商务翻译（一）

第十二单元　商务翻译（一）

教学目标

本单元教学目标为：一、掌握商务英语信函的文体特点及格式；二、体会商务英语信函的写作原则及汉译的策略和方法。

课文

Wembley Shopfiters Ltd.

Wycombe Road，Wembley，Middlesex HA96DA

Telephone： 081 903 2323 Reg： London 481629 VAT： 314651928

10 July 20-　　　　

Mr K.Bellon

Superbuys Ltd.

Superbuy House

Wolverton Road

London SW16 7DN

Dear Mr Bellon，

The manager of your Wembley supermarket has probably told you by now that I came down to inspect the damage you wrote to me about in your letter of 7 July.

I looked at the faulty electrical wiring and this appears to have been caused by dripping water from the floor above.My foreman，who put the wiring in in February，tells me that the wall was dry at the time he replaced the old wires.However，we will make the repairs and seal off that section.

Duraflooring is one of the most hardwearing materials of its kind on the market and I was surprised to hear that it had worn away within six months，so I made a close inspection.I noticed that the floor had been cut into and this seems to have been the result of dragging heavy sharp boxes across it，possibly the ones you use to store some perishable products in.The one-year guarantee we offer on our workmanship is against normal wear and tear，and the treatment the floor has been subjected does not come under this category.I am quite willing to have the surface replaced，but I am afraid we will have to charge you for the materials and work involved.If I may，I would like to suggest that you instruct your staff to use trolleys when shifting these containers.

I am sorry about the inconvenience you have experienced and will tell my men to repair the damage as soon as I have your confirmation that they can begin work.

The floor repairs should not come to more than £490 and the work can be completed in less than a day.Perhaps we can arrange for it to be completed on a Sunday when the supermarket is closed.

Yours sincerely，

P.Lane

P.Lane

Director

参考译文

温布利装潢有限公司

米德尔塞斯特郡，温布利，威科姆路　邮编：HA96DA

电话：081 903 2323　注册编号：英国 481629　增值税号：314651928

20-　7月10日　　　

伦敦

沃尔弗顿路

超买大厦

超买有限公司

凯·拜隆先生收

邮编：SW16 7DN

尊敬的拜隆先生，

对于您6月7日来函提到的破损情况，我已亲到现场检查，想必贵方温布利超市经理已告知您。

我查看了故障电路，应是由上方的地板漏水所致。据2月份铺设此电路的我方工长反映，当时更换旧电线时墙是干燥的。无论如何，我方会进行维修并封住破损部分。

多耐地板是市场上同类产品中最耐磨的一种，当得知不到6个月就磨损时，我甚为惊讶。因而我进行了仔细的检查，发现地板已被严重划伤，应该是由拖拽贵公司用于存放易腐产品的沉重而边缘锋利的箱子所致。我方仅对正常磨损提供一年保修，而此次地板所受损坏不属此类。我方愿意为您更换地板，但由此产生的材料和施工费用，恐要贵方承担。恕我冒昧，向您提个建议：您可让您的员工用手推车移动此类容器。

对于给您带来的不便，我深表遗憾。一经您的确认，我将立即告知我方员工开始维修工作。

地板的维修费用不会超过490英镑，工作将于一天内结束。我们可安排在周日、超市关闭的时间来完成。

主管

皮·雷恩敬上

（徐璐璐　译）

参考译文赏析

这是一封卖方对买方要求索赔的投诉信的回复。此次案例中，经审核，买方是损失造成的责任方。卖方在信中措辞礼貌得体，既说明了他们不是问题的责任方，又满足了买方提出的维修要求。下面我们来重点分析几个例句：

1.［原文］The manager of your Wembley supermarket has probably told you by now that I came down to inspect the damage you wrote to me about in your letter of 7 July.

［译文］对于您 6月7日来函提到的破损情况，我已亲到现场检查，想必贵方温布利超市经理已告知您。

这是正文的第一句，使用了复合长句，一个句子构成了一个段落。在商务英语信函中，这种从句套从句的句子结构甚为普遍。对于这种复杂的长句，应在对原文进行仔细并准确分析的基础上进行翻译。如课文的这句分析起来没有什么难点，意思理解起来也较容易，翻译时首先应该理顺句子成分的层次关系，按照汉语的脉络习惯进行翻译，力求做到条理清晰，表达完整，简洁，确保不存在任何漏洞，以避免日后可能发生的争端，维护双方的利益。

2.［原文］I am sorry about the inconvenience you have experienced and will tell my men to repair the damage as soon as I have your confirmation that they can begin work.

［译文］对于给您带来的不便，我深表遗憾。一经您的确认，我将立即告知我方员工开始维修工作。

此句是由并列的两个小句组合而成，这两小句都采用了句子顺序的改变，即汉译时英语原文中前置的“I am sorry”（深表遗憾）后置；应与原文中后置的“as soon as...”汉译时前置。

3.［原文］The floor repairs should not come to more than £490 and the work can be completed in less than a day.

［译文］地板的维修费用不会超过490英镑，工作将于一天内结束。

此句是把英语的被动句翻译成汉语主动结构的例子，即“can be completed in less than a day”译成“于一天内结束”。再如最后一句：Perhaps we can arrange for it to be completed on a Sunday when the supermarket is closed.“我们可安排在周日、超市关闭的时间来完成。”中的“the supermarket is closed”译成“超市关闭”。英语善用被动语态，但若全部直译成汉语的“被……”，则不符合汉语的语言习惯，显得生硬晦涩，因此在汉译时应根据情况将原文中的被动转换为主动结构，使译文自然流畅。

4.文中几次出现了表示猜测的动词和副词，副词如“The manager of your Wembley supermarket has probably told you...”，“...dragging heavy sharp boxes across it，possibly the ones...”，“Perhaps we can arrange for it...”，一般情况下，此类副词翻译成：“可能”，“大概”，或“或许”，但在翻译商务信函时，这样翻译略显不正式，因此根据实际语境分别译成“想必”，“应是”，以及“可”。同样，动词如“...this appears to have been caused by...”，“...this seems to have been the result of...”，通常情况下，翻译成“好像”，“看样子”或“似乎”，此处根据情况译成 “应是”。相似地，商务信函汉译时，为了表示正式，常用单个词代替复合词，除上述的把“可能”换成“可”之外，文中还有一例：“...I am afraid we will have to charge you...”中的“I am afraid”译成“恐”而不是“恐怕”。

5.另外，同一个英语词，在普通信函和商务信函中出现时，汉译处理上也是有区别的，商务信函中出现的词要做书面语处理。如课文原文中出现的“My foreman...tells me that the wall was dry at the time”，“The manager of your Wembley supermarket has probably told you”，“I am sorry about ...and will tell my men to repair the damage”中的“tell”，表示“告诉”的词汉译时分别处理成“据……反映”“告知”，再如“Duraflooring is ...and I was surprised to hear that...”中“hear”汉译成“得知”而不是“听说”。

翻译理论学习

商务信函汉译

一、商务信函的特点及格式

商务信函是商务活动中企业与企业之间沟通信息的重要工具。商务信函在格式与篇章结构上与普通的书信大体相同，但在文体特点上却大不相同。私人书信大多涉及友情或爱情，用词用句比较随意；而商务信函大多涉及公司与公司之间的业务往来，有时也可当做日后双方执行的依据。因此，商务信函使用正式词汇以及专业术语，主题突出，观点明确，句式完整严谨，使用套语和习惯表达，以便在说明事实的同时节省时间。

从翻译活动的过程来看，翻译包括理解和表达：理解就是理解原文的语义，语境以及语言风格；表达就是在充分理解原文的基础上，用译入语将原文准确到位地表达出来。因此，若对商务信函进行有效的翻译，做到语言和体裁风格上的统一，首先了解商务信函的文体特点及其写作原则无疑是非常必要的。

以下是一封简短的询盘函，我们将对商务信函的格式和文体特点进行说明和分析。

二、商务信函的结构

1.发信人地址（Sender’s address）

2.日期（Date）

3.信内地址（Inside Address / Receiver’s address）

4.经办人（Attention line）

5.称呼语（Salutation）

6.正文（Body of the letter）

7.信尾客套话（Complimentary close）

8.签名（Signature）

三、商务英语信函的写作原则及汉译策略

商务英语信函的写作原则一般被总结为Courtesy（礼貌），Conciseness（简洁），Clearness（清楚），Correctness（准确），Concreteness（具体），Completeness（完整），Consideration（体谅），即7C原则。因为商务信函是用来洽谈业务，所以遣词造句十分讲究，用词较为正式，信息阐述应清楚，准确，做到滴水不漏，且态度诚恳，有礼，体谅。在汉译时尤其要注意这些原则，力求真实而准确地再现原文的特点。例如，上文中“Would you please send me your latest catalogue and price-list of the knitted sweaters advertised in the 5th May China Daily，and inform us your lowest CIF London?”这一句，“Would you please...”体现了礼貌性，“...your latest catalogue and price-list...，...your lowest CIF London...”体现了清楚性和准确性，“...the knitted sweaters advertised in the 5th May China Daily”体现了其具体性和完整性。汉译相应的要具体，得体，简洁，即避免使用晦涩，易产生歧义和啰唆的语言。参考汉译为：“请惠寄5月5日在《中国日报》上刊登广告的羊毛衫的目录和价目表一份，并报出最低伦敦抵岸价。”英文中可使用情态动词（如would，shall，should等）表示礼貌和庄重，但汉语却没有这种对等的语法表达方式，因此可以用简洁正式的书面词语（此处用“惠”）来弥补，以达到同等的语言效力。文中的最后一句“I would appreciate a prompt reply”中表示礼貌的情态动词“would”也做了同样的处理：“如蒙早日赐复，将不胜感激。”

现基于商务英语信函的原则，按照其结构顺序，分述商务英语信函汉译需要注意的问题：

在用没有信头的信纸的情况下，通常要在信纸的右上方写上发信人地址，并在地址的下面标上日期。信内地址即收信人地址写在收信人地址的下方，信纸的左上方。关于地址顺序的汉译，英文是由小到大的，而汉译时按照汉语习惯由大到小的顺序，这里不再赘述。值得注意的是，有一些欧洲国家习惯把楼号写在街道名称的后面，汉译时应注意。再有就是邮编与城市写在一行在城市名称的后面：

Warwick House，

Warwick Street，

Forest Hill，

London SE23 IJF

UNITED KINGDOM

在地址下方用加注行表明此函件交由某人或由某职位的人来处理。此处翻译为“交由销售经理处理”。

称呼语上文处用了“Dear Sir or Madam”，此处写信者不知道对方的性别，汉译时可处理为“敬启者”。若知道对方姓名，例如“Dear Mr.Majid”在汉译时，为再现其礼貌性和庄重性，此处的“Dear”翻译为“尊敬的”而不是“亲爱的”。

正文的开头大体可分为以下几种情况：1.表示请求对方做某事，如上文的情况，通常在动词前用“惠”，“赐”等字样，如“惠寄/赐寄”，或更为礼貌的英文“We should appreciate the details of your knitted sweaters advertised in the 5th May China Daily”汉译“如蒙赐寄贵公司5月5日在《中国日报》上刊登广告的羊毛衫的详细信息，我们将不胜感激”。2.开门见山道出写信的目的。为了表示正式常在译文句前加上“兹”，如“We are pleased to inform you that your order，No.PK 154002 has been completed and sent to Liverpool Docks.”译成“兹欣然通知阁下您PK 154002号订单已交货并发往利物浦港”。3.回复某函时，如直接表示回复：“In reply to your enquiry of June 9”译成“谨复您6月9日询价函”；再如，“We are pleased to reply your letter of May 12 in which you asked about the knitted sweaters we advertised in May 11’s ‘China Daily’”译成“对于贵方5月12日来函询问有关我方5月11日在《中国日报》上刊登广告的羊毛衫，谨复如下”。4.表明已收到对方来函。通常翻译成“来函已收讫”或“来函收悉”。如“This letter is to acknowledge the receipt of your letter.”译成“来函敬悉”。再如“We are pleased to receive your letter of 3rdMarch 2012.”译成“欣悉阁下2012年3月3日来函。”

正文部分中，如表示为对方提供某项服务，常译为“奉上”。如“We are pleased to send the catalogue and price-list you asked for.”译成“欣然奉上阁下索要的目录和价目表。”另有，正文中频繁出现“you”，可根据情况翻译成“您”，“贵公司”，“阁下”，“贵方”等。在正文的结尾处，通常表示希望对方早日回复，此类套语译为“即复为感”或“敬候惠复”。如“We would appreciate an prompt reply”译为“如蒙即复，不胜感激”；“We hope to hear from you soon.”译为“敬候惠复”；“We look forward to your early reply”译为“盼早日赐复”。

信尾客套话，商务英语中常用“yours sincerely，...”译成“×××敬上/谨启”。如“With kind regards，Yours sincerely，P.Lane”译成“谨此致意，皮·雷恩敬上”。

这些礼貌性的语句是有一些约定俗成的翻译，处理起来难度不大，只是涉及如报价、付款方式、信用、运输、保险等具体问题的行话，就需要对相关流程的了解以及对其术语的积累和记忆。如上文中的“CIF”（cost，insurance and freight），通常译为“抵岸价”或“到岸价”。如遇到不熟悉或是翻译出来感到不自然的词汇，应查阅专业词典，而不能想当然的按照日常英语进行汉译。

翻译练习

练习一

Panton Manufacturing Ltd.

Panton Works，Hounslow，Middlesex，TW6 2BQ

Telephone： 081 3530125　Registered No.England 266135

Telex： 21511　Fax： 081 3536783

8 October 20—

Mr.H.Majid

Majid Enterprises

Grant Road

Bombay

INDIA

Dear Mr.Majid，

I am writing to you concerning your order，No.CU 1154/d，which you placed four weeks ago.At that time we had expected to be able to complete the order well within the delivery date which we gave you of 18 June，but since then we have heard that our main supplier of chrome has gone bankrupt.

It will be necessary to find an alternative supplier who can fulfill all the outstanding contracts we have to complete.As you will appreciate this will take some time，but we are confident that we should be able to deliver consignments to our customers by the middle of next month.

The units themselves have been assembled and only need completing.

We regret this unfortunate situation over which we had no control，and apologize for the inconvenience caused.We will understand if you wish to cancel the order，but stress that we are confident that we will be able to complete delivery by the middle of next month.

Please let us know your decision as soon as possible.Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely，

D.Panton

Managing Director

翻译提示

这是一封告知买家发货延迟原因的致歉信。涉及的专业词汇提示如下：complete the order 完成交货；delivery date 交货日期；outstanding contracts未了合同，翻译时应注意其专业特点。

练习二

Satex S.p.A.

Via di Pietra Papa，00146 Roma

Telefono： Roma 769910　　　　　

Telefax： (06) 681 5473　　　　

Telex： 285136　　　　　　　　　

Vs.rif： Inq.C351

Ns.Rif： D/1439　

21 February 20-　

Mr.L.Crane，Chief Buyer

F.Lynch ＆amp； Co.Ltd.

Nesson House

Newell Street

Birmingham B3 3EL

UNITED KINGDOM

Dear Mr.Crane，

We are pleased to receive your enquiry and to hear that you liked our range of sweaters.

There would certainly be no trouble in supplying you from our wide selection of garments which we make for all age groups.

We can offer you the quantity discount you asked for which would be 5％ off net prices for orders over £2，000，but the usual allowance for a trade discount in Italy is 15％，and we always deal on payment by sight draft，cash against documents.However，we would be prepared to review this once we have established a firm trading association with you.

Enclosed you will find our summer catalogue and price-list quoting prices c.i.f.London.

We are sure you will find a ready sale for our products in England as have other retailers throughout Europe and America，and we do hope we can reach an agreement on the terms quoted.

Thank you for your interest； we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely，

D.Causio

Encl.

翻译提示

这是一封针对对方询盘，回复的一封报盘，提供了折扣，付款方式等信息。翻译中应注意的专业词汇涉及：quantity discount数量折扣；trade discount 行业折扣；payment by sight draft；即期汇票cash against documents；付现交单；c.i.f.London伦敦抵岸价。

练习三

Dear Sirs，

We were impressed by the selection of sweaters that were displayed on your stand at the Menswear Exhibition that was held in Hamburg last month.

We are a large chain of retailers and are looking for a manufacturer who could supply us with a wide range of sweaters for the teenage market.

As we usually place very large orders，we would expect a quantity discount in addition to a 20％ trade discount off net list prices，and our terms of payment are normally 30-day bill of exchange，documents against acceptance.

If these conditions interest you，and you can meet orders of over 500 garments at one time，please send us your current catalogue and price-list.We hope to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully，

L.Crane

Chief Buyer

翻译提示

这是一封买方向制造商发出的询盘，意欲建立业务联系。本文在翻译时应注意一些专业名词：quantity discount 数量折扣；trade discount 行业折扣；documents against acceptance承兑交单。