On Translation Strategies Of Politeness In English Business Correspondences

In consideration of the importance of English business correspondences in business activities and the cultural-specific characteristic of politeness, the author aims at exploring the translation strategies of politeness in English business correspondences through analyzing politeness in English and Chinese business correspondences from the perspective of politeness principle, thereby guiding the teaching and learning of business translation, and the business translating practice.The author collected 35 typical English business correspondences with politeness and their Chinese versions, which were chosen from four well-edited and well-translated books on business correspondences, as the analyzed data of this research.The paper, at first, reviews the former pragmatic studies of politeness and the translation theories related to politeness translation.Then, three research questions are given based on the former relevant studies:1. How is politeness in English and Chinese business correspondences manifested according to English and Chinese politeness principles?2. What are the similarities of and differences in politeness in English and Chinese business correspondences?3. What are the translation strategies of politeness in English business correspondences, and how to make use of the strategies?Next, the paper focuses on the analysis of politeness in English and Chinese business correspondences according to English and Chinese politeness principles. First is the exploration of politeness in English and Chinese business correspondences according to the maxims in English and Chinese politeness principles. Second is the comparative analysis of the similarities of and differences in politeness in English and Chinese business correspondences according to the maxims in English and Chinese politeness principles.After that, the paper induces that domestication is the translation strategy to manage politeness in English business correspondences from theoretical and practical levels. Also, it illustrates how to make use of the translation strategies of politeness in English business correspondences with some examples collected from the 35 English business correspondences and the Chinese versions.The last part of the paper sums up the findings of this research, and points out the limitations of the research and the further research target.