A Study On Translation Of English Business Contracts From The Perspective Of Interpersonal Function

The English business contracts are a genre of English for special purpose which is objective,precise and formal. From the perspective of interpersonal function, the thesis analyzes theEnglish business contracts and their Chinese versions, so as to uncover special features andtranslation strategies of English business contracts translation. Interpersonal function is one ofthe three metafunctions proposed by Halliday. He pointed out that it can be realized by moodand modality system. In this thesis, the related provisions of contract samples are chosen bythe author. The thesis adopts qualitative approaches to investigate the features of Englishbusiness contracts and translation strategies. Through the analyses, different expressions ofmood and modality system are discovered from English and Chinese business contracts. Onthe basis of analyses, corresponding translation strategies are come up with. In translation ofmood system, Subjects are usually converted into other elements or omitted; temporal finiteoperators are omitted; and modal adjuncts are converted into adverbial modifiers. While intranslation of modality system, modal verbs are translated literally; passive voice is replacedby active voice; and the “it” in objective orientations is omitted. In the studying process,provisions from contract samples are listed to support the author’s views and analyses aremade after each example. The thesis proves the operability and the practicality of theinterpersonal function in the translation of English business contracts, and enriches the relatedtranslation researches.