Abstract

As the global economy and international trade develops more and more fast, the relationship between China and other foreign countries has become closer. Additionally, China has been increasingly engaged in international political affairs, culture exchange and global economy. Business English correspondence plays a more and more important role which cannot be ignored. It is the bridge of cross culture communication. However, although business English correspondence is very important, the layout, the style and the content aren’t stereotyped. The business translation may can’t meet the increasingly demand of international business driven by the development of China and the increasing rules in diverse conditions and occasions. So, we should pay more attention to business translation and speed up the process of the standardization of translating business English correspondence. “Functional Equivalence Theory” is proposed by the famous American translation theorist and linguist Eugene A. Nida, which points out that the source language and the target language should be functional equivalent instead of literal equivalent. The theory includes four aspects: lexical equivalence, syntactic equivalence, textual equivalence and stylistic equivalence. This thesis is based on Nida’s “Functional Equivalence Theory”. Firstly, analyze former researches and their achievements. Secondly, conclude the features of business English correspondence for further study. Then, list some examples about words, sentences and contexts to analyze and assess the arguments. Finally, the thesis summarizes some practical translation skills a translation should pay attention to in the translation process.

Key words: business correspondence; Functional Equivalence Theory; translation

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction- 1

2 Literature Review-2

   2.1 Researches of Business English Correspondence at Home2

   2.2 Researches of Business English Correspondence Abroad.3

3 Business English Correspondence and Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory-4

3.1 The Features of Business English Correspondence-4

3.1.1 Form-5

3.1.2 Structure-6

3.1.3 Polite Formulas-6

3.2 Main proposals of Nida’s Functional Equivalence-7

3.2.1 Receptor’s Response-7

3.2.2 Cultural Transplantation -7

3.2.3 Stylistic Equivalence-8

4 Translation Skills of English to Chinese Translation for Business English Correspondence-9

4.1 Translation Skills for Words-9

4.2 Translation Skills for Syntax-10

4.3 Translation Skills for Style-12

5 Conclusion-13

References14