英语商务合同中时间表述的常见类型及翻译策略

Common application types of time expression in commercial contracts and translation approaches

商务文本是法律文本的三大类型之一,其行文应逻辑严谨、措辞准确。时间作为商务合同中的一个核心概念,具体限定权利人享有、实现权利以及义务人承担、履行义务的时间点或时间段。在商务合同中涉及时间条款或时间概念的表述,都须指代明确、反复推敲,否则易发生诉讼争议。文章结合语言特点和法律含义两个层面,以英语商务合同中时间概念的表述为研究对象,重点分析了时间概念中立足现时、展望未来、表示频率以及多点竞合等常见的应用类型,且力图通过语言内以及语言外两个角度探讨解读和翻译该类文本中时间概念的可行性方法和策略。

Commercial text,one of three categories of legal texts,shall have logical rigor and accurate wording.As a core concept in commercial contracts,time refers to specific time points or time slots that regulate the enjoyment and realization of the rights as well as the commitment and performance of the obligations.When a commercial contract involves the elaboration of time clause or time concept,no efforts shall be spared to deliberate and make critical and concrete reference,otherwise,any misrepresentation could lead to possible litigation disputes.On this account,this paper combines language features and intendment of law and takes the expression of time concept in English commercial contracts as the object to investigate the common time application types such as based on the present,looking into the future,representing frequency and multi-point competition,and meanwhile the paper tries to explore feasible methods and strategies to interpret and translate time concept in such texts from the intra-linguistic and extra-linguistic perspectives.