Abstract Since China entered the WTO, not only different kinds of foreign products have entered domestic market, but also more and more Chinese products have walked out of China. To the electric appliance exporters fighting for a place in overseas markets, the English translation of user manuals, which is known as the bridge linking producers and consumers, has tremendous influence on the sales. This paper makes a detailed analysis of the linguistic features, text functions, C-E translation problems of electric appliance manuals and the causes with examples. Besides, it talks about the translation methods of user manuals according to the skopostheorie of German School of functionalist theory, in the hope that the C-E translation of electric appliance manuals will be improved. 54563

Key words: electric appliance manual; linguistic features; text functions; C-E translation rules; skopostheorie

摘要自从中国加入世贸组织以来，不仅大量外国产品进入中国市场，越来越多的国内产品也走出国门，走向世界。对正在国外市场力争一席之地的家用电器类产品来说，产品说明书是连接生产者与消费者之间的纽带，其英译质量对于产品在英语国家的销售来说更是起着举足轻重的作用。本文结合实例分析英文产品说明书的文本功能和特征，总结当前家电产品说明书的英译的问题并分析其诱因，结合功能派翻译目的论，讨论汉语产品说明书英译的方法，并提出提高该类应用文本英译质量的策略，以期使中国家电产品说明书的翻译能更上一层楼。

毕业论文关键词：产品说明书；语言特征；文本功能；英译原则；目的论 

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. On Electric Appliance Manuals 1

2.1 Definition of Electric Appliance Manuals 1

2.2 Linguistic Features of Electric Appliance Manuals 2

3. Introduction to the Skopostheorie 5

4. Application of the Skopostheorie to C-E Translation of Manuals 7

4.1 Main Problems in Current Translation of Manuals and the Causes 7

4.2 Translation Methods 9

4.3 Strategies for Improvement 13

5. Conclusion 14

Works Cited 15

1. Introduction

In recent decades, with the rapid development of globalization and international trade, Chinese exports have been increasing not only in quantity but also in variety. As is known to all, product manuals help exporting producers to create a favorable corporate image and to gain a competitive position in international market. In the course of selling, while providing consumers with detailed information relevant to products, product manuals directly affect the purchasing psychology of consumers. When a producer aims to sell its product or service in other countries, the translation of product manuals must be taken into consideration. Therefore, whether domestic goods sell well or not in international market largely depends on the C-E translation of product manuals. 

Like other product instructions, the purpose of electric appliance manuals is to give consumers an all-around introduction of the products. However, due to lack of systematic theoretical guidance, the quality of C-E translation of exported electric appliance manuals remains disappointingly uneven around the country. In fact, as electric appliance manual belongs to the science and technology style, there is regularity in its C-E translation. On the one hand, it has its own structure and characteristics. On the other hand, as a typical type of target text, the purpose of electric appliance manual, which is very distinct, is to introduce the product as well as to teach consumers how to use the product and the notes. Skopostheorie, the core theory of the functional school of translation study, plays a significant role in the translation of different types of product instructions. It helps the translators find the regularity and flexibility of product instruction translation so that they can present translated versions of product instructions satisfactory to both producers and consumers.