Contexts Impact on English Sales Contracts Translation 语境对英语销售合同的影响_英语专业论文1.doc

contexts impact on english sales contracts translation语境对英语销售合同文本翻译的影响摘 要语境是人们在交际活动中的各种语言环境，是语言行为所涉及到的客观条件和背景，包括特定的时间、空间，定的情景，特定的人物等。不仅普通文本的翻译脱离不了语境的影响，英语销售合同文本的翻译也脱离不了对语境因素的考虑。本文拟从语境对英语销售合同文本翻译中词的翻译、句子翻译、及文体保持的影响三个方面探讨语境对英语销售合同文本翻译的影响及在语境影响下英语销售合同文本的翻译技巧。关键词：语境，英语销售合同，翻译contexts impact on english sales contracts translation abstractcontext is the environment of a speech communication. its the objective condition and background of a speech act, including a specific period of time, space，specific scene, and specific characters, etc. the translation of common documents cannot be isolated from contexts, ether is the translation of english sales contracts. this thesis discusses the contexts impact on words translation, sentence translation and style maintaining of english sales contracts translation, and some translation strategies of english sales contracts translation under contexts influence.key words: context, english sales contract, translation acknowledgementsfirst of all, i would like to give my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, for their constant encouragement and guidance. they have walked me through all the stages of the writing of this paper. without their consistent and illuminating instruction, this paper could not have reached its present form. secondly, id like to give my sincere thanks to all the teachers in my four-year college study. they are the guides who have led me to the sea of knowledge. last my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great confidence in me all through these years. i also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the paper.contents1 introduction12 words translation of english sales contracts under contexts impact22.1 words features of english sales contracts22.2 contexts impact on words of english sales contracts62.3 how to translate words of english sales contracts93. sentences translation of english sales contracts under contracts impact143.1 syntactic features of english sales contracts153.2 contexts impact on sentences of english sales contracts193.3 how to translate sentences of english sales contracts214. style maintaining of english sales contracts translation under contexts impact244.1 stylistic features of english sales contracts244.2 contexts impact on style of english sales contracts264.3 how to maintain style when translating english sales contracts275. conclusion28references30 1 introduction context is the environment of a speech communication. its the objective condition and background of a speech act, including a specific period of time, space，specific scene, and specific characters, etc. the research on context has been many years. malinowski (1884-1942), an british social anthropologist and a founder of functionalists was the first one to take context into language research. in his opinion, the grasp of language meanings should not be limited in language contect, but be considered in illocutionary context such as circumstances and cultures,etc.a lot of professors and scholars have done researches on context and legal documents translation, such as nida (2004), qin xiubai (2001), wang zhiyong (2006), xie qiong (2005), peng hongbing (2007) and wang guihua (2008). however, when talking about context impact on legal document translation, not so many scholars have done researches on it. peng hongbing and zhang xinghong put forward in their thesis pragmatic principles of ec legal traslation (2007) that by using some statistics of legal translation can help us better achieve the legal translation purpose. in the thesis context factors and english legal document translation (2008), huang chunfang gets the conclusion that on the context impact, some words in legal documents have specific meaning, which should be payed attention to when translating. wang guihua says in he thesis the understanding of legal terms and their translation (2008) that the translation of legal terms should follow some principles as their meaning are influenced by contexts. until now, the research of contexts impact on legal documents translation is not very mature, but it do have caught much attention. in this paper, the special emphasis will be laid on the following five points:the first part is an introduction. it shows readers something brief about context and english sales contract and brings about the topic. the second part mainly talks about contexts impact on words translation of english sales contracts. the third part talks about contexts impact on sentences translation of english sales contracts. the fourth part talks about contexts impact on style maintaining of english sales contracts. the final part serves as a conclusion. it draws a conclusion that contexts influences english sales contracts translation on three aspects: words translation, sentences translation, style maintaining, and then give a suggestion of how should translators translate english sales contracts.2 words translation of english sales contracts under contexts impactin sales contracts, most ideas are expressed by words. how to choose proper chinese words to express the related english words is what translators should consider seriously as the chosen words may greatly leave influence on the idea expressing and the sale contract themselves. when translating words of sales contracts, translators need to consider the three following aspects: 1. words features of english sales contracts. 2. contexts impact on words choosing of english sales contracts translation. 3. how to choose words when translating english sale contracts.2.1 words features of english sales contracts sales contract is a kind of legal document which holds legal restrictions on contracted parties. so the language of sales contracts aims not at its art beauty, but at its precise logic, professional expression and clear meanings. in english sales contracts, precise and formality, usage of professional and legal words, usage of may, shall, should, will, may not, shall not, etc, and ancient words using are their typical words features. 2.1.1 precise and formality （1）preciseas sales contracts have close relationship with each partys interest, ambiguous expressing is hardly accepted. in order to avoid ambiguity, contractors carefully choose each word for what they exactly mean. the following expressions represent the feature of precise. firstly, numbers and dates. in sales contracts, numbers and dates are clear and precise. sometimes even the written forms are stipulated, such as english words and arabian numbers. secondly, abbreviations. abbreviation is formed by the initial letters of each word. its canonical, concise, and time-saving. thirdly, juxtapositions. two synonyms are often juxtaposed to make the expression more clear and unambiguous. fourthly, repeat of the same words. the repeat of the same words in english sales contracts, but not using the pronouns like this, those, or one, is to avoid ambiguity, and make sure the expression precise.eg1. price: hk 190 per case; date: 25 may, 2002 （王家衡：2006 ：211）eg2. l/c = letter of credit; cosco = china ocean shipping co. （杨芳：2004：84）eg3. made and entered into; any and all （车丽娟：2008：167-68）eg4. terms of payment: after conclusion of business the buyers shall open with the bank of china, shenzhen branch, an irrevocable letter of credit in favor of the seller. the said letter of credit shall remain in force until the 15th day after shipment. （王家衡：2006：212）（2）formality the language style of sales contracts is similar to that of legal documents, very solemn, plain and serious, without rhetoric like embellishment, simile, metaphor and exaggeration, and without the verbal expression like dialects and slang. formal expression is an obvious feature of english sales contract which can be often noticed in english sales contracts.eg5. commencebeginoccasioncauseobtainget deliversend toconstrueexplainin accordance withaccording toprior tobeforeterminateend 2.1.2 usage of professional and legal words（1）usage of professional wordsfirstly, contract is the product of the shared interest of the contracted parties. each sales contract has its purpose to make a deal. as different businesses refer to different fields, contracts surely hold different professional expressions and have different professional words. eg6. pigment （颜料）steel wire rope （钢丝绳）oil （石油）photocopy paper （复印纸）magnetic compasses （磁罗盘）transistor （晶体管）secondly, sales contract itself is a unique field which concerns about the relative goods, transportation, and insurance, etc. so, there are also a lot of professional words about sales contracting in english sales contracts.eg7. fob （到岸价）cif （离岸价）inspection （检验）insurance （保险）shipping marks （唛头）shipment （装运）packing （包装）unit price （单价）port of loading （装运港）port of destination （目的港）（2）usage of legal words as i said, sales contracts is also a kind of legal documents, which holds legal restrictions on contracted parties, english sales contracts of course include a lot of legal words. the usage of legal words on one aspect make the expression formality and authoritative, on the other aspect make the statement about rights and obligations clear.eg8. arbitration （仲裁）termination （终止）jurisdiction （管辖）damages （赔偿金）negotiations （协商） (车丽娟：2008：)2.1.3 usage of may, shall, should, will, may not, shall not, etc words like may, shall, should, will, may not, shall not are commonly used in ordinary works. but in contracts, these words are of specific meaning, which are not the same as ordinary using and should be given special concern.a. “may” is used in the situation to express rights, power, or privileges in contracts.b. “shall” does not simply express the future tense, but often denotes obligations, which can be executed forcibly by laws. if ether party failed to perform its obligations, then it is deemed to breach contracts. then a compensation obligation is formed. so, in chinese, shall is often translated as“应该” or “必须”. eg9. the parties hereto shall, first of all settle any dispute arising from or in connection with the contract by friendly negotiations. should such negotiations fail, such dispute may be referred to the peoples court having jurisdiction on such dispute for settlement in the absence of any arbitration clause in the disputed contract or in default of agreement reached after such dispute occurs. （车丽娟：2008：165） in the sentence, negotiation with the other party over disputes is an obligation. so, shall is used at first. latter, if disputes cannot be settled by negotiation, they can be referred to the peoples court. but referring them to the peoples court is now a right. so, may is used.c. “should” is usually used to express a weak-tone suppose, to provide some accidences or exceptions.d. “will” is commonly used in the condition that without legal force, only to express a statement of commitment. its tone and force is weaker than shall.e. “may not, shall not” are used to express forbidden conducts, meaning mustnt do something.2.1.4 ancient words using there are a lot of ancient words appear in english sales contracts. the most typical ones are compounded adverbs formed by here, there, or where plus one or two prepositions, such as hereinafter, whereas, thereof, hereto. these compounded adverbs usually role as attributives or adverbials in sentences. in a sales contract, repetition of some nouns can be avoided by the usage of these ancient words so as to avoid too long a sentence. otherwise, usage of ancient words makes the expression of contracts formal, precise and concise.eg9. this contract is made by and between aa corporation (hereinafter referred to as “the buyer”) and bb company (hereinafter referred to as “the seller”) whereby the buyer agrees to buy and the seller agrees to sell this commodity on the following terms and conditions: （王依宁：2007：158）2.2 contexts impact on words of english sales contracts in the environment of contexts, words are also influenced by context. the contexts impact on words of english sales contracts can be shown from three aspects: words features, words meaning and words usage. here id like to discuss the contexts impact on words of english sales contract in five detail points: 1. contexts determines words features. 2. contexts lead to a mono-meaning. 3. contexts concrete words meaning. 4. contexts supplement and enrich words meaning. 5. contexts change words meaning and words usage.2.2.1 contexts determines words features sales contract itself is a context, which determines words in contracts should be precise, formal, professional and clear. the contexts of english sales contract itself makes the words used in contracts hold the features of precise, formal, professional, usage of ancient words, usage of shall, may, should, etc.2.2.2 contexts lead to a mono-meaning even though a word may have several meaning, it holds only one meaning in a specific context. it is the restriction of contexts leads the word to express only one meaning.eg10. all disputes arising from the execution of or in connection with the contract shall be through amicable negotiation between both parties. （马若飞：2004：110）word “party” has several meaning, for example: 1. an occasion when people meet together, to enjoy themselves by eating, drinking, dancing, etc. 2. an organization of people with the same political beliefs and aims. 3. a group of people that someone has formed in order to go somewhere or do something in an organized way, etc. however, in the above term, the word “party” holds only one meaning, the third meaning. it is the context of a contract and the sentence context that lead it to express only one meaning.2.2.3 contexts concrete words meaning sometimes words in a sentence are abstract or not so concrete, which may lead to some imagination of the words. but by understanding the contexts, readers can immediately know what it exactly means. it is the contexts that connect the abstract words with some specific things, persons, contents or features, so as to express a specific and concrete meaning. eg11. this contract is made by and between the buyer and the seller through friendly negotiations, whereby the buyer agrees to buy and the seller agrees to sell the under mentioned goods on the terms and conditions stated below: name of the commodity: forever photocopy paper specifications: b4 (207*364mm) quantity: 5000 cases price: hk 190 per case packing: hard paper case country of origin & manufacturer: malaysia （王家衡：2006：211-12） in the above text, the word “goods” is abstract, but we can easily know what it really means from the contexts. it actually is forever photocopy paper. it is the contexts tell us what it exactly means and lead an abstract word to a concrete meaning.2.2.4 contexts supplement and enrich words meaning contexts provide an environment to supplement a word meaning which cannot be expressed without the contexts. contexts can also give weight to a word so as to enrich its meaning, expression and function. in eg11, we know the exact meaning of “terms and conditions” cannot be expressed by those simple three words. it is the contexts tell us, the terms and conditions include the following several demands: name of the commodity, specifications, quantity, price, packing, country of origin & manufacturer. the contexts not only supplement what the terms and conditions are, but also enrich the three simple words to clear demands of the goods.2.2.5 contexts change words meaning and words usage in contexts, some words may used not to express their ordinary meaning, sometimes even used in a special usage or new usage. the change of words meaning or words usage is for some specific function or expression. eg12. terms of payment: after conclusion of business the buyers shall open with the bank of china, shenzhen branch. an irrevocable letter of credit in favor of the seller. the said letter of credit shall remain in force until the 15th day after shipment. （王家衡：2006：212） in the above text, there are two words: “shall”. both are different from ordinary meaning and usage. they not only commit the buyers will open with the bank of china, shenzhen branch. an irrevocable letter of credit in favor of the seller, and keep the said letter of credit remain in force until the 15th day after shipment, but also show that the buyers have the obligation to perform the terms of payment. it is the contract contexts itself changes the word meaning and word usage of “shall”.2.3 how to translate words of english sales contracts words translation of english sales contracts is a problem which translators concern a lot. as sentences are constituted by words, the translation of english sales contracts is to a degree the translation of english words to chinese words. when doing english sales translation, translators may find several chinese words to express a same english word. even though these several chinese words hold the same or similar meaning, translators need to choose the most suitable one, in consideration of the contexts, function, and other aspects. when it comes to how to translate words of english sales contracts, i think there are four aspects we need to concern. firstly, choose the formal, professional and precise chinese words. secondly, translate the exact meaning under contexts. thirdly, translate words like shall, may, should accurately. fourthly, translate ancient words correctly.2.3.1