A Comparative Study on English Translation Strategies under the Politeness Principle in International Business Letters

Abstract

Against the backdrop of further development of economic globalization, as an important carrier of cross-cultural business communication, the translation quality of international business letters directly aff ects the efficiency and outcome of business cooperation. As the core communication norms for business letters, the politeness principle needs to take into account language norms, cultural adaptation and social context of business in English translation. Different translation strategies have different emphases when practicing the politeness principle. For instance, literal translation emphasizes formal correspondence, free translation focuses on semantic equivalence, and adaptive translation strategies emphasize cultural mediation. This paper focuses on this core issue to provide theoretical reference and practical pathways for the English translation of international business letters by comparing and analyzing the application logic and practice eff ect of different translation strategies under the guidance of the politeness principle.