篇一：涉外合同的英语语言特色
摘 要
实务中有不少涉外经济合同纠纷是因各方对合同文字的理解不一而引起的,究其原因,主要是起草者对合同语言的特殊性缺乏应有的了解,结果导致合同语言的模糊性和不确定性。本文从词法、句法及应用等三个层面对英文经贸合同语言的特殊性及其变化规律进行探讨,以期能有助于对此类合同的阅读和起草。
关键词：涉外合同；语言特征；阅读和起草
ABSTRACT
In practice, the occurrence of inconsistency in interpretation of the contract English has resulted in a good few cases of disputes. In essence, it is largely due to the draftsman's failure to have a deep-in understanding of the underlying features of the contract language, which might lead to the ambiguities and uncertainties of the contract wording. This paper tries to analyze the linguistic features of English business contracts at the morphological, syntactical and discourse levels respectively with a view to rendering a help in the reading and drafting the contracts.
Keywords：contract English ; language features; reading anddrafting
Contents
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
2. Literature review .............................................................................................................. 2
2.1 Study of contract .............................................................................................................. 2
2.2 Study of legal English ...................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Study of contract English ................................................................................................. 3
2.4 The study of the stylistic features of contract English in China ...................................... 4
3. The language features of contract English ..................................................................... 6
3.1 The lexical features .......................................................................................................... 6
3.1.1 Formal words ................................................................................................................ 6
3.1.2 Archaic Words ............................................................................................................... 7
3.1.3 Synonyms ...................................................................................................................... 8
3.1.4 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ 8
3.2 The syntax features .......................................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 Active voice ................................................................................................................... 9
3.2.2 Present tense ................................................................................................................ 10
3.2.3 Shall+verb ................................................................................................................... 10
3.3 The sentential features .................................................................................................... 11
3.3.1 Declarative sentences .................................................................................................. 11
3.3.2 Long sentences ............................................................................................................ 12
3.3.3 Conditional clauses ..................................................................................................... 13
4. Implications .................................................................................................................... 15
4.1 Implication for reading contract English ....................................................................... 15
4.2 Implication for drafting contract .................................................................................... 16
5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 17 Acknowledgements ............................................................................. 错误！未定义书签。
References ........................................................................................................................... 18
1. Introduction
Language is much more than merely a means of communication. It is also a way of signaling, consciously or unconsciously, that we come from a particular area, or belong to a certain social group.[1]51 Every field of expertise develops its own language features.[2]36 The language of English used in contracts, or contract English, is an important branch of legal English. Legal English means the language of the law of England, America, and some other countries whose official language is English. These common law system countries have a history about several hundred years to express law in English. Legal English is a type of legal language with overlap of linguistics and the science of law. [3]6
With China's carrying out the policy to promote reform and opening to the outside world, the establishment of market economy, the rapid development of our communication with foreign countries and China's entry to the WTO, there are more and more opportunities for us to communicate with those countries whose official language is English. When communicating with individuals, legal persons or other organizations from the English speaking countries, we often need to sign English contracts with them. Contract plays an important role in international economic and trade activities, as all achievements thereof will be finally embodied in it.
How to correctly draft and understand contract language is of great importance to individuals and business organizations. There are a few books and papers dedicated to general principles of stylistic features of English for law, but none addresses questions of contract English in sufficient detail to be of significant practical use to the English contract learners in China. My dissertation attempts to present a comparatively detailed analysis of stylistic features of contract English with the expectation to better help contract learners or businessmen understand and draft English contract.
2. Literature review
2.1 Study of contract
Contract English, like English as a whole, is not static. It has undergone and is still undergoing enormous changes. The definition of contracts given by Karla C. Shippey[4]155: A Commercial Contract, in simplest terms, is merely an agreement made by two or more parties for the purpose of transacting business. In the eye of scholars the word contract is used in common speech, which simply refers to a writing containing terms on which the parties have agreed. Contract is often used in a more technical sense to mean "a promise, or a set of promises for the breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes a duty." Put quite simply, a contract is an agreement which the courts will enforce. [5]5
A contract, in the simplest definition, is a promise enforceable by law. The promise may be to do something or to refrain from doing something. The making of a contract requires the mutual assent of two or more persons, one of them ordinarily making an offer and another accepting. If one of the parties fails to keep the promise, the other is entitled to legal recourse against him. The law of contracts has to do with such questions as whether a contract exists, what the meaning of it is, whether a contract has been broken, and what compensation is due the injured party.[6]6
Many contracts use the word agreement in the title. In some contexts the two words, contract and agreement, are synonyms and can be used interchangeably. While contract and agreement may both be used to mean a formal and legally enforceable arrangement, agreement may also refer to an informal arrangement not supported by consideration, such as an agreement between friends to play tennis on Saturday morning. So an agreement is really the main ingredient of a contract. But it is not every agreement that becomes a contract. To be a contract, that agreement must be enforceable in taw.
篇二：涉外合同的概念定义及特点
涉外合同的概念定义及特点
涉外合同是指合同行为或合同关系中介入了外国因素而发生的债权债务关系。
凡民事关系的一方或者双方当事人是外国人、无国籍人、外国法人的；民事关系的标的物在外国领域内的；产生、变更或者消灭民事权利义务关系的法律事实发生在外国的，均为涉外民事关系。
涉外合同，是指具有涉外因素的合同，涉外因素包括：
1、合同主体的一方或双方是外国自然人、或法人，或无国籍人；
2、合同标的是位于外国的物、财产或需要在外国完成的行为；
3、合同权利义务内容据以产生的法律事实发生在外国。
涉外
（一）合同具有涉外因素
在法律关系中具有了涉外因素，即合同的主体、客体和内容这三项要素中，至少有一项与外国有关系。
（二）合同内容广泛
（三）双方当事人之间的协议要成为一项在法律上有拘束力的合同，必须具备一定的条件，如合同当事人必须具备行为能力，合同须以符合法律规定的方式签订，合同双方的意思表示必须一致，合同的内容必须合法等。
（四）可能要适用外国法、国际条约或国际惯例
合同的涉外性必然导致合同与外国法在特定条件下有着某种程度的联系，因而，在某些场合下，为确定涉外合同当事人的权利义务，冲突规范往往会指定适用外国法，或者适用国际条约或国际惯例。
）
篇三：浅谈涉外合同英语特色
摘 要
在国际经济贸易活动中，商务合同是一种重要的法律文件依据,商贸英语已成为必不可少的语言交际工具,它也是英文经济贸易合同的基点。国际商务合同的种类繁多，涉及面广，内容复杂。这类合同都是涉外交易性质，有其自身的特点，即条理性、规范性和专业性。商务合同对翻译的质量提出很高的要求，也增加了其难度。本文用大量的例句，对商务合同英语的准确性、严谨性、规范性做了浅显的分析。并且简单介绍了涉外合同英语严肃、正式与严谨、准确两方面的特点，并从词汇的角度论证古体词与比较正式的词语使沙外合同英语严肃、正式;成对词、词语重复则使涉外合同英语严谨、准确。
关键词：涉外英语合同 专业 严谨 规范
目录
前言 ..................................................... 3
第一章 涉外合同英语结构特点 .............................. 4
第二章 涉外合同英语的用词特点 ............................ 5
（一）用词正式 ........................................ 5
（二）用词专业 ........................................ 6
（三）古词语的使用 .................................... 7
（四）外来语 .......................................... 8
（五）关键性的词常采用同(近)义词连用，避免一词多义 .... 9
（六） 同义词和近义词并列 ............................. 9
第三章 涉外合同英语的用语特点 ........................... 10
（一）多用主动语态，少用被动语态 ..................... 10
（二）多用现在时，少用将来时，尽管很多条款规定的是合同签
订以后的事项 ......................................... 11
（三）直接表达方式用得多，间接表达方式用的较少 ....... 11
（四）尽量使用一个动词，避免使用“动词+名词+介词”的同意
短语 ................................................. 12
第三章 涉外合同英语的句子特点 ........................... 12
（一）句子冗长，结构复杂 ............................. 12
（二）句子中状语的位置 ............................... 13
结语 .................................................... 14
参考文献 ................................................ 15
浅谈涉外合同英语特色
前言
语言学界的功能主义认为，语言是人类的交际工具，是人类社会生活的一个部分。社会生活的复杂多样性以及语言使用的环境的多样性决定了语言并不是刻板、毫无变化和差别的统一体，而是一个包括多种语体的复合体。根据交际领域和社会功能的不同，英语可分为科技体英语、文学体英语、新闻报道体英语、广告体英语、法律体英语、宗教体英语和公文体英语等等。著名的语言学家(J . ft. Firth )指出，“人类行为中有多少个专门系统，就有多少套语言，就有多少套同特殊的语言联系在一起的社会行为”。每一套特殊的语言实际上就是一种不同的语体，不同的语体在句法、词汇等方面有不同的特征。合同属于法律性文献。合同涉及公司企业间的合同契约、合资经营到个人间的租借房屋、参加人寿保险、赊购货物等等，所有这些活动，都要有一种书面语言来记录和规定，明确规定当事人双方(或各方)的权利和义务。合同语言是执行这种社会职能的一种变体。在合同语言履行其社会职能的过程中，人们需要了解规定和义务的确切含义和范围，也要防范有的人会出于某种考虑而有意曲解合同文书的含义，利用合同文书中某些词汇的不确定性和模糊性来逃避职责、夸大权益。在合同文书中，全部内容和条款必须字面化、外部化，也就是说，合同文书的内容和条款须通过语言文字体现出来，因此，合同文书必须严谨，做到词义准确，丝毫不允许词义模棱两可而产生歧义。同时，对于词义准确、语义确凿的刻意追求，形成了合同语言的严肃、正式，甚至保守。严肃、正式和严谨、准确就构成了合同文书的语体特征。本文拟简单探讨合同英语中如何通过词汇来体现合同英语的严肃、正式与严谨、准确。
第一章 涉外合同英语结构特点
合同类法律文件用以规定当事人的权利与义务，是预防与解决争议的依据。合同英语行文慎密而准确，历史悠久，深含法律文化底蕴。 ，
中文的合同开头一般先罗列当事人的名称、姓名、住所或营业场所，然后是合同正文，结尾是当事人印章、授权代表签字、职务及签字日期。而英语合同一般以下面这类句式为开头：
This agreement/contract is made and entered in to this ____ day of _____（month）， _______ （year） by and between Party A （hereinafter called " Party A "）and Party B（hereinafter called " Party B "）
然后是开始陈述：
WHEREAS?THEREFORE
? It is hereby agreed as follows：
或以： ，
WITNESSETH， WHEREAS?
NOW THEREFORE， for and in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements contained herein， the parties hereby covenant and agree as follows： ，
接着是正文，最后是证明部分：
IN WITNESS WHEREOF，the parties hereto have hereunto set their Hands the day and years first above written. ，
随后还包括当事人和见证人的签字。
第二章 涉外合同英语的用词特点
（一）用词正式
合同英语系正式英语，与普通语体不同。合同英语中使用了不少很正式的词汇，这些词汇在普通语体的场合使用不多。
例如： ，
“因为”的短语多用“by virtue of "，远远多于”due to“一般不用”because of “；
“财务年度末”一般用“at the close of the fiscal year”，而不用“in the end of the fiscal year”； ，
“在??之前”一般用“prior to”，而不用“before”； ，
“关于”常用“as regards”， “concerning”或“relating to”，而不会用“about”；
“事实上”用“in effect”，而不用“in fact”；
“开始”用“commencement”，而不用“start”或“begin”；
“停止做”用“cease to do”，而不用“stop to do”；
“何时开会并由某某主持”的表述为：The meeting shall be convened and presided by sb.
其中“召开”不用“hold 或call”，而用“convene”； “主持”不用“chair”或“be in charge of ”，而用“preside”；
其他事项”用“miscellaneous”， 而不用“other matters/events”； “理解合同”用“construe a contract” 或“comprehend a contract”，而不用“understand a contract”；
“认为”用“deem”，用“consider”少，不用“think”或“believe”；