从功能目的论的视野分析商品说明书的英文翻译摘要：在经济全球化的巨大浪潮下，形形色色的商品在不同国家之间的流通日益频繁。
在整个商品的国际交换过程中，商品说明书自然而然成为了货物交流的纽带，这就要求产品说明书在不同语言之间进行有效转换，准确翻译。
但是在当前国内出口企业商品说明书的翻译情况却不容乐观，在说明书的英文翻译中，比较常见的问题有：中式英语、语法错误、表达失当等等。
通过本文研究，得出以下结论：商品说明书是一种兼容了信息性和操作性的特殊应用文本，具有提供信息和感化受众的目的，因此在翻译的过程中，要以其受众群体为核心，语言表达规范、准确、客观、有效，能明确传达商品信息；同时也要求其语言简练精美，以促成消费者的购买行为。
关键词：商品说明书；功能目的论；文本目标An Analysis on the English Translation of Commodity Specification from the Perspective of the Skopos TheoryAbstract: In the great wave of economic globalization, the circulation of commodities among different countries has become frequent. Especially in China, as the "world factory" Chinese market has been the source of most commodities that in circulation, and also the target market for a large number of businessmen. While, in the course of the international exchange, the commodity specification plays an indispensable role. Because it’s a key to connect buyer and seller come from different countries, and speak totally different language. However, the current situation of commodity Specification translation is less than satisfactory. In the English translation of the specification, there are some common problems: Chinglish, grammatical mistakes and inappropriate expression of jargon etc. In conclusion, as a service that manufacturer provides to consumer, commodity specification is a special text with the target of providing information and inducing purchase. So in order to achieve the goal the translation should include all the necessary and accurate information and concise enough to understand and accept by customers from various cultures.Key words: specifications; Skopos Theory; target1、IntroductionCommodity specification is the bridge connecting the manufacturer to theconsumer．It’s a pragmatic text that carries the informatio n and instruction of how to use the commodity. The function of commodity specification is to describe the components, features and usage of the product to consumer. Besides the introduction function it’s also a special advertisement with artistic language to attract and inspire customers to purchase the products. Thus a good commodity specification not only provides information about the goods, also demonstrates image and culture soft power of a company, at the same time promote the sale of goods, so the commodity specification in trade is so import. So in the great wave of economic globalization, the circulation of commodities among different countries has become frequent. Especially in China, more and more goods flow to the international market where customers come from various cultural backgrounds and speak totally different languages. In this case, the translation of commodity specification is crucial.1.1 The importance of transportation of commodity specificationIn the great wave of economic globalization, the circulation of commodities among different countries has become frequent. Especially in China, as the "world factory" Chinese market has been the source of most commodities that in circulation, and also the target market for a large number of businessmen. Thus more and more goods flow to the international market. However, in the course of the international exchange, the commodity specification plays an indispensable role. Because it’s a key to connect buyer and seller come from different countries, and speak totally different language. That means the transportation of product specifications between different languages must be accurate and effective. As a service that manufacturer provide to consumers, goods instruction is for the majority of consumer groups, so in order to cater to different tastes and different ages, its language must be targeted. A good translation not only allows consumers to understand, but also lead them to purchase. On the contrary, a flawed translation may show consumers a negative impression even damage the corporate image.1.2 The Current Situation of Export Enterprises’ Commodity Specification Translation at Home and abroad.At present, there is a large number of domestic export enterprises, but theproduct specification translation of them is not qualified enough, as with no professional standard. Generally, the more common problems are: Chinglish, grammatical errors, improper expression of jargon. There are many reasons for these problems, but the main reason is the lack of theoretical guidance. The mistakes can be concluded as: 1, from the perspective of translation content, translation of terminology is not standardized. 2. From the view of language, the language of translation context is too complex and not easy to understand, in other hands, the syntax is inflexible with the imperative sentence, passive sentences and simple sentences.Researches on specification translation are from a lot of fields, such as socio-semiotic view, aesthetics, cross-culture translation and Skopos Theory. Social Semiotics translation was proposed by the famous American structuralist, linguist and translator Eugene A.Nida, Nida believes: the world is composed of symbol, what’s most important is to understand the meaning of symbols, for to do so, we must understand the system where it exists firstly. So essentially, translation is transforming of different symbols (Sign, Sense & translation). Another perspective is aesthetic, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) is the first person who proposed aesthetic. In his masterpiece Aesthetic published in 1750, he put forward the first definite claim for the funding of a new discipline-aesthetic, which is known as Aesthetics. In his view of Baumgarten，Aesthetic was originally a discipline for the study of human perception or feeling，which included human sense, affection, aspiration, imagination, fantasy, and intuition.2. The Text Function of Commodity SpecificationThe famous representative of functionalist school Reiss according based on Buhler’s theo ry divided the text into three types: informative, expressive, operative (same as appellative). Arnold adds the fourth features: phatic function. He pointed out that the text cannot be just simply a function but often include other different functions, sometimes one is the main, and other is complementary. According to Reiss, informative text is just the fact of communication which convey information in a logical dimension or referential; and operational text aims to "cause behavioralresponses, which aims to convince the reader to act by the recipient way. “Commodity specification is an application text, which can inspire consumers to buy and use the product by descripting the features, specifications, and usage and storage method of the goods”. As a specia l application of the text, product specifications is informative and induced, which decided that the main purpose of it is to provide information and induced the audience, thus the language of specification must be accurate, objective, valid enough to convey product information clearly, at the same time concise enough for reader to understand.2.1 The Features of Words and Expressions2.1.1 JargonFor using a mass of jargon, language of specification is different from the one in real life. However, professional terms cannot be too professional to be understood by the common readers who come from various consumer groups. so we have to do some explain for the obscure terms, especially in the electronic products manual, interpret is inevitable and necessary. But some people think too much technical terms in the product description, will make it harder for consumers to read, for consumers may not be able to understand the words too professional. While the fact is less jargon will not make it easy to understand but make ambiguity, let alone the accuracy and original meaning. As the word “package” for example, even though other words like “bag” and “pack” convey the same meaning, but they are totally different in vary context.2.1.2 Concise and ComprehensiveAnother feature of the specification language is widely using of compound words and abbreviations. Compound word is a new word or phrase by combining the original phrase or affixation. Such as: hi-technology, radiophotography. Acronym form is relatively simple and easy to remember, for example: RCD--residual current device, FM—frequency modulation, IU --international unit, UPS--uninterruptible power supply, IC--integrated circuit and so on. The use of compound words and acronyms not only makes the context easier for readers but also make the high-tech products expertise popularize, in other hand, it cuts the publicity cost of manufacturers. So widespread use of such words can make translation ofspecification.2.2 The Features of Syntax2.2.1 Simple sentencesSimple sentences make the Product specification easier for consumers to understand. Therefore, the translation of product manual should try to use simple sentences and avoid excessive use of long sentences; particularly those sentences contain various clauses. In general, we don’t use syntactical rhetorical devices in the products specification, but just the straight forward language. However, for some product specifications we have to use some artistic and beautiful rhetoric, in order to attract the attention of consumers, but the sentence is still simple. For example, on a clothing specification translation we should convey the information that this T-shirt is cheap, but the workmanship is excellent with unique design. Correspondingly translation is：This T-shirt is moderately priced, of excellent craftsmanship and unique in design. The English version of this sentence is just simple sentences. But with the words "moderately", "excellent" and "unique" convey all the information that can induce customers perfectly. Such adjectives or adverbs fully is competent to express the effect of complex sentences, aroused the desire of consumers, make the specifications also be a excellent advertisement.2.2.2 Imperative sentencesIn the commodity specification, if we want express the meaning of "Precautions" and “instructions” the imperative sentence is a better choice. Imperative sentence is one of simple sentence, which could express suggestions, orders and warnings tone. Therefore, in the commodity specification, imperative sentence can express advice and instructions better, as a sentence with no subject, the verb of it is generally prototype. There are two advantages of imperative sentence: only one verb tense, without complex temporal transformation, which makes it easy to understand, On the other hand, without the subject, it could explain how to use the product to customers bluntly, with the simple and clear expression.2.2.3 Passive SentencesEither Chinese or English, the most important grammar part is the predicate verb.In English grammar, there are two kinds of voice, the active voice and the passive voice. In most contexts, both the active and passive voice could express the same meaning, but the effect of two expression is totally different, the language and expression of passive sentences is more objective, and the object of action is more prominent. As the main purpose of the commodity specification is to explain how to use its products and precautions to consumers. So the third person viewpoint will make context more objective and authentic, not like the excessive use of the first person, second person, just leave a subjective sense to the reader.3. The Principle and Approach of Commodity Specification3.1 Skopos theory1970s, the German functionalist translation theorist Hans Vermeer (Hans Vermeer) proposed the Skopos theory of Translation. It broke the "equivalence theory" which was dominant in western. Vermeer thought: "it (Skopos Theory) is an integral part of the translatoriesches handeln, which concerns that translation is an act that based on source text, any form of translation has goals and objectives ", (Vermeer, 1986). In other words, any act of translation is determined by the purpose of the translation, which is said, "it was decided by the method (The end justifies the means)" (Nord, 2001: 29). Skopos theory was first proposed by the German scholar Vermeer (H.J.Vemmer) in 1978. Skopos in Greek means "purpose." In the view of Teleological theory the most important rule we should follow in translation is "The purpose of the law" (skopos) that means, the purpose of translation behavior determines the overall translation process. So, in translation of goods specifications, the most important determinant of translation purposes is audience, namely consumers who have their own cultural background, expectations and communication needs. Each translation aims to certain audience, so translation is a discourse with particular purpose and context.In conclusion, according to the Skopos theory, translation is a kind of cross-cultural transfer activity, while it is not just a conversion behavior, but of an entire complex behavior (Snell-Hornby.2006: 50). With the restricted purpose, the translator should considering the communicative expectations of the text and targetreaders, to choose appropriate translation strategies or methods.3.2 The Principle of Commodity Specification TranslationAccording to the theory mentioned above, it is obvious that translation of commodity specification should correspond to the principle of information integrity, coherence and aesthetic, we will analyze it with the case below:Original：本产品选用绿色优质大米为原料，采用国内最先进的现代化米排粉生产线，综合广东省内、外传统工艺精制而成，绝不含任何添加剂等化学物质，质量上乘，爽滑可口，烹饪方便，荤素随意，四季皆宜，蒸、煮、炒、火锅、凉拌、少许加辣更有一番风味。
