英文金融术语翻译中归化异化策略研究

1、摘 要随着经济一体化和全球化的发展，中国与世界各国经济的联系越来越紧密。中国的金融服务业面临着与世界接轨的机遇和挑战。英语在许多领域都占据着主导地位，尤其是在金融领域。从某种程度上来讲，英语是金融领域的“官方”语言。金融英语作为特殊用途英语的一种，在学术研究和实际使用上已经得到了越来越多的关注。在我国,对金融翻译的需求不断增多，对其翻译质量的要求也在不断提高。而在目前的翻译实践中，许多翻译质量并不尽人意。近年来，在生产、对外贸易和其他经济活动中，由于对国际上金融术语的内涵和外延理解不同而造成严重经济损失的事例也时有发生。金融术语作为金融语言词汇体系中的重要部分，其翻译是金融翻译研究中一个很热门

2、的话题。金融术语翻译的好坏、准确与否直接关系到整个金融语篇翻译质量的好坏。因而解决金融术语的翻译问题迫在眉睫。本文旨在从归化、异化角度来探究金融术语的英汉翻译，挖掘出金融术语背后的文化因素差异，以期达到真正理解金融术语含义和规范其翻译的目的。首先，作者简要回顾了学者们的相关研究。概括起来，他们主要对金融术语的翻译方法进行研究。他们认为，译者多采用直译和意译的方法翻译金融术语。这些方法往往过于强调形式和内容，而忽略了翻译中文化因素的影响。本文以劳伦斯韦努蒂的归化、异化理论为理论支撑，结合金融术语自身的特点，从文化的角度分析了金融语篇中金融术语的翻译，并归纳出此类翻译可分为以源语为取向的翻译和以目

3、的语为取向的翻译（归化和异化）。研究发现译者的双语能力、翻译目的和读者的接受能力是决定归化和异化的因素。同时，归化和异化可根据接近源语和接近目的语的程度进行细分。归化和异化在金融术语的翻译中都具有重要的作用。归化翻译通常指以目的语文化为主导的翻译策略，即运用目的语文化易接受的表达法，使译文更通俗易懂，更适合目的语读者。异化指以源语文化为归宿的翻译方法，即尽力再现原文的色彩以便更好地保留源语文化的异国情调。这两种翻译策略的代表人物分别为：尤金奈达和韦努蒂。奈达提倡动态对等，旨在使源语文化在目的语读者中产生相同的反应，从而获得交际的成功。韦努蒂却倡导翻译应强调源语文化的语言及文化差异，应将源语文化

4、纳入到译语文化中去，从而使交际顺畅进行。在金融术语的翻译中应该将两种策略很好的结合才能达到良好的效果。文中还通过对世界经济文化交流与融合大趋势的分析得出异化将在金融术语的翻译过程中渐渐居于主导地位的结论。此项研究的意义在于强调文化因素对翻译的影响，凸显文化在翻译中的重要作用。此外，它对金融语篇的翻译提供一个有益的视角和切入点。关键词：归化；异化；文化；金融术语AbstractWith the development of economic integration and globalization, economic links between China and other countrie

5、s are becoming increasingly tight. The domestic financial service industry is facing the opportunities and challenges from the economic integration of the globe.English occupies a leading position in many industries, especially in financial industry. To some extent, English is an “official” language

6、 in financial area. Financial English, as a kind of language for special purposes, has been drawing more and more attention in academic researches and practical applications. The requirements of financial translation are increasing and the demand for translation quality of finance is improving. But

7、in present translation practice, many such translation works are unsatisfactory. In recent years, cases of huge economic losses have frequently occurred because of misunderstanding connotations and extensions of international financial terms. Financial terms are important vocabulary in the vocabular

8、y of financial language and their translation is a very hot topic in the study of financial translation. Whether a financial term is translated well or not, correctly or wrongly, directly concerns the quality of the whole financial text. Therefore, the resolution to financial term translation is imm

9、inent.The thesis approaches E-C translation of financial terms from the perspective of domestication and foreignization in order to find out the cultural differences hidden behind financial terms and to achieve the aim of truly understanding the meanings of financial terms and standardizing their tr

10、anslation.Firstly, the author briefly looks back to relevant studies by some scholars. To sum up, the studies of those scholars principally focus on translation methods of financial terms. They believe that translators should adopt methods of literal translation and free translation to translate fin

11、ancial terms. But the two methods overemphasize formation and contents, neglecting the influence of cultural factors in translation.The author bases the thesis on the theories of domestication and foreignization put forward by Lawrence Venuti, studies the characteristics of financial terms, analyses

12、 term translation in financial texts, and generalizes a conclusion that such kind of translation can be classified into target-language-oriented translation and source-language-oriented translation (domestication and foreignization). Through researching, the author finds that the factors of determin

13、ing whether to apply domestication or foreignization are based on translators bilingual ability, aims of translation and readers ability to receive. Meanwhile, domestication and foreignization could be finely differed according to the degree of approaching source language and target language. Both s

14、trategies play an important part in the translation of financial terms. Domestication refers to target-language-culture-oriented translation in which expressions acceptable in the target language culture are exploited in order to make the translated texts intelligible and suitable for the target tex

15、t readers. Foreignization is source-language-culture-oriented translation, which strives to preserve as much as possible the original flavor in order to retain the foreignness of the source language culture. The respective representatives for the two strategies are: Eugene Nida for domestication who

16、 advocates dynamic equivalence in order to achieve the success of the communication and Venuti advocates to develop a theory and practice of translation to signify the linguistic and cultural differences of the foreign text. To combine the two strategies well in financial term translation is necessa

17、ry for a good translation. In the thesis, the author also comes to the conclusion that with the tendency of communication and integration of world economy and cultures, foreignization would take the dominant place in the process of financial term translation.The significance of the study is to attac

18、h importance to the influence of cultural factors on financial term translation. Besides, it provides a good perspective and a breakthrough to the translation of a whole financial text.Key Words: domestication, foreignization, culture, financial termsAcknowledgementsUpon completion of my thesis, I w

19、ould like to express my sincere gratitude to those who helped me, inspired me and encouraged me all along in making this thesis.First of all, my thanks go to my supervisor Professor Weng Fengxiang, who gave me suggestions at the very beginning of choosing the topic for my thesis. He thoroughly discu

20、ssed with me on my ideas, research plans and gave me his invaluable comments and encouragement. Without his direction and help, the thesis would be impossible. During the writing and revision of this thesis, he devoted his spare time discussing with me on even tiny details despite his busy work.I ow

21、n my gratitude to all the teachers during my undergraduate and postgraduate study in Shanghai Maritime University, especially those from the College of Foreign Language. They have built up my theoretical knowledge and my research ability.My sincere thanks go to my roommates and best friends for list

22、ening to me and putting forward suggestions for me in writing the thesis.Last but not least, I could not thank my family enough for their love and understanding. They have been supportive all the way till today, without them I may not get through the postgraduate study.ContentsAbstract (Chinese)Abst

23、ract (English)AcknowledgementsChapter One Introduction.1 1.1 Purpose and Significance of the Study.1 1.2 Structure of the Thesis2Chapter Two Literature Review.3 2.1 Previous Researches of E-C Translation of Financial Terms.4 2.1.1 Literal Translation.6 2.1.2 Free Translation6 2.2 Limitations of Prev

24、ious Researches7 2.3 Aims and Objectives of the Thesis .8Chapter Three Theoretical Framework.9 3.1 Culture and Translation.9 3.2 Theoretical Framework10 3.2.1 Domestication10 3.2.2 Foreignization11 3.2.3 The Dispute on Domestication and Foreignization13 3.2.4 Differences between Domestication & Fore

25、ignization and Literal & Free Translation.19Chapter Four Domestication and Foreignization in Financial Term Translation234.1 Analysis of English Financial Terms234.2 Domestication and Foreignization in Financial Term Translation26 4.2.1 Significance of the Strategies in Financial Term Translation274

26、.2.2 Translation of Financial Terms.28 4.2.2.1 Translation of Common Words in Financial Background31 4.2.2.2 Translation of Financial Terms Concerned with “Color”34 4.2.2.3 Translation of Financial Terms Concerned with “Animal”.36 4.2.2.4 Translation of Financial Terms Originated from “English Liter

27、ary Works”39 4.2.2.5 Translation of Financial Terms Based on “Chinese Literary Works”41 4.2.2.6 Translation of Financial Terms Concerned with “TraditionalChinese Culture”42 4.2.3 Translation of Financial Terms with Rhetorical Meanings45 4.2.3.1 Metophor45 4.2.3.2 Metonymy46 4.2.3.3 Synecodoche47 4.2

28、.4 Trend of E-C Translation of Financial TermsForeignization47 4.2.5 The Methods of Applying the Strategies to Financial Term Translation.48 4.2.6 Summary52Chapter Five Implications and Limitations555.1 Implications555.1.1 Theoretical Implications555.1.2 Practical Implications.555.2 Limitations56Con

29、culsion.57Bibliography.59Chapter One Introduction1.1 Purpose and Significance of the StudyThe intention of this thesis is to call peoples attention to the hidden cultural factors of international financial terms and to achieve the purpose of standardizing E-C translation of financial terms.With the

30、integration and globalization of world economy, the link between China and other countries is becoming increasingly tight. China has witnessed an extremely rapid developing period of its financial industry. English financial terms, as special cultural phenomenon, are usually the focus of English fin

31、ancial system. The E-C translation of financial terms draws much attention of scholars of different schools. And most of them are those who hold that literal translation and free translation are the main methods to be used. Such traditional methods focus too much on form and content, neglecting the

32、influence of cultural factors in the English-Chinese translation of financial terms. The English-speaking countries are quite different from China in terms of history, culture, geography, customs, religion, etc. Consequently, the E-C translation of financial terms is of great concern in intercultura

33、l communication.Domestication and foreignization theory grew out of literal translation and free translation, and they share a lot of similarities, as both are concerned with formation and contents. Unlike the traditional methods that assume the treatment of translation should be analyzed from the p

34、erspective of formation and contents, domestication and foreignization theory holds the view that the research should be conducted from the perspective of source culture and target culture. In this regard, literal translation and free translation are translating skills, which should be upgraded to d

35、omestication and foreignization strategies in cross-culture communication. The stragegies take cultural factors into consideration in translation. Domestication and foreignization theory is concerned with translation strategies which stress retaining the cultural flavors of the source language or ad

36、apting these flavors to the target culture in translation. The theory was put forward by Venuti, an American scholar, in the early 1990s. With the increasingly close cultural contacts between nations, scholars of translation have come to realize the significance of the translation study from the per

37、spective of both the source and target cultures. The aim of this thesis is to find out whether domestication and foreignization theory is applicable to the translation of international financial terms into Chinese and the factors that affect translators decision-making.The theory opens a new vista t

38、o the study of the E-C translation of financial terms. Unlike the traditional methods, in which forms and meanings are the greatest concern for translators, domestication and foreignizaiton theory emphasizes cultural influence on translation.1.2 Structure of the ThesisThe structure of the thesis goe

39、s as follows. The First Chapter introduces the purpose and significance of the research. The Second Chapter presents a brief review of the previous methods and analyzes their limitations. The Third Chapter is a brief introduction to the theoretical framework of the thesis. Then comes the most import

40、ant part of the thesisChapter Four. In this part, the author analyzes the application of domestication and foreignization in the translation of financial terms with specific examples, and discusses the factors that affect translators decision-making. Chapter Five is devoted to the implications and l

41、imitations of the present study.Chapter Two Literature ReviewIn this chapter, a brief review of previous methods in E-C translation of financial terms is presented which includes two parts: one focuses on the traditional translating methods dealing with financial terms: literal translation and free

42、translation; the other illustrates the inadequacies of the pervious methods. The aim and objectives of the present study are also presented here.To study English for Finance we have to define the scope of finance. In a broad sense, finance is the study of how people allocate scarce resources over ti

43、me. Two features that distinguish financial decisions from other resource allocation decisions are that the costs and benefits of financial decisions are spread out over time and usually not known with certainty in advance by either the decision makers or anybody else. “The financial system includes

44、 the markets for stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments, financial intermediaries, financial service firms, and the regulatory bodies that govern all of these institutions. The study of how the financial system evolves over time is an important part of the subject matter of finance.” (Bodie

45、and Merton, 2002: 2)In a narrow sense, “finance is the usage of the nature and uses of the means of payment.”(Christy and Roden, 1976: 3) According to the International Dictionary of Finance, “finance is the provision of money when and where required.” (Bannock and Manser, 2003:103) Specifically, “f

46、inance describes the theory and practice of monetary credit, banking, and comprehensive promotion methods. This theory covers investment, speculation, credits and securities.” (Rosenberg, 1996: 145) In this thesis, the narrow sense of finance is adopted and the focus is on English special terms used

47、 in the field of banking, investment, insurance and securities.It is evident that financial terms, accounting terms and trade terms are overlapping because these fields of business are overlapping to some extent. Therefore, it is controversial how to define the scope of financial terms. As stated ab

48、ove, in this thesis, special terms used in the field of and for the purpose of banking, investment, insurance and securities are considered financial terms. The overlapping will be ignored, no matter whether it is a trade term or a term used in other fields. As long as it is a special term used in f

49、inance, it is regarded as a financial term in this thesis. For the sake of reliability and feasibility, the sample words used in this thesis are all selected from finance dictionaries.2.1 Previous Researches of E-C Translation of Financial Terms According to different ways of dealing with language f

50、orms, translation methods could be classified into two, one is literal translation and the other is free translation. Free translation means making every effort to maintain language forms of the original text in translation, including words, sentence structures, rhetoric, etc. It directly conveys sp

51、ecific and essential content of original texts. Meanwhile, it requires to express main ideas of original texts, not limited by details and language forms, and to translate naturally and easily. Generally speaking, in the practice of translation, each method has its strong points. It needs flexible r

52、esolution as to which method to choose. Only by combining the two methods appropriately could ideal results be gained in translation. We should avoid translation mistakes in financial terms. Translation of financial terms should especially reject pretending to know what one doesnt know. If a transla

53、tor just researches in dictionary for meaning, it is likely to result in translation mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes would make a foolish figure. Sometimes it would cause great loss of economy. Lets pick one sentence for instance. “The corporate charter authorizes the corporation to issue and sel

54、l shares of stock, or to transfer the ownership, to enable the corporation to raise money.” The wrong translation is that “公司营业执照授权发行和销售股票，认购公司的所有权为公司筹措资金。” “Corporate charter” here is “公司章程”, not “营业执照”. Translators of financial language should be familiar with business of this area, master relativ

55、e terms and have the spirit of seeking the truth. Business license just shows economic types of an enterprise, registered capital, range of business, etc. But corporate charter is concerned with issuing stocks, regulating conditions of shareholders capital contribution, transferring and contracting on other issues necessary. The translator above of the example obviously didnt have the background knowledge and made mistakes in translation. The accurate translation should be “公司章程授权公司发行和销售股票，转让公司所有权，以便为公司筹措资金。” Lets take another sentence for an instance. “We hereby request you to issue a