商務(wù)英語(yǔ)信函翻譯方法與技巧【畢業(yè)論文】

1、<p><b>　　本科畢業(yè)論文</b></p><p><b>　　（20 屆）</b></p><p><b>　　英語(yǔ)</b></p><p>　　商務(wù)英語(yǔ)信函翻譯方法與技巧</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>

2、;　　Business English is a branch of English language system. It refers to the special English that serves for international business routines. The specific way of information transmitting in business activities needs the

3、specific features of business English.</p><p>　　Along with the rapid development of global economy integration, international business routines are more and more frequent and, business English, as a language

4、 tool for international economic exchange and business routines, has a new type of comprehensive subject. Business English plays an important role in our national economy reform and innovation, and the business English t

5、ranslation is a bridge connecting English and Chinese. Business English translators should have strong awareness of the l</p><p>　　Business English practical translation includes the translation of business

6、letters, business contracts, business English advertisement and trademark and so on. Being familiar with these pragmatically translations, business English translators can deal well with the tasks in different business s

7、ets. And a business English translator should learn the linguistic features of business English and explore its translation principles so as to translate a business English text successfully. </p><p>　　Busin

8、ess Letter</p><p>　　The unique characteristics of business letters</p><p>　　Business Letter is different from routine letters. Writing for a business audience is usually quite different from wri

9、ting in the humanities, social sciences, or other academic disciplines. Business writing strives to be crisp and succinct rather than evocative or creative; it stresses specificity and accuracy. This distinction does not

10、 make business writing superior or inferior to other styles. Rather, it reflects the unique purpose and considerations involved when writing in a business context</p><p>　　When write a business document, you

11、 must assume that your audience has limited time to read it and is likely to skim. Your readers have an interest in what you say so far as it affects their working world. They want to know the "bottom line": th

12、e point you are making about a situation or problem and how they should respond.</p><p>　　Business writing varies from the conversational style often found in email messages to the more formal, legalistic st

13、yle found in contracts. A style between these two extremes is appropriate for the majority of memos, emails, and letters. Writing that is too formal can alienate readers, and an attempt to be overly casual may come acros

14、s as insincere or unprofessional. In business writing, as in all writing, you must know your audience.</p><p>　　In most cases, the business letter will be the first impression that you make on someone. Thoug

15、h business writing has become less formal over time, you should still take great care that your letter's content is clear and that you have proofread it carefully. </p><p>　　The different types of busine

16、ss letters</p><p>　　From the style formalization and the importance degree of content, there are two kinds of business letter----Official letter and Memo. </p><p>　　An official letter is a forma

17、l communication done in writing that is, written according to fixed, explicit, and definite convention, rules, customs, or format.</p><p>　　The official letter is intended to voice person or, usually, the en

18、tity that issued it, like Federal or Governmental agencies, public or private companies. An official letter is usually considered as a binding letter.</p><p>　　The opposite of an official letter is an inform

19、al letter, which is not or less formal, and usually shorter. Thus, an informal letter is not entity who wrote it. It is considered as an informational-only, non-binding letter. Sometimes we call it memo.</p><p

20、>　　A memo is an internal document that is generally short, focus on a single topic, reports information, makes a request or recommends action. It follows specific forms, depending on the organization.</p><p

21、>　　From the operation process, there are some types as follow:</p><p>　　a. Establishing Business Relations</p><p>　　b. Enquires and offers</p><p>　　c. Making counter - offers and

22、 Declining Orders</p><p>　　d. Conclusion of Business</p><p>　　e. Payment</p><p>　　f. Establishment of and Amendment L / C</p><p>　　g. Advising shipment</p><p

23、>　　h. Insurance</p><p>　　i. Complaints and Claims （Qiyunfang, 2002）</p><p>　　Linguistic Features of Business English Correspondence</p><p>　　Lexical features</p><p>

24、　　Simple Words</p><p>　　Since businessmen should write business letters with efficiency, simple words are applicable to achieve this goal. Another reason is related with the way of information transmitting i

25、n business routines which has been regarded as the most important part of business; using simple words also do well for people to communicate, to catch the words immediately, while complex words or rare words are hard to

26、 understand. So it is understandable for businessmen to use simple words rather than complex word</p><p>　　Some examples are as follows:</p><p>　　complex or rare words simpl

27、e words</p><p>　　account for by the fact that caused by</p><p>　　add the point that add that</p><p>　　at a price of $ 10

28、 at $ 10</p><p>　　attempts try</p><p>　　deliberation thought</p><p>　　in the majority of cases

29、 most</p><p>　　tangible real</p><p>　　visualize see</p><p>　　(Qiyunfang, 2002)</p><p>　　Abundance of bus

30、iness terms and abbreviated expression</p><p>　　Business terms plays an important role in business English .It is the primal task for business English translators to know some business terms. It will influen

31、ce the business English translation, which the author will analyze in the next chapter.</p><p>　　Abbreviations are largely used in business letters because they can carry plenty of information and make the t

32、ranslation more efficient. There are 3 types of abbreviations including acronyms, clipped word and blended words.</p><p>　　For example, </p><p>　　WTO(World Trade Organization）</p><p&g

33、t;　　IMF (International Monetary Fund</p><p>　　USD (United States Dollars,美元)</p><p>　　CNY (China Yuan,人民幣)</p><p>　　FCL(Full Container Load)整箱貨</p><p>　　LCL(Less than C

34、ontainer Load)拼箱貨</p><p>　　F.P.A.(Free from Particular Average)平安險(xiǎn)</p><p>　　W.P.A.(With Particular Average)水漬險(xiǎn)</p><p>　　T.P.N.D.(Theft, Pilferage and Non—delivery)盜竊、提貨不著險(xiǎn)</p>

35、<p>　　AAMA (Administrative Aspects of Market Access) 市場(chǎng)準(zhǔn)入的行政管理措施</p><p>　　CEM (Contractual Equipment Manufacturer) 合同制造商</p><p>　　EVA (economic value added) 經(jīng)濟(jì)附加值</p><p>　　IN

36、Rs (Initial Negotiating Rights) 最初談判權(quán) </p><p>　　(Hutchinson,Waters, 2002)</p><p>　　The Variability of Words’ Meaning </p><p>　　In business English text, the same word can be interp

37、reted in different meaning according to different contexts, which is the variability of business English words’ meaning. </p><p><b>　　Such as:</b></p><p>　　Just as in that year, when

38、 those catastrophes were followed by substantial increases in insurance premiums, insures are already lobbying for rate relief.</p><p>　　就像那年的情況一樣，大災(zāi)之后保險(xiǎn)金大幅度提高，現(xiàn)在保險(xiǎn)公司已經(jīng)在游說(shuō)希望減免地方稅。</p><p>　　Durin

39、g the 1980’s the large premiums paid in acquisition often resulted in prices that greatly exceeded the value of tangible asset.</p><p>　　20 世紀(jì) 80 年代，并購(gòu)中支付的大額溢價(jià)常常導(dǎo)致價(jià)格遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)有形資產(chǎn)的價(jià)值。</p><p>　　In the

40、first sentence, the word premium means insurance expenses（保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)）. In the second sentence, the word premium means the practical price over the face value（溢價(jià)）.</p><p>　　Liquidity refers to the ability of investo

41、rs to exchange a financial asset, such as a bond or a share, for cash. </p><p>　　資產(chǎn)折現(xiàn)力是指投資者將債券或股票等金融資產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)換為現(xiàn)金的能力。</p><p>　　Place goods in bond. </p><p>　　將（未完稅的）貨物存入關(guān)棧。</p><

42、;p>　　(Panhong, 2004)</p><p>　　In the first sentence, the word bond means debenture certificate(債券). In the second sentence, the word bond means the goods in the bonded warehouse（保稅倉(cāng)庫(kù)中的貨物）.</p><

43、p>　　In addition, it is common for businessmen to use slangs in business letters. Translators should pay more attention to slangs and to clarify them so as to eliminate obstacles during communicating. </p><p

44、><b>　　Such as: </b></p><p>　　As I was about to say, I move that we table the discussion until our next meeting when everyone is present.

45、 </p><p>　　我建議將討論推遲到下次每個(gè)人都參加會(huì)議時(shí)再進(jìn)行。</p><p>　　Here, move means suggest（建

46、議） , table the discussion means to postpone the meeting</p><p>　　Can you come down a little?</p><p>　　你能再降低一點(diǎn)價(jià)格嗎？</p><p>　　Here, come down means knock down the price （壓低價(jià)格）</p

47、><p>　　(Yangfang, 2004)</p><p>　　3.1.4 Vivid and Metaphorical Words</p><p>　　With the frequent communication and development between countries, some vivid and metaphorical words have b

48、een found to indicate special business phenomenon and behavior. </p><p>　　For example,</p><p>　　big name，big-name company means 金字招牌；</p><p>　　Heavy weight means 重量級(jí)公

49、司；</p><p>　　Bellwether，its original meaning is 領(lǐng)頭羊，but in business English it means 業(yè)界領(lǐng)袖人物，領(lǐng)跑者。</p><p>　　Specialized Vocabulary</p><p>　　There are a lot of technical terms and loan

50、words in business letter which make business letters different from general letters. All of our business translators should be able to translation databanks, dictionaries and proprietary lists of industry terms, to ensur

51、e that translation is both accurate and consistent across even the largest projects. </p><p>　　For example,</p><p>　　insurance policy(保險(xiǎn)單 )</p><p>　　coverage (險(xiǎn)別 )</p><p&

52、gt;　　premium (保險(xiǎn)費(fèi) )</p><p>　　under writer (保險(xiǎn)人 ) </p><p>　　establishment (開(kāi)證 ) </p><p>　　counter - off(還盤(pán) ) </p><p>　　bid (遞盤(pán) ) </p><p>　　Performa invoice

53、(形式發(fā)票 )</p><p>　　irrevocable letter of credit (不可撤銷(xiāo)信用證 )</p><p>　　Letter of Guarantee(銀行保函)</p><p>　　經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的demand curve(需求曲線)</p><p>　　corporate charter(公司章程) </p>

54、<p>　　These technical terms are frequently used in business letters at all stages so it is important to know the connotative meaning in the process of translation.</p><p>　　For example,</p><

55、;p>　　Industrial averages were up.</p><p>　　譯文:工業(yè)股票的平均價(jià)格在上漲。</p><p>　　In this sentence, industrial average means stock’s average price.</p><p>　　We have drawn on you for this invo

56、ice a mount at sight through the Bank of Nigeria, who have been instructed to hand over documents against payment of the draft.</p><p>　　drawn on you向你方開(kāi)匯票；at sight means即期；document is 單據(jù)；draft is 匯票 not 草稿.

57、 </p><p>　　Document against payment（付款交單。）</p><p>　　Against means “對(duì)應(yīng)”、“反對(duì)”，but in business English，against has a special meaning，we should understand the contextual meaning. </p><p&

58、gt;　　The seller is asked to draw a draft on with the bank of London.</p><p>　　買(mǎi)方要求賣(mài)方在倫敦銀行開(kāi)立匯票。</p><p>　　In general English, draw means “take out”, but in business English it means “making draft”

59、.</p><p>　　In the meantime we look forward to your shipping advice.</p><p>　　Shipping advice means giving notice, not recommendation.</p><p>　　As business English is characterized b

60、y simple words, abundance of business terms and the variability of words’ meaning, the translator should have a good command of these features, and the influence of these features on translation is apparent.</p>&

61、lt;p>　　Syntactic features</p><p>　　3.2.1 Concise sentences</p><p>　　Concise sentences are conducive to transmitting information and play an important role in a business context. It is more co

62、nvenient for businessmen to use concise sentences in business, either oral or written language. It saves time and, more importantly, avoids misunderstanding.</p><p>　　For example:</p><p>　　We ar

63、e a dealership chain specializing in personal computers. We were first established in Hong Kong in 1980. We now have a steady clientele in both the business and educational sectors. (Zhangjunming, 2004)</p><p&

64、gt;　　本公司是一家專營(yíng)電腦的特許經(jīng)銷(xiāo)連鎖商。本公司于 1980 年創(chuàng)立于香港。本公司現(xiàn)有的固定客戶涉及商業(yè)和教育領(lǐng)域。</p><p><b>　　Dear Sir,</b></p><p>　　One of our customers is interested in your bicycles, Model NO.PA – 18. Please send us

65、 a copy of your illustrated catalogue, quoting your prices FOB Shanghai if possible, Meanwhile, p lease in2dicate the time of delivery you usually offer.</p><p>　　Yours, faithfully.</p><p>　　我方客

66、戶對(duì)貴方 PA - 18型自行車(chē)感興趣。請(qǐng)郵來(lái)一份帶插圖的目錄本 ,若有可能報(bào)上海離岸價(jià) ,并告知你方通常的交付時(shí)間。( Foreign Trade English, 1998)</p><p>　　We use simple words to express the meaning directly in order to avoid misunderstanding.</p><p>

67、　　3.2.2 Set collocations</p><p>　　Businessmen have established many polite set collocations by popular usage. These polite sentences have been accepted through common practice. To use these sentences also co

68、ntribute to standardize business letters. Such as:</p><p>　　For your reference, we are enclosing a few copies of leaflets, and will send you samples under separate cover.</p><p>　　茲隨函附上幾份說(shuō)明書(shū)并另寄樣

69、品，供你方參考。</p><p>　　Please inform us what special offer you can make us.</p><p>　　請(qǐng)告貴公司能給多少特價(jià)優(yōu)惠。</p><p>　　We will adhere to this offer for two weeks.</p><p>　　我方報(bào)價(jià)兩周內(nèi)有效。&

70、lt;/p><p>　　( Qiyunfang, 2002)</p><p>　　3.2.3 Logical Expressions</p><p>　　The logic expression is prominently featured in business English documents and contracts, especially in the e

71、xpression about time and number.</p><p>　　For example:</p><p>　　The goods shall be shipped per M.V. “Dong Feng” on November 10 and are due to arrive at Rotterdam in 140 days. </p><p&g

72、t;　　貨物須于 11 月 10 日裝上“東風(fēng)”號(hào)貨輪，并在 140 天內(nèi)抵達(dá)鹿特丹港。</p><p>　　Here, it must use the preposition in to express the meaning about several days later rather than the preposition after. Because the preposition after can

73、 not exactly define the day on which day the goods will arrive.</p><p>　　Party A shall be unauthorized to accept any orders or to collect any account on and after September 20.</p><p>　　未經(jīng)許可，在 9

74、 月 20 號(hào)之后（含 20 號(hào)）， A 方無(wú)權(quán)接受任何訂單或者募集任何資金。</p><p>　　Here, on and after means before September 20 and including 20th.</p><p>　　Our terms are cash within three months, i.e. on or before May 1.</p&

75、gt;<p>　　請(qǐng)?jiān)谌齻€(gè)月之內(nèi)（在 5 月 1 日之前包括 5 月 1 日）付清我們的貨款。</p><p>　　Here, on or before means before May 1 and including May 1 That is, the last day is May 1.</p><p>　　Textual Features</p><

76、;p>　　3.3.1 Plain Style</p><p>　　Usually, it is not common to use rhetorical devices in business English letters. Actually, most business letters tend to adopt a plain style.</p><p>　　For exam

77、ple:</p><p>　　I am requested by the Import and Export Department to inform you that the 150 tons of coal ordered from your company one month ago have not been delivered. Will you be so kind as to institute e

78、nquiries concerning this non-delivery? It will be appreciated that you give your reply as soon as possible.</p><p>　　進(jìn)出口部請(qǐng)我通知你：一個(gè)月前從貴公司訂購(gòu)的 150 頓煤至今仍未發(fā)貨，能否請(qǐng)你過(guò)問(wèn)一下此未發(fā)貨事宜？請(qǐng)盡快回復(fù)，不勝感激。</p><p>　　Here,

79、this paragraph directly presents its meaning without using any rhetorical devices to furnish its expression. It is a common style in business text.</p><p>　　3.3.2 Appropriate wording</p><p>　　Th

80、e wording in business English should be appropriated. And people in business circumstances tend to abstain from arrogance.</p><p>　　Let us look at an example:</p><p>　　Delivery of rugs is now a

81、matter of urgency. Will you please find out from British Rail what had happened to the consignment and let us know when we may expect delivery? We are of course making our own enquiries at this end.</p><p>　

82、　地毯急需交貨，貴公司是否可以向大英鐵路局查詢?cè)撠浳锏南侣?，并通知我方交貨的時(shí)間，我方亦自當(dāng)查詢。</p><p>　　In this paragraph, it is about expediting. But we should use kind words and the mild tone to make sure that the wording is appropriated.</p>

83、<p>　　In our trade with merchants of various countries, we always adhere to the principle of equality and mutual benefit. It is our hope to promote by joint efforts, both trade and friendship to our mutual advantage

84、.</p><p>　　在我方同各國(guó)商人的貿(mào)易中 ,一貫堅(jiān)持平等互利的原則 ,希望通過(guò)雙方努力 ,促進(jìn)對(duì)彼此互利的業(yè)務(wù)和友誼。 </p><p>　　In this paragraph, though it is about complaint, we should also pay attention to use kind words and the mild tone to make

85、 sure an appropriate wording.</p><p>　　Inappropriate wording can cause misunderstanding or the opposite side may feel that you’re impolite.</p><p>　　3.3.3 Pronouns and active versus passive voic

86、e</p><p>　　Personal pronouns (like I, we, and you) are important in letters and memos. In such documents, it is perfectly appropriate to refer to yourself as I and to the reader as you. We should be careful,

87、 however, when we use the pronoun we in a business letter that is written on company stationery, since it commits our company to what we have written. When stating our opinion, we should use I; when presenting company po

88、licy, use we. </p><p>　　When we write a business letter we should achieve a style that our messages cannot be misunderstood. One way to achieve the style is to minimize our use of the passive voice. Although

89、 the passive voice is sometimes necessary, often it not only makes our writing dull but also can be ambiguous or overly impersonal. Here's an example of the same point stated in passive voice and in the active voice:

90、</p><p>　　PASSIVE: The net benefits of subsidiary divestiture were grossly overestimated.</p><p>　　ACTIVE: The Global Finance Team grossly overestimated the net benefits of subsidiary divestitur

91、e. The second version is clearer and thus preferable. </p><p>　　3.3.4 Implicative expressions</p><p>　　Since the promise in business has the influential effects of law which is related w

92、ith benefits of each party, an over absolute promise may lead to a passive stage if any accident happens .So the expression of promise in business English is relatively implicit.</p><p>　　For example: </p

93、><p>　　我方保證決不重犯這種錯(cuò)誤。</p><p>　　We assure you that this error will never occur again. (Over absolute)</p><p>　　We will do all we can to prevent a repetition of this error. (Moderate)<

94、/p><p>　　(Liufagong, 2002)</p><p>　　Since business involves obligation and responsibility, it is necessary to shows the subject. </p><p>　　For example:</p><p>　　The vendor

95、 shall deliver the goods to the vendee by June 15.</p><p>　　賣(mài)方須在 6 月 15 日前將貨物發(fā)送給買(mǎi)方。</p><p>　　(Liufagong, 2002)</p><p>　　In this sentence, we use deliver the goods to instead of the

96、goods should be delivered. Because if we use deliver the goods to it would mean that the vendor is responsible for the obligation and responsibility. If not, it would mean that the vendee is responsible for the obligatio

97、n and responsibility.</p><p>　　In all, the author has analyzed the linguistic features of business English. In the next chapter, with examples taken from business English translations, the author will interp

98、ret the influence of linguistic features of business English on translation.</p><p>　　3.4 The Influence of Linguistic Features of Business English on Translation</p><p>　　Business English transl

99、ation can be divided into two periods: understanding and expressing. The first period is to understand; the second to express, that is how to completely and naturally convey to message to the target readers. And in the u

100、nderstanding period, the linguistic features of business English will influence a translator’s comprehension which in the end account for the success of business English translation.</p><p>　　3.4.1 Influence

101、 in terms of words</p><p>　　As business English is characterized by simple words, abundance of business terms and the variability of words’ meaning, the translator should have a good command of these feature

102、s, and the influence of these features on translation is apparent.</p><p>　　For example:</p><p>　　You are kindly requested to quote the FOB New York.</p><p>　　請(qǐng)報(bào)紐約船上交貨價(jià)。</p>

103、<p>　　(Qiyunfang, 2002)</p><p>　　This sentence involves a business term “FOB” (Free on Board). If a translator neglects this linguistic feature of business English: specific business terms, and can not

104、catch the meaning of the term “FOB”, he can not understand this sentence very well, let alone a successful translation.</p><p>　　3.4.2 Influence in terms of sentence</p><p>　　In the aspect of se