A Study On C-E Translation Strategies Of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports From The Perspective Of Aim-needs Theory

With an increasing number of Chinese corporations going global and making a splash on the world stage,how to promote responsible corporate image and win the trust of overseas markets becomes one of the linchpins for their success.Corporate social responsibility report,as an effective instrument to disclose corporate social responsibility information to corporate stakeholders,plays an indispensable role in managing corporate image.Naturally,for Chinese corporations endeavoring in the global market where English is used as a lingua franca,high-quality C-E translation of corporate social responsibility reports is tremendously instrumental in the accurate and effective communication of corporate social responsibility messages.The present study intends to establish a system of theoretical categories of C-E translation strategies for corporate social responsibility reports from the perspective of aim-needs theory.Through top-down theoretical exploration and bottom-up cases studies of 30 Chinese and English sample pairs of corporate social responsibility reports released by randomly selected Chinese corporations listed on 2016 Fortune Global 500,this study finds that the aim-needs of corporations as translation commissioners are characterized by optimal publicity validity which means corporations expect the utmost publicity effect while the aim-needs of stakeholders as translation audience are characterized by optimal information validity which means stakeholders expect the utmost information disclosure.Based on the aim-needs features of corporations and stakeholders and the typology of factual,descriptive,evaluative,cultural,aesthetic,and stylistic information,the study comes up with four values-bound principles holding that C-E translations of corporate social responsibility reports should be conciseness-oriented,authenticity-oriented,recognition-eliciting,and image-presenting.In order to optimize the value of various types of information and satisfy the aim-needs of corporations and stakeholders,two strategic principles for C-E translation of corporate social responsibility reports are put forward,one being thematic information salience/economy and the other image salience.In light of the additional factors that may influence the translation process,four supportive norms are put into place holding that C-E translations of corporate social responsibility reports should adapt to target culture,conform to target language,cater to target audience's cognitive and psychological expectations and adjust source text flaws.Under the guidance of macro and meso translation strategies,the author summarizes six manipulative rules to guide micro C-E translation of corporate social responsibility reports: foregrounding parallel information,simplifying redundant information,restructuring complex information,paraphrasing cultural elements,transcreating promotional slogans,and toning down excessive rhetoric.Through carefully devising the system of theoretical categories of C-E translation strategies for corporate social responsibility reports,the present study wishes to provide practical guidance for Chinese corporations in smoothly and accurately conveying their corporate social responsibility messages to their overseas markets via high-quality C-E translation of corporate social responsibility reports and promoting ethical and responsible corporate image.