SPECIFICS OF TRANSLATING BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE: AVOIDING MISUNDERSTANDINGS

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ПЕРЕВОДА ДЕЛОВОЙ КОРРЕСПОНДЕНЦИИ: ИЗБЕЖАНИЕ НЕПОНИМАНИЙ

Карсабаева Жанерке Махамбетовна

студент, кафедра иностранных языков и переводческого дела, Кокшетауский университет имени Абая Мырзахметова,

Казахстан, г. Кокшетау

Утигенова Айжан Ерлановна

научный руководитель, магистр филол. наук, Кокшетауский университет имени Абая Мырзахметова,

Казахстан, г. Кокшетау

ABSTRACT

The text delves into the multifaceted realm of translation, particularly focusing on its pivotal role in interlingual communication, with a specific emphasis on legal and business document translation. It highlights the challenges faced by translators in comprehending specialized texts and discusses the diverse tools and resources available for acquiring necessary knowledge. The importance of maintaining syntactic structure and adhering to legal text composition nuances is underscored. The document also explores translation techniques for official and business texts, including the literal translation of linguistic clichés and the use of translational transformations. The conclusion stresses the meticulous attention required in translating official documentation to avoid potential cultural and linguistic misinterpretations.

AННОТАЦИЯ

В тексте рассматривается многогранная сфера перевода, в частности, его ключевая роль в межъязыковой коммуникации, с особым акцентом на перевод юридических и деловых документов. В нем освещаются проблемы, с которыми сталкиваются переводчики при понимании специализированных текстов, и обсуждаются разнообразные инструменты и ресурсы, доступные для приобретения необходимых знаний. Подчеркивается важность сохранения синтаксической структуры и соблюдения нюансов составления юридического текста. В документе также рассматриваются методы перевода официальных и деловых текстов, включая буквальный перевод лингвистических клише и использование переводческих трансформаций. В заключении подчеркивается, что при переводе официальной документации требуется тщательное внимание, чтобы избежать возможных культурных и лингвистических недоразумений.

Keywords: translation, contracts, legal documents, business relations, interlingual communication, translation challenges, document translation, linguistic aspects, official-business style, cultural enrichment.

Ключевые слова: перевод, контракты, юридические документы, деловые отношения, межъязыковое общение, проблемы перевода, перевод документов, лингвистические аспекты, официально-деловой стиль, культурное обогащение.

Among the numerous complex issues studied by modern linguistics, a significant place is occupied by the problem of linguistic aspects of interlingual speech activity, commonly referred to as “translation” or “translational activity.” From its inception, translation has served a crucial social function, facilitating interlingual communication among people. The widespread use of written translations has granted access to the cultural achievements of other nations, enabling interaction and mutual enrichment of cultures and literature.

The issue of translation and contract drafting is not incidental. Currently, an increasing number of people are becoming participants in the world of business relations, leading to a demand for professionals proficient in the English language among businessmen. Any significant business endeavor can be achieved through contracts and agreements. The written form serves as a guarantee that various individuals, such as buyers and sellers, will interact according to a specific business strategy, with their interests being taken into account by their partners.

Translation of documents is currently one of the most sought-after types of translation. These documents are divided into two main categories: documents of individuals and documents of legal entities. In the modern global economy, the translation of legal documents is becoming increasingly significant [1, p. 78]. The translation of documents of individuals often requires giving them legal force and legalization for use beyond the borders of the country.

Among the documents of legal entities, translations of contracts, agreements, and insurance documents often pose challenges. It is important to note that in translation theory, there is often a requirement for a complete understanding of the translator's original text. However, authors, when making such demands, rarely specify the methods to achieve a complete understanding, which can evoke a negative reaction from translators.

Even experienced translators are not always capable of fully understanding specialized texts, such as legal documents, on the first read. However, in most cases, this is not a problem, as translators often acquire the necessary knowledge during the translation process, especially during the analysis of the content of the original text preceding the actual translation.

A translator can acquire the necessary knowledge through various means. The available resources include explanatory and bilingual dictionaries, glossaries, databases, information retrieval thesauri, encyclopedias, text corpora, legislation, regulatory acts, personal contacts with specialists, and more. All the mentioned tools can undoubtedly be beneficial for the translator. However, the critical aspect lies in the organization of the search process. For instance, when encountering linguistic challenges in the text, the translator may refer to dictionaries to determine the correspondence of a particular linguistic unit to a concept [2, p. 124].

Subsequently, the translator may consult encyclopedias, regulatory acts, and databases to understand the characteristics and relationships of the concept within the specific subject area. Once the meaning of the concept is clarified, the translator proceeds to the actual translation. The initial stage of creating the translation involves the search and selection of translational equivalents for the original terms. In the pursuit of conceptual equivalents, the translator turns to various sources of information and analyzes the suitability of the identified equivalents in the context of their translation. The translation of contracts and agreements has its peculiarities, including distinctive sentence structures, specific terminology, and the presence of lexical patterns.

A translator needs to be familiar with all the mentioned aspects to ensure a high-quality and accurate translation. For a legal document translator, it is essential to know the deadlines for completing the order, the client's preferences regarding the translation of the names of parties entering into contractual relationships, proper nouns, as well as the format and purpose of the translation. When translating contracts and other legal documents, it is necessary to consider the peculiarities of legal text composition and adhere to established rules of writing.

Preserving the syntactic structure of the original text is crucial to the extent possible. The translation of contracts begins with identifying the type of document, after which the translator proceeds with the actual translation. The final stage involves editing the text and ensuring consistency in the terminology used throughout the document. Paying attention to details such as translating company names, addresses, and surnames is also crucial in contract translation.

The main characteristic of business correspondence language is precise and clear presentation with minimal emotional elements, almost eliminating the possibility of arbitrary interpretation of the matter. Therefore, the key requirements for a good business translation include accuracy — conveying all the provisions of the original, conciseness — succinct expression, clarity — explicitness, and literacy — adherence to literary language norms without losing the original meaning [3, p. 58].

During the translation process, it is necessary to adhere to specific rules that facilitate the conveyance of various lexical units, such as terms, proper names, or abbreviations. In the translation of official texts, linguistic clichés often coincide in meaning but differ in internal form. This is because the modern Russian language has fewer established clichés compared to the English language. To achieve a translation that is as close as possible while preserving the syntactic and lexical structures of the original, the technique of literal translation of linguistic clichés is employed.

Special attention should be given to the fact that, in order to achieve a translation that is as close as possible and maintains contextual correspondences, there is a need for the use of translational transformations in the translation of official texts. Commonly employed methods include calque, transcription, and less frequently, transliteration, driven by a high concentration of terms and proper names in the text. Alongside these methods, the technique of antonymous translation is quite often used. Generalization, on the contrary, is applied infrequently since documents require an extremely precise translation.

The translation of a document's title should accurately reflect the essence of the matter. In cases where the title is brief or has a promotional character, the translator should provide a brief annotation for informational purposes. All abbreviations used in the original text must be deciphered according to generally accepted rules, and those abbreviations that cannot be deciphered remain in the original language [4, p. 91]. Words and sentences not in the original language, as well as abbreviated product and instrument names, retain the original spelling. In the translation, names of parts and departments of institutions, titles, ranks, academic degrees, honors, and proper names are typically translated according to established practice. Foreign surnames, personal names, and designations are transcribed according to traditional writing, including articles and prepositions in foreign surnames, names of foreign firms, companies, joint-stock companies, corporations, consortia, monopolies, industrial associations, unions, and prepositions in firm names, as well as the brand names of machines, devices, chemicals, products, and materials. Special terms and geographical names in the translation are usually replaced with Russian equivalents [5, p. 53]. The use of abbreviations and acronyms is typical for all types of documents, especially contracts. Contracts often contain numerous abbreviations, and there are specialized dictionaries to decipher them. The content of contracts also has its own peculiarities, with contracts being categorized based on the field of activity and other criteria. Special codes and abbreviations are frequently used in contracts.

Summing up all that has been said above, it can be concluded that the translation of official documentation requires heightened attention. As a standard text in the English language, such documentation demands knowledge and the ability to utilize various translation "tools" — translation transformations. On the other hand, texts written in an official-business style necessitate adherence to specific formats for writing various types of documents, accepted in each given country, be it the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia, along with attention to polite forms of address and sentence structure.

For a proficient translation of business texts, a translator needs to possess knowledge of the nuances of the official-business style, skillfully choose and apply translation techniques necessary for conveying various lexical units, and have extensive background knowledge in the field of activity to which the translated document relates. The official-business style is the most conservative style in any language, and deviations from norms in document writing or formatting may be perceived as impolite and even offensive. Therefore, a translator dealing with such texts should be particularly careful not to offend the sensibilities and dignity of the Receptors and not to violate official-business etiquette.

References:

1. Aizova A.M. Fundamentals of business correspondence. — M.: Publishing house "Bustard", 1996. — 304 p.
2. Slepovich V. S. Business English. — Mn.: Tetrasystems, 2001. — 256 p.
3. Fedorov A.V. Fundamentals of the general theory of translation. M.: Philology Three, 2002.
4. Latyshev L. K. Translation technology. M., 2001.
5. Kosareva T. B. How to learn to translate legal documents? — M.: Bustard, 2009. 112 p.