英文本科毕业论文外贸公司网站英译研究的目的

英文本科毕业论文外贸公司网站英译研究的目的1.Introduction12.Currentsituationandfeaturesofcompanywebsitetranslation22.1Currentsituationofcompanywebsitetranslation22.2Samplesoffamousforeigncompanywebsite32.3Featuresofcompanywebsitetranslation43.Theskopostheoryandcompanywebsitetranslation63.1IntroductionofSkopostheory63.2ThewrongtypesoftranslationfromtheperspectiveofSkopos83.2.1Functionaltranslationerrors83.2.2Liguistictranslationerrors93.2.3Culturaltranslationerrors104.AnalysesofwebsitetranslationofforeigntradecompanyinZhejiangprovince134.1Functionaltranslationerrors134.1.1Problemoflength134.1.2Problemrootedfromdifferentthoughtpattern154.2Liguistictranslationerrors164.2.1Spellingerrors164.2.2Improperuseofpunctuation174.2.3Incorrectwordtranslation174.2.4Illogicalarrangment184.3Culturaltranslationerrors195.Conclusion20Acknowledgements21References221．IntroductionThankstotheongoingeconomicreformandopening-upandtheirresistibletrendofglobalization,Chinascommunicationwiththeworldhasbeenintensifiedinrecentyears.ThoughalmosteverycompanywhichdealwiththeforeigntradeownshisEnglishversionwebsite,theoverallsituationoftheC-EtranslationofChinesecompanywebsiteisfarfromsatisfactorythatleavealotofworktodo.Forthepresent,mostoftheworkarebasedontheruleofskopostheorywhichwewillinvestigatelater.AndwiththepopularityandapplicationsoftheInternet,thecompanywebsiteplaysanincreasingimportantroleinforeignexchange,outreach,andtheabsorbforeigncapital[2].Althoughnowadaysmostdomesticenterpriseshavesetuptheirownwebsitesande-commerceplatform,manyexport-orientedenterprisesisestablishedinEnglish,thesitehasbecomeapropagandaoftheenterprise,aneffectivechanneltopromotecompanyproducts.However,thereisnodifficultyinfindingerrorscomparingthedomesticforeigntradecompanywebsitetotheforeigncompanywebsite.Somemistakesareeventoomuchtobear.Inrecentyears,thereappearsalargenumberofdiscussiononwebsitetranslation,startfromSkoposbasisdirection,andhavealotofresearchfruitsontheproblemofcompanywebsitemistranslation.Butfortherelativelysmallcorporatecompanywebsitetranslation,ithadnotbeengivensufficientattentionandstandardizedmanagement,error-pronewebsitetranslationdirectlyaffectacompanysimage.2.CurrentsituationandfeaturesofcompanywebsitetranslationIntheworldtoday,globalandregionalcooperationisinfullswingandcountriesareincreasinglyinterdependent.CompanywebsiteprovideaquickandconvenientaccesstothegeneralunderstandingofwhataChinesecompanyislike,thusservingasbridgesthatenablebusinesspeoplefromdifferentcountrieswithdifferentculturalbackgroundstohaveabetterunderstandingofeachother.Infact,asaspecializedandimportantareaoftranslation,thetranslationofcompanyprofileshasitsownfeaturesandparticularcommunicativefunctionswhichdeserveanin-depthandsystematicstudy.2.1CurrentsituationofcompanywebsitetranslationForeignpropagandainthebusinesstext,Chinesetextusemoremodifierswhichusingrhyme,parallelism,wordswithotherpartiestypethetextinordertoincreasethebeauty,attractpotentialcustomersandclients.Manytranslatorsoftenfinditdifficult,evenifbetranslated,alsobitethebulletandletthereadersofEnglish-speakingfinditdifficulttounderstand.Companyspublicitytexttranslationisaccurateforthepurposeoftranslationaboutbusiness,product-relatedinformation.Soprominentistheinformationaltranslation,firstprinciplefocusontheinformation,andotherssuchasstyle,rhetoricandsoonissecondarytobit.Iftranslatedirectly,thetextwillcauseapile,informationduplication,notmeettheEnglishlanguageofexpression.OnthebasisofSkoposprinciples,thetranslatorshouldcuttheoriginaltextappropriatelyinorderforinformationreceiverbetterunderstandingthetext.Differentfromothertexttypes,acompanyprofileisaspecialkindoftextwithparticularpurposesandfunctions.ThetranslationpurposeofcompanyprofilesistoenablemoreforeignerstoknowmoreaboutChinesecompanies,thusachievinginternationalrecognitionandestablishingthecredibilityofthecompanyanditsproducts.Inordertoachievethesepurposesandfunctions,moreattentionshouldbepaidtotargetreaderswhohavedifferentculturalbackgroundsinthecompanyprofiletranslation.Accordingtoskopostheorie,atranslationactionisdeterminedbyitsSkoposandtheendjustifiesthemeans.Thatmeansthepurposeoftranslationdeterminesthetranslationmethodsandstrategiesthataretobeemployedinordertoproduceafunctionallyadequateresult.Therefore,intheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofiles,translatorsshouldadheretoSkoposrule,coherenceruleandfidelityruleanditisapplicableforthemtoadoptaTT-orientedorreader-centeredtranslationstrategy.However,manytranslatorsinthisfieldtendtoneglectthetranslationpurposeofcompanyprofiles.Asaresult,linguisticandculturalproblemsstillexistandobstructtheachievementoftheSkoposofcompanyprofiles.Enlightenedbythefunctionalistapproach,thethesisalsoconductsacomprehensivesurveyastothereadabilityandacceptabilityofthetargettext[6].ItisfoundthatforeignpeopledonotrespondpositivelytotheEnglishtranslationofChinesecompanyprofiles.Theseproblemsorerrorsadverselyaffectthequalityoftranslation.Primarilyundertheguidanceofthefunctionalistskopostheorie,thethesisputsforwardasetofguidingprinciplesfortheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofiles,thatis,idiomatic,comprehensible,andacceptable.Byanalyzingauthenticexamples,thestudyalsojustifiessomeappropriatestrategiessuchasaddition,abridgementandrestructuring.AconclusioncanbedrawnthatitisfeasibletoguidetheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofilesinthelightofthefunctionalistapproach,particularlyskopostheorie.Inthetranslationprocess,thetranslatorisexpectedtobearinmindtheintendedfunctionofthetargettextandproduceaversionthatiscomprehensibleandacceptabletothetargetreader.Duetogreatlinguisticandculturaldifferences,thetranslationprocessusuallyinvolvesconsiderableadjustmentsoradaptationsofthesourcetextinordertoachievetheintendedfunctionofthetargettext.Hopefully,theprinciplesandstrategiesproposedinthisstudywouldbeofsomevaluetotheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofilesaswellasotherpublicmaterials.2.2SamplesoffamousforeignwebsiteTherearealotoffamouscompanyonthelistoftop500intheworld,aftersearchingfortheircompany,notdifficultinfindingalotoffeaturesincommonabouttheirwebpagedesign.Thefollowingsareclassicsamples.Example[1]:In1886,Coca-ColabroughtrefreshmenttopatronsofasmallAtlantapharmacy.Nowwellintoitssecondcentury,theCompany'sgoalistoprovidemagiceverytimesomeonedrinksoneofitsmorethan400brands.Coca-ColahasfansfromBostontoBudapesttoBahrain,drinkingbrandssuchasAmbasa,VegitabetaandFrescolita.Intheremotestcomersoftheglobe,youcanstillfindCoca-Cola.Coca-Colaiscommittedtolocalmarkets,payingattentiontowhatpeoplefromdifferentculturesandbackgroundsliketodrink,andwhereandhowtheywanttodrinkit.Withitsbottlingpartners,theCompanyreachesouttothelocalcommunitiesitserves,believingthatCoca-Colaexiststobenefitandrefresheveryoneittouches.()Example[2]:Softwareisaleadingonlineportalforsoftwareproducts,withfreedownloadsandexpertsoftwarereviewstohelpyoumakeaninformedchoice.Welistthousandsofdiscountedsoftwareproductswithpricesthatarealmostalwaysthelowestavailableinthecountry.Wealsolistahugeselectionoffreedownloadssoyoucantrysoftwarefreebeforeyoudecidetobuy.Thestorefeaturesthethesoftwareindustrysleadingpublishers,includingMicrosoft,Intuit,Symantec,Adobe,Nuanceandhundredsofothers.Oursoftwarestoreprovidesuserswithrichresourcesincludingthousandsofuserreviews,articles,andproductcomparisoncharts.employsateamofindustryexpertswithover40yearsofcombinedexperienceinonlinesoftwaredistribution.Ourgoalistobringyouthebestrangeofworld-leadingsoftware,atthebestprices,withrichreviewsandproductinformationsoyoucanchoosethesoftwarethatisrightforyou.(about/)Aswecanseefromthesesamples,theforeigncompanywebsitesaremorefunctionalandfocusmoreonintroducingproducts,andthepurposearemuchstrongerandprominent.Thisisexactlywhatourcompanywebsiteislackof,forwealwaysputmorewordsindescribingcompanyhistoryandpriortradition,butlackofproductsintroductionandspecialusersattraction.2.3FeaturesofcompanywebsitetranslationFirstofall,companywebsitetranslationprofiledependsmoreontheskoposrules.Differentfromothertexttypes,acompanywebsiteprofileisaspecialkindoftextwithparticularpurposesandfunctions.ThetranslationpurposeofcompanywebsiteprofilesistoenablemoreforeignerstoknowmoreaboutChinesecompanies,thusachievinginternationalrecognitionandestablishingthecredibilityofthecompanyanditsproducts.Inordertoachievethesepurposesandfunctions,moreattentionshouldbepaidtotargetreaderswhohavedifferentculturalbackgroundsinthecompanyprofiletranslation.Accordingtoskopostheorie,atranslationactionisdeterminedbyitsSkoposandtheendjustifiesthemeans.Thatmeansthepurposeoftranslationdeterminesthetranslationmethodsandstrategiesthataretobeemployedinordertoproduceafunctionallyadequateresult.Therefore,intheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofiles,translatorsshouldadheretoSkoposrule,coherenceruleandfidelityruleanditisapplicableforthemtoadoptaTT-orientedorreader-centeredtranslationstrategy.Secondly,primarilyundertheguidanceofthefunctionalistSkopostheorie,thethesisputsforwardasetofguidingprinciplesfortheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofiles,thatis,idiomatic,comprehensible,andacceptable.Byanalysisauthenticexamples,thestudyalsojustifiessomeappropriatestrategiessuchasaddition,abridgementandrestructuring.AconclusioncanbedrawnthatitisfeasibletoguidetheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofilesinthelightofthefunctionalistapproach,particularlyskopostheorie.Inthetranslationprocess,thetranslatorisexpectedtobearinmindtheintendedfunctionofthetargettextandproduceaversionthatiscomprehensibleandacceptabletothetargetreader.Duetogreatlinguisticandculturaldifferences,thetranslationprocessusuallyinvolvesconsiderableadjustmentsoradaptationsofthesourcetextinordertoachievetheintendedfunctionofthetargettext.Hopefully,theprinciplesandstrategiesproposedinthisstudywouldbeofsomevaluetotheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofilesaswellasotherpublicitymaterials.Atlast,definedasthemeasureofallthingsintranslationbyReiss,theSTisregardedbyVermeerasmerelyanofferofinformationwhichcanbepartlyorwhollytransmittedforthetargetaudience,leavingitsstatusmuchlowerinskopostheriethaninequivalence-basedtheories.Anditisthepurposeofthetranslationthatdetermineswhattotranslate,howmuchtotranslateandwhatstrategiestoemployinspecificsituations.Forthisreason,inC-Etranslationofcompanywebsite,anytranslationstrategycanbeadoptedprovideditiseffectiveinpublicizingthecompanyinthetargetcultureandexpandingitsbusinessthere.Thetranslatorneedstoserveasculturalfiltering,whichmeansmakingadjustmentstothestructureandstyleofthesourcetextbyaddition,deletionandrewriting.Inthissection,differentsuccessfultranslationtechniquesapplicabletocompanyprofiletranslationinlightofskopostheoriewillbeexplored.3.TheSkopostheoryandcompanywebsitetranslationAcompanywebsiteisaparticularcommunicativemessagethatanorganizationwantstodelivertoaparticularaudience.Itisessentiallyarsumpresentinganimageofaparticularcompany,aimingtoestablishthecredibilitywiththemarketthecompanyserves.Kleinalsoarguesthatacompanywebsiteprovidesinsightaboutacompanytoitscustomersandprospects;potentialemployeesandpartnersviewittoevaluatewhetherornotitisthekindofcompanytheydliketoworkwith.Generallyspeaking,awell-writtencompanywebsitecontainsthecompanysfounders,productrangeorservicethatacompanyoffers,majorstockholders,membersoftheboard,address,telephoneandfaxnumbers,website,andothervitalinformation.Somewebsiteincludetheirhistoryandsignificantachievementstheyhavemadethroughtheyears.Thisthesisdefinesacompanyprofileinanarrowsenseandreferstoacompanyintroductionsinceintroductoryremarksheadalltheothersubdirectoryitemsandareofthemostrepresentativecharacteristics.ThesamplesemployedinthisthesisincludebrochuresandmaterialsfromtheInternetandcoveragreatvarietyofbusinessfieldssuchasbanks,hotels,automobiles,medicine,wine,householdelectricalappliances,tobacco,andsportsgoods.3.1IntroductionofskopostheoryTheSkopostheoryisanimportantfunctionalisttheoryoftranslationthatwasdevelopedinGermanyinthe1970s.Itreflectsageneralshiftfrompredominantlylinguisticandratherformaltranslationtheoriestoamorefunctionallyandsocioculturallyorientedconceptoftranslation[8]235.Itgreatlywidenstheresearchfieldoftranslationandputstranslationresearchesintheframeworkofcross-culturalcommunication,insteadofthenarrowframeworkofsourceandtargettextsorthetransmissionbetweentwolanguages.TheSkopostheorydrawsinspirationfromcommunicationtheory,actiontheory,textlinguisticsandtexttheory,andalsofrommovementsinliterarystudiestowardreceptiontheories.ItisregardedasthecoreofGermanfunctionalism.HansVermeerwhoproposedtheSkopostheorygiveshisowndefinitionoftranslationfromauniqueperspectivethattranslationisapurposefulaction.IntheSkopostheory,translationisbasicallyatypeofcommunication.Inotherwords,translationisatypeofhumanaction.Sinceactionistheprocessofacting,whichmeansintentionally(atwill)bringingaboutorpreventingachangeintheworld(innature),andthuscanbedefinedasanintentionalchangeortransitionfromonestateofaffairstoanother18.Basedonthisbelief,Vermeerputforwardhistranslationprinciples,includingtheSkoposruleadtheguidingprinciple,andthecoherenceandthefidelityruleassubordinateprinciples.Itrequiresthatagoodtranslationbe:[1]pragmatic,accountingforthesituationalconditionsofcommunicativeinteractionand,accordingly,fortheneedsandexpectationsoftheaddresseesofthetargettextandevenmakingthereceiverthemostimportantyardstickoftranslationaldecisions;[2]culture-oriented,givingconsiderationtotheculture-specificformsofverbalandnonverbalbehaviourinvolvedintranslation;[3]consistent,abletoshowthetranslatorsdecisionsinanytypeorformoftranslationtaskandmakethetargettextafunctionalone;[4]practical,accountingalltheformsoftransculturalcommunicationneeded;[5]normative,displayingthetranslatorsparticularpurpose;[6]comprehensive,thecommunicativeeffectsofatargettextbeingequivalenttothoseofthesourcetext;.3.2ThewrongtypesoftranslationfromtheperspectiveofSkopostheoryDuringtheinformationexchanging,Chinesecompanieshavetoprovideeffectivecompanywebsiteprofilelinguisticallyandculturallyacceptabletotheirtargetreaders.Consequently,theEnglishtranslationofChinesecompanywebsiteplaysasignificantroleinensuringasuccessfulcommunicationwiththeoutsideworld.YettheoverallsituationoftheC-EtranslationofChinesecompanyprofilesisfarfromsatisfactory.FromtheperspectiveofSkopostheorie,ifthepurposeofatranslationistoachieveaparticularfunctionforthetargetaddressee,anythingthatobstructstheachievementofthispurposeisatranslationerror[9]74.Thus,todecidewhetherapieceoftranslationisatranslationerrorornotisneithertoseewhetherthetranslationisgrammaticallycorrectornot,nortoseewhetherthetranslationisloyaltothemeaningofthesourcetext.Instead,itshoulddependonwhetherthetranslationhasachievedtheintendedpurposeoftheoriginalwork.AsfarastheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofilesisconcerned,majorproblemsanderrorsresultfromtheignoranceoflinguisticandculturaldifferences.ThecommonerrorsintheC-Etranslationcanberoughlyclassifiedintotwocategories:functionaltranslationerrors,linguistictranslationerrorsandculturaltranslationerrors.3.2.1FunctionaltranslationerrorsFunctionalinadequaciesoccurinfourways.Theymaybepragmatictranslationerrors,whicharetheresultofinadequatesolutionstopragmatictranslationproblemssuchaslackofreceiverorientation.Secondly,theymaybeculturaltranslationerrors,whichareduetoaninadequatedecisionwithregardtoreproductionoradaptationofculture-specificconventions.Thirdly,theymaybelinguistictranslationerrors,whicharecausedbyaninadequatetranslationwhenthefocusisonlanguagestructures.Fourthly,andfinally,theymaybetext-specifictranslationerrors,whicharerelatedtoatext-specifictranslationproblemand,likethecorrespondingtranslationproblems,canusuallybeevaluatedfromafunctionalorpragmaticpointofview76.Functionreferstothefactorswhichmakethetextworkintheintendedwayinthetargetsituation.Loyaltyreferstotheinterpersonalrelationshipbetweenthetranslator,thesource-textsender,thetarget-textaddressesandtheinitiator.Loyaltylimitstherangeofjustifiabletarget-textfunctionsforoneparticularsourcetextandraisestheneedforanegotiationofthetranslationassignmentbetweentranslatorsandtheirclients[11]126.Theclaimthatavarietyofstrategies,oftenmovingawayfromthelinguisticsurfaceofthesourcetext,arenecessarytoproduceafunctionaltargettextgivesamoregroundedprecisiontotheclaimsofGoldblattandRaffel.Nordsargumenthelpsustounderstandthatthesestrategiesarenottobeconsideredshortcomingsorinadequacies,reluctantlyacceptedasabstractpoetrybutneverasscholarshiptheyaredeliberateandintelligentformsofbothcreativityandfidelity.Indeedtheyaretheinevitable,differentpathsthattranslatorsmustfollowiftheywishtocreatenewtextsbasedontheirappropriatelyfunctionalreadingsofthesource-text.(Scholars,toparaphraseRaffel,arethenentitledtotranslationsasmuchaspoetsbutbecausetheirneedsaredifferent,theyeachrequireadifferentsortoftranslation.)Ifthesestrategiesofnon-equivalencearetobeconsideredmistakesatallthentheyare,inaparadoxicalway,deliberatemistakes,intentionallyundertakeninordertorecreatethetextinawaythatdeviatesfromtheliteralsurfacemeaningofthesourcetextsoastorepresentitsother,deeper,features.Othererrors,ormistakes,whicharetheresultofourintentionsbeingneitheradequatenorappropriate,mightbeconsidered,incontrast,tobefoolishmistakes,theproductofignorancebutnotofmaliciousness.Andignorancecanbeovercomebyanadequateleveloflanguageandcultureproficiency.3.2.2LingustictranslationerrorsLinguistictranslationerrorsareatthebasiclevelamongthefourtypesoferrorsmentionedabove.Theyusuallystemfromanincompetenttranslatorspoorcommandofthetargetlanguage.Unfamiliarwiththetargetlanguagenormsandconventions,anunqualifiedtranslatorwouldmakeallkindsoferrors,whichrangefromlevis(spellingandchoiceofwords),semantics(meaningthesourcetextintendstoconvey)tosyntax(grammaticalsentencesandstructure).Hencethetranslatedtextcannotbefullyunderstoodbytheforeignaudience.Forexample,拳头产品hasbeentranslatedliterallyasfistproduct.InChinese,拳头产品indicatesthattheproductsellswellinthemarketanditisregardedasabrandname.ThecounterpartfistinEnglish,however,justmeansthehandwhenclosedtightlywiththefingersbentintothepalm,whichcannotconveytheoriginalmeaning.Itwouldbebettertobetranslatedasknockoutproduct,hard-punchproductorproductwithacompetitiveedge[12].Example[3]:三十年纺织品和服装出口经历体验，质量第一，信誉第一，朋友情谊第一，重合同，守信誉，始终如一。()Originalversion：Thirtyyearsexperienceoftextilesandgarmentsythetionandfriendshiptheforemost.Alwaysabidebycontactsandcredibility.Revisedversion：Therenderinginthisexampleisatypicalword-for-wordone,letalonethegrammaticalmistakeinthelastsentenceAlwaysabidebycontactsandcredibility.ThedeliberatefaithfulnessofitssentencestructureactuallyresultsinsentencefragmentsinEnglish,whicharefarfromemotionallyappealingtotheEnglishreaders.Suchredundantsyntacticstructurewillsurelyconfusethetargetreaders.Example[4]:集中国闻名商标、中国名牌、国家免检产品和国家出口商品免验等荣誉于一身的特步(中国)，位于福建省泉州市经济技术开发区。()Originalversion：Xtep(China)co.,ltd.,honoredwithChina'sfamousandpopularbrand,China'sfamousbrand,productsexemptfrominspectionandexportproductsexemptfrominspection;whichlocatesinQuanzhouEconomicandTechnologicalDevelopmentzone.Aftercorrectingthegrammaticalerrorsinthisversion,animprovedversioncouldbe:Revisedversion：Xtep(China)Co.,Ltd.,winninghonorslikeChinasfamousandpopularbrand,Chinasfamousbrand,inspection-exemptproductsandinspection-exemptproductsforexport,whichislocatedinQuanzhouEconomicandTechnologicalDevelopmentZone.3.2.3CluturaltranslationerrorsWhatdoesthewordculturemean？Aswehaveseen,cultureisubiquitous,multidimensional,complexandall-pervasive.Thoughtherehasbeenacenturyofeffortstodefineculturebyscholarsfromdifferentpointsofview,anagreementhassofarnotbeenreached[13].Thedefinitionofcultureseemssimplebutcomplexinreality.Itcoversaspectsofeverydaylifetocognitiveandsocialstructure.Anditreferstocommunitiesthathavedifferentattitudestowardpoliticalandsocialissues,differentculturalpracticesandreferencesintheirprivatelives,differentsocialbackgrounds,etc.In1871,inhisclassicbookPrimitiveCulture,BritishanthropologistEdwardTylorfirstgavethedefinitionofculturewhichiswidelyquoted:culture...isthatcomplexwholewhichincludesknowledge,beliefs,arts,morals,law,customandanyothercapacitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety[13].Thisdefinitionisfarfromcompleteandvaguetosomeextentbecauseitonlystressedthespiritualpartofculture,buthasneglecteditsmaterialbasiswithoutwhichcultureisanimpossibility.Translationandculturearecloselyrelatedtoeachother.Translationisacross-culturalcommunication.Variousscholarshaveelaboratedontherelationshipbetweencultureandtranslation.Touryholdsthattranslationisakindofactivitywhichinevitablyinvolvesatleasttwolanguagesandtwoculturalconditions48.InordertoachievetheexpectedpurposeoftheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofiles,itisparticularlyimportanttoknowtheroleofcultureintheC-Etranslationofcompanyprofiles.Firstofall,cultureaffectstheselectionofcompanyprofiles.Inordertocarterforthetargetreaders,theinitiatorshavetoselectmaterialsthatcharacterizetheChinesecultureandareacceptableinthetargetculturalsystem.Secondly,cultureaffectstheacceptabilityoftranslationsinthetargetculture[18].Becauseoftheculturaldifferences,whatisappreciatedinoneculturemaynotbeacceptableinanotherculturedifferences,whatisappreciatedinonculturemaynotbeacceptableinanotherculture.Thirdly,culturealsoaffectstheapproachestobeadoptedinthetranslationprocess.Fordifferenttranslationpurposes,peoplemayresorttodifferentapporachestosolveculturalclashes.Chineseandwesternculturesdiffergreatlyintheirhistoricaldevelopment,geographicallocations,customs,conventions,religiousbeliefsandaesthetics,whichhaveagreatimpactoncross-culturalingtoSkopostheorie,aculturaltranslationerroroccurswhensomethinginthetranslationdoesn'tconformtothenormsandconventionsinthetargetculture.Culturaltranslationmistakesorerrors,thoughverycovert,causealotofhideousbarriersinthecross-culturalcommunication.Ashasbeenmentionedabove,whatisappreciatedintheChineseculturemaybeunacceptableintheEnglishcultureduetotheculturaldifferences.Forexample,wehavealwayspridedourselvesas龙的传人,whichisliterallytranslatedasdescendantsofthedragon.However,theChineseword龙intheChinesecultureisnotequivalenttothedragoninthewesternculture.Thoughbothofthemarelegendaryanimals,theirimagesandconnotationsarequitedifferent.IntheChineseculture,theimageof龙hasundergoneaseriesofchangesbeforeittakesitspresentform.Ithasthecombinedfeaturesofanumberofanimalsareptile-likeanimalwithascaledbodyandclaws,whichcannotonlycrawl,butalsoswimandfly.ItisthesymboloftheChinesenationandtheChinesenationalspirit.Itrepresentspower,supremacyandauspice.InfeudalChina,emperorswerecomparedtodragons.Butinthewesternlegends,dragonisahugelizardwithwings,scalesandalongsnake-liketail.Itcanspitfire.Dragoninthewesterncultureisthesymbolofevil[19].Soifthephrase以外贸企业为龙头istranslatedintoEnglishaswithforeigntradefirmsasthedragonshead,theforeignerswillfeelawfulwhentheyreadthetranslation.Itwillbeacceptablewhenitistranslatedaswithforeigntradefirmsasthelocomotive(orflagship).Besides,Englishcompanyprofilesemphasizesimplicity,individualityandsubstantiality,whileChineseonesstresselegance,uniformity,andauthority.Forthisreason,theauthorofthispresentpapersuggeststhattorealizeintendedcommercialpurpose,translatorsshouldavoidliterallytranslatingfour-characterphraseologyintoEn