Contents

Acknowledgments

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1Background of This Study-1

1.2 Research Status of the Translation of Technical Terms in Business English-1

1.3 Significance of This study-2

1.4 Structure of the Thesis-2

Chapter Two Functional Equivalence Theory and Application-4

2.1 Introduction to Nida and Functional Equivalence Theory-4

2.1.1 Formal Equivalence-5

2.1.2 Dynamic Equivalence-5

2.1.3 Functional Equivalence-5

2.2 Previous Study on the Application of Functional Equivalence Theory to the Business English Translation-6

Chapter Three Introduction of Technical Terms in Business English-7

3.1 The Definition of Technical Terms in Business English-7

3.2 Features of Technical Terms in Business English-7

3.2.1 International Universality and Accuracy-7

3.2.2 Abbreviations-8

3.2.3 Polysemy-8

Chapter Four Translation Strategies of Technical Terms in Business English-10

4.1 Literal Translation-10

4.2 Functional Equivalence-11

4.3 Lexical Expansion: In the Case of Partial Equivalence-12

4.4 Neologism and Paraphrasing: In the Case of Non-Equivalence-12

Chapter Five Conclusion-14

5.1 Findings of This Thesis-14

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions-14

References-15

Abstract

The connection between China and other countries in the world has become increasingly close in economy with the development of the social economy. So Business English Translation plays a very important role in international economic exchanges and cooperation today, so does the technical terms in Business English. Although China has a long history of translation and many scholars has proposed a wide range of theoretical criteria, the theories of Business of English are still deficient. However, in foreign countries, Nida’s Functional Equivalence theory, as a most prominent one, influences many scholars around the world up to now. Many scholars are still doing further research because of his theory. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to prove the directive significance to apply Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory to the translation of technical terms in business English.

The Functional Equivalence Theory, which was proposed by Eugene A. Nida, focuses on the readers’ response and finds out the closest original equivalence for the sake of achieving the perfect translation. Nowadays, in face of the increasing status of business English, the author believes that the translation of business English should be guided by more systematic theories. Naturally, it also applies to the translation of its technical terms. Therefore, this thesis attempts to apply Nida's functional equivalence theory to the translation of technical terms in Business English, hopefully bringing theoretical and practical guidance to the translation of technical terms in Business English.

Keywords: technical terms; Business English; functional equivalence theory; translation strategies