Application Of Discourse Analysis To The Translation Of Instructions Of Imported Household Appliances

With China's entry into WTO, the domestic market opens gradually. Many foreign household appliances find their way in the new market. In order to take predominance in the Chinese market, instructions as important attachments to the household appliances also draw attention. The focus is on the translation quality of household appliance instructions. A clear translated instruction with accurate and detailed information not only fulfills the demand of usage and avoids inconveniences, but also attracts consumers, thus enhancing the image of the company.In China, instruction translation does not have the attention it deserves. Many translators classify it into a branch of technology translation, and have only slight researches on it. Most of the analyses on instruction translation are confined to introduction of translation methods, so they are insufficient in theoretical guidance. As a kind of practical writing, household appliance instructions have their own characteristics. Therefore, they deserve a deeper analysis.This thesis tries to analyze translation issues of instructions of imported household appliances within the framework of discourse analysis through text function. After analyzing the features of household appliance instructions, the author discusses the text function. This thesis points out that instructions of household appliances have informative function, directive function, aesthetic function and textual function. The author analyzes the informative, directive, aesthetic function, and then discusses the textual function, which enables other functions to be realized. According to the collected data, the thesis discusses the Thematic Progression of instructions. Based on the theory of discourse analysis, and the language features of instructions, the author chooses "equifunctional" translation as instruction strategy and poses translation methods of instructions.