【毕业论文】商务英语信函中的连接词及翻译.doc

【毕业论文】商务英语信函中的连接词及翻译 本科生毕业论文设计题 目On the Text Conjunction and Its Translation in English Business Letters商务英语信函中的连接词及翻译专 业英 语 商务英语 院 部外国语学院学 号0804420612姓 名林琪琪指导教师舒 兰 讲师答辩时间二一一年十二月论文工作时间2011年09月2011年12月学生指导老师舒兰商务英语信函是国际贸易的一种重要交流手段在写作中连接词的使用事关话语连贯有利于提高的质量在目前的研究中对商务信函的文体特点用词策略等研究较多基于此本文讨论了连接词的定义位置和分类以及连接词的翻译根据功能对等翻译理论翻译商务信函应该把读者的反应放在首位在接受语中用最贴切的对等语再现源语信息商务英语信函连接词功能对等连接词翻译On the Text Conjunction and Its Translation in English Business LettersUndergraduate Lin qiqiSupervisor Shu LanAbstract English business letter is a kind of important means of communication in international trade In writing the use of the conjunction is related with the discourse coherence and can improve the quality of the writing In the present study the stylistic features and term strategy of business letter are studied more than other aspects This paper studies on the definition position and classification of conjunction According to the functional equivalence principle readers reaction should be put in the first place and the source language should be expressed in appropriate receptors languageKey words English business letter conjunction functional equivalence conjunction translationContents1 Introduction12 Introduction to text conjunction121 Definition of text conjunction222 Position of text conjunction223 Categories of text conjunctions23 Function of conjunctions in English business letter34 Translation of text conjunctions541 Theoretical foundationfunctional equivalence theory542 Translation of text conjunctions under parataxis and hypotaxis6com The definition of hypotaxis and parataxis6com Strategies of translation65 Conclusion9Bibliography11Acknowledgements121 Introduction The main purpose of business letters is to send massages do business and communicate in business exchanges With the development of the international trade it is more and more important in writing and translating business letter Generally speaking business letters are concise and easy to understand and they tend to be less personal because they strictly deal with business affairs or matters closely connected with business or with people the writer may not know by name or in person The component parts of language are of course words and the basis of language is the grouping together of the component parts ie words into what is called a sentence The secret of all good writing is the very careful choice of words so that they convey with force and conviction the exact idea the writer has in mind Since English and Chinese are two different languages it is no easy job to obtain as much correspondence as possible between the source and target texts Halliday holds that within the primary word class of adverbs there is another class namely conjunctions Conjunctions also form word groups by modifications such as even if not until if only Many conjunctive expressions have evolved from more complex structures com soon as in case nevertheless Halliday and Hasan 197657 classify the discourse links as four types1Addictive conjunctions2Adversative conjunctions 3Causal conjunctions4Temporal conjunctions As is known to all effective communication requires coherence and clarity and conjunctions play a very important role in making communication coherent and clear A lot of studies have shown that the use of conjunctions is problematic for language learners The use of conjunctions contributes to cohesion and teachers often focus on these devices in writing lessons but students may misuse or overuse these cohesive devices All these performances are likely to make the text less comprehensible Therefore focusing on the study of conjunctions will also benefit business letter writingHypotaxis refers to the connection of words or sentences by linguistic ways including both lexical and morphological ones and parataxis the connection of words or sentences by inner logic and semantic relations between linguistic units Westerners have a developed rational thought and attach a great importance on logic while Chinese believe intuition with a strong emotion In business letter translation special attention must be paid to parataxis and hypotaxis In this paper conjunctions translation is discussed connected with Eugene Nida functional equivalent theory2 Introduction to text conjunctionConjunction can be considered as a term used to refer to surface signals of relations among events or situations in a text Conjunctions which are given different terms such as logical connectives cohesive ties conjuncts or discourse markers have been favorite topics in text linguistics and discourse analysis 21 Definition of text conjunctionConjunction is the word to indicate the relationship of two words or two sentences Conjunctions are commonly used for starting a passage or expanding sentences and can also be used in long complex sentences as a link to the context in addition they can make a summary when at the end of the passage It help readers to organize classify transfer and evaluate the information required22 Position of text conjunctionCoordinate conjunctions often occur between phrases they link whereas on the location of conjunctions where they occur subordinate conjunctions can be divided into the following groups1 Clause-initial conjunctions conjunctions occur in the initial position of the clause such as the conjunctions in Chinese所以可是但是etc and conjunctions in English are mainly clause-initial conjunctions2 Floating conjunctions conjunctions can occur before or after the subject their position being flexible capable of occupying several different positions What the conjunction indicates is the semantic relation rather than the grammatical one and thus the position is rather flexible eg 如果虽然不但etc 3 Another case for our attention is the correlative conjunctions They always occur in couplets joining various sentence elements that should be treated as grammatically equal such as bothand eitheror neithernor notonly whetheror虽然但是因为所以如果那么不但而且即使也不论都etc All of these correlative conjunctions should respectively be placed before phrases clauses or sentences they link The above forms usually occur in the formal style 23 Categories of text conjunctions The classification of a word is mainly determined by its semantic features grammatical features or formal features The judgment of grammatical features consists of the following 1 The ability to generate sentence We can see whether the word act as a component or not directly in the sentence and what role it plays2 The power of combination We can see what kind of word it combines3 The location it occurs We can see whether the place it occupies is before or after the subject Those floating conjunctions should be determined by their power of generating sentence and by the meaning they expressThere is no single uniquely correct inventory of the types of conjunctive relation each of which would highlight different aspects of the facts For example many scholars treat conjunctions as two principle types according to their functions in sentences coordinate conjunction and subordinate conjunctions The coordinate conjunctions connect words groups of words phases clauses etc that are independent of each other giving them a grammatical equality The commonly used coordinate conjunctions are and or nor but yet as well as hence and so on In Chinese there are和同与及以及而且或者 并而and so on The conjunctions introducing the subordinate clauses are termed as subordinate conjunctions which are a large group including because if when since before after unless and many more In Chinese there are 因为如果假如假若若除非etc A clause that begins with a coordinate conjunction must follow the clause to which it is linked but a clause that begins with a subordinate conjunction may generally follow it or precede it The clauses introduced by subordinate conjunctions are all restrictive Halliday and Hasan 197657 classify the discourse links as the following four types1 Addictive the additive relation is a general semantic relation in the text- forming component of the semantic system based on the logic notion of and This relation can be expressed by words and phrases such as and or furthermore similarly in addition whats more etc2 Adversative the adversative relation is used to signal a meaning contrary to expectation It can be expressed by various words and phrases such as but however nevertheless though on the other hand etc3 Causal the causal relation can be signaled by words and phrases such as so because therefore for this reason it follows from this etc4 Temporal the temporal relation expresses the sequence of described events It is usually realized through words such as first next then after that an hour later when at last etcThe classification by Halliday is very convenient for people to analyze and study conjunctions This paper is based on the four categories by Halliday 3 Function of conjunctions in English business letterVan Dijk 197987 proposed two functions of conjunctions semantic and pragmatic functions For him the semantic function of connectives is to relate facts whereas pragmatic function of connectives must be defined in terms of the structures and sequencing of illocutionary acts English business letter emphasizes the sequence of expression and the reasonable contents arrangement Conjunction may be a symbol of a new paragraph or a turning point of a meaning For exampleDear Mr AuxiliaIn compliance with the request contained in your letter of October 8 2005 we are sending youHerewith the required Proforma Invoice in triplicate Please note that our offer remains valid until November 15For your information our Sewing Machines are selling fast and there have been numerous inquiries for them Please take the necessary steps without delay We are looking forward to receiving your order at an early dateYours trulyAlthough this letter is short but there are two conjunctions used In the first paragraph the conjunction is in compliance with to make a transitional function and indicates that the writer and receptor communicated before For your information in the beginning of the second paragraph is offering the information about the sellers market In business letters text conjunctions have the following six functions1 Highlighting the product and theme as regards with reference to in term of are in this type These conjunctions usually are put before the name or order of product For instance As regards our order No110 for 3000 boxes moon cake we have received nothing from you about its shipment 2 Offering materials and message for your information for your perusal etc when these conjunctions occur it means there is a special information need to be noticed for the receptor 3 Explaining letters in details in other words furthermore in addition etc these conjunctions are usually used in the counter-offer to make a detail explanation about the disagreement on pricepackaging and payment 4 Indicating adverse and condition however while on the other hand if on condition that etc These conjunctions are related with quantity and discount For exampleOur price will be received by 5 on condition that your monthly orders amount to 2500 in value5 Indicating date and time as soon as when before etc These conjunctions are related with shipment and letter of credit For exampleWe apologize for the underpayment of us 12300 on your invoice No123 This was due to a misunderstanding of the amount 6 Indicating reason and result as for because of in this case result from etcThe main function of conjunctions in business letter is to offer certain business information To understand a business letter is to reorganize information from these sentences 4 Translation of text conjunctionsTranslation is a communicative process that involves cross-linguistic cross- cultural and cross-social factors It requires the translator to have an in-depth understanding of the two languages involved Therefore adequate familiarity with the characteristics of each language is prerequisite to successful translation In the translation of conjunctions it should not only concentrate on the concrete translation strategies for us but also bear in mind that actual translation is closely related to translators styles which must be taken into consideration41 Theoretical foundationfunctional equivalence theoryFunctional equivalence theory put forward by Eugene Nida well embodies the spirit of functionalism According to Nida translating means communicating and this process depends on what is received by persons hearing or reading a translation Judging the validity of a translation cannot stop with comparison of corresponding lexical meanings grammatical classes and rhetorical devices What is important is the extent to which receptors correctly understand and appreciate the translated text Nida 1997116 Therefore in understanding functional equivalence translation there are two points that we should keep in mindFirstly functional equivalent translation emphasizes equivalence rather than identity In translation practice there is never a one-hundred-percent equivalence either to be the original meaning or to the response of the receptor This is the case with the translation between Chinese and English in particular which belong to two totally different language systemsSecondly functional equivalent translation emphasizes functional equivalence rather than formal equivalence or in Nidas words formal correspondence Accordingly in actual translating process two things should be born in mind when handling an original text On the one hand the translator should put functional equivalence in the first place whenever and wherever possible In order to reproduce a successful translated version to which the target language receptors can feel the same as the source language receptors do the translator should not be restrained by formal equivalence but should attach importance to functional equivalence On the other hand however formal equivalence should never be neglected given that functional equivalence is achieved Only in this way can the translated version in closest natural target language reflect and represent the life and society of the source textIn fact when translating it is difficult to find a completely equivalence to express the source language The functional equivalent translation is a feasible theoretic approach to translation and it emphasizes the same reaction of the readers Therefore because Chinese is showing paratactic prominence and English hypotactic prominence much attention should be paid to the hypotaxis and parataxis for readers to understand better 42 Translation of text conjunctions under parataxis and hypotaxisThe biggest difference of Chinese and English is the difference of parataxis and