Translation Report For Construction Contract: Chinese Translation Of Modal Verbs In English Legal Text

This is a translation report about the Chinese translation of Construction Contract,which concerns some sets of agreements upon the schedule of construction,the payments,the detailed drawings and the other rights and obligations that the Constructor and the Proprietor have reached towards each other.In the process of the translation,the author finds that a large number of modal verbs have been applied in the legal text in the process of translation,and that a good understanding of modal verbs such as‘shall'and‘may'contributes greatly to an acceptable and presentable translation for the reason that shall and may have been applied in the source text more frequently.On the basis of a large number of scholars'achievements in the study of modal verbs,the author makes an analysis of the application and translation of modal verbs in legal text from a comparison of Chinese and English expression of modality,and makes a discussion of the application and translation in this text.The author reaches a conclusion that shall can be translated into“?”or“??”in the Chinese contexts where the legal text emphasizes the duties imposed upon the parties;may can be translated into Chinese“?”,“??”or“??”when the legal text entitles the parties to do or not to do something.In addition,a general description of modal verbs in the translation report,including their features,translation,as well as their use and application are also addressed.The author hopes that this probe into the translation methods or techniques of shall and may offers a rewarding reference for the future translation of the similar type of the legal text.