从目的论看商务合同翻译

Review on Commercial Contract Translation From the Perspective of Skopos Theory

Abstract: International commercial contracts are one of the most important legal documents. Due to their special functions and complicated sentence structures, translators often find they are restricted in creation during the process of translation. Therefore, some scholars come to the conclusion that Skopos Theory, which take flexibility seriously to enable the translator do an excellent job for the target text readers, cannot be applied to commercial contract translation. This thesis starts from the concept and features of international contracts, and move on to the base and principles of Skopos Theory. Then it gives a review of commercial contract translation under the guidance of Skopos Theory. Finally it suggests Skopos Theory should be attached due importance to the translation of commercial contracts. Key Words: Commercial Contract; Skopos Theory; Translation Purpose; Text Type

从目的论视角评析商务合同的翻译

摘要：国际商务合同是最重要的法律文件之一，由于其具有特殊的功能和复杂的句子结构，在英汉互译过程中译者发挥创造性有一定局限，所以有学者认为目的论强调更好地服务于译文读者，具有很大灵活性，因而并不适用于商务合同文本的翻译。本文从国际商务合同的概念及特点出发，阐述了目的论的理论基础，分析了目的论的内容和原则。评析了在目的论指导下商务合同的翻译，并建议译者在翻译商务合同文本的过程中，也要注意运用目的论的指导。 关键词：商务合同；目的论；翻译目的；文本类型

1. Introduction

In the trend of economic globalization and integration, international trade is becoming more and more frequent. Commercial contracts as a necessary procedure in foreign trade continue to play a significant role in protecting interests of both parties. Since the contract is a particular type, which has legal effects, the work of translation shall be done more carefully in case the ambiguity or incompleteness would arouse disagreement and even controversy.

Functionalist Translation Theory is a major breakthrough in the history of translation in that it brings

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up a new standard for translators—that is translators should be dismissed from the original texts and pay more attention to the purpose they intend to achieve and the receivers of the target texts. Therefore, the translator can deploy different translation methods according to different needs.

This thesis gives a brief introduction to Skopos Theory and concludes from its contents and principles that Skopos Theory can be guidance for commercial contract translation. And in the light of this theory, certain strategies can be employed in commercial contract translation.

2. Overview of Commercial Contracts

Commercial contracts are essential components of the international trade. They play a significant role in clarifying the responsibilities of the involved parties and protecting their interests. As one form of legal documents, the commercial contract has its distinguished features. Thus the method of contract translation differs both from pure literary works in which free translation is more widely used and from simple technological terms where literal translation is employed.

2.1 Concept of International Commercial Contract

In general terms, the international commercial contract is referred to the contract that includes business of two or more countries. The contents of commercial contracts are determined by the parties that are included. It mainly includes the clauses like titles or names of the parties and the domiciles thereof; technical conditions, quality, standard, specifications and quantities of the subject matter of the contract; terms of price, amount and way of payment and various additional charges; compensation and other liabilities for breach of the contracts.

2.2 Features of Commercial Contracts

Employed as an applied style, commercial contract are required that the words and sentences in the contract should basically be accurate and rigorous. Meanwhile, as mentioned above, commercial contract distinguishes themselves as one form of legal documents where no ambiguity is allowed.

2.2.1 Lexical Feature

Peter Newmark (1994, 56-57) stated that words and phrases are the most foundational and independent units in all languages, an authentic integration of which would show the basic technique of an excellent translator. On the contrary, ambiguity will rise if the translator misuses important words and phrases.

“An apparent lexical feature is that archaic words are extensively used in commercial contracts, which

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makes the language more serious and rigorous”, Guan Lifang (2010: 8) said. Generally speaking, these archaic words are “here”, “there”, and “where” combined with prepositions like “in”, “on”, “after”, etc.

(1) If either of the Parties fails to fulfill its obligations under this Contract, it shall compensate the other party for all its economic losers resulting therefore.

合营一方如不履行本合同或公司章程的义务，违约一方，得赔偿另一方因此而遭受的经济损失。

Another important lexical feature is the usage of modal verbs. According to Wu Lirong and Zhang Guang (2010: 10-11), “the modal verbs in English imply the attitude and notions of the speaker, or they are attached with certain subjective visions.” In commercial contract translation, choosing the right modal verbs is of significant importance for accuracy and seriousness. In a contract , “shall” is accepted as “坚持” and it expresses a strong wiling and determination. If one party fails to fulfill the obligations referred to by “shall”, it will definitely be counted as a violation of the treaty and the party will have to shoulder the responsibility. However, the meaning of “will” is less strict comparatively.

2.2.2 Syntactic Feature

The most distinctive feature in contract clauses is the rigorous logic, sophisticated structure and clear expression. As is mentioned before, the purpose of the contract is to divide the line of responsibilities and duties between the two parties in action. To emphasize the integrity and strictness, elliptical sentences or words like “etc.” or “and so on” are seldom employed in the contract. Words like “about” are eliminated in the sentence to avoid any ambiguity. Instead, very long compound sentences are applied in order to add more information and therefore to be more clear.

(2) The seller must deliver goods which are free from any right of claim of a third party based on industrial property or other intellectual property.

卖方所交之货必须是任何第三方均不能根据工业产权或其他知识产权享有任何权利或提出任何要求的货物。

3. Skopos Theory

Dated back to the 1970s, the appearance of Germany Functionalist Translation Theory gave rise to

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great influence. Defining translation as an intentional action, it put an end to the discussion of whether translators should use literal translation or use free translation. Functionalist Translation Theory, from the perspective of the function and purpose of translation, stresses that different strategies and methods can be employed according to different purposes the translator wants to achieve.

3.1 Theoretical Basis

Functionalist Translation Theory focuses on the functionalism and social and cultural factors. Meanwhile it intends to absorb and learn communication theory, behavioral theory, article linguistics, and discourse analysis theory. Eventually Functionalist Translation Theory has developed into its own particular school of theory system.

The emergency of this theory is a symbol of transformation from linguistics combined with Equivalence Theory, which attaches more importance to form and equality, to a theory that pays more attention to the function of translation and the social and cultural factors. Translation is considered as a behavior under functionalist theory. So “the important points of the theory lie in three aspects: a description of the essence of translation, an analysis on the participants of translation process, and an illustration of the principles of functional translation”, Nord (2001: 33-34) stated. Main representatives of the functionalist theory are Reiss, Vermeer, Manttari and Nord.

3.2 Explanation of Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory is the most significant one in Functionalist Translation Theory. Proposed by Vermeer and perfected by the other main representatives, the theory focuses on the purposes the translators want to reach. “Skopos” is a Greek word which means “aim” or “purpose”, according to Wang Jinquan. (2000: 15). It emphasizes that translation is a behavior that should be based on the original text, but simultaneously the behavior should have its own intention and results. In Skopos theory, purpose is the most important principle in deciding which translation method should be applied. In other words, target text is determined by translation purpose.

There are three explanations referring to this “purpose”: the intention of the translator, the communicational objective of the target text, and the purpose that one wants to achieve by deploying a specific method of translation. Under the framework of Skopos theory, the receivers of the translated text have a higher status than those of the original text, because it is believed that receivers have their own cultural background, expectation and communicational demands. Therefore, every piece of

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translated text should be produced to some certain audience.

4. Review of Skopos Theory on Commercial Contract Translation

Skopos Theory gives priority to the text function and translation purpose, which means that translation should be done by analyzing the original text and according to the requirements of the receivers. Consequently, the translator must distinguish the style and define its function.

As has been discussed before, commercial contracts should be informative text since its most important task is to give clear and complete information to the receivers. This brings precondition to make a research on the translation of commercial contracts under Skopos Theory.

4.1 The Principles Applied to Contract Translation in Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory systematically makes a study in the perspective of the communicational function of the text. The theory and the principles provide effective instruction function to applied translation. Since the commercial contract can be classified into informative texts, it can also be discussed under several principles in Skopos Theory.

4.1.1 Skopos Principle

From the view of Skopos Theory, any translation has a certain purpose or function to achieve. Thus the purpose of the overall behavior of translation is the highest principle in the process. The original text is no longer divine in that it is considered as an offer of information. Since the target addresses in commercial contract are the involved parties, which refer to the importer and exporter, the requirements of the target text thus should be accurate and concrete. According to Zhang Nanfeng (1995: 30-31), “the translator should develop particular strategies to satisfy these aimed demands instead of giving too much emphasis on the form of the original text.” Thus in the process of translation, commercial terms, business vocabulary, special usage and idiomatic expressions of the ordinary vocabulary in commercial context shall be comprehended exactly.

4.1.2 Coherence Principle

Viewed from the structure in the target language, coherence rule here means that the target text must comply with coherence within a text, which will ensure addresses can understand and accept the text. Furthermore, the coherence guarantees that the text makes sense in the target language and communicational environment. Since commercial contract is a solemn document, coherence is of particular significance. Expressiveness and smoothness are two principles for translating commercial

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contract which are also derived from coherence rule. Expressiveness requires the target text must meet the features of legal language. And smoothness demands for clearness and understandability in the target language.

4.1.3 Fidelity Principle

Viewed from the relationship between the original text and target text, fidelity rule refers to the coherence of the two versions, which is similar to the commonly known principle of faithfulness. However, fidelity rule differs here in that it must submit to the Skopos rule and coherence rule which have been discussed above. The important principle of expressiveness and smoothness is illustrated under the fidelity rule. Expressiveness implies that the target text should embody the features of legal documents while smoothness attach more significance on the grammar requirements of the target text whose purpose is to ensure the target language can be understood easily and clearly.

4.2 Review of Skopos Theory on Commercial Contract Translation

Although translation methods are influenced by different theories, opinions and contexts, when considered as a whole the commercial contract is not that sophisticated compared with other styles. As Beaugrande, R. de and W. Dressler (1981: 23-24) stated, “Owing to its special process of production and using environment, commercial contract cannot be mixed with emotions in that the information provided should be descriptive and objective.” Under directions of Skopos Theory, certain strategies are deployed in commercial contract translation.

4.2.1 From the Perspective of Objectives

Having a clear understanding of the communicational purpose and what the target text wants to achieve play a significant role in translating commercial contract. This is because the meaning of some words differs in distinct contexts. Thus as for the purpose of delivering appropriate communicational information, the translator should determinately understand which target word is correspond with the original one and choose the most appropriate word for target text.

(1) a. The premium rates vary with differed interests insured. 保险费随不同的被保险的货物而定。

b.

If the buyer fails to pay any account when due, the buyer shall be liable to

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pay the seller overdue interest on such unpaid amount from the due date until the actual date of payment at the rate of five percent per annum, such overdue interest shall be paid upon demand of the seller.

若买方未能支付到期账款，须向卖方支付从到期之日到付款之日年利率百分之五的逾期利息。逾期利息的支付应卖方的要求。

“Interest” is involved in both the two sentences, but the meanings are of great difference because of the distinctive backgrounds every “interest” belongs. The first one comes from insurance industry and should be translated as “被保险的货物”, while the second sentence is concerned with the default of the buyer in international trade and therefore “interest” here means “利息”. It can be concluded here that understanding communicational purpose in different professional areas and choose the proper target word are very important in commercial contract translation.

Secondly, to understand and grasp the difference between easily confused words is extremely important. This is because the improper choices of words or words that do not convey the referred meaning will definitely lead to ambiguity and even the contrary idea.

For examples, “initialed text” and “referendum contract” respectively means “草签文本” and “草签合同”. However, the meaning of “草签” in these two terms are different. The first one refers to “initials”, and the parties only need to sign the first letter of name when initialing. So “initialed” here shall be translated as “草签文本”. The latter’s “referendum” constitutes the certification of articles and has no legal force. Therefore, although both targeted phrase have “草签”, translators shall bear in mind the actual difference in case of any further incorrect explanation.

4.2.2 From the Perspective of Principles

While the above perspective mainly focuses on the translation of special words and expressions in commercial contract translation, the coherence principle and fidelity principle put emphasis on the expressiveness and fluency of the target text sentences. Changes in the process of translation can be made according to coherence and fidelity principles to attain the purpose behind the text.

On condition that Skopos theory is strictly abided by, which is saying the target text can expresses the expected meaning, literal translation is preferred according to the fidelity principle. As commercial contract is categorized as practical version and is often for meaning conveying, literal translation is most seen in simple sentence translation in this area.

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(2) Either Side can replace the representatives it has appointed provided that it submits a written notice to the other Side.

任何一方都可更换自己指派的代表，但须书面通知对方。

In this sentence, almost every word shows its meaning in sequence while the meaning of the whole sentence can be understood clearly. So when the sentences in the original are simple enough, fidelity rule should be given priority and therefore literal translation is more frequently employed.

(3) Payment: By irrevocable L/C at sight to reach the Seller 30 days before the time of shipment.

支付：买方应当在装船前30天将不可撤销的即期信用证开到卖方。

In practice, the strategy of amplification is usually used when it is necessary to keep the target text coherent. Taking the above sentence for example, it’s not hard to discover the subject of the whole sentence is omitted. But in order to convey the exact idea clearly and coherently, translator should give the hinted subject clearly and definitely. Therefore, “买方” appears in the targeted text, though is not shown in the original one.

How to express the meaning after comprehension of the original long and complicated contract is an intractable question. In commercial contract translation, it is of special significance because the failure of conveying the right meaning will lead to serious troubles. Thus expressiveness and smoothness is required under coherence and fidelity rules.

(4) a. During the period from the date of effectiveness to the termination of the Contract, the two Parties shall hold a meeting every year to discuss problems arising from the execution of the Contract.

本合同有效期间，双方应每年正式会晤一次，以讨论本合同履行期间存在的问题。

Although there is no unusual difficulties in the original sentence, literal translation like “在合同生效之日起到合同终止之日的期间内，双方每年举行一次会议，讨论合同发行中出现的问题” is too rigid

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to satisfy the expressive and concise need of commercial contract translation.

From what has been discussed in this part, it can be seen Skopos theory is an effective guidance in commercial contract translation.

5. Conclusion

It can be concluded that Skopos Theory has a close relationship with and makes great effects on commercial contract translation, which shall not be neglected. Meanwhile, it proves that word-to-word translation is not applicable in the translation of commercial contract. On the contrary, making proper changes in the process is a necessary measure to achieve the expected legal function. Positive effects can be gained when these skills are used in coherence with the target text. Therefore it is suggested that translation of commercial contract should always be a combination of a careful analysis on the original text and rigorous selection of the translation strategies.

Bibliography

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2. Newmark，Peter. A Textbook of Translation [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1994: 56-57.

3. Nord, Christiane. Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001: 33-34.

4. 关丽芳, 商务合同英语的词汇特点探析[J],《考试周刊》2010年第13期：8。

5. 王金铨,，从Skopos理论解读中国近代翻译中的变体现象[J]，《北京第二外国语学院学报》，2000年第6期：15。

6. 吴丽荣、张光，外贸合同翻译探讨[J],《中国商贸》，2010年第14期：10-11。

7. 张南峰，走出死胡同，建立翻译学[J],《中国翻译》1995年第4期：30-31。 精品文档word文档可以编辑！谢谢下载！

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