Translation Of English Business Contracts: In The Perspective Of Stylistic Features

Currently, it is widely acknowledged that "a contract is a contract" and that the contract has become one of the most important elements in people's life. The parties to an agreement ascertain the terms and conditions by way of entering into a contract, and in consequence accomplish their intention, complete their transaction through performance of the contract, and hence adjust their property relationship. Being a formal document stipulating the rights and obligations of the parties, a business contract is endowed with legal effectiveness and is universally employed in business and trade. In order to shun disputes and protect the interests of the contracting parties, the translator of a business contract must assure accurate and authentic reproduction of the original meaning and the original style of the source text. Consequently, high-quality translation of a contract becomes more and more important and necessary. However, due to the particularity of its function and application environment of a contract, business contract English, quite different from other English, is of vivid stylistic features both in lexical side and syntactic side. In this way, in translating a business contract, premised on fidelity to the original meaning and faithful reflection of the original style, the translator must apply and employ specific translation strategies and criteria as the guidance to render a high-quality translation.In chapter two of this dissertation, it first introduces the definition, classification, basic contents and structure of a contract. Then in Chapter Three, it addresses to the style and stylistics of the contract. Moreover, it classifies the style of an English business contract. Resorting to a large number of sample sentences selected from the business contracts, the writer makes a concrete and elaborate analysis and interpretation on the stylistic features of the business contract. In Chapter Four, the translation of English business contracts is detailed. Firstly, the dissertation explains what translation is and examines the close relationship between translation and style; secondly it dwells on the specific translation criteria of applied style set up by various well-known scholars; lastly by connecting the analysis of stylistic features of an sales contract and applying J. P. Postgate's retrospective translation theory as the guidance, the writer establishes the specific translation criteria for business contract translation, i.e. accuracy and professionalism. For the particularity of the style of a business contract and the high requirement on the quality of its translation, the author advocates application and employment of the retrospective translation theory and the accurate and professional criteria, in the hope of improving the theory as well as practice of business contract translation. Finally, the author maintains that the study of business contract translation based on the analysis of stylistic features of the contract may absorb the attention of the academic world so as to conduce to normal and effective communication and development of business transactions between China and the English-speaking countries.