Abstract

With the rapid development of globalization in economy, international business and trades have been increasing enormously．Business English contracts have shown great significance in international trades and communications. The thesis seeks to explore the translation of business English contracts at two levels: lexical level and syntactical level from the perspective of the functional equivalence theory. 

In light of functional equivalence theory, in the translation process of business English contracts, the differences between the two languages and cultures should be taken into consideration. At the lexical level, when translating formal and written words, technical terms, archaic words, juxtapositions and modal verbs, one should first analyze their functions in the original text, and then tries to use their Chinese counterparts. At the syntactical level, whether to keep or change or transform the original sentence structure depends on the Chinese habit of expression; one should translate flexibly to achieve functional equivalence.

Key words: business English contracts; translation ; functional equivalence

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 Background of the study-1

1.2 Objective and methods of the study-1

1.3 Overall structure of the thesis-1

2 Literature Review-2

3 Translation of Business English Contracts from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory-3

3.1 Brief introduction of business English contracts-3

3.2 Definition of functional equivalence theory-4

3.3 Translation of words-4

3.3.1 Formal and written words-4

3.3.2 Technical terms-5

3.3.3 Archaic words-6

3.3.4 Juxtapositions-7

3.3.5 Modal verbs-7

3.4 Translation of sentences-8

3.4.1 Adverbial clauses-9

3.4.2 Attributive clauses-11

4 Conclusion-12

References-14