商务信函的英译汉翻译策略 (2) - 副本 - 副本

1、 山西师范大学本科毕业论文 商务信函的英译汉翻译策略 姓 名赵连昀院 系外国语学院专 业商务英语班 级1206班学 号1214030211指导教师 赵 阳答辩日期 2012年6月4日成 绩 内容摘要 在经济全球化的带动下，各国间的商务活动日益增多。在商务活动的过程中，商务信函是买方与卖方、商家与客户之间用于发展业务、交流沟通、互相咨询和答复的重要途径之一。所以合适的商务信函翻译是商务活动成功的第一步。因此，翻译商务信函成为译者一项必需掌握的技能。本文以商务信函的特点和商务英语翻译原则为理论基础，从商务信函词汇、句子和语篇三方面进行了深入的分析，通过商务信函的翻译实践，总结出了常见的商务信函英译

2、汉翻译策略，如增译法、减译法、转译法和分译法。希望此论文的研究对大家在商务信函的翻译中有所帮助。关键词：商务信函；词汇；句子；语篇；翻译策略 AbstractWith the impact of global economy, business activities are more frequent then before. In business activities, business letter is one of the most approaches for business men to contact business, send messages, confer and r

3、espond to each other. Therefore, properly translating business letter is a pivotal step for the success of business activities. So, the translation of business letters is a indispensable skill for translators. This paper, based on the features of business letters and the principles of translation bu

4、siness letter, deeply analyzes the translation strategies from English to Chinese which can guarantee the success of the information convey from the perspective of vocabulary, sentence and discourse. Via the translation practice, some familiar translation strategies of business letter, such as techn

5、ique of amplification, technique of omission, translation conversion and division techniques of translation are summarized. Key words: business letters; vocabulary; sentence; discourse; translation strategy Contents1. Introduction12. Theoretical Basis12.1 Business letter12.1.1 The definition of busi

6、ness letter12.1.2 The features of business letter22.2 The strategies of business letter translation43. Translation Practice of Business Letter53.1 Vocabulary translation of business letter53.1.1 The translation of terms63.1.2 The translation of abbreviations73.1.3 The translation of polysemy83.2 Sen

7、tence translation of business letter93.2.1 Polite formula translation of business letter93.2.2 Euphemistic  sentence translation of business letter103.2.3 Compound and complex sentence translation of business letter103.3 Discourse translation of business letter114. Conclusion13 References

8、Acknowledgements ii English to Chinese TranslationStrategies of Business Letter1. IntroductionSince China has been under the impact of economic globalization, business activities have been increasing at a high rate of speed. At present, a large of companies know the significance of communication ski

9、lls in business activities. From among these communication skills, business letter is a indispensable part in business activities. And it is a pivotal step in successful business activities to translate business letters accurately.Business letter, which is the letter used for the business trade, and

10、 the aim is to transmit information, deal with things so as to build up partnership. Because international trades exist between different countries, it is needful for companies to translate business letter accurately so that it can transmit information clearly enable readers to understand the letter

11、.Business letter has its features. For example, words need to be clear and simple. A better translation can make deals failure or success, so, it is meaningful to translate the business letter accurately. This paper takes some translations of business letter as examples to deeply analyze common tran

12、slation strategies. It not only makes the translator to understand features of business letter and translate them accurately, also can make students whose major is Business English more deeply know about the characteristics of business letter and improve the ability of translating business letter.2.

13、 Theoretical Basis2.1 Business letter2.1.1 The definition of business letterBusiness letter is used to transmit information, deal with business things and maintain long time communication relationship in economic activities. And it is also a very needful instrument in business. So, the most effectiv

14、e business letter is vital to a successful business activity. All business letters have two main functions. Because business letter is written for the reader, the language of business letter should be easy, distinct and immediate, and the letter is succinct and amicable. Therefore, the ideal busines

15、s letter should be effortless to see and comprehend. " There are certain fundamental qualities of business letter, which are seven "Cs" that is correctness, courtesy, clearness, completeness, conciseness, concreteness and consideration."(王元歌, 2007:6)Business letter can be divided

16、 into eight parts. The first one is the letter-head, which covers the name of the sender, address, date. Its purpose is to make reader understand where the letter comes from and the date the letter is written in order to reply. The second one is the inside name and address which consist of addressee

17、s name and address that locates on the above left of the letter. Its writing is the same as that of envelope. If addressee is a company, and the sender asks a certain person of the company to handle the letter, thus it can be written as Attention(Attn.). The third one is the salutation that is a mod

18、e of address. Its position is below the inside name and address. The most using are Dear Sir. The fourth one is the subject line that briefly explains the reason why the sender writes the letter. The fifth one is the body of the letter. There are two forms that are indented form and blocked form. Th

19、e sixth one is the laudatory close. It is courteous to end the business letter. These are many formulas that applied in business letter. The next one is the writers signature who depicts the business correspondence. The final one is the enclosure. It could be marked Encl. or Enc. in the lower-left c

20、orner, then lists details if there is enclosure in the letter. In addition, there may be the reference notation, the carbon copy and the postscript included in accordance with specific conditions in bottom left corner of the business letter.2.1.2 The features of business letter 1) Professionalized t

21、ermsThe use of terms in business letter is the biggest feature of business letter. Among them, there are a lot of terms, abbreviations, polysemy. They are not ordinary in business letter, and they are given new and special meanings in business letter. For example, the basic meaning of "offer &q

22、uot; is to make available or accessible, provide or furnish(提供、给予), however, in business letter its meaning is a certain kind of behavior which the seller provides the buyer with product information, price message and conditions of the dealing(发盘、报盘). Now we analyze two sentences. One is "Leave

23、 the transaction of the matter to your secretary". The other one is "For large transactions we shall use payment by sight L/C". The first word "transaction" is translated as "处理". But the second word is translated as "交易". In business letter, there being

24、exist a powerful lot of prepositions, such as with, in such case, for, in and so on. And if there are numbers in business letter, the digital content should be rigorous. For instance, "$ 60 "can be written in the common letter, however, it should be written as "$ 60.00". All in a

25、ll, to shun misinterpretation and dispute, the translator must translate business vocabularies accurately. There are lots of abbreviations in business letter. And abbreviations can make business letter more conciseness and give readers an insight into the content of business letter. Such as c/o, (ca

26、re of); P.T.O.2) Using polite formulaThere are a large number of polite formulas in business letter, and it is light for readers to comprehend business letter and receive information using polite formulas in trade so as to speed up the transmission of information in business activities. For instance

27、, "Please accept my genuine/pretty/profound thank for sth ." what in business letter are polite formulas for thinking. "We wish you to take in our apologies for not being capable to ." is formula for apology. Of course, there are other kinds of polite formula. 3) Sentence pattern

28、sIn writing business letters, the writer often uses some grammatical means, such as complete and formal sentence patterns, fixed phrases, inverted sentences, passive sentences, and so on.4) Courtesy languageIn addition to these, there is courtesy language. Courtesy language in business letter, which

29、 is advantageous for both trading parties to create a good atmosphere of cooperation in international trade. Among that, it can express the mood of politeness and circumbendibus to use personal pronouns flexibly. The use of "You-attitude", which means you stand in the other persons perspec

30、tive and you are willing to consider each other s interest. In this way, it is more likely to be built up harmonious atmosphere of cooperation. 5). Fuzzy languageL.A. Zadeh is an expert from the United States who came up with the theory of fuzzy linguistics. "He pointed out that Fuzzy language

31、is an inherent characteristic of human language, which refer to uncertainty of boundaries of a vocabulary."(陆墨珠, 2001: 5-6).In business letters, due to differences in communicative purpose, in order to come true their own wants, people, who are in different social status, often use some vague l

32、anguage, such as more or less, much, some, roughly. 2.2 The strategies of business letter translation "The translation is a language movement where the translator uses a kind of language to express the idea and details of another language completely."(周方珠, 2002: 98-99). "There are man

33、y translation principles from different translators. Among them, the most familiar translation principles are faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance that have been made by Yan Fu who comes from China."(李明, 2010: 20). The mode and manner should be alike features with that of the text. It imp

34、lies the result of translation should be faithfulness and smoothness."The equivalence translation theory, is came up with Nida, is a ideal guiding principles when translating Business English. He believes that the focus of translation should be readers responses and attitudes to the translation

35、, rather than the form of language."(Nida & Taber., 2004: 10). In order to get this kind of translation aim, the translator should adhere to three basic principles of business letter translation: the version should be expressed the all idea of the original; the mode of the version should be

36、 the alike as the nature of the original; the version should be as understanding and smooth as the original.The translation methods what we use usually are technique of amplification, technique of omission, translation conversion and division techniques of translation. Sample 1：The finished products

37、 should be carefully inspected before delivery. Version 1：成品在出厂前应该严格检查。 Sample 2：Shall we meet each other half way? Version 2: 咱们折中处理可以吗？ Sample 3: We take wish in placing the below order with you. Version 3: 我们很高兴地向你方订如下货物。 Sample 4: We wish to present ourselves to you as a technical company doing

38、business in all kinds of woven scarfs and are interested in building up corporate benefit and win-win result business relations with you. Translation 4: 我方乐于向贵方介绍我公司，我公司是专门从事各种材质围巾的，希望与你方建立双方共赢的商业关系。Analysis:In the above examples, translation methods are technique of amplification, technique of omis

39、sion, technique of conversion and division techniques of translation. In the case one, the "delivery" is translated as "出厂", which complements the implicit meaning of the original sentence. In example two, if the sentence is translated as "我们用另一种方法处理可以吗?", it is not ver

40、y appropriate. But the English phrase "meet each other half way" is translated into "折中处理", which makes the sentence get more concise compared with that. As we all know, "pleasure" should be used as a noun, but here, it is translated into an adverb, and the meaning of t

41、hat is "高兴地". In example four, because it is longer sentence then others, to make reader understand the translator translates it into three short sentences using division technique of translation. In a word, by these examples it is distinct that the translator must consider vocabularies an

42、d discourse of business letter vocabulary if he wants to translate the business letter well. In addition, when translating business letter , the translator should also be think about the context of business letter. The business letter can be translated accurately only on a basis of vocabularies, dis

43、course and context.3. Translation Practice of Business Letter3.1 Vocabulary translation of business letterBusiness letter usually involve a large number of professional vocabularies, so in process of translation business letter, the translator should take more care of translation of professional voc

44、abularies and make use of normative and precise words so that the translation is in keeping with the demands of foreign trade. Like this, information can be transmitted accurately that can avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding. Due to the professional vocabularies in business letters are different fr

45、om general vocabularies. Therefore, when translating business letter, translators can look up professional dictionaries, professional database or ask professionals consultant etc., and then under the context to translate them, like this, the translation can be in line with the original text. 3.1.1 T

46、he translation of termsThe style of business letter is more formal and rigorous, the number of using professional term is larger that is to expresses the business intentions and decisions accurately, which strengthen the trade business and communication, then increase opportunities of trade. There a

47、re enquiry, offer, counteroffer, quotation, sheet, accepting bank, delivery and so on in trade correspondence. "In addition, there are some common terms, such as WPA (with particular average), FPA (free from particular average), LEC( Less Container Load), PCL (Full Container Load) "(隋思忠, 2

48、013: 19-20). Without professional knowledge, it is difficult to translate these terms. Sample 5：Where extended term of payment is agreed interest will be payed from the date of the note of loading. Version 5：若商定用延期付款方法，产生的利益将以提单上的起始日期开始计算。Analysis:We all know that the meanings of term of payment are

49、 deadline and mode of payment. If "term of payment" is translated into "期限" in the sentence, which is absolutely misread, this phrase should be translated into "付款方式". And it was translated into it in The Theory and Practice of Translation in 2004. Among them, " bi

50、ll of lading " is a business term, which means "提单". Sample 6: We have instructed the Bank of China, Shanghai to open an irrevocable L/C for(letter and credit) ￥ 6000000 in your favor. Version 6: 我方已让位于上海的中国银行，开出一张600万人民币的不可撤销的信用证，受益人为你方。Analysis:The common meaning of letter is a writ

51、ten message addressed to people or organization. And the most common meaning of credit is reputation. So we must understand trade payment terms in business activities, otherwise we do not comprehend the meaning of that. When translates it, translators need use corresponding Chinese professional &quo

52、t;不可撤销的信用证". And "L/C", appears in In English-Chinese Translation Course For Business, is translated into "信用证"，so, it can be translated as that .3.1.2 The translation of abbreviations"Abbreviations are the shortened forms of words, phrases or sentences."(Tom &

53、 Alan , 1987: 8) . In the movement, it is more and more popular to use abbreviations, and they play a very indispensable role in business activities. Likewise, in business letter, in order to maintain communication, there are a lot of abbreviations with the economy principle of language . And when t

54、ranslating the business letter, the translator must be translate English abbreviations accurately, so that enable readers understand the letter, then set up a cooperative partnership. If there is enclosure in business letters, it should be marked Encl. or Enc. in the lower left corner. "Encl.&q

55、uot; and "Encl." are abbreviations of Enclosure. Sample 7: You are one of the Co. Ltd. of good standing and reliability in Beijing. Version 7: 你们是北京地区信誉可靠的有限公司之一。Analysis:In above sentence, "Co. Ltd." is short of "company limited". If we do not understand it, we can loo

56、k up its meaning by dictionary or Internet. By reading named Foreign Trade English Correspondence, "Co. Ltd." is short for company limited. So, here, "Co. Ltd." should be translated as "有限公司".In the section below, there are some common abbreviations in business letters.

57、 Abbreviations Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 PO No. Purchase order Number 采购单号 DN Delivery Notes 销货通知单 TPO Transportation Order 运输单号 Inst. Instant month 本月 St STREET 街道So we have known that abbreviation is a familiar phenomenon in linguistic learning, which means a abbreviation is short for several words. If

58、 you randomly open a business letter, several or even dozens abbreviations can be found. In time of the translation, you will often find some abbreviations you feel uncertain about. The meaning of abbreviation cannot be identified only by the word itself and depends on what the context it is. So you

59、 should ensure that the meaning you choose is appropriate to the context. In majority cases, the meaning of a abbreviations is specific. It will inevitably make mistakes if you do not understand abbreviations meaning. In time of studying Business English, we should understand and memory more abbreviations as much as possible. In thi