Analysis of UCP600’s E-C Translation on the Basis of Translation Norms Theory

ABSTRACT：UCP600 is an significant document formulated by the International Chamber of Commerce. This paper analyzed the English-Chinese translation of UCP600 from the perspective of translation norms theory by the approach of empirical analysis， and points out that the E-C translation of UCP600 is more of “Adequacy” than “Acceptability” in the view of initial norms. Meanwhile， it offers reference significance on the E-C translation research of such legal texts.

Key words： E-C translation study; translation norms; UCP600

1.1 Research Background

UCP600 was formulated by the International Chamber of Commerce after six revisions and improvements， and has been adopted by more than 180 countries or banking organizations. It is praised as “the most successful and widely accepted unified international banking and commercial practice” （E.P. Ellinger， 1970： 38.）. For the sake of standardizing the operation of the parties involved in the international settlement， ICC has published a set of rules and regulations among which UCP600 is the specific regulation about L/C （letter of credit）. As a pervasive payment instrument in international settlement， documentary credit not only replaced commercial credit with bank credit to ensure the safety of foreign exchange collection， but also provides short-term financing possibilities for buyers and sellers in the form of packaged loans， import and export bills， which greatly facilitates international trade and is known as “the blood of international trade” （Gu Hao， 2006（00）： 381-396）. An in-depth understanding of the E-C translation process of UCP600 can be conducive for international logistics employees， bank employees and foreign trade employees to avoid mistakes in document preparation and document examination caused by inadequate understanding of business English such as letters of credit， which is of great significance to reduce trade disputes and economic losses.

2.1 A Brief Introduction to Translation Norms Theory

At the end of 1970s， the traditional view of translation changed. Translation researchers are beginning to realize that translation is not carried out in a vacuum， nor is it just a simple match between words and sentences. The study of translation norms has opened up a new field of translation studies and formed a new paradigm of translation studies. Translation norms is not only for “save time and energy” in the process of translation， but also as a product of rationality in translation study（Fu Jingmin， 2013（04）：11-15.）.

Translation norms theory is the core of Tourys study. The translator should first play a role in the society so that translation can fulfill the tasks entrusted to it by the society. In a cultural environment， a translator needs to master a set of norms to judge whether his translation is appropriate or not， that is， the basis for translation activities. Therefore， the function of the norms is to guide translation activities under the relevant social and cultural background， and it is also a social and cultural constraint on translation.

4.1 Analysis From Initial Norms

Toury pointed out that the initial norm takes precedence over other norms in logical order rather than time order. Through analysis， the author holds that the initial norms in UCP600 E-C translation are more “adequacy” than “acceptability”. For example：advising bank 通知行，bill of exchange 匯票， confirming bank 保兑行，sight payment 即期付款，deferred payment 延期付款， bill of lading 提单， sea waybill 海运单（ICC CHINA， 2006：2）. These words or phrases are specialized terms or terminologies in the translation documentary credit. As the only authoritative global business organization which represents the interests of the world enterprises， ICC plays an indispensable role in formulating the regulations and rules for the international trade. ICC China is originated from the China council for the promotion of international trade（C.C.P.I.T）， which was founded in 1952 as a social organization in China. In 1996， C.C.P.I.T joined in the ICC in the name of the Chinese member. Therefore， based on this out-of-text condition， the author holds that from the initial norms analysis， the E-C translation of UCP600 is more of “adequacy” than “acceptability”. Further， we can conclude that the translation of terminologies is close to the language and cultural norms of the source language. Another example is Article 27 Clean Transport Document， which is translated into Chinese as 第二十七条 清洁运输单据， “usual risks” or “customary risks” are translated as “通常风险”或“惯常风险”（ICC CHINA，2006：33）. We known that there are no related concepts in Chinese for such words， which are all literal translations from the literal meaning of the original text. On the purpose of enabling Chinese banks and international trade practitioners to accurately grasp the uniform customs of documentary credits， the translator chose the “adequacy” rather than “acceptability” in the process of translation.

4.2 Analysis From the Preliminary Norms

Although ICC is a Non-Governmental Organization， owing to its prior representative voice in international business， it keeps a close relationship with the governments and exerts a profound influence in boosting the fair and equal world trade. Therefore， due to the importance of UCP600 in international trade and the actual needs of international trade， the International Chamber of Commerce of China has the requirement to translate the UCP600 for China further development in the international trade and logistics fields. The original text of UCP600 is written in English and the translation requirement is to translate it into Chinese， so there is no need to choose a third language for translation， which reduces the interference of other languages to a certain extent and is more conducive to be faithful to original text. 4.3 Analysis From the Operating Norms

The matricial norms also determines the extent to what should be omitted， added and changed in target texts. However， the textual-linguistic norms influence or determine what target language material the translator actually chooses to replace the source language material or act as the equivalent of the source language material. There are a large number of parallel structures to stipulate the rights and obligations of the parties concerned in documentary credits in the UCP600. Using parallel structures， makes the rights and obligations appear explicit and easy to grasp. However， this kind of structure is seldom used in common English， because common English requires a variety of sentence structures when making sentences， and using the same sentence structure will make the article appear dull and bloated. Whereas， such usage can be found everywhere in UCP600， for example： “Unless a document indicates otherwise， a bank will also accept a document as original if it： A .appears to be written， typed， perforated or stamped by the document issuers hand; or B.appears to be on the document issures original stationery; or C.states that it is original， unless the statement appears no t to apply to the document presented.（ICC， 2006：19） 除非單据本身另有说明，在以下情况下，银行也将其视为正本单据：A .单据看似由出单人手写、打字、穿孔或盖章;或者B.单据看似使用出单人的原始信纸出具;或者C.单据表明其为正本单据， 除非该声明看似不适用于提交的单据。（ICC CHINA，2006：20）” In this sentence， three parallel structures are used to illustrate the three situations in which a bank regards a document as an original document. The usage of parallel structure made the sentence rigorous and powerful， with clear context and clear levels. The matricial norms of UCP600 is embodied in that the overall structure of the translation and the position， form is completely constructed in accordance with the original text and the matricial norms， which is visible throughout the whole text.

The second one is the textual-linguistic norms. The basic sentence pattern of UCP600 is declarative sentence， for the reason of UCP600 is a document that stipulates the rights and obligations of the parties concerned in documentary credits and states the facts. It does not allow any guess or expression of personal subjective will. For example： The words“to”， “until”， “till”， “from” and “between” when used to determine a period of shipment include the date or dates mentioned， and the words “before” and "after" exclude the date mentioned. 词语“×月×日止”（to）、“至×月×日”（until）、“直至×月×日”（till） 、“从×月×日”（from） 及“在×月×日至×月×日之间”（between） 用于确定装运期限时，包括所述日期。词语“×月×日之前”（before） 及“×月×日之后”（after） 不包括所述日期（ICC CHINA，2006：4）。In this sentence， from the textual-linguistic norms to analyze the translated text， which is dynamically equivalent to the source text with the different form of text arrangement. The translated text gives some more specific and detailed information to further illustrate the actual meanings of the sentence， such as sentence structure arrangement and the selection of words. All of this is the translator choice under the consideration of the textual-linguistic norms， as well as to better interpret the original stipulation of the UCP600.

5.1 Conclusion

Translation plays a vital role in international trade affairs and international logistics. To make a set of unified codes， translators should follow the corresponding translation norms and principles when they are occupied in translation programs. The analysis shows that translation norms theory provides a overall and social view for us to objectively analyze the influential factors in the translation process of the International Chamber of Commerce of China. Translating in accordance with the translation norms serves as an implications for future translation decisions， translation process and Chinese translation of practical texts. At the same time， standardized translation can be conducive to relevant practitioners to carry out international trade activities smoothly.

References

E.P. Ellinger. （1970）. Documentary Letters of Credit： A Comparative Study. Singapore： University of Singapore Press.

Toury Gideon. （1995）. Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Toury Gideon. （2001）. Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

UCP600 （ICC Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits （2007 Revision） [M]. 北京：中國民主法制出版社.2006.

傅敬民（Fu Jingmin）. 全球结构视野下的翻译规范研究[J]. 上海翻译， 2013年第4期，11-15页.

谷浩（Gu Hao）.《跟单信用证统一惯例》（UCP600）评述[J].中国海商法年刊，2006年，381-396页.

国际商会中国国家委员会（ICC CHINA）. ICC跟单信用证统一惯例 （UCP600）[M]. 北京：中国民主法制出版社，2006.

作者简介：杨贝贝（1995年—），女，汉族，河南省许昌市，硕士研究生在读，上海海事大学，翻译理论与实践。