英语论文 浅谈商品说明书的翻译

Introduction

Commodity

instruction

is

the

literal

material

that

introduces

the

information

of

a

commodity such as usage, specification, function, composition and application to consumers. On

one hand, with the advancement of the process of globalization, especially after China

’

s entrance

into WTO, more and more international commodities swarm into the domestic market to meet

the

demands

of

domestic

consumers.

On

the

other

hand,

with

the

gradual

opening

of

the

domestic market, more and more products made in China are sold all over the world. Therefore,

the

translation

of

commodity

instruction

becomes

more

and

more

important.

The

normative

translation which meets the mind and culture of the target market can help consumers to master

the usage

and can increase their interests and satisfaction with a variety of commodities

，

thereby

arousing consumers

’

buying motive. Besides, it always improves corporate image. A commodity

instruction with nonstandard translation full of errors will make consumers stay away from the

product, which directly affects the sales volume.

In order to improve the translation quality of commodity instruction, experts and scholars

have

been

devoted

to

studies

on

the

translation

principles

and

strategies

from

different

perspectives

such

as

from

New

Mark's

translation

theory(New

Mark

P,

A

Text

Book

of

Translation

1988

),

Functional

translation

theory(Nord,Christiane

Translating

as

a

Purposeful

Activity

2011

)

and

Skopos

theory(r

General

Foundation

of

Translation

Theory

1984

).

They

all

have

made

great

progress

in

this

field.

This

thesis

then

combines

former

research achievements with the perspective of cultural diversity, I throw light on the significance

of

cultural

diversity

in

translation

and

analyse

some

mistakes

caused

by

cultural

misunderstanding, then also put forward translation principles to deal with cultural diversity.

1

Chapter One An Overview of Commodity Instruction

1.1 Definition of commodity instruction

Commodity

instruction

is

the

literal

material

for

the

introduction

and

explanation

of

products,

which

has

illustrative

descriptions

to

convey

the

information

such

as

usage,

specification, function,composition and application of a product to consumers. There are a great

variety of instructions. Based on different standards, commodity instruction can be classified into

three

groups.

With

content

as

the

standard,

commodity

instruction

can

be

firstly

divided

into

descriptive instruction and briefly- introduced instruction. Secondly, with length considered, it is

divided into complete instruction and concise instruction. Thirdly the standard is the means of

expression, so it can be divided into textual instruction, diagrammatic instruction and audiovisual

instruction. Commodity instructions has four common features, which are objectivity, practicality,

rationality and popularity.

1.2 Structure characteristics of commodity instruction

The structure of commodity instruction is

diversified due to

the different requirements

of

format and different types of commodities. Generally speaking, most of the instructions include

the commodity characteristics, functions, compositions, installation methods, usages and matters

needing attention, etc. From the layout perspective, the structure of commodity instruction has

three parts, headline, text body and inscription.

1.2.1 Headline

The headline plays a leading role in the commodity instruction which is generally divided

into two types, the direct headline and the indirect headline. The former one directly indicates a

commodity's name, while the latter one does not show the name of the product. For examples:

e.g.1

HITACHI

TWIN-TUB WASHING MACHINE

Operation manual

Example

1

is

the

headline

of

HITACHI

washing

machine's

instruction,

which

directly

indicates the name of the product.

e.g.2

For Pain

2

Usual

adult

dose:2

or

3

tablets

four

time

daily,

for

children

under

twelve

consult

a

physician.

Example 2 uses the indirect headline so that we can not read the name of the medicine from

that instruction.

Some

of

the

commodity

instructions

also

have

a

sub-headline,

which

provides

more

information to consumers so as to arouse their interest. For example:

HERICIUM ERINACEUS TABLETS

------A good remedy for gastropathy

1.2.2 Text body

The

text

body

is

the

essential

part

of

commodity

instruction.

Different

products

have

different contents. Food instructions mainly describe the ingredient, the date of manufacture and

the quality guarantee period. Medicine instructions mainly describe the composition , the major

function and the use level, while appliance instructions mainly describe the installation and the

maintenance.

English commodity instruction usually has two styles. One is come -to -point style, i.e.. to

describe directly the items and aspects that need to be explained. The other is introductory style,

i.e.,

to

use

impressive

words

at

first

to

give

a

general

introduction

of

the

product

and

then

to

describe the concrete aspects.

e.g.1

ELOCON

Cream, 0.1%. brand of (mometasone furoate cream USP)

For Dermatologic Use Only Not for Ophthalmic Use .

DESCRIPTION ELOCON

Cream, 0.1% brand of (mometasone furoate cream USP) contains mometasone furoate USP

for dermatologic use. Mometasone furoate is

a synthetic corticosteroid

with anti-inflammatory

activity.

Chemically,

mometasone

furoate

is

9

,21-dichloro-11

β

α

-meth ylpregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione

17-(2-furoate),

with

the

empirical

formula

C27

H30CI2O6,

a

molecular

weight

of

521.4

and

the

following

structural

formula:

Mometasone

furoate is a white to off-white powder practically insoluble in water, slightly soluble in octanol,

and moderately soluble in ethyl alcohol.

Each gram of ELOCON Cream, 0.1% contains: 1 mg

mometasone

in

a

cream

base

of

hexylene

glycol;

phosphoric

acid;

propylene

3

glycol stearate (55% monoester); stearyl alcohol and ceteareth-20; titanium dioxide; aluminum

starch octenylsuccinate (Gamma Irradiated); white wax; white petrolatum; and purified water.

e.g.2

TOUAREG

Off-road, on-road-a class act

Driving a Touareg means never again having to decide between top on-road technology and

extreme

off-road

qualities.

Never

again

between

luxurious

saloon

car

comfort

and

top-level

off-road capability. Never again between the simplest of handling and an exciting driving

Experience. Because choosing the Touareg means opting for unbounded driving enjoyment, no

matter which route you take.

Designed

for

steep

slopes

of

45

degrees,

for

rivers

with

a

depth

of

58

cm-and

for

motorways without speed limits.

Hill climb capability: 100 percent or 45 degrees

Fording depth: up to 580 mm (with air suspension)

Overhang angle: 27 degrees

Lateral tilt: up to 35 degrees (static 45 degrees )

Example

1

above

is

a

package

insert,

which

uses

the

come-to- point

style

that

directly

describes ELOCON' s major indication and its molecular formula . Example 2 is a car manual in

the introductory style, by the use of an attractive description to bring out the good function and

performance of the car.

1.2.3 Inscription

The inscription mainly specifies the name, address, e-mail address, postcode and telephone

number

of

the

manufacturer.

Different

products

have

different

items

in

this

part,

like

an

inscription

of

anti-perspirant

is

Manufacturing

Date

please

see

bottom

of

pack.

Tanggal

dan

kode

produksi

Lihat

baglan

bawah

kemasan

manufactured

by

Unilever

Australasia,

219

north

rocks road, NSW 2152, Australia

1.3 Effects of commodity instruction

Commodity instruction is both very important to both corporations and consumers in that it

helps

corporations

to

advertise

their

products

and

helps

consumers

to

obtain

information

of

products. By reading the instructions, consumers are able to know the commodity better, make a

wise

choice

and

use

the

product

properly

and

reasonably.

There

are

three

main

effects

of

4