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ABSTRACT：with the principle of cognitive consonance，this thesis studied official document translation from the perspectives of contextual correlates and communicative correlates. Specifically，among the contextual correlates，the social and cultural factors，the mental workings，cognitive mechanism，the translator’s intentions，the needs for objective and authoritative information，the aesthetic expectations and acceptability of the target receptors are prominent in their influence upon the translator’s linguistic choice-making. The linguistic contextual correlates including intertexuality，contextual cohesion，sequencing，and style play a very important role in determining the translators’ linguistic choices in the official document translation.
Key words：official document; translation; adaptation theory; cognitive consonance1Definition of Official Document and Definition of cognitive consonance
In the narrow sense of Chinese language，official document restrictedly refers to the document used in the Administrative Departments of the Government and the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Communist Party，including all specified in the Statutory Regulations of Official Document and Conventional Regulation of Official document. The specifications are stated by State Council，CPC Central Committee General Office and State Bureau of Quality Supervision in the documents of Procedures for Handling Official document in the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Government，Regulations for Handling Official Document in the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Communist Party，and formats of official document in the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Government.(嚴孚良，2001：4)［1］
In English law，official document refers to the document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right，and it also can be referred to as legal document，legal instrument and instrument.
Cognitive Consistency Approach asserts people seek consistency among their attitudes，and between attitudes and behavior. It emphasizes the acceptance of attitudes that fit into their overall cognitive structure.(Heider，1958) ［2］
We would like to bring it into a deeper probe into the translator’s mental processing. We mean the cognitive consistency which the translator’s utterances produce in the target receptors when they process and appreciate the author’s intentions.(李占喜，2005：69) ［3］Put simply，the translator’s linguistic choices should not make the receptor feel pressed psychologically or mentally uncomfortable when they interpret and appreciate the author’s intentions during their communication with the translator. As a result，to improve the quality of translation of official document in the context of globalization has been an increasingly hot issue in the world; accordingly，the study of the related translation attracts the attention of more and more scholars. Surprisingly，articles concerning official document translation are seldom published in the journals of translation study and linguistic study.
Moreover，few studies on that issue are only criticisms which are largely confined to value judgment of translation practice and seldom touching the cultural and political issue in translation field，far from theoretical and applicable value. In view of the state of the art of research in translation of official document in China and the west in general，this research is intended to explore new research perspective for translation of official document.
2Research Background and Rational for Investigating Translation in Light of Adaptation Theory
No ideal model ever proposed by translation theorists seems able to present us with convincing explanation of how the translator’s mind works，and offers us sufficient explanation of the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices in translating official document.
Official document translation as a typical form of non-literary translation has not been thoroughly researched from the perspective of adaptation theory at home and abroad.
Moreover，pragmatic approach has been proved to be one of the most powerful research perspectives on the study of the dynamics of language comprehension，language use，and context.
Accordingly，a comprehensive research from a pragmatic perspective can be done in the analysis of the translator’s mental interactions in translating official document. Therefore，adaptation theory may serve as the conceptual framework for generalizing some main features of the official document translating process.
No ideal model ever proposed by translation theorists seems able to present us with convincing explanation of how the translator’s mind works，and offers us sufficient explanation of the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices in translating official document.
Jef Verschueren holds that “the general concern for the study of linguistic pragmatics is to understand the meaningful functioning of language as a dynamic process operating on context-structure relationships at various levels of salience.”(Verschueren，2000：69)［4］ He further expounds that language use is a process of continuous making of linguistic choices. Like other linguistic activities，translation is also a process of continuous making of choices. 3Major findings of the study
Verschueren’s viewpoints on the dynamics of the translating process are enriched and tentatively complemented in three aspects. First，the study tried to explore into the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices and its relationship with the principle of cognitive consonance. Second，the study examined how the translator deals with cultural defaults and how he makes linguistic choices to cater to the political，ideological，and aesthetic aspects dominant in the target cognitive environment. Third，the study attempted to find out the main features of the official document translation and the relationship between them and the translator’s linguistic adaptations in translation.
A successful translation is the one that can satisfy the target receptor’s needs and their expectations and acceptability. It must be pointed out that the standardized forms or style of the official document is a very important feature that must be strictly observed in the translation while the translators’ personal psychological motivation，the aesthetic preferences and pragmatic awareness also influence their specific handling their translations. Since part of the findings above is in the field of social psychology，we borrowed its term and proposed that the principle of cognitive consonance of the target receptor serve as the criteria for a successful translation.
Finally this thesis made a tentative conclusion that official document translation is a dynamic process of making adaptation with regard to linguistic structure and communicative context at various level of salience so as to achieve the target receptors' cognitive consonance.
3.1Practical applications
Theoretically，our research describes the translating process from adaptation theory，and offers a new point of view to the study on official document translation. It tentatively proposes the Principle of Cognitive Consonance. This study enriches or complements Verschueren's viewpoints on the mental operation of the translator and generalizes the main features of the official document translating process.
Practically，this approach may offer some guidance to official document translation. It helps the translators have a new idea of its translation from the angle of pragmatics：it is a dynamically-adjusting process in which the translators make every effort to ensure the cognitive consonance of their target receptors in accordance with the characteristics of official document language. And it reminds them of the fact that translation of official document takes its own typical strategies to achieve the cognitive consonance of their target receptor. 3.2Adaptation at the Supersentential Level：style
Style is a very important aspect of writing，and can be seen as the result of motivated choices made by text producers. Gutt(1991，2000：134)［5］ emphasizes the importance of the way the author's thoughts are expressed and argues that the point of preserving stylistic properties lies not in their intrinsic value，but rather in the fact that they provide communicative clues that guide the receptor to the interpretation intended by the communicator.
Therefore，the translator is supposed to process the author’s general language style and writing style on the one hand; he should pay special attention to their communicative clues on the other hand. These clues can indicate the author’s characterized ways of expressing. All these may provide some references to the translator’s communicative style when making linguistic choices in the target cognitive environment to convey the author’s intentions.
While different styles of different text types lay emphases on different translation strategy(ies)，as Newmark put it，translation is such an art that translators are always ready to choose the most appropriate strategies with the change of the translation situation and communicative purposes.(Newmark，Peter，1981：91) It is similar with Verschueren’s adaptation theory on the point that translators make choices to adapt to the different situations or context of the target utterances. ［6］
As to official document，both in the English language and Chinese language，it strictly observes certain standardized forms which reflect its authoritative and binding force. Its language must be accurate，undeniable and scrupulous. Conservativeness is the other feature of legal language.(沈程鳳，2006：7)［7］
Since the official document is characterized by its style of writing，the translator should make corresponding linguistic adaptations to its style to ensure that the translated official document can be accepted easily by the target receptor.
Therefore，translation of the official document naturally is influenced by the style observed because its translation must conform to specific provisions on the document format required by the General Office of the State Council. Document format usually includes the title，C.C，Issue Name，body，Attachment，Signature，date，the document number，and secret levels，emergency and so on.
(1)Notice of dismissal
It is hereby proclaimed that the board directors have decided to dismiss Wang Hai from the post of chief of the president’s office. The President’s Office
September 12，2003
a.免職通知
经董事会决定，免去王海先生担任的董事长办公室主任职务，现予公布。
董事长办公室
(秦美娟，2005：1)［8］
(2)We the undersigned hereby certify that John Smith having fulfilled the requirements of the Ordinances and Regulations of the University was by the university authority admitted to the Degree of Master of Science in Electronic Engineering at a congregation held in the University on July 8，1992
a.兹证明约翰史密斯遵守大学法规条例，业已完成学业，于一九九二年七月八日获得该大学的电子工程专业理学硕士学位。
In the above examples，all these linguistic choices reflect some references to the translator’s adaptation to the target writing style. The forms of the source official documents were changed to fit into the style of the target official document so that the target receptors can comfortably process the translation and recognize its legal or authoritative status. In other words，the translator adapted the original style to the style of the target official document for the purpose of achieving the cognitive consonance of the target receptors.
3.3Pragmatic Awareness in the Dynamic Adaptation Process of Translating Official Document
Not all of the translator’s choices in the translating process occupy the same place in consciousness. They are closely related to target linguistic aspects and his cognition. On the one hand，the translator’s abstract cognition，without reference to any contextual correlates，does not exist; on the other hand，the contextual correlates do not exert any influence on his choices without being interpreted(sometimes cognitively produced) by the translator. So the translator’s subjective factors will lead him to make linguistic choices out of degrees of consciousness.
Here “pragmatic awareness” is employed to designate the status of processes of target language meaning generation determined by the translator’s personality and cognitive mechanisms of processing. The translator’s pragmatic awareness cannot be measured by physical standard. Moreover，it is not necessary to determine degrees of his awareness for all processes in his specific target language use. There is，however，a need to take this awareness consideration whenever its traces can be shown to reveal its relevance for an understanding of the translator’s psychological motivations behind his linguistic choices. That will cater to the concerned aspects prevalent in the target cognitive environment to reduce the psychological pressure of the target receptors. At this moment，the translator’s pragmatic awareness is highly increased to achieve the cognitive consonance of the target receptor. (3)The Committee shall review as necessary，but at least once every two years，the implementation and operation of this Agreement，taking into account the objectives thereof，and the rights and obligations contained therein.
a. 考虑到本协议的目标以及本协议中规定的权利和义务，委员会应当于必要时，但每两年至少一次对本协议的执行或实施情况进行审查。(寇培宇，2007)［9］
In this example，the translator is aware that compound adverbs “thereof” and “therein” are equal to “of there” and “in there” respectively. So he consciously chose the expressions of“本协议的”and“本协议规定的”by adding words to clarify the content in the source official document.
(4)In no event shall Party A and Party B purchase less than a minimum of seven thousand hours of production at the rated capacity of the Power Plant.
a. 甲方和乙方在任何情况下均须按电厂的额定容量购买不少于7ooo小时 最低电量。(王道庚，2006：118)［10］
In example above，as an adverbial，“in no event” appears at the beginning of the sentence. With the adverbial being negated，the position of “no” has to be moved to before “less” in order to achieve the smoothness and harmony of English language. The translator thus chose consciously the corresponding equivalent expression，“在任何情况下……不少于……” in Chinese version，which better fit into the language features of Chinese language and the aesthetic expectation and acceptability of the target Chinese receptors.
3.4Limitations and implications
The most obvious limitation of the present study is the lack of strong empirical support for some interpretations or analyses of the data under research. Concentration is placed on official document translation from Chinese to English.
Another weakness is the limited amount and sources of data examined in the analyzing process.
Finally，the present research might not cover all the aspects of the official document translation，as this is extremely complicated. We have only tentatively described the general features and the translator’s mental workings in translating official document from a new point of view of pragmatics.
4Suggestions for Further Research
Future researchers could do more profound investigations into official document translation if they can go into the details such as the dynamics of adaptability，which is not mentioned in the present study due to the limited space.
The Target Receptor-Centered Principle of Cognitive Consonance has been tentatively proposed to probe into the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices，but it also awaits test by means of empirical study . There is also much room to improve the amount and sources of data examined in the analyzing process.References：
［1］ 嚴孚良.实用公务文书写作［M］.北京：中国人民公安大学出版社，2001.
［2］ Heider，F.The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations［M］.New York：Wiley，1958.
［3］ 李占喜.翻译过程的关联-顺应研究-文化意象处理举偶—博士学位论文［D］. 广州：广东外语外贸大学，2005.
［4］ Verschueren Jef.Understanding Pragmatics［M］.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2000.
［5］ Gutt，E一A. Translation and Relevance：Cognition and Context［M］. Manchester：St. Jerome Publishing，2000.
［6］ Newmark，Peter.Approaches to Translation［M］. London：London Pergamon Press Ltd，1981.
［7］ 沈程凤. 《中华人民共和国行政许可法》汉英两个版本的对比研究［M］.上海：上海海事大学，2006.
［8］ 秦美娟.最新英文公文写作大全［M］.广州：广东旅游出版社，2005.
［9］ 寇培宇.英文法律文本的语言特征及其汉译技巧—硕士学位论文［D］.哈尔滨：哈尔滨工程大学，2007.
［10］ 王道庚.新编英汉法律翻译教程［M］.杭州：浙江大学出版社，2006.
Key words：official document; translation; adaptation theory; cognitive consonance1Definition of Official Document and Definition of cognitive consonance
In the narrow sense of Chinese language，official document restrictedly refers to the document used in the Administrative Departments of the Government and the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Communist Party，including all specified in the Statutory Regulations of Official Document and Conventional Regulation of Official document. The specifications are stated by State Council，CPC Central Committee General Office and State Bureau of Quality Supervision in the documents of Procedures for Handling Official document in the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Government，Regulations for Handling Official Document in the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Communist Party，and formats of official document in the Administrative Departments of the Chinese Government.(嚴孚良，2001：4)［1］
In English law，official document refers to the document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right，and it also can be referred to as legal document，legal instrument and instrument.
Cognitive Consistency Approach asserts people seek consistency among their attitudes，and between attitudes and behavior. It emphasizes the acceptance of attitudes that fit into their overall cognitive structure.(Heider，1958) ［2］
We would like to bring it into a deeper probe into the translator’s mental processing. We mean the cognitive consistency which the translator’s utterances produce in the target receptors when they process and appreciate the author’s intentions.(李占喜，2005：69) ［3］Put simply，the translator’s linguistic choices should not make the receptor feel pressed psychologically or mentally uncomfortable when they interpret and appreciate the author’s intentions during their communication with the translator. As a result，to improve the quality of translation of official document in the context of globalization has been an increasingly hot issue in the world; accordingly，the study of the related translation attracts the attention of more and more scholars. Surprisingly，articles concerning official document translation are seldom published in the journals of translation study and linguistic study.
Moreover，few studies on that issue are only criticisms which are largely confined to value judgment of translation practice and seldom touching the cultural and political issue in translation field，far from theoretical and applicable value. In view of the state of the art of research in translation of official document in China and the west in general，this research is intended to explore new research perspective for translation of official document.
2Research Background and Rational for Investigating Translation in Light of Adaptation Theory
No ideal model ever proposed by translation theorists seems able to present us with convincing explanation of how the translator’s mind works，and offers us sufficient explanation of the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices in translating official document.
Official document translation as a typical form of non-literary translation has not been thoroughly researched from the perspective of adaptation theory at home and abroad.
Moreover，pragmatic approach has been proved to be one of the most powerful research perspectives on the study of the dynamics of language comprehension，language use，and context.
Accordingly，a comprehensive research from a pragmatic perspective can be done in the analysis of the translator’s mental interactions in translating official document. Therefore，adaptation theory may serve as the conceptual framework for generalizing some main features of the official document translating process.
No ideal model ever proposed by translation theorists seems able to present us with convincing explanation of how the translator’s mind works，and offers us sufficient explanation of the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices in translating official document.
Jef Verschueren holds that “the general concern for the study of linguistic pragmatics is to understand the meaningful functioning of language as a dynamic process operating on context-structure relationships at various levels of salience.”(Verschueren，2000：69)［4］ He further expounds that language use is a process of continuous making of linguistic choices. Like other linguistic activities，translation is also a process of continuous making of choices. 3Major findings of the study
Verschueren’s viewpoints on the dynamics of the translating process are enriched and tentatively complemented in three aspects. First，the study tried to explore into the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices and its relationship with the principle of cognitive consonance. Second，the study examined how the translator deals with cultural defaults and how he makes linguistic choices to cater to the political，ideological，and aesthetic aspects dominant in the target cognitive environment. Third，the study attempted to find out the main features of the official document translation and the relationship between them and the translator’s linguistic adaptations in translation.
A successful translation is the one that can satisfy the target receptor’s needs and their expectations and acceptability. It must be pointed out that the standardized forms or style of the official document is a very important feature that must be strictly observed in the translation while the translators’ personal psychological motivation，the aesthetic preferences and pragmatic awareness also influence their specific handling their translations. Since part of the findings above is in the field of social psychology，we borrowed its term and proposed that the principle of cognitive consonance of the target receptor serve as the criteria for a successful translation.
Finally this thesis made a tentative conclusion that official document translation is a dynamic process of making adaptation with regard to linguistic structure and communicative context at various level of salience so as to achieve the target receptors' cognitive consonance.
3.1Practical applications
Theoretically，our research describes the translating process from adaptation theory，and offers a new point of view to the study on official document translation. It tentatively proposes the Principle of Cognitive Consonance. This study enriches or complements Verschueren's viewpoints on the mental operation of the translator and generalizes the main features of the official document translating process.
Practically，this approach may offer some guidance to official document translation. It helps the translators have a new idea of its translation from the angle of pragmatics：it is a dynamically-adjusting process in which the translators make every effort to ensure the cognitive consonance of their target receptors in accordance with the characteristics of official document language. And it reminds them of the fact that translation of official document takes its own typical strategies to achieve the cognitive consonance of their target receptor. 3.2Adaptation at the Supersentential Level：style
Style is a very important aspect of writing，and can be seen as the result of motivated choices made by text producers. Gutt(1991，2000：134)［5］ emphasizes the importance of the way the author's thoughts are expressed and argues that the point of preserving stylistic properties lies not in their intrinsic value，but rather in the fact that they provide communicative clues that guide the receptor to the interpretation intended by the communicator.
Therefore，the translator is supposed to process the author’s general language style and writing style on the one hand; he should pay special attention to their communicative clues on the other hand. These clues can indicate the author’s characterized ways of expressing. All these may provide some references to the translator’s communicative style when making linguistic choices in the target cognitive environment to convey the author’s intentions.
While different styles of different text types lay emphases on different translation strategy(ies)，as Newmark put it，translation is such an art that translators are always ready to choose the most appropriate strategies with the change of the translation situation and communicative purposes.(Newmark，Peter，1981：91) It is similar with Verschueren’s adaptation theory on the point that translators make choices to adapt to the different situations or context of the target utterances. ［6］
As to official document，both in the English language and Chinese language，it strictly observes certain standardized forms which reflect its authoritative and binding force. Its language must be accurate，undeniable and scrupulous. Conservativeness is the other feature of legal language.(沈程鳳，2006：7)［7］
Since the official document is characterized by its style of writing，the translator should make corresponding linguistic adaptations to its style to ensure that the translated official document can be accepted easily by the target receptor.
Therefore，translation of the official document naturally is influenced by the style observed because its translation must conform to specific provisions on the document format required by the General Office of the State Council. Document format usually includes the title，C.C，Issue Name，body，Attachment，Signature，date，the document number，and secret levels，emergency and so on.
(1)Notice of dismissal
It is hereby proclaimed that the board directors have decided to dismiss Wang Hai from the post of chief of the president’s office. The President’s Office
September 12，2003
a.免職通知
经董事会决定，免去王海先生担任的董事长办公室主任职务，现予公布。
董事长办公室
(秦美娟，2005：1)［8］
(2)We the undersigned hereby certify that John Smith having fulfilled the requirements of the Ordinances and Regulations of the University was by the university authority admitted to the Degree of Master of Science in Electronic Engineering at a congregation held in the University on July 8，1992
a.兹证明约翰史密斯遵守大学法规条例，业已完成学业，于一九九二年七月八日获得该大学的电子工程专业理学硕士学位。
In the above examples，all these linguistic choices reflect some references to the translator’s adaptation to the target writing style. The forms of the source official documents were changed to fit into the style of the target official document so that the target receptors can comfortably process the translation and recognize its legal or authoritative status. In other words，the translator adapted the original style to the style of the target official document for the purpose of achieving the cognitive consonance of the target receptors.
3.3Pragmatic Awareness in the Dynamic Adaptation Process of Translating Official Document
Not all of the translator’s choices in the translating process occupy the same place in consciousness. They are closely related to target linguistic aspects and his cognition. On the one hand，the translator’s abstract cognition，without reference to any contextual correlates，does not exist; on the other hand，the contextual correlates do not exert any influence on his choices without being interpreted(sometimes cognitively produced) by the translator. So the translator’s subjective factors will lead him to make linguistic choices out of degrees of consciousness.
Here “pragmatic awareness” is employed to designate the status of processes of target language meaning generation determined by the translator’s personality and cognitive mechanisms of processing. The translator’s pragmatic awareness cannot be measured by physical standard. Moreover，it is not necessary to determine degrees of his awareness for all processes in his specific target language use. There is，however，a need to take this awareness consideration whenever its traces can be shown to reveal its relevance for an understanding of the translator’s psychological motivations behind his linguistic choices. That will cater to the concerned aspects prevalent in the target cognitive environment to reduce the psychological pressure of the target receptors. At this moment，the translator’s pragmatic awareness is highly increased to achieve the cognitive consonance of the target receptor. (3)The Committee shall review as necessary，but at least once every two years，the implementation and operation of this Agreement，taking into account the objectives thereof，and the rights and obligations contained therein.
a. 考虑到本协议的目标以及本协议中规定的权利和义务，委员会应当于必要时，但每两年至少一次对本协议的执行或实施情况进行审查。(寇培宇，2007)［9］
In this example，the translator is aware that compound adverbs “thereof” and “therein” are equal to “of there” and “in there” respectively. So he consciously chose the expressions of“本协议的”and“本协议规定的”by adding words to clarify the content in the source official document.
(4)In no event shall Party A and Party B purchase less than a minimum of seven thousand hours of production at the rated capacity of the Power Plant.
a. 甲方和乙方在任何情况下均须按电厂的额定容量购买不少于7ooo小时 最低电量。(王道庚，2006：118)［10］
In example above，as an adverbial，“in no event” appears at the beginning of the sentence. With the adverbial being negated，the position of “no” has to be moved to before “less” in order to achieve the smoothness and harmony of English language. The translator thus chose consciously the corresponding equivalent expression，“在任何情况下……不少于……” in Chinese version，which better fit into the language features of Chinese language and the aesthetic expectation and acceptability of the target Chinese receptors.
3.4Limitations and implications
The most obvious limitation of the present study is the lack of strong empirical support for some interpretations or analyses of the data under research. Concentration is placed on official document translation from Chinese to English.
Another weakness is the limited amount and sources of data examined in the analyzing process.
Finally，the present research might not cover all the aspects of the official document translation，as this is extremely complicated. We have only tentatively described the general features and the translator’s mental workings in translating official document from a new point of view of pragmatics.
4Suggestions for Further Research
Future researchers could do more profound investigations into official document translation if they can go into the details such as the dynamics of adaptability，which is not mentioned in the present study due to the limited space.
The Target Receptor-Centered Principle of Cognitive Consonance has been tentatively proposed to probe into the psychological motivations behind the translator’s linguistic choices，but it also awaits test by means of empirical study . There is also much room to improve the amount and sources of data examined in the analyzing process.References：
［1］ 嚴孚良.实用公务文书写作［M］.北京：中国人民公安大学出版社，2001.
［2］ Heider，F.The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations［M］.New York：Wiley，1958.
［3］ 李占喜.翻译过程的关联-顺应研究-文化意象处理举偶—博士学位论文［D］. 广州：广东外语外贸大学，2005.
［4］ Verschueren Jef.Understanding Pragmatics［M］.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2000.
［5］ Gutt，E一A. Translation and Relevance：Cognition and Context［M］. Manchester：St. Jerome Publishing，2000.
［6］ Newmark，Peter.Approaches to Translation［M］. London：London Pergamon Press Ltd，1981.
［7］ 沈程凤. 《中华人民共和国行政许可法》汉英两个版本的对比研究［M］.上海：上海海事大学，2006.
［8］ 秦美娟.最新英文公文写作大全［M］.广州：广东旅游出版社，2005.
［9］ 寇培宇.英文法律文本的语言特征及其汉译技巧—硕士学位论文［D］.哈尔滨：哈尔滨工程大学，2007.
［10］ 王道庚.新编英汉法律翻译教程［M］.杭州：浙江大学出版社，2006.