Exploring into the Strategies of Chinese-English

Business Translation

Key words:

C-E business translation; domesticating translation; training

Vigorous world economy and economic globalization have drawn our

attention to English for Special Purpose (ESP). Being the bridge of international

exchange, English for International Economics and Trade now enjoys

increasing popularity on the international stage. Since China plays a more and

more important role in the world economy world, there emerges a great

opportunity for translation companies in China in the area of business English

translation.

However, as a tool for transnational commercial affairs exchanges,

business English has been encountering a conflict in translation between the

supply of and demand for qualified translated materials. On one hand,

translators in all fields have their hands full because of the gradual expansion of

international exchange and cooperation as well as more onerous tasks involved

in C-E or E-C business translation; on the other hand, by means of some

modern media such as e-commerce and Internet to be used in maintaining

international business relation, translators are requested to provide commercial

information quickly, so they don’t have much time to make serious

consideration on wording. It is pressing for professional translators in China to

understand the way of putting the business English into appropriate Chinese.

And it is also of great importance for business English translation in China to

catch up with international standard.

Our company, Transhorsa Translation Co., Ltd, when dealing with

business English translation, always sticks to two principles. One is to adopt the

way of domestication translation; the other is to strengthen the proficiency of

translators in Chinese language.

Domesticating translation and Foreignizing translation, a pair of concept

first used by Lawrence Venuti, an American deconstructionist translation

theorist, are two terms applied in translation to describe two different

translation strategies. Domestication is a TL-oriented translation method, while

foreignzition is a SL-oriented translation method. Why does domesticating

translation take the preponderant status in business English translation?

Firstly, the first and most important purpose of business translation is to

transfer information. More attention should be paid to the apprehension and

acceptability of target readers and consider how translation excises its due

functions effectively and reach the purpose of the source text. The form and

content of original text should serve the translated text and its communicative

function.

Moreover, according to Newmark’s classification, business texts are

impressive or vocative. Translation consists in the receptor language

reproduction based on the message of the source language in such a way that

receptors of receptor language may be able to understand adequately how the

original receptors of the source language understand the original message.

(Eugene A. Nida) From our point of view, American Linguist Nida’s dynamic

equivalence is the real target that the translators in business English translation

pursue. It stresses that the target language receptors could get the same effect as

the source receptors do, which is also its purpose: the Chinese businessmen can

understand what their counterparts mean. Therefore, the semantic and stylistic

equivalences are highly required.

As to the translators, a conscientious and qualified translator shall possess

bilingual competence. Since translation is an art between two languages, a

translator should be an artist and a master of Chinese language. That also gives

an unavoidable mission to the company. A company who wants to promote its

reputation and business should attach more importance to training its

translators. Our company invites senior translators, university professors and

experts in various fields to give lectures to our translators aperiodically on

computer skills, terminology searching and idiomatic expressions, etc.

Recently, we are going to have a lecture on Chinese linguistics, aiming to

improve translators’ Chinese competence.

In a word, business English is taking more and more important roles in our

economic life, while the E-C translation cannot catch up with the international

standard. In this paper, we put forward two means to solve the problem, one is

to use the translation strategy of domestication and the other is to train our

translators’ bilingual competence. Armed with these two weapons, we think we

can do better in the field of business English translation and go further in the

business translation world.

Author Information

Yi He

Translator of
Transhorsa Translation Co., LTD., Shanghai

Native Translator & Proofreading