Translation Of Typical Chinese Legal Terms

In the process of China's ever-increasing participation and integration into the global trade, growing number of overseas investors in China need to learn about China's laws and numerous Chinese laws, regulations, legal documents and works have been translated into English. However, the current legal translation progress is not satisfactory compared with translation in other fields as literature, science and technology and commerce. Especially problems concerning the proper translation of typical Chinese legal terms have become a stumbling block to many legal translators, such as adequately translating legal terms with Chinese characteristics; resisting the legal language dominance and infiltration of developed countries; reserving and carrying forward the excellent Chinese legal culture and safeguarding the solemnity and standardability of Chinese legal language. On the basis of theoretical research and translation practice, many scholars and translators probe into techniques for the translation of Chinese legislative texts into English.This paper briefly describes problems occurring in C-E legal translation first and brings out the motivation, significance of the study as well as the general framework of the thesis. Then the thesis focuses on the general review on relevant translation theories as Postcolonial Theory. Then it compares the concepts of domestication, foreignization and hybridity, with their advantages and disadvantages discussed and points out the circumstances in their selection and application. The third part provides an overview on legal language and C-E legal translation, including the stylistic features of legal language, differences between legal English and legal Chinese, the history of C-E legal translation and qualifications of legal translators. The following part firstly concludes four principles for C-E legal translation. Then by analyzing examples of the English translation of legal terms with Chinese Characteristics, the forth part categorizes translation strategies of C-E legal translation, such as copy, transliteration, literal translation, word formation, free translation, substitution, omission, amplification, annotation, etc. into three major groups of foreignization, domestication and hybridity and then further carries on a study and research on the issue of English translation of legal language with Chinese characteristics. At last, the conclusion of the study and suggestions for further study are made.