，有利于提高文章的质量。在目前的研究中，对商务信函的文体特点、用词策略等研究较多。基于此，本文讨论了连接词的定义、位置和分类、以及连接词的翻译。根据功能对等翻译理论，翻译商务信函应该把读者的反应放在首位，在接受语中用最贴切的对等语再现源语信息。关键词：商务英语信函；连接词；功能对等；连接词翻译On the Text Conjunction and Its Translation in English Business LettersUndergraduate: Lin qiqiSupervisor: Shu LanAbstract: English business letter is a kind of important means of communication in international trade. In writing, the use of the conjunction is related with the discourse coherence and can improve the quality of the writing. In the present study, the stylistic features and term strategy of business letter are studied more than other aspects. This paper studies on the definition, position and classification of conjunction. According to the functional equivalence principle, readers reaction should be put in the first place and the source language should be expressed in appropriate receptors language. Key words: English business letter; conjunction; functional equivalence; conjunction translationContents1. Introduction12. Introduction to text conjunction12.1 Definition of text conjunction22.2 Position of text conjunction22.3 Categories of text conjunctions23. Function of conjunctions in English business letter34. Translation of text conjunctions54.1 Theoretical foundationfunctional equivalence theory54.2 Translation of text conjunctions under parataxis and hypotaxis64.2.1 The definition of hypotaxis and parataxis64.2.2 Strategies of translation65. Conclusion9Bibliography11Acknowledgements121. Introduction The main purpose of business letters is to send massages, do business and communicate in business exchanges. With the development of the international trade, it is more and more important in writing and translating business letter. Generally speaking, business letters are concise and easy to understand, and they tend to be less personal because they strictly deal with business affairs, or matters closely connected with business or with people the writer may not know by name or in person. The component parts of language are, of course, words, and the basis of language is the grouping together of the component parts, i.e. words, into what is called a sentence. The secret of all good writing is the very careful choice of words, so that they convey with force and conviction the exact idea the writer has in mind. Since English and Chinese are two different languages, it is no easy job to obtain as much correspondence as possible between the source and target texts. Halliday holds that within the primary word class of adverbs, there is another class, namely conjunctions. Conjunctions also form word groups by modifications, such as even if, not until, if only. Many conjunctive expressions have evolved from more complex structures, e.g.as soon as, in case, nevertheless. Halliday and Hasan(1976:57) classify the discourse links as four types：1）Addictive conjunctions；2）Adversative conjunctions ；3）Causal conjunctions；4）Temporal conjunctions .As is known to all, effective communication requires coherence and clarity, and conjunctions play a very important role in making communication coherent and clear. A lot of studies have shown that the use of conjunctions is problematic for language learners. The use of conjunctions contributes to cohesion and teachers often focus on these devices in writing lessons, but students may misuse or overuse these cohesive devices. All these performances are likely to make the text less comprehensible. Therefore focusing on the study of conjunctions will also benefit business letter writing.Hypotaxis refers to the connection of words or sentences by linguistic ways including both lexical and morphological ones and parataxis the connection of words or sentences by inner logic and semantic relations between linguistic units. Westerners have a developed rational thought and attach a great importance on logic, while Chinese believe intuition, with a strong emotion. In business letter translation, special attention must be paid to parataxis and hypotaxis. In this paper, conjunctions translation is discussed connected with Eugene Nida functional equivalent theory.2. Introduction to text conjunctionConjunction can be considered as a term used to refer to surface signals of relations among events or situations in a text. Conjunctions, which are given different terms such as logical connectives, cohesive ties, conjuncts, or discourse markers, have been favorite topics in text linguistics and discourse analysis. 2.1 Definition of text conjunctionConjunction is the word to indicate the relationship of two words or two sentences. Conjunctions are commonly used for starting a passage or expanding sentences and can also be used in long complex sentences, as a link to the context; in addition, they can make a summary when at the end of the passage. It help readers to organize, classify, transfer and evaluate the information required.2.2 Position of text conjunctionCoordinate conjunctions often occur between phrases they link, whereas on the location of conjunctions where they occur, subordinate conjunctions can be divided into the following groups:1) Clause-initial conjunctions: conjunctions occur in the initial position of the clause, such as the conjunctions in Chinese“所以，可是，但是”etc, and conjunctions in English are mainly clause-initial conjunctions.2) Floating conjunctions: conjunctions can occur before or after the subject, their position being flexible, capable of occupying several different positions. What the conjunction indicates is the semantic relation rather than the grammatical one, and thus the position is rather flexible, e.g. “如果，虽然，不但”etc. 3) Another case for our attention is the correlative conjunctions. They always occur in couplets, joining various sentence elements that should be treated as grammatically equal, such as bothand, eitheror, neithernor, notonly, whetheror；“虽然但是，因为所以,如果那么,不但而且,即使也,不论都”etc. All of these correlative conjunctions should respectively be placed before phrases, clauses or sentences they link. The above forms usually occur in the formal style. 2.3 Categories of text conjunctions The classification of a word is mainly determined by its semantic features, grammatical features or formal features. The judgment of grammatical features consists of the following: 1) The ability to generate sentence. We can see whether the word act as a component or not directly in the sentence and what role it plays.2) The power of combination. We can see what kind of word it combines.3) The location it occurs. We can see whether the place it occupies is before or after the subject. Those floating conjunctions should be determined by their power of generating sentence and by the meaning they express.There is no single, uniquely correct inventory of the types of conjunctive relation, each of which would highlight different aspects of the facts. For example, many scholars treat conjunctions as two principle types according to their functions in sentences: coordinate conjunction and subordinate conjunctions. The coordinate conjunctions connect words, groups of words, phases, clauses, etc. that are independent of each other, giving them a grammatical equality. The commonly used coordinate conjunctions are and, or, nor, but, yet as well as, hence and so on. In Chinese, there are“和，同，与，及，以及，而且，或者， 并，而”and so on. The conjunctions introducing the subordinate clauses are termed as subordinate conjunctions, which are a large group including: because, if, when, since, before, after, unless, and many more. In Chinese there are “因为，如果，假如，假若，若，除非”etc. A clause that begins with a coordinate conjunction must follow the clause to which it is linked, but a clause that begins with a subordinate conjunction may generally follow it or precede it. The clauses introduced by subordinate conjunctions are all restrictive. Halliday and Hasan(1976:57) classify the discourse links as the following four types:1) Addictive: the additive relation is a general semantic relation in the text- forming component of the semantic system based on the logic notion of “and”. This relation can be expressed by words and phrases, such as and, or, furthermore, similarly, in addition, whats more, etc.2) Adversative: the adversative relation is used to signal a meaning contrary to expectation. It can be expressed by various words and phrases, such as but, however, nevertheless, though, on the other hand, etc.3) Causal: the causal relation can be signaled by words and phrases such as so, because, therefore, for this reason, it follows from this, etc.4) Temporal: the temporal relation expresses the sequence of described events. It is usually realized through words such as first, next, then, after that, an hour later, when, at last, etc.The classification by Halliday is very convenient for people to analyze and study conjunctions. This paper is based on the four categories by Halliday. 3. Function of conjunctions in English business letterVan Dijk(1979:87) proposed two functions of conjunctions: semantic and pragmatic functions. For him, the semantic function of connectives is to relate facts, whereas pragmatic function of connectives must be defined in terms of the structures and sequencing of illocutionary acts. English business letter emphasizes the sequence of expression and the reasonable contents arrangement. Conjunction may be a symbol of a new paragraph or a turning point of a meaning. For example:Dear Mr. Auxilia:In compliance with the request contained in your letter of October 8, 2005, we are sending youHerewith the required Proforma Invoice in triplicate. Please note that our offer remains valid until November 15.For your information, our Sewing Machines are selling fast, and there have been numerous inquiries for them. Please take the necessary steps without delay. We are looking forward to receiving your order at an early date.Yours trulyAlthough this letter is short, but there are two conjunctions used. In the first paragraph, the conjunction is in compliance with to make a transitional function, and indicates that the writer and receptor communicated before. For your information in the beginning of the second paragraph is offering the information about the sellers market. In business letters, text conjunctions have the following six functions.1) Highlighting the product and theme: as regards, with reference to, in term of are in this type. These conjunctions usually are put before the name or order of product. For instance: As regards our order No.110 for 3000 boxes moon cake, we have received nothing from you about its shipment. 2) Offering materials and message: for your information, for your perusal, etc. when these conjunctions occur, it means there is a special information need to be noticed for the receptor. 3) Explaining letters in details: in other words, furthermore, in addition, etc. these conjunctions are usually used in the counter-offer to make a detail explanation about the disagreement on price、packaging and payment. 4) Indicating adverse and condition: however, while, on the other hand, if, on condition that, etc. These conjunctions are related with quantity and discount. For example:Our price will be received by 5% on condition that your monthly orders amount to $2500 in value.5) Indicating date and time: as soon as, when, before, etc. These conjunctions are related with shipment and letter of credit. For example:We apologize for the underpayment of us $123.00 on your invoice No.123. This was due to a misunderstanding of the amount. 6) Indicating reason and result: as, for, because of, in this case, result from, etc.The main function of conjunctions in business letter is to offer certain business information. To understand a business letter is to reorganize information from these sentences. 4. Translation of text conjunctionsTranslation is a communicative process that involves cross-linguistic, cross- cultural and cross-social factors. It requires the translator to have an in-depth understanding of the two languages involved. Therefore, adequate familiarity with the characteristics of each language is prerequisite to successful translation. In the translation of conjunctions, it should not only concentrate on the concrete translation strategies for us, but also bear in mind that actual translation is closely related to translators styles which must be taken into consideration.4.1 Theoretical foundationfunctional equivalence theoryFunctional equivalence theory, put forward by Eugene Nida, well embodies the spirit of functionalism. According to Nida, translating means communicating, and this process depends on what is received by persons hearing or reading a translation. “Judging the validity of a translation cannot stop with comparison of corresponding lexical meanings, grammatical classes, and rhetorical devices. What is important is the extent to which receptors correctly understand and appreciate the translated text,” (Nida, 1997:116)Therefore, in understanding functional equivalence translation, there are two points that we should keep in mind.Firstly, functional equivalent translation emphasizes equivalence rather than identity. In translation practice, there is never a one-hundred-percent equivalence either to be the original meaning or to the response of the receptor. This is the case with the translation between Chinese and English in particular, which belong to two totally different language systems.Secondly, functional equivalent translation emphasizes functional equivalence rather than formal equivalence (or in Nidas words “formal correspondence”). Accordingly, in actual translating process, two things should be born in mind when handling an original text. On the one hand, the translator should put functional equivalence in the first place whenever and wherever possible. In order to reproduce a successful translated version to which the target language receptors can feel the same as the source language receptors do, the translator should not be restrained by formal equivalence, but should attach importance to functional equivalence. On the other hand, however, formal equivalence should never be neglected given that functional equivalence is achieved. Only in this way, can the translated version in closest natural target language reflect and represent the life and society of the source text.In fact, when translating, it is difficult to find a completely equivalence to express the source language. The functional equivalent translation is a feasible theoretic approach to translation and it emphasizes the same reaction of the readers. Therefore, because Chinese is showing paratactic prominence and English hypotactic prominence, much attention should be paid to the hypotaxis and parataxis for readers to understand better. 4.2 Translation of text conjunctions under parataxis and hypotaxisThe biggest difference of Chinese and English is the difference of parataxis and hypotaxis. Therefore, a good and close translation needs much attention on the differences. The contrast between hypotaxis and parataxis, as Eugene Nida has pointed out in Translating Meaning (1982:12), is the most important linguistic difference between Chinese and English. 4.2.1 The definition of hypotaxis and parataxis Hypotaxis and parataxis have long been one of the major concerns in contrastive analysis of English and Chinese as well as in translation research. Hypotaxis refers to the connection of words or sentences by the linguistic ways including both lexical and morphological ones. Parataxis refers to the connection of words and sentences by their semantic and logical relation rather than the linguistic devices. Hypotaxis lays emphasis on cohesion of the words or sentences in form, while parataxis, the coherence in meaning. It is generally agreed that Chinese belongs to the analytic language family while English has both analytic and synthetic characteristics. In Chinese linguistics the unanimous idea is that parataxis, as opposed to hypotaxis, is the most important feature that distinguishes the Chinese language from English, with Chinese showing paratactic prominence and English hypotactic prominence. Basically, the initiative mental process of human being is the logical arrangement of specific concepts-parataxis (Shen Xiaolong, 1991:544). After generations of evolution, Chinese language still maintains the core of ancient Chinese simplicity.However, people tend to think that the differences of conjunctions between languages are universally attributed to hypotaxis and parataxis. The truth is not simple because hypotaxis and parataxis exist in both English and Chinese. We have tested it in the analysis. After all, there is “universality” in human languages. Besides, it is after the May Fourth Movement that significant changes began to take place in Chinese in the degree of the explicitness of grammatical relationship. Under the influence of western languages, Chinese language tends to employ more hypotactic measures in achieving coherence of passages, which directly resulted in the increased use of connectives in the written Chinese. The increased explicitness of grammatical relationship in Chinese enables people to convey complicated thoughts and complex propositions conveniently and effectively. On the other hand, such explicitness is gained at the expense of the extremely concise styl