A Brief Introduction to English-Chin

A Brief Introduction to English-Chinese Translation Techniqu

【Abstract】With China’s successful entry into WTO, some adults are beginning to attach importance to studying business English contracts. The purpose of this paper is to quest for English-Chinese Translation Techniques of business contracts. 【Key Words】English-Chinese Translation Techniques;Business Contracts;Passive Voice;Adverbial ClausesWith China’s successful entry into WTO (the World Trade Organization), business English is more widely used. A business English contract is a formal written agreement, which sets forth rights and obligations of the parties concerned. Once entered into, a contract is binding and enforceable by law. Any party who fails to fulfill his obligations must make compensation for the other party’s losses. A business contract is an indispensable part for people to carry out international business activities. It is necessary to mention a few English-Chinese translation techniques of business contracts. When translating, both grammatical and rhetorical considerations are involved. Since Chinese and English belong to two different language families and present a lot of differences in their grammar, lexicon, discourse structure, etc., one of the problems we cannot avoid while translating is how to make the version sound as smooth and natural as possible.Translating sentences of business English Contracts into Chinese is feasible but not always easy. They are comprehensive, and occasionally complex. The following translation techniques will focus on the passive voice and the adverbial clauses. 1.Translation Techniques of Passive VoiceVoice is a grammatical category. It is a form of the verb, which shows whether the subject of a sentence acts or is acted on. When the subject is the agent or doer of an action, the verb takes the form of active voice; if, on the other hand, the subject is the recipient of the action, the verb takes the form of passive voice. Passive voice is widely used in English, especially in formal informative writing, and scientific writing and news reporting. In business English contracts, passive voice is frequently used, too. Most transitive verbs can appear in their passive forms. The passive voice of English transitive verbs is formed by the auxiliary be -ed participle. A sentence / clause whose predicator (predicate verb) is passive is called a passive sentence / clause. On the contrary, active voice is often used in the Chinese version.1.1 The Passive Voice Converted into the Active VoiceSince passive voice is used much less frequently in Chinese than in English, and passive meanings are usually expressed by active constructions in Chinese, we can convert the passive voice in English into the active voice in Chinese.A) When being translated, on the whole, the word order of a passive clause or a sentence is not altered or is changed a little, and the position of the subject of the original sentence is not changed in the target language. This kind of translation technique is often employed in the translation of business English contracts. A few examples are listed below:a) All the activities shall be governed by the laws of the countries concerned.一切活动均应遵守有关国家的法律。b) All disputes arising out of the performance of, or relating to this Contract, shall be settled amicably through negotiation.凡因执行本合同所发生的或与本合同有关的一切争议，双方应通过友好协商解决。B) Whether or not a by-phrase is used in a passive sentence is determined by a number of factors. Generally speaking, a by-phrase is indispensable when a draftsman wants to stress the agent or the doer of the action. In this case, we may convert the doer of the action of a by-phrase into the subject of a clause or sentence in the target language.·All the payments shall be made in the U.S. Currency by the Buyer to the Seller by telegraphic transfer to the Seller’s designated account with the Bank of China, Beijing, China.买方应以美元支付卖方货款，并以电汇的方式汇至卖方指定的中国银行北京分行的帐户。C) When translating a passive clause or sentence, at whiles one need readjust the sentence elements.If an adverbial clause of condition does not indicate the doer of the action, we may convert this clause in the passive structure into a subjectless clause. The subject of the original clause is converted into the object of the target sentence. For instance: ·If a foreign auditor registered in other country is necessary to be employed to undertake annual financial checking and examination, Party A shall give its consent. All the expenses thereof shall be borne by Party B.如果需要聘请其他国家的审计师对年度的财务进行审查，甲方应予以同意。其所需费用乙方负担。If the adverbial and the subject of a sentence in the passive voice have inclusive relationship, we may convert the adverbial of the original sentence into the subject of the target sentence so as to make the translation clear and coherent. For example:a) The establishment, remuneration and the expenses of the staff of the preparation and construction office, when agreed by both parties, shall be covered in the project budget.经甲乙双方同意后，工程预算应包括筹建工厂人员的编制、报酬及费用。b) The conditions for establishment of the Joint Venture Company and the total amount of investment and registered capital are stipulated in this Contract. 本合同规定了设立合资公司的条件以及投资总额与注册资本。D) In business English Contracts, there is a special passive pattern, that is, “It is past participle that clause” which has basically formed a comparatively fixed translation version.a) It is agreed that Party A shall have no obligation to pay for the insurance premium.双方同意，甲方不负担保险费。b) It is essentially stressed that the Buyers are requested to sign and return the duplicate of this Contract within 3 days from the date of receipt. In the event of failure to do this, the Sellers reserve the right to cancel the Contract.必须强调：买方应于收到本合同之日起3天内签字并退还合同的副本，如买方不这样做，卖方保留取消合同的权利。1.2 The Passive Structure Remaining UnchangedNot all passive voice in English is converted into active voice in Chinese. Sometimes, an English passive voice may keep its passive structure in the Chinese version. In Chinese, passive voice is mainly conveyed through the use of words like 由, 被, 把, 给, 将. The following examples are translated in this way. a) The term for the technology transfer agreement is signed by Party A and the Solely Foreign-owned Enterprise, and it shall be approved by the approval authority.技术转让协议的期限由甲方与独资企业签订并经审批机关批准。b) If other coverage or an additional amount is required, the Buyers must have the consent of the Sellers before shipment, and the additional premium is to be borne by the Buyers. 如买方欲增加其他险别或超过上述保额时须于装船前征得卖方同意，所增加的保险费由买方负担。2.Translation Techniques of Adverbial ClausesIn business English contracts, adverbial clauses are frequently applied. Adverbial clauses can be used to talk about time, cause, condition, concession and purpose. Depending on the context, their positions in a sentence can be quite flexible: they can appear either at the beginning of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence, or even in the middle of a sentence. Their positions in a Chinese sentence also vary according to the contexts. The point for attention is how to make the translation conform to Chinese usage when English adverbial clauses are translated into Chinese.共2页: 1 [2] 下一页 论文出处(作者):岑莉
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