从语篇衔接和连贯看英语商务文本的汉译

-PAGE85-AcknowledgementsIamgreatlyhonoredtohavethisopportunitytoexpressmysincerethankstoallthosewhohaveofferedmetheirconsideratehelpandcontinuousencouragementthroughoutthesetwoyears.Iwillinevitablymissallofthewonderfultutorsandfriends.Firstandforemost,IwanttoexpressmyheartfeltthanksandappreciationtoProf.ZuoBiao,mysupervisor.Ithasbeenagreatprivilegeandjoytoworkunderhisguidanceandwithhisencouragement.Ithankhimforopeningmyeyestothewondersoftwoofthemostpreciousgiftswehave:thehumanmindandtheabilitytosharewhatisinitwithothers.Myresearchhasbroughthometomeinanewwaythetruththatwearewonderfullymade.IthankProf.HanZhonghuaforhisencouragementandforhiscommentsonthedissertationwhichunderliesthisdissertation.IthankProf.ZhengLixin,Prof.WangDaweiAssociateProf.YuanYongfang,AssociateProf.ShiDongqinthestaffandfellow-studentsintheCollegeofForeignLanguages,ShanghaiInthemeantime,Iwishtoexpressmygratitudetothepersonsthatrelievedmeofotherchores,sothatIcoulddevotemytimeentirelytothecompletionofthisdissertation.IalsowanttoexpressmygratitudeforthefinancialhelpIreceivedfrommyrelativesandmyformerclassmates.Lastbutnotleast,averyspecialthankgoestomywifeYinNaiminandmysonLiuXianyuforsupportingahusbandandfatherwhosemindwasnotalwaysfreetogivethemtheattentiontheyneeded.Itismypleasuretodedicatethisdissertationtothem.摘要本文《从语篇衔接和连贯看英语商务文本的汉译》在前人研究的基础上，利用语篇衔接理论的部分研究成果，并结合大量商务文本实例，从语篇衔接和连贯两个角度对英语商务文本汉译进行了广泛、深入的探讨。全文共分为五章。第一章主要介绍了翻译以及商务文本翻译理论。包括翻译的定义、发展、历史和标准；商务文本翻译的类别、功能和现状等。第二章从词汇、句子和风格三个方面对英汉商务文本的特点进行了对比分析。第三、第四、第五章是本文的主体。第三章主要介绍了语篇分析理论，是本文作者进行研究的理论基础。本章详细阐述了语篇、文本、语篇衔接和语篇连贯等概念，以及它们与商务文本翻译的联系。与此同时，本章也强调了语篇分析理论对提高商务文本翻译水平的重要意义。第四章作者从语篇衔接角度出发，利用语法衔接和词汇衔接两个方面探讨商务文本翻译。本文作者对比分析了指代关系、省略关系、替代关系、连接关系、复现关系（重复、概括词、同（近）义词、上下义词）和同现关系（反义词、对比词、部分整体）与商务文本翻译的联系，从而帮助翻译工作者找到其中联系，提高翻译水平。第五章从语篇连贯角度出发，利用局部连贯和整体连贯两个方面研究商务文本翻译。作者对比分析了原因、连接、评价、扩张、整体结构和思维模式与商务文本翻译的关系。韩礼德和哈桑夫妇对语篇衔接理论进行了深入的探讨，但对语篇连贯研究较少，并且其有些语篇连贯见解尚有商榷之处。魏在江博士对语篇连贯也进行了探讨，但还不够深入。本文的成果在于作者运用大量的实例对语篇分析理论进行了研究。最后作者得出结论，语篇分析理论虽有待完善，但能够指导商务文本翻译活动顺利进行，提高翻译工作者的翻译水平。另外，本文作者虽在商务文本翻译的基础上对语篇衔接和连贯进行了有益的探讨，但还有待进一步深入和完善。关键词：商务文本翻译，语篇分析，衔接，连贯ABSTRACTThisdissertationexploresE-Cbusinessdocumenttranslationfromtheperspectivesofdiscoursecohesionandcoherence.Itconsistsoffivechaptersbesidesthepreface,theconclusion,andthebibliography.ChapterOnebrieflyintroducestranslationandbusinessdocumenttranslation,includinggeneraltheoryoftranslation,suchasdefinition,history,criteriaoftranslation,andbusinessdocumenttranslation,suchascategories,functionsandpresentsituationofbusinessdocumenttranslation.ChapterTwopresentsageneralcontrastiveanalysisofEnglishandChinesebusinessdocumentsatthelexical,syntacticandtextuallevels.Thenextthreechapters,thatis,ChapterThree,FourandFive,aretheprincipalpartofthisdissertation.Discourseanalysistheoryisintroducedinthethirdchapter,wherediscourse,text,businessdocumenttranslation,discoursecohesionandcoherencearediscussedindetail.Andtheauthoremphasizestheimportanceoftextualcomponents(cohesionandcoherence)inbusinessdocumenttranslation.Theauthoralsopointsoutatheoryshouldbetreatedanddevelopedbasedontranslatingpractice,nomatterhowauthoritativeitis.Ornotheoryisperfect.InChapterFour,theauthorusesHallidayandHasan’s(1976,1985)framework,thedescriptionofcohesioninEnglish,whichasBrownandYule(1983)sayis“byfarthemostcomprehensivetreatmentofthesubject”,tocontrastE-Cbusinessdocumentstranslation.ThischapterclarifiestheviewthatcohesioninEnglishandChineseshouldberegardedasakeylinkofdiscoursestructureinspiteoftheirdifferencesinspecificforms.InChapterFive,theauthordiscussescoherencephenomenoninbusinessEnglishdocuments.Coherenceisoneofthemostimportantandthemostcomplicatedtopicsindiscourseanalysis.Ithasbecomeoneofthefocalissuesindiscourseanalysisintherecenttwodecades.Combinedwithexamples,thischapterdiscussesthecoherenceinbusinessdocumenttranslation.Byemphasizingtheimportanceofclearcoherenceawarenessintranslationprocess,theauthorpointsoutthatHalliday’ssystemicfunctionallinguisticscanprovideatheoreticalsupportandbasisfortranslationtoimprovethebusinessdocumenttranslation.Onbalance,theauthorhascometoaconclusionthroughalltheaboveanalyses,argumentandillustrations.Alltheoriesoftranslationhavetheirrespectivestrengthsandweaknessesandtheycomplementeachotheringuidingtranslatingpractice.Asnospecifictheorysofarisdirectlyaimedatofferingguidelinesforthetranslationofbusinessdocumentsunderdiscussion,itisnecessarytoviewthetaskfromsomenewperspectivesbasedonexistingtheoriesconcerninglanguage,cultureandtranslation.Thisdissertationisintendedasanattempttofillthegapbetweentranslationtheoriesingeneralandbusinesstranslatingpracticeinparticular.Althoughtheideaspresentedinthedissertationmayappeartobetentativeandimmature,yetitapproachesthetopicofbusinessdocumenttranslatingfromanewangle,i.e.theangleofdiscourseanalysis,andmayhopefullycontributetotheimprovementofbusinessdocumenttranslation.KEYWORDS:businessdocumenttranslation,discourseanalysis,cohesion,coherenceContentsTOC\o"1-4"\h\z\uAcknowledgements I摘要 IIABSTRACT ⅢContents VPreface 10.1.Theobjectofthisresearch 10.2.Literaturereview 10.3.Anoverviewofthedissertation 2ChapterOneBusinessDocumentTranslation 31.1.Translationingeneral 31.1.1.Whatistranslation? 41.1.2.Ageneralreviewoftranslation 5.Bibleandothertranslationuntilc.1530 5.FromtheLutherReformationtotheFrenchRevolution:c.1530-1790 5.FromtheFrenchRevolutiontotheSecondWorldWar:1789-1940 6.DecolonizationandtheColdWar:1945-c.1970 6.TheexpansionoftheEuropeanUniontotheendoftheColdWar:c.1970-c:1990 7.1990tothepresentday 71.1.3.Translationcriteria 8.Somewesternviewsontranslationcriteria 8.SomeChineseviewsontranslationcriteria 101.2.Businessdocumenttranslation 111.2.1.Businessdocumentanditscategories 121.2.2.Functionsofbusinessdocumenttranslation 131.2.3.Presentsituationofbusinessdocumenttranslation 131.2.4.Criteriaofbusinessdocumenttranslation 141.2.5.Importanceofbusinessdocumenttranslationfromtheperspectiveofdiscoursecohesionandcoherence 16Summary 16ChapterTwoTheFeaturesofBusinessEnglishDocuments 172.1.LexicalfeaturesofbusinessEnglishdocuments 172.1.1.Archaisms 182.1.2.Loanwords 19.WordsofLatinorigin 19.WordsofFrenchorigin 202.1.3.Otherformalwords 212.1.4.Wordsusedincoordination 222.1.5.Frequentuseofmodalverbs 23.“Shall” 23.“May” 24.“Must” 25“Would” 262.2.SyntacticfeaturesofbusinessEnglishdocuments 262.2.1.Declarative-prominentsentences 272.2.2.Long&complexsentences 272.2.3Fullsentences 272.2.4.Directandexplicitexpressiondominance 282.2.5.Nominalization 292.3.StylisticfeaturesofbusinessEnglishdocuments 292.3.1.Clearness&conciseness 302.3.2.Preciseness&rigorousness 312.3.3.Courtesy&consideration 31Summary 32ChapterThreeDiscourseAnalysisandBusinessDocumentTranslation 333.1.Generalviewofdiscourseanalysis 333.2.Discourse,textandbusinessdocumenttranslation 343.2.1.Discourseandtext 353.2.2.Thedefinitionsofdiscourseandtext 353.2.3.Textandbusinessdocumenttranslation 363.3.Discoursecohesionandcoherence 373.3.1.Conceptsaboutcohesionandcoherence 373.3.2.Relationshipbetweencohesionandcoherence 383.4．Discoursecohesionandcoherenceandbusinessdocumenttranslation 393.5.Theimportanceofdiscoursecohesionandcoherenceinbusinessdocumenttranslation 41Summary 41ChapterFourDiscourseCohesioninBusinessDocumentTranslation 424.1.Categoriesofcohesion 424.2.Grammaticalcohesioninbusinessdocumenttranslation 424.2.1.Referenceinbusinessdocumenttranslation 43.Personalreference 45.Demonstrativereference 46.Comparativereference 474.2.2.Substitutioninbusinessdocumenttranslation 48.Nominalsubstitute 48.Verbalsubstitute 49.Clausalsubstitute 494.2.3.Ellipsisinbusinessdocumenttranslation 504.2.4.Conjunctioninbusinessdocumenttranslation 51.Englishconjunction 51.Chineseconjunction 524.3.Lexicalcohesioninbusinessdocumenttranslation 534.3.1.Reiterationinbusinessdocumenttranslation 54.Repetition 54.Synonym&near-synonym 55.Hyponym 564.3.2.Collocationinbusinessdocumenttranslation 57.Antonyms 58.Oxymoron 59.Part-wholerelation 59Summary 60ChapterFiveDiscourseCoherenceinBusinessDocumentTranslation 615.1.Theimportanceofcoherence 615.2.Functionsofcoherence 625.3.Categoriesofcoherence 635.4.Localcoherenceandbusinessdocumenttranslation 635.4.1.Causeandbusinessdocumenttranslation 645.4.2.Evaluationandbusinessdocumenttranslation 645.4.3.Linkageandbusinessdocumenttranslation 655.4.4.Expansionandbusinessdocumenttranslation 66.ExpansioninEnglish 66.ExpansioninChinese 68.ExamplesofE-Cbusinessdocumenttranslation 69.Summary 705.5.Globalcoherenceandbusinessdocumenttranslation 715.5.1.Macrostructureandbusinessdocumenttranslation 72.Linearorganization&circularorganization 72.AnexampleinE-Cbusinessdocumenttranslation 735.5.2.Mentalmodelandbusinessdocumenttranslation 75Abstractthinkingandconcretethinking 76.Examplesinbusinessdocumenttranslation 76Summary 78Conclusion 79Bibliography 80Appendixes 83Preface0.1.TheobjectofthisresearchThisdissertationhasbeenoneyearinthewriting.Sectionsofithavetwicebeenwritten,hopefullybetterthanthefirstone,whichwaspublishedinForeignLanguageResearchWaiyuXuekan[2008(7)：30-31].Theauthorfeelsthatmuchcontemporaryacademictheoryhaslittletodowiththepracticalitiesofbusinessdocumenttranslationwork.Therefore,inthisthesis,theauthormakespreliminarystudyofbusinessdocumenttranslationfromtheperspectivesofcohesionandcoherenceattextuallevel,expectingtoprovokeinterestinthesubjectwithhisownsuperficialobservationsandbringoutfurtherdiscussionsandmorevaluableideasonbusinessdocumenttranslation.0.2.LiteraturereviewAlthoughtranslationisanoldtopic,thestudyofbusinessdocumenttranslationisanewfield.Soitisanewchallengetostudybusinessdocumenttranslationfromtheperspectivesofcohesionandcoherence.Asdiscourseanalysisisintheearlyage,italsohassomefuzziness.Especially,thestudyofcoherenceisnotfurtherandcomplete.Here，theauthorpointsouttherearenoabsolutesinbusinessdocumenttranslation.Everythingisconditional,andanyprinciplemaybeinoppositiontoanotheroratleasttheremaybetensionbetweenthem.Thebalanceinthisdissertationisnotnecessarilysuperiortothatofothers,butIhavedonemybesttoavoidmakingitexcessivelytheoreticalbyusingexemplificationthatcoversthefactsfromtheanglepresentedinthisdissertation.ItwillalsobenotedthatIdonotprovidepreciseinformationaboutwhereexactlyIfoundspecificexamples(e.g.pagenumbers).0.3.AnoverviewofthedissertationWritingadissertationaboutbusinessdocumenttranslation,Iamawarethatthisisanewprofessionandthatthebodyofknowledgeandofassumptionsthatexistsaboutbusinessdocumenttranslationistentative,oftencontroversialandfluctuating.Thisdissertationwillnotcovereverythinginbusinessdocumenttranslationstudies,notevenallaspectsthatareworthfurtherstudy.ItwillonlyfocusonwhichIconsiderpertinentinthecontextofthisdissertation.Commentsandcriticismarewelcome.ChapterOneBusinessDocumentTranslation1.1.Translationingeneral100yearsago,themajorityoftranslatedtextswerereligious,literary,scientificandphilosophical.Theyweremainlyreadbyeducatedeliteineachcountry.Inthiscentury,translationhasbecomeaforceandaninstrumentofdemocracy.Thesubjectmattertranslatedhasextendedtothewholerangeofhumanknowledge.“Itisimpossibletoobtainanyfiguresaboutthequantityandtheareasofthetotalmassoftranslation.UNESCOpublishesfiguresfortheproductionoforiginalandtranslatedbooks,fromwhichittranspiresthatin1973outofaworldproductionof47,000translatedbooks,literatureoccupied49%,followedbysocialsciences12%,appliedsciences8.5%,geography8%,history7.5%,purescience6%,religion5.5%andartsphilosophywithaslightlylowerpercentage.TheFederalRepublicproducedthehighestpercentageofthesetranslationsat14%followedbySpainat9.5%,USSRat9.4andthenaseriesofcountries,Japan,Italy,USA,FranceandBrazil,eachatunder5%.”(PeterNewmark,2006:16-17)Thesefigureshavetobelookedatwithsomecaution,astheyareallbasedonlyonnumbersofbookstranslated.Ifreports,papers,articles,journals,etc.wereincluded,onecouldperhapsassumeanincreaseofatleastfivefoldintheproportionofappliedsciencetranslationandacorrespondingdecreaseincreativeliteratureaswellasanenormousadditionalquantityofnon-literarymaterial:publicity,patents,notices,instructions,etc.sowecansaytranslationwillincreaseexponentiallywiththespeedofliteracyandeducation,widermeansandchannelsofcommunication,andeventhespreadofforeignlanguagelearning.1.1.1.Whatistranslation?Intranslationstudy,whatistranslationisafundamentalquestion.Translationcanbeclaimedtobeaskill,anart,arecreationandascience.Asaninterdisciplinarystudy,translationinvolveslinguistics,logic,philosophy,etc.Translationfacilitatesmutualunderstandingamongdifferentandevenconflictingracial,ethnic,religiousandculturalgroups,sotheincreaseininternationalcommunicationmakestranslation,especiallybusinesstranslation,moreandmoreimportant.Inthepastcenturies,manytranslatorsandscholarsbothathomeandabroadhaveresearchedontranslationandtriedtodefineitinonewayoranother.Hereisaselectedcollectionofthedefinitions:Translationconsistsinreplacinginthereceptorlanguagetheclosetnaturalequivalentofthesourcelanguage,firstintermsofmeaningandsecondlyintermsofstyle(Nida,2001).Translationisalinguisticactioninwhichonelanguageisemployedtoexpressthecontentofanotherexactlyandcompletely(ZhangPeiji,1980).Translationis“anoperationperformedonlanguages:aprocessofsubstitutingatextinonelanguageforatextinanother”(Catford,1965).Translationisthefaithfulrepresentation,inonelanguage,ofwhatiswrittenorsaidinanotherlanguage(ZhongShukong,1997).Translationconsistsoftransferringthemeaningofthesourcelanguagetothereceptorlanguage;translationisbasicallyachangeofform(Larson,1984).Translationisacraftconsistingintheattempttoreplaceawrittenmessageand/orstatementinonelanguagebythesamemessageand/orstatementinanotherlanguage(Newmark,2001).Eachlanguagehasitsowndistinctivecharacteristics.Whentranslating,onemustcarefullytakeaccountofthepeculiaritiesofthereceptorlanguageandexploititspotentialities,renderfaithfulandyetsmoothtranslationstothegreatestpossibleextent.Topreservethecontentofthemessage,theformmustsometimesbechanged.Thewritersofthesourcelanguageexpecttobeunderstood;andthetranslatormustattempttoreproducethemeaningofapassageasconveyedbythewriter.1.1.2.AgeneralreviewoftranslationThefirsttestimonyoftranslationdatesbackc.6,000years(DelisleandWoodworth1995:7).Ithasconnectedwithmessagesandagreementsintrade,cooperation,andtreaties.Itarguesthatitfallsintosixdifferentperiods,dependentonsocialdevelopmentsinEuropeandtosomeextent,therestoftheworld..Bibleandothertranslationuntilc.1530TheOldTestamentwastranslatedintoGreekforthebenefitoftheJewslivinginAlexandriainthe2ndcenturybeforeChrist;theGreekNewTestamentwastranslatedintoSyrian,Latin,andCopticinthe2ndand3rdcenturies.Duringtheperiodc.330-c.420,theBiblewastranslatedintovariouslanguages,sometimesinafragmentedform,suchasGothicandOldEnglish.Latinwasthedominantsourcelanguageandmosttranslationwasofclassicalworksintovernacularlanguagesortranslationsofscriptures.Translationwasmostlyundertakenbyclericsandthestylewascharacterizedbyaconsiderablefidelitytotheletterofthetext..FromtheLutherReformationtotheFrenchRevolution:c.1530-1790Theincreasingimportanceofthevernacularlanguagesledtotheemergenceofnationalliteraturesandalthoughthetranslationoftheclassicscontinues,therewasalsoliterarytranslationbetweenthevernaculars.Intheliteraryfield,wherethiswaspracticed,itmightcreatenewgenres:theEnglishsonnetwascreatedbymeansoftranslationofItaliansonnets.Duringtheseperiods,literarytranslationwasthepredominantformamongtherelativelyfeweducatedpeopleandwasusuallyfromeitherneighboringcountriesorthedominantcountriesintheregion,andoccasionallyfromoutsideEurope.ArabianNightswastranslatedintoFrench(1704-1717)andfromFrenchtomostothercountriesontheEuropeancontinent..FromtheFrenchRevolutiontotheSecondWorldWar:1789-194018thcenturyEuropesawtheslowemergenceofmiddleclasseswhichcametoconstitutethebourgeoisie.Theytookanactiveinterestineducationfortheirsons.Theyoungmenbecamemoreeducatedandinsofarasforeignlanguageswereconcerned,boththearistocracyandthemiddleclassesfocusedonlearningFrenchalloverEurope.TheFrenchRevolutionultimatelybroughtabouttheNapoleonicWars,whichbroughtmanyyoungmenintopositionswheretheyactedastranslatorsalloverEurope.Thiscalledfortranslationmostlybyliaisonofficersaccordingtotheoldandestablishedrules.ThiscontinuedaftertheWars.Buttherewascertainlyalsochangeintheair.ThefirstimportantonecamearoundtheoutbreakoftheSecondWorldWar,namelythefoundationofschoolsfortrainingtranslatorsinGenevaandVienna.TheSecondWorldWarheraldedanewworldorderfortranslationaswellaspolitics..DecolonizationandtheColdWar:1945-c.1970TheperiodfollowingthewarwaspoliticallydominatedbytheColdWarwhichragedbetweentheformerSovietUnionanditspartnersandtheWestwhichsoonbroughtaboutregionalmilitaryalliances.Atahigherandmorepeacefullevel,thenationsoftheworldcreatedtheirownforumintheUnitedNations.Therewasinternationalcooperationinmanycontextsthatcalledforlinguisticmediation.Professionalsmadetheirappearance,nomatterwhethertheyweretrainedinschools.Inanumberoforganizations,therewerelargenumbersoftranslators.Theyintroducedteamworktoanunprecedenteddegree.TheEuropeannationsgaveuptheirformercolonies,thuscreatingnewnations,whichbegantodeveloptheirownidentitiesandcopedwiththeirlinguisticcomplexities.ThemilitaryandscientificcompetitionbetweenEastandWestledtoattemptstoteachmachinestotranslatesoastoavoidhumanlaborwithlittlesuccess.Translationalactivityalsogotabroaderbasisintermsofentertainment.Theincreaseininternationaltradesawthefirstmultinationalsreplacingnationalfirmsthathadinformationabouttheirproductstranslatedathome..TheexpansionoftheEuropeanUniontotheendoftheColdWar:c.1970-c:1990By1970the3rdgenerationofpeoplewhohadreceivedaformaltrainingenteredtheranksoftranslatorsandinterpreters.Newschoolswerefoundedandtheimportanceofformaltrainingbecamerecognized.AttheUnitedNations,Arabicbecamethe6thofficiallanguage,andtheprecursorofthepresent-dayEuropeanUniongotthesamenumberofofficiallanguagesin1973.TheEuropeanUnioninstitutionsbecameobviousemployersfortranslatorsandinterpretersinEurope.Teamworkbecameevenmorewidespreadandbegantobefoundintranslationagencies.TranslationStudiesemer