商务文体中因果类表达的英译现象与优化策略

Translation of Cause-and-Effect Expressions in Business Texts: Patterns and Strategies for Improvement

摘要: 企业年度报告中的因果类表达承担推论、归因、解释等语用功能，其英译质量直接影响源语言外之力的传递。本文以华为2025年中英双语年报为语料，运用Python检索并筛选因果类表达，从言语行为理论视角考察其英译特征及语用变化，并结合目的论加以评价。研究发现，相关译语主要存在三类问题：相同源语采用多种译法，导致同类言外功能表达不一致；强因果关系被弱化，削弱了归因等言外之力；部分因果标记在译文中缺失，但其功能有时可以通过动词或句法结构得到保留。基于此，本文认为，因果类表达的英译应以言外之力为依据保持相对一致，以表达的语用强弱程度为目的保持译语的对应，并根据语用功能是否完整决定显化或压缩因果类表达，以期提升企业年度报告及其他商务文本中因果类表达的规范性。

Abstract: Cause-and-effect expressions in corporate annual reports perform pragmatic functions such as inference, attribution, and explanation. The quality of their English translation directly affects the transmission of illocutionary force from the source text. Using the Chinese and English versions of Huawei 2025 Annual Report as a corpus, this study identifies and screens cause-and-effect expressions using Python and examines their translation patterns and pragmatic shifts from the perspective of speech act theory, supplemented by Skopos theory. The findings reveal three main issues: identical source expressions are translated in different ways, resulting in inconsistent rendering of similar illocutionary functions; strong causal relations are weakened, reducing the illocutionary force of attribution and related acts; and some causal markers are omitted, although their functions may be preserved through verbs or syntactic structures. Accordingly, this study proposes that the translation of cause-and-effect expressions should maintain relative consistency based on illocutionary force, preserve the degree of pragmatic strength, and make causal expressions explicit or condense them depending on whether their pragmatic functions remain intact. These strategies aim to promote greater consistency and appropriateness in the translation of cause-and-effect expressions in corporate annual reports and other business texts.