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1、 The Characteristics and Translation Techniques of Business English商务英语的特点和翻译技巧 Abstract: The article takes the lead in addressing that the Business English has its own characteristics and range of application which make the translation more complex and technical.All too often, therefore, business t
2、ranslationindispensable to China s economic development has hardly any principles to follow. In explicating this point, the author stresses that the special features of business English account for the variability of translation principles,expounds the essence of these principle and emphasize that t
3、he characteristics of business English and application environment determines these translation principles.Key words: business;translation principle;research;application摘要: 商务英语翻译的难度随着其使用范围的扩大而增加，商务英语有其自身的特点和应用范围，使得商务英语的翻译更具有专业性和难度性，中国商贸翻译时需要遵循其特定的原则。本文通过分析商务英语自身特点的分析，提出商贸翻译应遵循准确严谨和专业原则，阐述了这一原则的实质，强
4、调商贸英语的语言特点及使用环境决定了翻译原则。关键词：学习；研究；英语教学商贸；翻译原则；探索；运用 1. Introduction Business English is a style of English.When refer to style, it is a language functional variant, reflecting a special demand of special context type and communicative field to certain language usage.So business English has its own ch
5、aracteristics and been used in particular environment.Business English is English language especially related to international trade. It is a part of English for Specific Purposes and can be considered a specialism within English language learning and teaching. But nowadays Business English is not o
6、nly used by business people,but also non-businessman. The words professional people tend to use and understanding when talking about their own or other peoples working lives might justifiably be defined as Business English .But such language is nowadays also widely used in contemporary industrial so
7、cieties . Hence vocabulary like fax , report, customer ,negotiating and so on are words that practically every adult English speakers uses or understands- they are not specialized terms only used by business people . Presumably a ballet dancer or a forestry worker, but he or she would certainly have
8、 them at his or her disposal.Many non-native English speakers study the subject with the goal of doing business with English-speaking countries, or with companies located outside the Anglosphere but which nonetheless use English as a shared language or lingua franca. Much of the English communicatio
9、n that takes place within business circles all over the world occurs between non-native speakers. In cases such as these, the object of the exercise is efficient and effective communication. The strict rules of grammar are in such cases sometimes ignored, when, for example, a stressed negotiators on
10、ly goal is to reach an agreement as quickly as possible. Business English means different things to different people.For some, it focuses on vocabulary and topics used in the worlds of business, trade, finance, and international relations. For others it refers to the communication skills used in the
11、 workplace, and focuses on the language and skills needed for typical business communication.In both of these cases it can be taught to native speakers of English, for example, high schoolstudents preparing to enter the job market.2. The Characteristics of Business English Business English is used f
12、or international business activities. It belongs to the area of Function Language, and it has complex genre and reaches wide range of professional area.Business English is not a special language with a special grammar- it is simply English used in business situation.Business English originally comes
13、 from common linguistic character of English, at the same time, its the combination of business knowledgement and common English, which has a unique linguistic phenomenon and content of performance. The main features of it is the professionalization, colloquialization and pertinence. Different from
14、general English, Business English has its particular stylistic characteristics of vocabulary, grammar and structure. 2.1Specialized vocabularies need to be used in Business English.Generally speaking,we use daily words when stating but when we are involved in commercial activities,specialized vocabu
15、lary and accurate trade terms are necessary to indicate.For example, The sellers shall, 40 days before the date of shipment stimulated in the contract,advise the Buyers by cable of the Contract number, commodity, value,number of packages,gross weight,measurement and date of readiness at the port of
16、shipment for the Buyer to book shipping space.In this sentence,the vocabulary, commodity, value, number of packages,gross weight and so on are often seen in business activities. 2.2 Simplicity is another important character of Business English.For example words like FOB,CIF,L/C and etc,are internati
17、onal trade technical terms which should be remembered,they are respectively shorted for Free On Board, Cost Insurance and Freight,and Letter of Credit.Another example is hereinafter referred to as,herein, thereof, whereby ,these words are widely used to instead of long sentences.1） People prefer to
18、use passive voice to make the whole sentence sound more simple and prominent. Set an example,The prices quoted for sheets being found workable, our acceptance be cabled to you soon. We use Quoted,found,and cabled to make the subject more clear.2） Long sentences and composite sentence are usually ada
19、opted.Thus to better resplect the responsibility of risk ,duty,right of each other and other legal validities. 2.3 Use routine expressions to convey basic needs and ideas,especially in contract and commercial documents. Expressions like be informed that, with reference to,we refer to ,upon receipt t
20、o and so on are popular among business files as they are easy and clear to express peoples opinion.2.4 Simple Words and expressions are very popular.A very interesting phenomenon in Business English is that the expressions are lacking of rhetoric such as metaphor, metonymy,personifications, hyperbol
21、e, which could make the sentence vivid and imaginative.The reason is absolutely that Business English is used to conclude the transaction,the more quirk the better,the easier the better.So in most cases,ask is instead by request,commence is instead by start,draw on you means open a draft to you.This
22、 also proves that Business English is serving for strong purpose of business cooperation.3. The Principle of Business English Translation Because language is a crucial component in any translation process,principles of business English cannot,in nature,be different from the principles of general Eng
23、lish.Thus one tends to define business English and its defining principles depending on the viewpoint one adopts on business behaviour and verbal interpersonal communication and social semiotics,semantically oriented workers in terms of equivalence in meaning,cognitively oriented writers in terms of
24、 the equivalence in the effect,functionally oriented authors in terms of equivalence in function and so on.But faced with the inability of any of these approaches in itself to deal with the ture nature of language behaviour.All in one,the principle of translating is based on the characteristics of b
25、usiness English. 3.1 Firstly, the translator should have basic ability of Chinese,good English skills,and wide scope of knowledge.Many people often ignore this, they think Chinese is their mother tongue that their knowledge of Chinese is good enough to deal with the problems occurred in translation
26、process. However, during real translation process, in order to find a suitable sentence pattern or even a word,translators are thinking over and over without a satisfied result. Sometimes translators finally think out,but how to describe in their own words is still another problem.So comprehensive g
27、rammar knowledge and larger vocabulary are necessary when expressing freely.Thus it can be seen,having a good command of Chinese knowledge is very important and essential in translating.3.2 Second,according to the characteristics of business English, the translating should be professional and accura
28、te so that the reader could understand the information of original text,this is the so called equivalence of cultural message which is a basic principle in language translating.Compared to other expressions of language,business English places more weight on accuracy and loyalty.To a translator, the
29、essential requirement would be fidelity to the source text and representation of the original meaning.Further more,business English is dealing with trade,transaction,and money in business translation,a small misundertanding would result in breakup of cooperation.3.3 Translators should use profession
30、al knowledge in different business area.For example,air bag ,damper,dash shield and so on are technical terms in auto accessories,while fabric swatch ,snap are in apparel textile.To better understand these items,translators not only need to have a wide scope of knowledge,but also should be specializ
31、e in a particular field.Needless to say,translators should constantly upgrade themselves,understand the related knowledge in document to avoid damage and dispute,and use different business terms or abbreviations in different situation.4. The Translation Technics of Business English We have dealt wit
32、h translation principles of business English.But the translator,who is supposed to operate with the framework of the principles,may face problems.Translator technics are according to the principle but they manoeuvre around them without in fact threatening their existence.This is also the case in ord
33、inary interlingual communication situations.We cannot always convey 100% of what we want to convery;but this inability does not violate the underlying communication principle,because it is compensated for by the background knowledge contributed by the addressee,which helps communication to take plac
34、e and avoids the breaking of the communication principles.But the degree of tolerance for this strategic manoeuvring has limits beyond which the underlying principles of communication are compromised.To be faithfully to original text,here to give more concrete examples of translator strategies.4.1 L
35、iteral Translation and Free Translation Literal translation and free translation are two basic skills of translation.What is literal translation?Literal translation refers to translate a sentence originally, keep the original message form, including construction of sentence, meaning of the original
36、words, metaphor of the original and so on. Translation would be fluent and easy to comprehend by target language readers. It is a word-for-word translation which can be used in some languages and not others dependent on the sentence structure,so it is a translation that follows closely the form of t
37、he source language.Free translation refers to, according to the meaning of the original, without paying attention to the details and translation would also be fluent and natural. Free translation need not pay attention to the form of the original, including construction of the original sentences,mea
38、ning of the original works, matapher of the original and so on . But free translation does not mean to delete or add content to the original and translators must consider the original carefully, know its stress, translate it natually, express the meaning of the original. Free translation is a skill
39、which translators must know the culture of both source language and target language, and must have extensive knowledge. When translating, should not use literal translation completely or use free translation completely. According to the passage which you are translating, you should use literal trans
40、lation frequently and use free translation when necessary.Translators should be careful that it is important to understand the culture in each country. Literal translation is used more than free translation because business English is very simple and succinct,its aim is to state business performance
41、 and purpose.4.2 Accurately to express the information in business English.When dealing with business English,bear in mind some of the following points:1)Customers will need to know exactly what is on offer to them,at what price and when.2)People will only perceive your service as efficient if they
42、are dealt with quickly and reliably.Nobody likes long waits or unfulfilled promises.3)People will probably also be contacting with others,even though you need to take this into account , some people will naturally be offended if you make negative statements about your competitors.4)Courtesy is defin
43、ed differently by different nationalities so it is a good idea to learn about,then take into account other s national preference. Those above are common seen in business trade,in translating, the principles of Faithful, Accurate and Unified are used everywhere.For example:客商从开发区企业分得的利润汇出境外时，免征所得税。Pr
44、ofits divided by the investors and businessmen from the Development Zone enterprises will be exempted from tax when remitted out of China. In this example.the tax should be instead by personal income tax. Business English stress on the faithful principle,or else it would misinterpret the original me
45、aning ,mislead the readers which result in misunderstanding between the two sides, and finally cause dispute.Translators should stick to the principle of Faithful in business English. 4.3 To avoid misunderstanding and keep uniformity,translators should refer to general terms.There are fixed English
46、expressions of general Chinese terms,the translators task is to match them up.The key to make the right choice is that, he should not only well-versed in business Chinese, but also should be familiar with business English, and must understand the business service. Unfortunately,in our countrys trade
47、 chinese-english translation, disorderly translation terminology phenomenon is still relatively common. If do not use international uniform English terms, the translator can not make the reader to understand his/her translation, and finally the translator is also fail to complete the task of informa
48、tion transmission. For example:Liabilities of Makers, Drawers, Drawees, Endorsers and Accommodation Parties（票据制作人、出票人、付款人、背书人、代发人/担保人的责任）Liability for Environmental Damage（环境损害责任）Liability Limits（承运人责任/义务的限制）Licensing Regulations（许可证制度）Limitations on Foreign Equity（外国投资的资金比例限制）Limitations on the Exc
49、uses That Drawers and Makers Can Use to Avoid Paying Off a Bill or Note 661 （票据制作人、出票人拒绝付款借口的限制）Liquidated Damages （约定的损害赔偿金）Liquidation （清算）Maintaining Monetary Value（维护币值稳定）Major Principles of GATT 1994（关税及贸易总协定1947的主要原则 )4.4To be careful when selecting confusing words. In some occasions of business communication,usually the wrong choice of the words in translation leads
