A Stylistic Approach To E-C Translation Of Contracts

This thesis is a study on E-C translation of contracts on the basis of the stylistic similarities and differences between English and Chinese contracts. As Chinese and English are different languages, contracts in English and Chinese contain discrepancies in the language use. However, contracts, as a sub-variety of the language of law, are determined by similar situational factors, no matter they are in English or in Chinese. Therefore, it can be assumed that English and Chinese contracts share certain stylistic similarities as well. All these stylistic similarities and differences have to be taken into account in the translation process.Through a comparison of two pairs of English and Chinese contracts, certain stylistic similarities at the lexical, syntactic and textual levels are discovered, including: 1) at the lexical level, frequent use of archaic, formal and technical words or expressions; 2) at the syntactic level, frequent use of verbs and nouns, scarce use of prepositions, a limited set of conjunctions, adverbs, and adjectives, dominance of long sentences in the form of statement, and relatively frequent use of conditional clauses and parallel structures; 3) at the textual level, scarcity of pronouns and frequent use of lexical reiteration.At the same time, stylistic differences exist at the lexical and syntactic levels as well. At the lexicial level, English contracts frequently employ coordination of synonyms or near-synonyms, while Chinese contracts do not manifest such a feature. At the syntactic level, nominal groups prevail and post-modifiers are preferred in English contracts, while in Chinese contracts pre-modifiers and verbal groups are more frequently used. In addition, English contracts often employ prepositions and articles while Chinese contracts make scarce use of prepositions and no use of articles.Based on these stylistic similarities and differences, certain translation techniques are discus~ed. At the lexical level, ancient Chinese words and formal words or expressions are preferred. At the syntactic level, prepositions andadverbials should be r0tained, omitted or moved to a differeyt position inaccordance wh the norm of Chinese contraot$. To smooth transition, certainChinese conjunctions should =be added. The briginal StrUCtUr of a parallelsentene or c1ause' should be Preserved. Wth =respect to translation of 1ong;sotnces, five tecboques are Proposed: embedding, cuttng, reversing, splitting,'and recaSting, Which can be eqloyed in combination. At the textUal level, the' f'.ongina StrIJcbe can b6 followed with certain a4justments such as lexicalreiteration and occasionatl use,of pronouns even if they do not occur in theoriginal.'All in all, to obtan a soUnd E-C translation of a colltract, their stylishcsimilarities and differences should be taken foro consideration and handledProperiv...