Abstract

International economic and trade exchanges tend to become more and more frequent due to the deep development of economic globalization. Meanwhile, entering into English business contracts also plays a significant part. English business contract is a valid protocol which can constrain both or more sides to promote smooth progress of international trade. Meanwhile, as the prime body of contracts, terms and conditions can not only clarify the rights and obligations of both or more parties, but also reduce unnecessary contradiction and conflict between countries. Although these terms are rich in content, some expressions of them are fixed and organized which can be called set clauses. Expression of formality, legality and specialty makes them clear, veracious and rigorous. However, there are many problems in the translation of set clauses in English business contracts because of some differences and deficiencies in various aspects. Unreasonable and nonstandard translation will probably influence economic development. What’s more, it’s likely to disorder the international market.

In this context, this paper chiefly investigates the translation strategies of set clauses in English business contracts on the basis of their linguistic features so as to improve translating quality of business contracts, which aims at avoiding unnecessary translating problems as well as errors and contributing to the development of international trade.

Key words: business contracts; set clauses; translation strategies

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Literature Review-2

3 Linguistic Features of Set Clauses in English Business Contracts-3

3.1 Lexical Features-3

3.2 Syntactical Features-4

3.3 Textual Features-6

4 On E-C Translation of Set Clauses in Business Contracts-7

4.1 Literal Translation-7

4.2 Conversion-8

4.3 Amplification-9

4.4 Division-10

4.5 Change of Voices-13

5 Conclusion-14

References-16