A Contrastive Study On Lexical Reiteration In Translating Between Chinese And English Contracts

Lexical reiteration is an important component of lexical cohesion in a text, contributing much to the coherence of a text.Cohesion theory has been a great concern in linguistics and the translation circle since the nineteen sixties.Many linguists and scholars have been studying cohesion theory and trying to establish the relationship between cohesion and coherence and find out the important roles of cohesion in the creation of a text.Among them are renowned M.A.K Halliday and Ruqaiya Hansan(1976),Michhael Hoey(1991),Hu Zhuanglin(1994) and Zhu Yongsheng(2001),Liao Qiuzhong(1992),ect.However,as a key part of lexical cohesion in cohesion theory,lexical reiteration has received relatively little attention. The understanding and application of lexical reiteration devices into translation practice is still in need of systematic discussion.Thus the understanding of the differences between Chinese and English lexical reiteration devices and the appropriate choice of translation strategies in translation practice leave much to be desired.Based on the cohesive theories of Halliday,Hasan,Hoey and Hu Zhuanglin,this paper groups lexical reiteration devices into four chief categories,namely,repetition reiteration,synonym or near synonym reiteration,antonym reiteration and hyponymy reiteration.The four types of lexical reiteration devices are applied differently in the translation between Chinese and English contracts.Based on numerous examples,this paper incorporates theories of text linguistics,contrastive linguistics,forensic linguistics and translation theory,and tries to find out the differences and similarities between Chinese and English lexical reiteration devices.By means of special contrastive analysis in Chinese and English contracts,this paper probes into the stylistic and cultural aspects which cause the lexical reiteration differences in the translation between Chinese and English contracts.In the last endeavor,this paper puts forward some strategies for translation of lexical reiteration devices between Chinese and English contracts. This paper is composed of five chapters.Chapter One introduces the motivation, methodology and structure of this paper.Chapter Two introduces the theoretical framework of lexical reiteration,representatives of different linguistic schools and analyses lexical reiteration and their classifications and functions in addition to the features of contracts.Chapter Three starts with an analysis of the classifications and functions of four chief lexical reiteration devices in light of contrastive analysis.On the basis of language structure and cultural aspects,this paper continues with an analysis of the differences and similarities of four lexical reiteration devices between Chinese and English contracts.This paper analyzes the frequencies of four lexical reiteration devices in Chinese and English contracts and achieves findings that follows.The reiteration devices frequently used in both Chinese and English contracts are repetition,hyponymy,antonym,and synonym or near-synonym.In terms of frenquency,repetitions occurring in Chinese contracts and in English contracts are both in the first place.In the second place stands hyponymy in Chinese contracts,but it is in the last place in English contracts.Antonym,which occupies the second place in English contracts but the third in Chinese ones.The frequency of the application of synonym or near-synonym in Chinese contracts are the lowest,but they are in the third place in English contracts.Chapter Four analyzes the language features of Chinese and English contracts,their stylistic structures and cultural reasons. Subsequently,strategies are put forward for the translation of the four chief types of lexical reiteration devices between Chinese and English contracts.This chapter also discusses the significance of a contrastive study of lexical reiteration to translators. Chapter Five summarizes major findings and significance of the study,as well as limitations of this paper.