A Simple Analysis on Business English Translation

Jiang Yue

【Abstract】With the development of economic globalization， foreign business activities have penetrated into all aspects of the society. Meanwhile business English translation plays an indispensable role in foreign business communication as a bridge. This paper carries out a simple analysis about business English translation based on three aspects： linguistic features of business English， translation methods of business English， criteria in business English translation. Based on the analysis， some feasible suggestions have been proposed for business English translators.

【Key words】Business English translation； linguistic features； methods； criteria； suggestions

1. Introduction

Business English is a kind of anamorphous of social function especially related to international trade which involves finance， politics， insurance， economies， ect， belongs to one category of English for Specific Purposes. Thus， business English translation has a lot of matter in international affairs with its contribution to establish business relations with different countries.

2. The Linguistic Features of Business English

2.1 Specialized Vocabulary

Business English employs a large number of technical words. For instance， words like “document， honor， offer， inquiry， credit” all bear specific meanings in BE.

2.2 Formal Expression

Formal words are frequently used in BE. For example， “inform， initiate， terminate” often replace small words“tell， begin， end”. Some ancient words like “hereby， therein， thereof” appear in BE to show uniqueness and formalness.

2.3 Abbreviation

A shortened form of a word or a phrase ，known as an abbreviation， is often found in Business English. An abbreviation is usually written in capital letters and used in trade terms， cables， business correspondence and advertisement.

2.4 Politeness

Courtesy is one of the most important features in international business letters， a good letter in business trade can help a person or a company build an ideal image.

3. Translation Methods of Business English

There are two methods in translation： literal translation and free translation. Literal translation strives to reproduce the content and the style of entire literary work retain as much as possible the figures of speech and the main sentence structures or patterns. Free translation is an alternative approach generally used to convey the meaning and spirit of the original without trying to copying its sentence patterns or figures of speech. There is no absolute ‘literal nor entirely ‘free version in the practice of translation.， the translator should use literal translation frequently and use free translation when necessary.

4. Criteria in Business English Translation

English language base，scientific knowledge and commercial business knowledge are three elements of business English tranlation. In 2002，LiuFa gong proposed three criteria in business English translation：faithfulness，exactness，consistency.Faithfulness here means the equivalence in the coonatation of information.Exactness means the accurate use of words in the process of translation.Consistency means the conformity with the jargons，terms and concepts of the original language.

5. Suggestions for Business English Translator

Generally speaking，in the process of business English translation，a good translator must have four aspects of abilities.Firstly，he must have a good command of both the source and the target lanuage.Secondly，he need to master some specialized knowledge of international business management，customs，and technical terms in business.Thirdly，he should enhance the skills of communication and strengthen the abilities of using language.The last one，he must be familiar with the techniques in business Englsih translation and develop foreign language thinking pattern.

6. Conclusion

Business English is based on the basic English grammar and vocabulary，but its translation is more complicated than the literature translation and ordinary translation.Business English is not only a kind of tool to communicate but also a way to improve the international competitiveness.Translators should be diligent and eager to accumulate the translation experiences and try to make the translation version smooth and natural as much as possible.

References：

[1]劉法公.商貿漢英翻譯的原則探索[J].中國翻譯，2002（1）.

[2]章振邦.新編英語語法教程[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，1995.

[3]胡壯麟.語言學教程（第三版）[M].北京：北京大學出版社，2006.