A Study Of The English Translation Of Fuzzy Language In Laws And Regulations Of China From The Perspective Of Functionalist Translation Theory

As a pervasive phenomenon in human language, fuzzy language also exists in legislative text which is characterized by rigorousness, accuracy and solemnity. In legislative text, fuzzy language is usually caused by various factors from language, law, philosophy and so on, and intended for various functions in legislative context. Legislative translation is a communicative activity among the legislators or the law drafters, the translators, the target-text receivers and other participants. Therefore, the translation of fuzzy language in legislative text is in fact the product of the linguistic factors relevant to the usages of fuzzy language and the non-linguistic factors in the legislative translation activity.Functionalist translation theory provides a theoretical framework for the study of the translation of fuzzy language in legislative text. By regarding translation as purposeful and interpersonal communication among humans, functionalist translation theory focuses on the study of the influences of the translation Skopos, translation participants, text types and other factors in translation. Therefore, this thesis aims to study the translation of fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China from the perspective of functionalist translation theory. Ten common laws and regulations of China are selected and the fuzzy language therein is taken as the research object. First of all, the concept of fuzzy language is introduced, the major factors influencing the usages of fuzzy language in legislative text, i.e., the reasons and functions of the fuzzy language, are analyzed, and the previous studies on the translation of fuzzy language, especially the translation of fuzzy language in legislative text are reviewed. Then, the functionalist translation theory is introduced and the applicability of functionalist translation theory to the English translation of fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China is expounded. In the end, the manifestations of fuzzy language in those laws and regulations and the main non-linguistic factors influencing the translation of the fuzzy language are studied and analyzed, based on which the translation principles and translation strategies of fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China are discussed in detail under the framework of the functionalist translation theory.The study has found that the fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China is mainly manifested at lexical and syntactical level under the influence of linguistic, legislative and other factors; translators and the target-text receivers are the most influential participants in the translation activity; as informative function is the dominant function of the target text, the translation of fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China aims to convey the meaning and legislative intent embodied by the fuzzy language within the acceptability of the target-text receivers; the differences in legal culture between China and western countries also exert considerable influence on the translation of fuzzy language. Based on the above findings, the translation principles of the fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China are discussed from the perspective of functionalist translation theory:equivalence stands subordinate to adequacy; both fidelity rule and coherence rule stand subordinate to Skopos rule. In the end, translation strategies used in translating fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China are summarized. Equivalence and description are the strategies frequently used in translating fuzzy words, and restructuring and substitution are the strategies frequently used in translating fuzzy sentences. This study intends to shed some light on the translation of the fuzzy language in laws and regulations of China under multifactor influence and provide reference for relevant translation practice in the future.