语篇功能对等视角下英语商务信函的翻译研究

语篇功能对等视角下英语商务信函的翻译研究AStudyontheTranslationofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceFromthePerspectiveofTextualFunctionalEquivalenceAbstract:EnglishbusinesscorrespondenceplaysanimportantroleinInternationaltrade.Itisthemainwayofcustomercommunicationininternationaltrade,widelyusedinforeigntrade,overseascapitaloperation,internationalfreightandotherbusinessactivities.Itcoversinquiry,negotiation,reply,offer,counter-offer,transaction,paymentmethod,shipmentandotherbusinessdetails.Itisanindispensablecommunicationmediumincommercialactivities.High-qualitytranslationofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceisofgreatimportancetointernationalbusinessactivities.Nowadays,manyresearcheshavestudiedtheapplicationoftherelevanttheoriesoftextualanalysistothetranslationofbusinesscorrespondence.Thetextualfunctioninsystemic-functionalgrammarmainlyinvolveshowtoexpressdiscourseandmeaningthroughtheorganizationoflanguagestructure.Specifically,textualfunctionreferstohowpeopleorganizeinformationandconveytherelationshipbetweenonepieceofinformationandotherinformationwhenusinglanguage.Thetextualfunctionmainlyincludesthreesemanticsystems:thematicstructure(theme-rheme),informationfunction(knowninformation-newinformation)andcohesivesystem.ThepaperstudiesEnglishbusinesscorrespondencefromtheperspectiveoftextualfunctionalequivalence,includingthethreeaspectsofthematicequivalence,informationalequivalenceandcohesiveequivalence.Itisexpectedtoenlightenthedomestictranslatorsinbusinesslettertranslationandcontributetoimprovingthequalityofthetranslationofbusinesscorrespondenceandpromotinginternationalcommunicationandcooperation.Keywords:systemicfunctionallinguistics;textualfunction;Englishbusinesscorrespondence;translationContentsIntroduction1The

Study

of

English

Business

Correspondence22.1DefinitionofEnglishBusinessCorrespondence2

2.2

Linguistic

Features

of

English

Business

Correspondence2

2.2.1

Lexical

Features22.2.2

Syntactic

Features32.2.3

Textual

Features42.3Translation

Principles

of

English

Business

Correspondence62.3.1PrincipleofAccuracyandPreciseness62.3.2PrincipleofProfessionalismandCourtesy63.Theoretical

Framework73.1Ideational

Function

of

Language73.2Interpersonal

Function

of

Language73.3

Textual

Function

of

Language83.3.1

Thematic

Structure83.3.2

Cohesive

Structure93.3.3InformationalStructure104.TextualFunctionalEquivalenceintheTranslationof

English

Business

Correspondence..104.1Thematic

Equivalence

in

theTranslationofBusiness

Correspondence104.2Cohesive

Equivalence

in

theTranslationofBusiness

Correspondence114.3

Informational

Equivalence

in

theTranslationofBusiness

Correspondence135.

Conclusion145.1

Major

FindingsoftheStudy145.2Limitations

of

the

Study15Bibliography16Acknowledgement17ATHESISFORTHEDEGREEOFBACHELOR.IntroductionInternationaltradereferstoallkindsoftradeactivitiessuchascommoditytransactionandtechnicalservicebetweenonecountryorregionandanothercountryorregion.EnglishissignificantinforeigntradeanditiscalledbusinessEnglishinthespecificarea.ThroughbusinessEnglish,translatorscanacquirenewbusinessknowledge,conductsalespromotionandmakeadvertisementsaswellastocarryoutothereffectiveactivities,soastostrengthentheconnectionbetweencountries.Throughinternationalbusinesscorrespondence,businesspeoplecanestablishbusinesscontactwithpotentialpartnersandmaintaingoodrelationshipwitholdcustomers.Ifthereisnobusinesscorrespondence,itwillbemoredifficultforbothsidestocommunicate,whichisnotconducivetotheachievementofcooperation.Therefore,internationalbusinesscorrespondenceisindispensableinforeigntrade.Inaddition,thetranslationofEnglishbusinesscorrespondenceisalsoessentialtointernationalbusinessactivities,becauseitcanaccuratelyconveybusinessinformationandfacilitatecooperationbetweenthetradingparties.Hallidaygroupsthelanguageintothreemeta-functions,namely,ideationalfunction,interpersonalfunctionandtextualfunctioninSystematicFunctionalGrammar.HuZhuanglinbegantostudysystemicfunctionalgrammarwithtranslationtheoriesandpracticesinthelate1980sandthensystemicfunctionalgrammarbegantobewidelyusedinthefieldoftranslationstudiesintheearly1990s.ThispaperaimstostudythetranslationofEnglishbusinesscorrespondencefromtheperspectiveoftextualfunctioninSystematicFunctionalGrammar.Thetextualfunctionmainlyreferstotheorganizationofthediscourseasasemanticunit.Itinvolvesthreeaspects:thematicstructure,cohesivestructureandinformationalstructure.Throughthestudyontheequivalenceofthethreeaspects,itcanbeclearlyseenhowthespeakerorganizesthelanguage,howtoconveythemessage,andhowtomakethelistenerunderstandwhatspeakerwantstoconvey.ItishopedthatthisresearchcanbeofmuchhelpfortranslatorsorbusinessmantobetterunderstandtheconstructionprocessofEnglishbusinesscorrespondence,providereferenceforthetranslationofEnglishbusinesscorrespondenceandachievesuccessfulbusinesscooperation.2.TheStudyofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceBusinessEnglishmeansthelanguageofEnglishusedintheregisterofbusiness.Chen(2008)holdstheviewthatEnglishinvolvedinintroductionoftechnology,investment,internationalfinance,foreigninsurance,internationaltransportationactivitiesandsoonareallreferredtoasbusinessEnglish.Tradeglobalizationisbecomingmoreandmoreprevail,andtheproportionofbusinesscorrespondenceisalsogrowing.2.1DefinitionofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceAnycommunicationintheformoftheletteriscorrespondence.Businessmencancommunicatethoughbusinesscorrespondencetoreachthecooperativeintention."Acorrespondencebetweentwoorganizationsorwithinanorganizationcomesunderthiscategory"(吴,2006:9).Alettertoasupplier,complaintletters,lettersofinquiry,jobapplicationlettersaresomeofitsexamples.BusinessEnglishcorrespondenceusuallyincludesestablishingbusinessrelations,inquiry,offer,counter-offerandacceptance,order,insurance,shipment,claim,etc.2.2LinguisticFeaturesofEnglishbusinessCorrespondenceGoodcommunicationcanhelpacompanybuildagoodbusinessimageandpromotetradecooperation.Otherwise,itwillbringnegativeinfluencetothecompanyandmakebusinessactivitiesfail.SothelinguisticfeaturesofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceneedtobenoticed.Inthispart,thefeaturesofbusinessEnglishwillbediscussedonthelevelofvocabulary,syntax,anddiscourse.2.2.1LexicalFeaturesFirstly,thelanguageusedinEnglishbusinesscorrespondenceisgenerallyformalonthelexicallevel.Forexample,WearepleasedtoadviseyouthatyourorderNo.105hasbeendispatchedinaccordancewithyourinstruction.Theword“dispatch”andthephrase“inaccordancewith”usedinthebusinessEnglishcorrespondencearemoreformalthantheusualwords“send”and“accordingto”.Secondly,businessEnglishiswidelyusedinvarioustradeactivities,economics,marketingandsomeotherfields,andeachareahasitsownprofessionalterms.Forexample,Ihavebeenreviewingthebudgetandafewthingsworryme.Yourinformationastothecoverageyouwouldlikewouldbeappreciated.Theword“budget”belongstoprofessionalterm,whichappearsintrade.Inthelatterexample,theoriginalmeaningof"coverage"is"覆盖"，butinthissentence,itsmeaningis“险种/险别".Thirdly,theuseofabbreviationcansavealotoftimeandspace.Itissuitableforhighefficiencyofmodernbusinessactivities.Forexample,Wewouldliketoplaceanorderwithyoufor1000caseseachofNo.77and100at$5and$6percaseFOBShanghairespectively.ButnoteverybreakageisincludedinthisWPA.Inthesetwosentences,FOBrepresents"freeonboard",whichmeans"离岸价"inChinese.ThefullformofWPAis"withparticularaverage",whichmeans"单独海损赔偿".Bothofthemusetheabbreviationhere.2.2.2SyntaxFeaturesFirstly,compoundsentenceisthetypicalfeatureofcorrespondence.Itcanexpressthecomplexlogicalrelations.Forexample,GoodsofadangerousordamagingnaturemustbetenderedforshipmentunlesswrittennoticeoftheirnatureandthenameandtheaddressoftheSenderhavebeenpreviouslygiventotheCarrierMasteroragentofthevesselandthenatureisdistinctlymarkedontheoutsideofthepackageorpackagesasrequiredbystatute.Theparagraphabovehasonlyonesentencejoinedby“and”.Andthereisaconditionaladverbialclauseintheprecedingclauseguidedby“unless”.Althoughthesentenceislong,itsstructureconveysclearlywhattheauthoristryingtosay.Secondly,theuseofdeclarativesentenceisfrequentinEnglishbusinesscorrespondence.Forexample,WeshouldbeobligedforyourimmediateamendmentoftheL/Ctoenableustomaketimelyshipment.Thisisadeclarativesentenceusedtoexpectthebuyertotakethedesiredaction,thatis,toamendtheL/C.Thirdly,therearemanyestablishedformats,whichareacceptedwidelyinbusinessactivities.Forexample,Inreplytoyourletterof+date…Enclosedwehand/Enclosedpleasefind/Weareenclosing…Wearepleasedtoinformyou…Fourthly,passivestructureisfrequentlyusedinEnglishbusinesscorrespondence.Comparedwiththeactivevoice,thepassivevoicemakesthemoodmoreeuphemistic,implicitandobjective.Forexample,Itishopedthattheofferismadeassoonaspossible.WeshallbeobligedifyouwillletusknowyourlowestCIFNewYorkpricefor100setsofyourclassicalfurnitureNo.628.Intheabovesentences,thepassiveform"itishopedthat"and"beobliged"areusedtoexpresstherequirementsoftheotherparty.2.2.3TextualFeaturesHu(2017)definesdiscourseasanynaturalunitthatexpressescompletesemanticsinacertaincontextandisnotcompletelyconstrainedbysentencegrammar."Itspurposeistoachievespecificcommunicativetasksorcompletecertainbehaviorsthroughthemediumoflanguage"(胡,1994:37).First,apoliteandwell-wordedbusinesslettercanhelpacompanybuildagoodbusinessimageandthenmakeagooddeal.Politelanguagecanbeusedinbusinesscorrespondencetoquietlyrefuserequestorconditiontomaintainfriendlybusinessrelations.Forexample,Willyougiveusmoredetailedinformationonyourrequirement?Weshouldbegratefulifyouwouldhelpuswithyoursuggestion.Wouldyoupleasesendusacorrectbillassoonaspossible？Second,considerationplaysanimportantroleinbusinessactivities.Putyourselfinanotherparty'splacetogiveconsiderationtohisorhervariedwishes,demand,interestanddifficulties,inordertogettheotherside'sfavorandachievethedesiredgoal.Forexample,Youcanenjoytwopercentdiscountwhenyoupayincash.Third,correctnessmeanstobeaccurate,especiallytherelevantdataorspecificinformation.Forexample,Theofferisopenforfivedaysinclusiveofthedateofdispatch.Thissentenceismorecorrectthan“Theofferisopenforfivedays.”Fourth,completenessplaysasignificantroleincorrespondence.Acompletecorrespondencecanprovidemoredetailsabouttheproduct,andthebuyercangetvalidinformationfromthecorrespondence.Forexample,Wouldyoupleasequoteusapriceoneyour71*81reversiblewoolblankets15%wooland85%cotton,boundwithrayonsatin?Fifth,claritymeansavoidusingwordsthatmayhavedifferentmeanings.Avague,ill-wordedlettercanleadtomisunderstandingsandambiguities,andevenlossoftrade.Forexample,AstothesteamerssailingfromHongkongtoSanFrancisco,wehavebimonthlydirectservices.Here"bimonthly"maybepuzzling,forthemeaningofitmaybewhether"twiceamonth"or"onceeverytwomonths".Sixth,concisenessrequirespeopletouseaminimumlistoflanguagetoexpresstherichestcontent.Forexample,Wearesorrywecannotmeetyourpresentorder.Seventh,concretenessmeansbeingspecific,definite,andvividratherthanvagueandgeneral(莫,2006).Forexample,ThegoodsshallbeshippedperM.V.“HONGXING”on15thJulyandareduetoarriveatBremenPortin60days.Heretheexampleconcretelyexpressesthemethodandtimeofdelivery.2.3TranslationPrinciplesofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceAsacarrierofinformation,businessEnglishcorrespondencehasitsownuniqueadvantages.However,duetothedifferencesinculture,customsandthinkingpatterns,itiseasytocauseobstacleswhentranslating.Therefore,translatorsneedtoclearlyunderstandthetranslationprinciplesofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.2.3.1PrincipleofAccuracyandPrecisenessIntheprocessofpractice,translatorsmaynotbeabletoaccuratelytranslatetheoriginaltextduetothelimitationsoftheirownprofessionalknowledge,whichmayleadtodisputes.Asbusinesscorrespondenceisrelatedtobusinesstransactions,itinevitablyinvolvesalotofbusinesstermsandabbreviations,businessEnglishtranslatorsarerequiredtofollowtheprincipleofaccuracy.Whilebusinesscommunicationneedtobeefficient,precisenessisrequired.Therefore,translatorsmustabidebytheprinciplesofaccuracyandprecisenesstomeettheneedsofcommunication.Forexample,WehaveobtainedyournameandaddressfromtheSingaporeChamberofCommercewhohavetoldusthatyouwishtoimportelectricgoodsmanufacturedinChina.译:我方从新加坡商会获悉贵公司的名称和地址，并得知贵公司希望进口中国制造的电器产品。Thesourceofthecompany'snameandaddresscanbeaccuratelyobtained,andthewriter'spurposecanbeknownpreciselyfromthetranslationofcorrespondence.2.3.2PrincipleofProfessionalismandCourtesyInthebackgroundofglobalization,thedifferencesindifferentcultures,customsandlifestylesbringgreatdifficultiestothetranslationofbusinessEnglish.Therefore,onlybyensuringtheprofessionalismoftranslationcantheintentionofbothpartiesbeaccuratelyconveyed.What'more,translatorsshouldfollowtheprincipleofcourtesy,soastolayagoodfoundationforbilateralcooperation.Forexample,Yourearlyreplywouldbehighlyappreciated.译:如能早日回复，将不胜感激。SellerisboundtoreimburseBuyerforanylosssustainedtherefrom.译:卖方有义务赔偿买方因此而遭受的任何损失。Thetranslationofthefirstsentenceispoliteanditcanleaveagoodimpression.Theninthetranslationofthesecondone,theword"reimburse"istranslatedinto"赔偿".Bothofthembelongtoprofessionalterms.3.TheoreticalFramework"Systemicfunctionallinguisticsgeneralizeandabstractthelanguageintothreemeta-functions:ideationalfunctiontoexpresstheexperiencemeaning;interpersonalfunctiontoestablishandmaintaintheexchangeswithlanguageusers;textualfunctiontoconstructsemanticcoherence"(Butt&Fahey&Spinks,2000:2).Inthispart,thethreemeta-functionswillbeintroduced.3.1IdeationalFunctionofLanguageTheideationalfunctionreferstothecontentofaconversation,thatis,people'ssubjectiveexperienceandobjectiveexperience.Ideationincludesexperientialpartandlogicalpart(胡,2007).Experienceisabouttheinformationoftheenvironmentandtheparticipants,andthelogicalpartistheinformationprovidedbythepermutationrelationbetweendiscourses,suchasjuxtaposition,transition,causeandeffect,conditionandsoon.Theideationalfunctioncorrespondstothevariouscomponentsofourexperience,suchasagent,process,andgoal,whicharealsothecontentsofourexperience.3.2InterpersonalFunctionofLanguageLanguageisatoolforpeopletocarryoutsocialcommunication,sooneofitsfunctionsistoreflecttherelationshipbetweenpeople(Halliday,1994)."Tobespecific,itrepresentstherolerelationship,statusandintimacyrelationshipbetweencommunicators,communicators'tone,attitude,thepossibilityofoccurrenceofthingsandtheoccurrenceoffrequencyofjudgmentandevaluation.Thisfunctioniscalledtheinterpersonalfunction＂(Butt&Fahey&Spinks,2000:16).Itcanberealizedbymoodandmodality.Moodshowswhatrolethespeakerselectsinthespeechsituationandwhatroleheassignstotheaddressee.Ifthespeakerselectstheimperativemood,heassumestheroleofonegivingcommandsandputstheaddresseeintheroleofoneexpectedtoobeyorders.Modalityspecifiesifthespeakerisexpressinghisjudgmentormakingaprediction.Throughinterpersonalfunctionthespeakermakeshimselfinvolvedinascenariocontext,expresseshisattitudeandassumption,andattemptstoinfluencethehearer'sattitudeandbehavior.3.3TextualFunctionofLanguageAccordingtoHalliday,thetextualfunctionreferstothefactthat"languagehasmechanismstomakeanystretchofspokenorwrittendiscourseintoacoherentandunifiedtextandmakealivingpassagedifferentfromarandomlistofsentences"(胡,1994:9)."Twosentencesmayhaveexactlythesameideationalandinterpersonalfunctions,buttheymaybedifferentintermsoftextualcoherence"(赵,2002:31).Thetextualfunctionincludesthematicstructure,cohesivestructureandinformationalstructure.3.3.1ThematicStructure"Theme-RhemesystemisdevelopedinSystemicFunctionalGrammartorealizethetextualfunctionofthetext.Themeandrhemearethetwotermsofactualdivision,whichwerefirstproposedin1939byoneoftheimportantfoundersofPragueSchool,Mathesius.HallidayinheritstheterminologyofThemeandRhemefromMathesius"(李,2002:9).Thethemeissituatedatthebeginningofadiscourseandthefirstelementofasentence.Therhemeiswhatissaidaroundthetheme,whichisoftenthecorecontentofdiscourse.Thethematicstructureisdesignedtoanalyzediscoursecoherence,showingthewayinwhichtheThemeandRhemearelinkedwithinatext,intheformofagradedstructure.Accordingtothecomplexityofitsstructure,HallidaydividestheThemeintosimpleTheme,multipleTheme,andclausalTheme(胡,2016)."TherearetwoconceptstoexpressthemarkednessofTheme,unmarkedandmarked.SubjectisthenormalThemechoice.ItisthereforesaidtobetheunmarkedTheme.IfaThemeissomethingotherthanthesubjectinadeclarativeclause,itcanbeseenasamarkedTheme"(Halliday,1994:44).Inotherwords,inthesamegrammaticalunit,anunmarkeditemisacommonandfrequentchoice,andthemarkeditemischosenforspecialreasons.Inthediscourse,therearefourmodesofthematicprogression:Thefirstoneispolymertype,whereThemesofseveralsentencesaredifferent,buttheRhemeisconsistent.Thesecondoneisradiationtype.Contrarytothepolymertype:theThemeofseveralsentencesisthesamewhileRhemearedifferent.Thenextoneisladdertype,theThemeofthefollowingsentenceistheRhemeoftheprevioussentence.Thelastoneiscross-type,theThemeandtheRhemeofthelattersentencearecrossorpartlycrosswiththeThemeandRhemeoftheprevioussentence(胡,2007).3.3.2CohesiveStructureCohesion,thegrammaticalorlexicalrelationshipbetweenvariouscomponentsofadiscourseisasemanticone.＂Itreferstorelationsofmeaningthatexistwithinthetext,andthatdefineitasatext＂(Brown&Yule,1983:60).Itconnectsallkindsofcomponentswhicharenotrelevantonthediscoursestructurebutinterdependentonthesemanticlevel.Whenthemeaningofacomponentinthediscoursedependsontheinterpretationoftheothercomponents,cohesiverelationshipisproduced.Halliday(1976)holdsthatcohesionexistswithinatext,makingitthemeaningrelationshipofacoherenttext.Cohesionmakesdiscoursecoherentbymeansofgrammarandvocabulary,whicharedividedintogrammaticaldevicesandlexicaldevices.Andgrammaticaldevicesincludereference,substitution,ellipsisandconjunction,whilethelexicaldevicesincludereiterationandcollocation.3.3.3InformationalStructureTheinformationtheorywasfirstintroducedintophonologicalresearchbythePragueschool.Inthe1960s,Hallidaycombinedtextualfunctionwithtextualstructure(赵,2002).Informationstructureistoorganizespeechintoinformationunits.Informationcommunicationistheinteractionbetweenknowninformationandunknowninformationintheprocessofspeechactivities.Knowninformationissomethingthathasalreadybeenpresentinorbasedonverbalactivity.Newinformationisanelementthathasnotyetappearedorisdifficulttodeterminebycontext.Forexample,ThankyouforyourletterNoA-3of6thMay,offeringus6UI-4Viewdatas.WehavepasseditontoourTechnicalDepartmentfortheirconsiderations.Heretheword"it"canbeseenasknowninformation,foritrepresentstheletterappearedintheprevioussentence.Informationcanbeidentifiedastwoaspects:oneisthetone,andtheprominentpartofthetoneisoftentheheartofinformation;anotheristhecontext,andtheexactlocationofthenewinformationcanbeinferredaccordingtothecontext.4.TextualFunctionalEquivalenceintheTranslationofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceThispartstudieshowthetranslationofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceachievesequivalencefromtheaspectsofthematic,cohesiveandinformationalstructure.4.1ThematicEquivalenceintheTranslationofEnglishBusinessCorrespondence"InMathsius'sconceptoftheme,asentencecanbesemanticallydividedintothreeparts:thetheme,therhemeandthetransition"(李,2002:67).Thethemeisthestartingpointofdiscourse,andtherhemeiswhatissaidaroundthetheme,whichisoftenthecorecontentofdiscourse.Theconceptofthemeisanimportantconceptindiscoursefunction.Forexample(TrepresentsTheme),Theproduct(T)willfindagoodmarketinUSA.译:这种产品在美国销路很好。Thisisanexampleofsimpletheme,whichhasonlyoneconceptualfunction.IntheEnglishversion,thethemeis"theproduct".IntheChinesetranslation,thethemeis"这种产品".Therefore,thetranslatedtextandtheoriginaltexthavethesameTheme-Rhemeflow.We(T)shallbemostgratefulifyouwillintroducehimtoreliablemanufacturesandgivehimanyhelporadvicehemayneed.译:若你能给他介绍可靠的生产商并向他提供所需的帮助，我们将不胜感激。IntheEnglishversion,thetheme"we"istransferredintorheme"我们"intheChineseversion,whiletherheme"you"inEnglishbecomesthethemeoftheChinesetranslation"你".Theoriginaltextandthetranslatedtextcanalsoachieveequivalencebyconversionofthemeandrheme.(3)Ifyoucome(T)Iwillbeattheairporttomeetyourflightandtakeyoustraighttoyourhotelsothatyoucancheckinandfreshenup.译:如果你到了，我会去接机并直接带您去宾馆，这样你就可以直接入住并休息了。Thisisapartoftheitinerary."Ifyoucome"isaclausaltheme.Itistranslatedinto"如果你到了",whichisalsoaclausaltheme.4.2CohesiveEquivalenceintheTranslationofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceTextualcohesionreferstotheexpressionofvariouslogicalrelationsbyusingconjunction,adverbial,prepositionphrases,etc.(胡,2016).Inbusinesscorrespondence,thelogicalrelationbetweendifferentcohesivecomponentsiscomparativelyfrequent.Hallidaydividescohesionintotwotypes:grammaticalcohesion,includingreference,substitutionandellipsis,andlexicalcohesion,includingreiterationandcollocation(Butt&Fahey&Spinks,2000).Forexample,(4)Thankyouforoffering500metrictonsofgoodsat$500permetrictonCFRTianjin,usualterms.Inreply,weregrettostatethatourendusersfindyourpricetoohigh.Informationindicatesthatsomeparcelshavebeensoldatthelevelof$450permetricton.Thus,itisimpossibleforustopersuadeourenduserstoacceptyourprice,asmaterialofsimilarqualityiseasilyobtainableatalowerfigure.Shouldyoureduceyourlimit,wemightcometoterms.Itisinviewofourlong-standingbusinessrelationshipthatwemakeyousuchacounter-offer.Asthemarketisdeclining,wehopeyouwillconsiderourcounter-offermostfavorablyandcableusacceptanceatyourearliestconvenience.译:谢谢你方报500公吨货，每公吨成本加运费天津价500美元，通常条件。作为答复，我们遗憾地告诉你方，我方用户认为你方价格太高。资料显示，一些包裹的售价为每公吨450美元。因此，我们不可能说服我们的最终用户接受你方的价格，因为同样质量的材料很容易以较低的价格获得。如果你降低你的限额，我们可能会达成协议。鉴于我们之间长期的业务关系，我们才作出这样的还盘。由于市场正在下跌，我们希望贵方能考虑我们的还盘，并给予最优惠的价格，并在方便时尽早电告我方接受。Thisisacounter-offercorrespondence.IntheEnglishversion,thereare"we","you","your"and"our",andtheyaretranslatedinto"我""你""你们的""我们的".Allofthembelongtoreference.Then"similar"and"lower"aretranslatedinto"同样"and"较低"inChinese.Theyusethedeviceofcomparativereferencetoachieveequivalence.Next,intheEnglishversion,theword"parcels"substitutes"goods",whichappearsinthefirstparagraph.TheChineseversionuses"包裹"tosubstitute"货物".Hereitemploysthedeviceofsubstitutiontoachieveequivalence.IntheEnglishversion,theword"counter-offer"repeatstwice,andinChinese"还盘"alsorepeatstwice.Itusesthedeviceofreiterationtoachievecohesiveequivalence.Whenitcomestodeviceofcollocation,intheEnglishversion,thephrase"inviewof"and"long-standingbusinessrelationship"canfinditsequivalenceinChinese"鉴于"和"长期业务关系".Fromtheaboveexample,thecohesiveequivalencecanbefoundinthetranslationofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence,whichmakestheoriginaltextandthetranslatedtextmorecoherent.4.3InformationalEquivalenceintheTranslationofEnglishBusinessCorrespondenceInformationreferstothemessagethatthespeakerpassestothehearer.Inthelinguisticsense,informationisproducedbythealternationbetweentheoldandthenewinformation.InformationstructureisformedbytheinformationunitsconsistingofGiveninformationandNewinformationwhichaffecteachother.Sotheinformationunitisastructurethatconsistsofnewinformationandknowninformation(Halliday,1994).Thetendencyinnaturallanguageisthattheelementcarriesthelowestdegreeofcommunicativevalue(oftenGiveninformation)locatesintheinitialpositionofthesentence(Theme),whiletheelementthatcarriesthehighestdegree(oftenNewinformation)occupiesthefinalposition(Rheme).Forexample,(5)Fullinformationastoprices,quality,quantityavailableandotherrelativeparticularswouldbeappreciated.译:请详告价格，质量，可供数量和其他有关情况。IntheEnglishversion,＂Fullinformationastoprice,quality,quantityavailableandotherrelativeparticulars＂canbeseenasthenewinformation.IntheChineseversion,"价格，质量，可供数量和其他有关情况"isalso