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ContentsAbstract in English (i)Abstract in Chinese (ii)1. Introduction (1)2. Basic Knowledge of Business English Contracts (2)2.1 Basic Concept of Business Contracts (2)2.2 The Structure and Classification of Business Contracts (2)3. Language Features of Business English Contracts (4)3.1 Lexical Features (4)3.1.1 Archaic Words (5)3.1.2 Formal Words (6)3.1.3 Terms (8)3.1.4 Model Verbs (9)3.2 Syntactic (10)3.2.1 Declarative Sentence (10)3.2.2 Long Complicated Sentences (11)3.2.3 Conditional Clauses (13)4. Principles and Strategies Applied in Business Contracts Translation (15)4.1 Business Contracts Translations Principles (15)4.2 Addition and Amplification (16)4.3 Omission (18)4.4 Conversion and Combination (19)5. Conclusion (21)Acknowledgments (22)Works Cited (23)1. IntroductionThere are many reasons for spreading and researching on business English contracts translation in China under the circumstance of globalization and China‟s opening up to the outside world. Business English contracts translation has made essential contributions to those non-English speakers who get involved in international business, which improves China‟s relations and trades with the outside world.However, in today‟s business field many businessmen are still not co mpetent enough to communicate in English fluently and effectively with their counterparts from English-speaking countries. Most of the time they still need to depend on their interpreters or translators. Besides, officers of governments and domestic business organizations still have to deal with a lot of official documents related to business field everyday. Those documents such as contract issues, especially international business litigations and regulations have to be processed through English, which requires the officers having the ability of understanding and translating them well. After China‟s accession to World Trade Organization, more and more businessmen have accessed to the outside world to expand their business. Therefore, language becomes a prominent issue for them to do the business. Under this circumstance, business English contracts translation plays a critical role in international trade for Chinese businessmen. It is of vital importance not only for businessmen but for the development of Chinese economy.The introduction part mainly explains the background of the study. Chapter two is a general review. It gives a general introduction to basic knowledge of business English contracts. Chapter three is to describe the language features of business English contracts. Chapter four is to propose three principles and strategies applied in business contacts translation. The conclusion summarizes the findings of this study.2. Basic Knowledge of Business English Contracts2.1 Basic Concept of Business ContractsContract in its more extensive sense，includes every description of agreement，or obligation，whereby one party becomes bound to another to pay a sum of money, or to perform or refuse to perform a certain act；or a contract is an act which contains a perfect obligation．According to the Encyclopedia Britannica，a contract is an agreement between two or more parties that creates for each party a duty to do something (e.g to provide goods at a certain price according to a specified schedule) or a duty not to do something (e.g to divulge an employer's trade secrets or financial status to third parties)，which is enforceable by the courts．2.2 The Structure and Classification of Business ContractsA contract, as a legally binding agreement, is a written basis for settlement of disputes. That is to say, the aim or purpose of a contract is to specify the rights and obligations of the parties concerned. Business contract should conform to domestic laws and regulations or international conventions and practices. Despite its various categories and different subject matter, business contracts are in a formal style and share a great number of similarities in their structure or form．When talking about structure, a business contract generally consists of three parts：preamble (head), body (message) and final clauses (tail) and are generally arranged in such a consequent order. Accordingly, the essential elements should be included in these three parts, without which a contract can not be regarded as one to be protected and enforceable by law and regulations.In terms of fields, categories and contents in the business contract, it can be divideddifferently according to the relevant diversified criteria. On the basis of the subject matter and obligations of the parties concerned in the contract, business contracts in English can be classified into the following categories：A．Contracts for International Sale of GoodsB．Contracts for International Technology TransferC．Contracts for Joint V enturesD．Contracts for International Engineering ProjectsE．Contracts for Compensation TradeF．Contracts for Cooperative Development of Natural ResourcesG．Contracts for Foreign Labor ServicesH．Contracts for Supply of EquipmentI．Bidding ContractsJ．Contracts for Sub-letting Project3. Language Features of Business English Contracts3.1 Lexical FeaturesWords are the elements of communication．In terms of vocabulary and style，the language of English contracts is remarkably different from daily English．The lexicon of English contracts is characterized by clarity, legality, accuracy and formality．“The subsequent module attempts to explore English contracts from the aspects of formal words，archaic words，loan words，technical terms and abbreviation”(Quirk，87)．3.1.1Archaic WordsFrequent uses of archaic words may be another character in the contract English．“In order to pretext a professional monopoly, you can lock the trade secrets in the safe of an unknown tongue while the legalese is the way of meeting the need”(Zhang, 94)．As the legal documents，the regularity of business contracts also be founded in the usage of some legal terminology or the words with the legal features, such as infringement, now therefore, in witness where of and so on. The o ld English “phrase here/there /where + preposition”often makes up of the documents idioms in English contract, such as herein, hereafter, hereby, hereupon, herein, hereto, hereof, whereas, whereby, wherein, whereof, whereupon and so on. Thus it is necessary to guarantee that the types of writing such business documents are equal to the Chinese business style in the functional way．Contract English has long been characterized by a remarkable archaic feature：words composed by……here‟‟,……there‟‟and ……where”followed by one or several propositions. In these words, ……here”means……this‟‟, ……there”equals ……that‟‟, while……where” refers to ……what‟‟or……which'‟. For example：Archaic Trait in Contract EnglishArchaic words Modern meaningHereafter After thisHereby By means of thisHereof Of thisThereafter After thatThereinafter In that part of a contractThereunder Under that part of a contractThis frequent use of archaic words provides the business contract rather formal．It is justified in saying that it is these archaic words that not only provide contracts highly formal and dignified but also abstract the contractual language so that contracts are donated with a strong formal flavor and shielded from language repetition and ambiguity, which is a distinct feature of the language of business contract(Xie , 24)．Here are three samples from a business contract：(1)The seller hereby warrants that the goods are up to the quality standards．(2)This contract is concluded on friendly and cooperative basis by and betweenParty A and Party B，whereby Party A shall invite Party B to supply after-sale service on the f following terms and conditions stipulated.(3)IN WITNESSTH WHEREOF the panics hereto have executed this contract bytheir authorized representatives as of the date first above written.In English contracts，the archaic words play the influential roles，which are obvious and include the following：More veracious and compendious. Continued use of archaic vocabulary has some reasons. One reason is that it is more precise than its modern counterpart and is competent in lending a sense of sanctity and solemnity to legal documents. Keeping formality. Another reason for the continued use of archaicvocabulary is the sense of authority and formality it diverts in English contracts．3.1.2 Formal WordIn different occasions，the type of writing in business English should change to different styles. Take the business contracts for example: it belongs to written type and more formal standard．But now，the vivid spoken language has been widely used in business contracts，taking ……expiry”rather than ……end‟‟and ……certify”instead of ……prove”．There is a group of formal words，or exactly speaking，specially used words for law in the business contracts．These kinds of words are the words used in special fields．Like all other varieties，business contract has also developed its own specific group of words，whilst are often used in the terms of business contract．These words used in such a special way to help to point out a text with regard to business contract only, which show the formality and sanctity of business contract．The following table shows frequently used formal words in English contracts in contrast with their colloquial counterparts．Formal Words Used in Contract EnglishInformal Words Formal WordsBuy PurchaseChange ModifyEnd TerminateProduce ManufactureBegin CommenceDuty ObligationNow At the present timeBefore Prior toAbout On the basis ofSoon In the near futureTo With a view toSeldom In very few casesAround ApproximatelyWords in the right column excel their colloquial counterparts in the left column because they are more compatible with the greater solemnity demanded by English contracts(Wu , 8) like other branches of legal English, naturally are tempted towards formal verbalism, thus you can borrow a sense of formality from other place to contract texts．Let‟s look at some examples：(1)The obligations shall be affected by the liquidation of the contract or by apremature termination of the same. (termination—end)(2)Party A agrees to purchase from Party B the machines and equipment. (purchase—buy)(3)Whereas，Party B desires to obtain such technical data and know how formanufacturing certain packing materials．(Manufacture—Produce)There is another feature of English contracts whose dependence on terms of Latin or Greek and many such words consisting of three or more syllables. Words of Latin origin are quite formal，such as "confidential""insufficient""penalty""stipulate"and"authorized", although you can not realize their foreign origins at first sight (xie, 90)．In the west，some lawyers promote a trend to simplify the language of English contracts by replacing Latin words with plain English. However, the tradition has its history,so its great influence cannot be changed in one night．3.1.3 Technical TermsA specialized and technical vocabulary, as Maley (1976) has pointed out, is the first and most obvious way to adjust a domain of social experience or activity．The use of technical terms is another marked feature of contracts．The function of these technological words is partly to denote things or processes which have no names in ordinary life，and partly to increase precision and never cause ambiguity or confusion on the part of the reader(Hu ,Wang, 112). Generally, the technical terms in business contracts can be divided into three categories：legal terms，business terms and common words for special purpose．First，according to Modern English Stylistics，contracts could be separated into the variety of legal documents, which have a wide range: statutes, decrees, legal provisions, economic contracts, commodity warranty, deeds of trust, insurance policies, wills and testaments, leases and installment plans, etc(Xu, 64). Accordingly, in contracts，it is certain that some technical words only can be used in legal documents like substantive law(实体法)，in the presence of(见证人)，quantum merit(合理给付)，covenants(契约) etc．Such legal terms are inimitable to this variety and raise the pundit of contracts．Second，as contracts are related to various sectors of business, lots of business terms can be easily founded in contracts, such as equity joint venture(合资经营企业),articles of association(公司章程), know-how(专有技术), and negotiable instruments(可流通票据). Pertinent business terms concisely and accurately communicate the intended content(Yu , 115)．Last but not the least, a number of common words have been converted into technical words with only one of their meanings kept in contracts such as action(诉讼), negligence(过失), acceptance(承兑，承诺), tolerance(公差), confirm(保兑), collection(托收), arbitration award(仲裁裁决), more or 1ess(溢短装)and infringement(侵权). Common words used in such a special way help to mark out a text belonging to the field of legal documents. In a word, technical terms, which are generally more concise and comprehensive and so are indispensable in succinct and direct communication, not only guard against any disputable understanding but also present a degree of formality.3.1.4 Modal VerbsThe prevalence of modal verb is an important feature of English contracts."Shall" is the most frequently used modal verbs in English contracts. It means the rights which should be enjoyed or responsibilities and liabilities which should be carried out by each party. So here "shall" represents objective requirements instead of future intention. It has the similar meaning to the modal verb "must" in ordinary English and the use of '"shall" is independent of the various person and numbers of subjects. Let's see the following examples:This contract shall become effective upon and from the date on which it is signed.本合同应于签字之日开始生效.In case by M/T or T/T: Payment shall be effected within seven days after receipt of the shipping documents stipulated under clause10 of this contract.如以信汇或电汇方式支付:买方须在收到本合同第10条所规定的装船单据后7天内付款。