AStudyonMethodsofTranslatingWordsandPhrasesin BusinessContracts

【Abstract】The English and Chinese business contracts have their own characteristics in the selection of vocabulary. Therefore， in the translation of business contract vocabulary， the relevant translation methods can be adopted under the guidance of cross-cultural communication theory to realize the communicative function of business contract texts.

【Key words】Translation Methods； Words and Phrases； Business Contracts

【作者简介】董秋萍，广州南洋理工职业学院。

1. Amplification

The language in a business contract document is usually accurate， clear and easy to understand， so for making the semantics much more tightly， it usually results in a longer sentence and rigorous structure content in the business contract texts. Therefore， in order to seek formal equivalence， the translator is easier to ignore the necessary qualifiers and general words， resulting in the semantic ambiguity in translation text， as well as the redundant logic and incoherent expression of the sentence. So it is necessary to adopt the translation methods of amplification to avoid such mistakes. For example，

（1） Source text： 如发生未包括在本协议服务内容中的设计需求，由甲乙双方协商其价格和服务方式并签订相关补充协议。

Target text： if the changes havent been contained in the design requirements of the service content of this agreement， the price and service mode hereby shall be negotiated by the both parties， and additionally， the corresponding supplemental agreements shall be concluded and signed thereby.

In this example， “hereby” and “thereby” is added in the translation text， which means that “by means of this， with this word or this action” and “as a result of this action” respectively. “Hereby” refers to “both parties”， whose addition can not only avoid the repetition of “both parties”， but also solemnly express the meaning of the original clause to make the translation more fluent and coherent.

It can be seen that the use of the word “hereby” and “thereby” increases the formality and solemnity of the translation， making the translation more authentic and more conform to the expression of English business contracts.

（2） Source text： 除此合同另有明確规定外，此合同相关的任何通知或其他通信应该是书面形式，语言为英语。

Target text： Unless otherwise specifically provided herein， any notice or other communication under or in connection with this Contract shall be in writing in English.

In this example， a word “under” is added to make the sentence more concise and accurate， which means that “any notice or other communication”， both “under” and “in connection with” with this contract shall be written in English. A word “under” added in the target text to meet the language expression of English， which also shows that the English language is inclined to the low degree of uncertainty avoidance.

Thus， it can be concluded from these examples that business contracts are a highly formal type of document. In view of the rigor and normative nature of the language， it is necessary to add a certain vocabulary to the translation process in order to achieve the communicative function of business contract.

2. Conversion

In the Chinese language， it is a common practice to use a great many nouns as the sentence focus. However， the English language usually adopts the verbs as the major. “Chinese grammar takes the noun as the focus， the use of frequency verbs prevails； English grammar takes the verb as the focus， the use of frequency nouns （plus preposition） prevails.” （Zhou Zhipei， 2004：384） This is a significant difference between English and Chinese. Likewise， this feature is also evident in business contracts. In order to achieve authentic translation， we can flexibly transform the parts of speech in the process of translation. For example， the Chinese verbs can be translated into English nouns.

（3） Source text： 乙方交付的產品不符合质量要求的，甲方可以根据损失的大小要求乙方承担修理、更换、重做、退货或减少价款等违约责任。

Target text： Provided that the products delivered by Party B dont conform to the quality requirements， Party A may ask for Party Bs repairing， changing， remaking， returning or reducing the price or the amount or other responsibility for breach of the contract according to the loss.

In this example， the verbs “乙方承担修理、更换、重做、退货或减少价款” in the Chinese version are being translated into “Party Bs repairing， changing， remaking， returning or reducing the price or the amount”. This translation converts the parts of speech， verbs into nouns， which is in compliance with the features that English is more inclined to use the noun phrase. It makes the target text more suitable for the expression habit of the English language.

（4） Source text： 此合同的任何变更或修改， 须征得缔约方授权代表的书面签字确认；

Target text： All alterations and amendments to this Contract shall be made in writing and signed and confirmed by the authorized representatives of the Parties.

In this example， the Chinese version uses the verb phrase “征得缔约方授权代表的书面签字确认”， but the nouns “书面签字确认” in the Chinese language is translated into verbs “signed and confirmed”. Through the conversion of this part of speech， the translation is more in line with the habits of the English language expression.

3. Inversion

A word order refers to the order in which each word or ingredient is arranged in a sentence. In many cases， the grammatical function of a word or phrase in a sentence， whether in English or Chinese， often depends on where it is in the sentence. The comparative study of English and Chinese shows that the main components of the two languages are generally consistent， but there are some differences.

It is widely known that the Chinese language used to put the attributive in front of the central word， for the reason that the Chinese language adopts the inductive discourse pattern. The author will analyze the translation of this kind of sentences through several samples.

（5） Source text： 凡因执行本合同所发生的或与本合同相关的一切争议，双方应友好协商解决。

Target text： All disputes that happen due to the execution of this contract or related to this contract shall be negotiated and settled down friendly mutually.

From the above example， we can see that the Chinese version has a very long attribute， “执行本合同所发生的” and “与本合同相关的”. However， the English language is on the opposite. The English language adopts the deductive discourse mode， which often places the most important word at the beginning of one sentence， and then use attributive clause to define it. Thus， when translating such sentences， with the principle of faithful to the original text， the translator should put the key word at the beginning and then place the secondary information behind.

（6） Source text： 上述各类社会保险基数和比例每年将随派遣人员工资收入的变化及各地社会保险的调整而做相应调整。

Target text： Yearly， the base number and ratio of the social insurance charges mentioned above will be changed with the wage income of the dispatched personnel and adjusted according to the adjustment of the policy of social insurance charges in various regions.

From the above example， we can see that the Chinese version put the most important phrase “做相应调整” at the end of the sentence， because Chinese adopts the inductive discourse pattern which tends to state the key point last. But the English people often put the key word at the beginning. So when translating such kind of sentence， the most essential part shall be put at the beginning.

References：

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