A Comparative Study Of Cohesive Repetition In Chinese And English Texts Of CISG

Repetition is significant for discourse cohesion,while there are not many studies specializing in cohesive repetition,especially based on legal texts.However,there are more redundant repetitions in legal texts than in common texts.And repetition is an essential device to achieve the accuracy and coherence of legal texts.Thus,this thesis aims to analyze the similarities and differences of cohesive repetition between Chinese and English texts of CISG by exploring the types of repetition and frequency of each type.It tries to discuss the functions of cohesive repetition in legal texts and offer corresponding translation skills.Based on Hoey’s lexical repetition patterns and Hu Zhuanglin’s isomorphic cohesion,this paper makes a comparative study of cohesive repetition between Chinese and English versions of CISG,and draws the following conclusions:(1)Cohesive repetition should include lexical and structural repetition.Lexical repetition consists of complex lexical repetition,simple lexical repetition,simple mutual paraphrase,simple partial paraphrase and complex antonymous paraphrase.And structural repetition is classified into simple repetition,alternation,addition and antonymy.Different types of cohesive repetition have different functions.(2)Lexical repetition in Chinese text of CISG is prone to repeat the previous word completely,while in English text of CISG,it tends to flexibly use affixes to achieve repetition.Moreover,word groups of similar meaning often appear in English text,while they can hardly be seen in corresponding Chinese articles.However,for simple partial paraphrase and complex antonymous paraphrase,there is not much difference between Chinese and English texts.(3)For structural repetition,articles in English and Chinese texts of CISG mainly display in the forms of alternation and addition,and the frequency of structural repetition in Chinese text is generally higher than that in English text.This paper combines legal texts with cohesive repetition.Furthermore,it unifies lexical and structural repetition to make the study of cohesive repetition more complete,which explains legal texts from a new perspective.Through a comparative analysis of cohesive repetition in Chinese and English texts of CISG,it hopes to shed some lights on distinctions in English and Chinese legal texts and translation of repetition in legal texts.