本科毕业论文——涉外经济合同英语语言特色

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涉外经济合同的英语语言特色 英文标题：The Language Characteristics of the Foreign Economic Contracts 学 院：
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二0一二 年 五 月 摘 要 涉外经济合同是涉外合同中的一种，它是中国法人或经济组织同外国企业、经济组织或个人之间为实现一定的经济目的而达成的契约性文件。1978年，中国施行改革开放政策，并出台了一系列如降低关税、开放服务市场、营造公平的市场竞争环境等改革措施。对外经济体制的改革与完善，为中国对外经济的发展带来了巨大的契机。自那时起，涉外贸易开始呈现蓬勃发展的状态。1985年，中国颁布《中华人民共和国涉外经济合同法》，由此可见涉外经济合同的重要性日益明显，也因此要求涉外经济合同文本具备较高的合法性、专业性以及规范性。受性质的制约，涉外经济合同有别于其他文体，其语言形成了独特的风格。本文利用大量的例句、及简单的合同范本分别从词、句、结构等方面对涉外经济合同语言的准确性、严谨性、规范性做了浅显的分析。

关键词：涉外经济合同；
合法；
专业；
规范 Abstract The foreign economic contract is one kind of the contracts in English concerning foreign business between Chinese and foreign companies or individuals. In the year of 1978, China adopted the reform and opening up policy, and the measures—lower tariffs, further opening the services market, creating a just playing field—were taken one by one. Reform of and Improvements to China＇s Foreign Trade System brought a turning point to the economic development. From then on, the foreign trade of China began flourishing. In 1985, the Law of The Peoples＇ Republic of China on Economic Contracts Involving Foreign Interests was published, which means the importance of the foreign economic contracts is rising and requires the contract to be lawful, professional and formal. Limited by the nature, the language characteristics of the contract must be distinctive. This assay does a simple analysis by taking a lot of examples and a sample contract in five chapters: introduction, words, sentences, structure and conclusion to make sure its formality, accuracy and rigorousness. Key words: foreign economic contract; lawful; professional; formal; Table of Contents 摘 要 I Abstract II 1 Introduction 1 2 Lexical Features 2 2.1 Professional 2 2.1.1 Price 2 2.1.1.1 Unconditional Price 3 2.1.1.2 Conditional Price 3 2.1.1.3 Complex Price 3 2.1.2 Law Term 4 2.1.3 Abbreviation 5 2.2 Formal 5 2.2.1 Time 6 2.2.2 Money 6 2.2.2.1 Amount of Money 7 2.2.2.2 The Currency Mark 7 2.2.3 Ancient Words 7 2.3 Accurate 8 2.3.1 Synonym 9 2.3.2 Foreign Language 9 3 Syntactic Feature 11 3.1 Complicated Sentences Priority 11 3.2 Conditional Sentences Priority 12 3.3 Active Sentences Priority 12 3.4 Impersonal Sentences Priority 13 3.5 Regular Sentences 13 3.5.1 At the Beginning of the Contract 14 3.5.2 At the End of the Contract 15 4 Text Features 16 4.1 Stable Structure 16 4.2 Details Contained 17 5 Conclusion 19 Bibliography 20 Appendix 21 Acknowledgment 23 1 Introduction Since economic reform began in China, the role of the foreign sector has burgeoned in ways that no one anticipated for almost two decades. The volume of foreign trade and the role of foreign capital are both far greater than them could be foreseen based on the modest Chinese economic reforms initiated in the late 1970s (Nicholas R. Lardy 1065). By the mid-1990s China had become one of the world＇s largest trading nations. Gao Hucheng, vice Commerce Minister, accepted an interview by People＇s Daily Online on Oct. 28, 2008, during which he talked freely on the development of China＇s foreign trade. The main idea of the interview is ＇Rosy Future for China＇. Gao Hucheng said, Generally speaking, the fundamental development of China＇s foreign trade is positive. China retains stable and fast development in foreign trade, which benefits from the correct decision by CPC central committee and State Council, and effective macro-control. The booming of foreign trade indicates the cooperation between enterprises is increasing. In that case, the importance of foreign economic contract is inevitable. The foreign economic contract is a kind of lawful agreement between different organizations or individuals. In addition, it is always written in English. So, it can not be more important to be familiar with the related knowledge, to realize the distinction and to understand the regularity for the one whose job is about foreign trade or the one who wants to have a job concerning that. 2 Lexical Features According to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Economic Contracts involving Foreign Interest, the law is formulated with a view to protect the lawful rights and interests of the parties of Chinese-foreign economic contracts and promote the development of China’s foreign economic relations. The indeterminacy and misunderstanding of the words in the contract is always the main reason of the economic disputes. Thus, the words inside should be professional, formal and accurate. 2.1 Professional As it is an economic contract, it is not difficult to understand why the usage of professional words about finance, law, commerce, tariff and merchandise is one of the main characteristics. The concerning professional words are such large-quantity that only the terms which can reflect the profession most were listed below. The top two are the description of price and the legal terminologies. What＇s more, they are also the terms and conditions in which a lot of economic disputes occur. In addition, it is also necessary to list the abbreviation for the price item and the law term are always used in abbreviation in the daily business nowadays. 2.1.1 Price The most attractive item is the description of price in the economic contract. The price clause is related to the kind of currency, the transportation, insurance, way of payment and so on. In general, the price can be divided into three parts: unconditional price, conditional price and complex price. 2.1.1.1 Unconditional Price Unconditional price is the simplest to understand. It means the price is only decided by the kind of currency. Be sure of the kind of concerning currency, in that case, one can master the unconditional price well. The common ones: 1. unit price(means the price of one piece); 2. gross price(means total price ). Multiplying the unit price by the quantity can reach it; 3. mean price(means the average price.); It always refers to the average of the prices of different merchandises. 4. actual price(means the money the buyer has to pay); 5. old price(means the price which is accepted by people in the past); 6. present/prevail price (opposite to the old price). Attention: ＇Do not mix the RMB with USD＇. It is a common mistake in drafting a contract. 2.1.1.2 Conditional Price Conditional price is more complex than the unconditional price. It means the price takes the tax, the way of delivery and so on into consideration. Before calculating, some questions must be asked: Which kind of delivery would be fine? Who pays for the cost of the delivery? What is the tax rate? How much is the commission? How the merchandises be packed? The common ones: ＇delivery price(the price involved the cost of delivery)＇; ＇price including commission＇; ＇price including tax＇; ＇price duty paid＇; ＇net selling price＇; ＇legal price＇; ＇price negotiated＇; ＇resale price＇. 2.1.1.3 Complex Price Complex price is the most complex but common one in the contract. It means the price takes at least two items into consideration. It is always seen in abbreviation. For example: 1. ＇free on board(FOB)＇; The seller does not shoulder the responsibility of shipment. 2. ＇cost insurance and freight(CIF)＇; The CIF price is higher than FOB price. The seller has to promise the merchandise reach port of destination securely. 3. ＇sellers warehouse(EX)＇; The business is done in the warehouse. Once the merchandise arrives in the warehouse, the business finishes. 4. ＇＇cost insurance, freight and interest (CIF&I). Add the interest to the CIF. 2.1.2 Law Term As economic contract is a legal instrument, the interests of the involving parties were protected by the concerning law. It is much more lawful than the other kind of texts. To clear the duty and authority of the two parties, the law terms are always used. The frequently used words：＇corporate bylaw （the details in the work）＇; ＇discharging liability （pay off the debate）＇; ＇judicial decree （the judgment of a case）＇; ＇winding up （complete a course）＇; ＇ultra vires contract （a contract signed out of one’s authority）＇; ＇quasi-contract （a certain contract）＇; ＇termination of contract （the deadline of a contract）＇; ＇Breach of contract （against the contract）＇and so on(袁建军 171). These words are easy to find at first sight of the contract for they look different. There is another kind of law term which is the same as normal words but has different meaning: shall, action, motion, immunity, sentence, warrant, assignment, instrument, limitation, omission and so on. It is easy to misunderstand the real meaning of these words. One can master them only by endless practicing. Take an example to help understand the law terms: In case that one or both parties are impossible to perform the duties provided herein on account of force majeure，the party （or parties）
in contingency shall inform the other Party （or each other）
of the case immediately and may，provided the case is duly verified by the competent authorities，delay in performance of or not perform the relevant duties hereunder and be partially or entirely exempted from the liability for breach of this agreement (袁建军 171). In this paragraph, ＇perform＇ means ＇carry out＇; ＇verified＇ means ＇confirm/prove＇; ＇exempt＇ means ＇free＇; ＇breach＇ means ＇break＇. The former ones are all law terms. They are more lawful, professional and serious than the latter ones. 2.1.3 Abbreviation Abbreviation is always taken to replace the full long phrases in the contract, which means long phrases are rare. The first letters of the main words in these common phrases are picked up to line up and form a new word. It is the result of a long-time development in the business area and known by most of the contract-signers. It is popular for it is concise and time-saving. Usually, the important organizations, companies or currency would be used as abbreviation. The basic terms are: L/C(letter of credit); COSCO(China Ocean Shipping Company); C/O(Care of ); DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid); A/P(Authority to Purchase)(袁建军 171) ; COD(cash on delivery); Enc, encl(enclosure) ; AMT(air mail transfer); B/C(bill for collection); T/T(Telegraphic Transfer); M/T(Mail/ Transfer); D/D(Demand/Draft); FOB(Free on Board); CIF C2 % ( CIF including 2 % commission ); P C（piece ); V（vessel; voyage); NO.(number); M (meter);T(ton) and so on(张礼贵 65). 2.2 Formal Contract is different from the literature work and oral English. No slang, no spoken-English is a basic principle in an economic contract. The magnificent words as well as the figure of speech such as exaggeration and personification are also forbidden, for the informal contract will give others a bad impression and break a new-born business relationship. The words in an economic contract must be serious and formal and such words are seldom in the oral English. Contract-drafters always obey to the regulations. For example, the pronominal references would be seen together: ＇party A/party B ＇; ＇the Buyer/the Seller＇; ＇ the licenser/the licensee＇; ＇ the employer/the employee＇. 2.2.1 Time As the slang goes, time is money. The time of delivery or payment or shipment must be described formally to avoid misunderstanding. Usually, the mistakes exist in the prepositions before the date and the prepositions are required to be formal. For instance: The words ＇before＇ and ＇prior to＇ have the same meaning, but ＇prior to＇ is much more common in foreign economic contract. The frequency-used words include within, after, by, prior to, upon. Take another example: The balance shall be settled upon the arrival of the goods at the port of the destination (王超 237). The word ‘upon’ here means ‘as soon as’and it means the buyer should pay the rest money as soon as the merchandise arrive in the port of destination. If the buyer delays, he breaks the contract and should be punished. Take another sentence for analysis: ＇Shipment: To be shipped on or before Feb.28, 1998＇ (周红 310). The phrase ＇on or before＇ means ＇not later than＇. That is to say, if the merchandise is delivered on Jan 1, that is OK. If the ＇on or before＇ was replaced by ＇before＇, it is hard to judge it is reasonable or not if the seller delivery the merchandises on Jan 1. 2.2.2 Money To earn money is the ultimate purpose of the contract-signers. The amount of money is the point that should be concerned most by the involved interests. To avoid the forgery or alteration of the amount, it must be described as formal as possible. 2.2.2.1 Amount of Money The amount of money is always written in both number and capitalization. Before the capitalization, the word ‘SAY’ is necessary, and the ‘ONLY’ must be added in the ending. And the amount is undoubted the same although in different form. For example, Party A shall pay Party B a monthly salary of US ＄500(SAY FIVE HUNDERD US DOLLARS ONLY)(王超 237). Thus, once the contract is signed, the amount of money can not be altered. 2.2.2.2 The Currency Mark The currency mark should be used formally. Different mark has different meaning, the mark ＇$＇ can stand for US dollar (U.S. $), Hong Kong dollar (HK $), Singapore dollar (S. $), Canadian Dollar (Can. $), Mexican Peso (Mex. $), Australian Dollar ($ A.) as well as New Zealand Dollar ($ NZ.). The mark ＇¥＇ can symbol Renminbi Yuan (RMB ¥) as well as Japanese Yen (J. ¥). So the contract signers can be never too careful in using the currency mark. 2.2.3 Ancient Words The ancient words are rare in the modern English, but common in economic contract. There are two reasons. Firstly, it makes the contract concise because the ancient words are shorter than the modern English. Secondly, it makes the contract serious. Adverbial phrase which consists of two kinds of simple adverbs is typical of ancient words in economic contract. One kind is ‘here’ ‘there’ ‘where’, the other kind is ‘after’ ‘by’ ‘in’ ‘of’ ‘on’ ‘to’ ‘under’ ‘upon’ ‘with’. The typical cases are: ＇hereafter(means from now on)＇; ＇hereunder(the same as thereafter)＇ ; ＇hereinafter/below(the same as thereafter)＇; ＇herein(means in this…)＇; ＇hereof(means of this …)＇; ＇herewith(means with this)＇; ＇hereby(means by this…/still/therefore)＇; ＇hereto(means relate to this)＇; ＇hereto(means relate to this)＇ ; ＇whereas(means considering…)＇; ＇whereby(means by which…)＇ (杨芳 130); ＇hereinbefore＇, ＇thereinafter＇, ＇thereon/upon＇, hereinabove/before＇. Take two examples: ①. Attachments hereof shall be made an integral part of this contract and effective as any other provisions of this contract (钟立胜 56). ②. In the event that the contract fails to complete the works in time owing to such reasons that the contractor shall be liable thereto, … (彭建明 李永霞 64). In the above two examples, ＇hereof＇ is the same as ＇of this contract＇, ＇thereto＇ is the same as ＇to that＇. The using of ancient words makes the sentence more compact and terse. 2.3 Accurate Every word and sentence in the foreign economic contract implicates the profit or loss of the involved interest. So when an economic contract is signed, they both pay attention to the accuracy of the words. The principle of strict construction and the principle of nationalism which is popular in the area of law are two of the best examples. The more accurate words would be used instead of the common ones. Take a simple sentence for example: The Chairman may convene an interim meeting in accordance with a proposal made by one-third of the total number of directors (袁建军 171). In this sentence, there is a special phrase ＇convene an interim meeting＇. It is the same meaning as ＇call a temporary meeting＇. But the former phrase is much more suitable and can show the seriousness of the meeting. The other typical cases are ＇commence＇ is always used to replace ＇begin＇; ＇render＇ instead of ＇give＇; ＇terminate＇ instead of ＇give＇; ＇construe＇ instead of ＇explain＇; ＇execute＇ instead of ＇sign＇; ＇relinquish/waive＇ instead of ＇give up＇. In general, the accurate words can be classified into two kinds: synonym and foreign words. 2.3.1 Synonym A synonym is a word that means the same thing as another word, but tiny differences still exist in these two words. One couple of synonyms stresses different points. The using of large amount of synonyms is another point that can prove the accuracy of the social contract. In the foreign contract, the synonyms are used to take all of the possibility into consideration and avoid the misunderstanding. As usual, the two similar words or phrases are linked by a conjunction ＇and＇ or ＇or＇. ①Any disputes controversies or differences which may arise between the parties, out of or in relation to or in connections with this contract may be referred to arbitration (朱敏冠 唐新萍 129). ② Any supplementary terms and conditions that may be attached to this contract shall automatically prevail over the terms and conditions of this contract (易治贤 9). ＇In relation to＇ is similar to ＇in connection with’, and ＇term＇ is similar with ＇condition＇. At the first sight, it is unnecessary to use synonyms in one sentence, but with this usage, the sentence is much more rigorous and serious. 2.3.2 Foreign Language Most of the foreign languages in the contracts are French and Latin language. Sometimes, the meaning can only be expressed completely in the foreign language, because the very words root in the very country. The most common one is the French word ＇force majeure ＇, which means ＇unforeseen circumstance＇. Some other words or phrases: French word ＇vis-a-vis＇ (In comparison with ); Latin word ＇as per＇(According to ); Latin word ＇tale quale＇ (In accordance with the sample ); Italic word ＇el credere( ＇Credit guarantee）(杨芳 130); Law terms from French: verdict, warrant, statut, ranson, saisie; and law term from Latin: The basis, Declaration, register, prior, ad diem, statu quo. 3 Syntactic Feature In the choosing of the style of the sentences, more than 95% of which are declarative sentences, especially affirmative sentence, for the purpose of signing a contract is to clear the authority and duty of the two parties in a business and the terms in the contract are known and accepted by both of them, so questions are not allowed to exist. What＇s more, a contract is different from an order. No one can command the other one, for they are equal in the business. As a result, both exclamatory sentence and imperative sentence are almost forbidden in a contract. Although the style of the sentences is simple, it has its own characteristics in the contract. 3.1 Complicated Sentences Priority Although complicated sentence is difficult to understand at first sight, it is prior to the simple sentence. That is because complicated sentence can include much more details. One sentence combining one principal clause with several subordinate clauses is common. The subordinate clauses, added to supply, explain or limit to the principle one, usually are the attribute or adverbial which express the time or place in the sentence. That kind of sentence involves comprehensive details. And it consists of the characteristic that is powerful and serious. Sometimes, there is only one sentence in a paragraph in a contract. For example: If any event of the Force Majeure occurs which causes to the Project or the infrastructure project, then C or New Company shall not be obligated to reinstate the same, or, as the case may be, complete the same, until the parties hereto have agreed upon the terms for such reinstatement or completion.(朱敏冠 唐新萍 130). There are more than 50 words in the above sentence, mastering this sentence needs a lot of patience. But that is common in economic contract. 3.2 Conditional Sentences Priority In the economic contract, it is common for one involved party to add some limited conditions to the articles what are beneficial for the opposite party. In that, the both parties can reach balance and enjoy the equivalent benefits. In that case, the conditional sentences spring up. ＇subject to＇; ＇not with standing ＇; ＇provided that＇; ＇without prejudice to＇; ＇if any ＇; ＇including but not limited to＇; ＇where necessary＇; ＇expressed or implied＇; ＇directly or indirectly＇; ＇if required＇ are the obvious marks in this kind of sentence. ①Unless otherwise stipulated in the credit, banks will accept a document bearing a date of issuance prior to that of the credit, subject to such document being presented within the time limits set out in the credit (陈春晓 13). ②The purchaser may at any time terminate the Contract by giving written notice to the Supplier if…,provided that such termination will not prejudice or affect any… (陈春晓 13). In sentence 1, ＇subject to＇ can be replaced by ＇but＇ or ＇however＇. In sentence 2 ＇provided that＇ is the same meaning as ＇only if＇, ＇on condition that＇ and ＇as long as＇ in the daily English. These two phrases are followed by some limited conditions to mean that there is no pure rights in the contract, one party who wants to enjoy the rights has to shoulder the equal responsibility. 3.3 Active Sentences Priority Active sentence means a sentence whose predicate verb is active, and subject in the active sentence is the agent or the doer of an action. An economic contract is signed to clear the duty and rights of the involved parties, so it must be convenient for them to understand what they need to do. Compare an active sentence with a passive one: 1. Party B is hereby appointed by Party A as its sales agent in Japan. 2. Party A hereby appoints Party B as its sales agent in Japan. The second one has priority in economic contract, because the roles of the two are clear. Party A do the action of appointment and Party is the recipient. 3.4 Impersonal Sentences Priority When the importance or the necessity needs to be emphasized, the impersonal sentence is prior to choose. The part of being emphasized is put at the very beginning of sentence to catch the reader＇s attention. Sometimes, when the actor is unknown, impersonal sentence is better than a personal one. The impersonal sentence can also show the equality to the involved parties because no pronominal references appear. The most common structure is ＇it+be+adj.+that＇, shows the objectivity of the contract and that it will not be disturbed by one＇s emotion. Two examples are below: ①It is further expressly understood and agreed that the provision of publications, document, manuals or data does not permit to manufacture any part, component, system of element of the Equipment (陈晶瑛 164). ②If it is found necessary that some additional items of the equipment are needed in the course of production, an additional order shall be agreed on through negotiation (陈晶瑛 164). The first sentence aims to emphasize that the decision is agreed and made by them two. It is objective and not the result of one＇s wish. In the sentence 2, the subject of the action ＇find＇ is unsure. The involved two parties can be the actor. Thus, impersonal sentence is much more suitable. 3.5 Regular Sentences Regular sentences are formed in the developing of Chinese-foreign business and the increasing economic contracts. They formed day by day and now are popular in the daily business. The form of contract is standard now in most of the import & export companies. To a certain extent, drafting a contract is equal to filling blanks in the ready-made model. Regular sentences exist in the beginning and the end of the contract. The most regular sentences are listed below. 3.5.1 At the Beginning of the Contract The most common beginning is the same as it in the sample contract in the appendix：
NO：
Date：

　　This Agreement is entered into between the parties concerned on the basis of equality and mutual benefit to develop business on terms and conditions mutually agreed upon as follows: 1. Contracting Parties Supplier: （hereinafter called “party A”）
Agent: （hereinafter called “party B”）
Sometimes，people would like to choose a paragraph instead of a form. Following two paragraphs are standard models which are widely used in the companies. This agreement is signed in×××(place), on ×××, ×××,(date) by and between ×××,(hereinafter called ＇party A＇ ) and ×××,(hereinafter called “party B＇), whereby the two parties agree to ×××under the terms and conditions set forth below (陈春晓 12). This contract is signed as of the day of ×××,×××,(date) by and between ×××(hereinafter referred to as ＇party A＇) duly organized under the law of ××× and having its registered office at ×××, and ×××,(hereinafter referred as to ＇party B＇) duly organized under the law of ××× and having its registered office at ××× (陈春晓 12). 3.5.2 At the End of the Contract The regular sentences here are always supplements to the contract, stressing the justification and the friendliness. Usually, one or two sentences in the end are enough. Some typical sentences are below: (1) In witness whereof, this contract has between has been executed by the parties as of the date first above written (陈春晓 12). (2) The foregoing terms are agreed by both the buyer and the sellers signing below (陈春晓 12). (3) In witness whereof, this agreement is made out in the English language in two originals, one of which is held by each party (陈春晓 12). (4) The respective duly authorized representatives of the parties hereto have hereunto set their hands and seals (陈春晓 12). Except for the above, there are also some other clauses which are popular: Unless otherwise expressly provided herein; Party A shall not be held liable for…; and so on. 4 Text features The contract was called boiler plate in the English-spoken countries (朱敏冠 唐新萍 129). That is to say, they are strict to the writing of contract. Generally speaking, the contract has its own stable structure. 4.1 Stable Structure There are three stable parts in a valid contract. They are title, body and signature, and the body is the main part of a contract. In the part of title, the main idea of the contract is explained. We can know what the contract is for. The title must be in top and the middle of the contract. In the part of body, it is always divided into several items just as it in the sample contract. If the content is too rich to describe in a few items, a complex structure would be suitable. The complex one is usually divided into three provisions: general provision, specific provision and supplementary provision. General provision contains the basic information of the contract such as the date and the involved two parties. It follows the title. The specific provision contains the details of merchandise. And the supplementary provision is a kind of addition to the specific provisions. This provision can be omitted if the necessary information is already clear. A provision always contains several chapters, in one chapter there could be several articles, and in one articles there could be several points. Just as follows: Specific Provision Chapter I Description of the Merchandise Article 1 The Materials of the Merchandise … Article 2 The other details （1）
Specifications: First grade, moisture 11% minimum and 12% maximum （2）
Quantity: 100 metric tons （3）
… Chapter II …(康淑敏 16) In the part of signature, obviously, the two parties involved should sign here. The signature means the accomplishment of the contract. It is always in the end and the right of the contract. 4.2 Details Contained The article 12 of Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Economic Contracts Involving Foreign Interest reads: A contract shall, in general, contain the following terms: (1) the corporate or personal names of the contracting parties and their nationalities and principal places of business or domicile; (2) the date and place of the signing of the contract; (3) the type of contract and the kind and scope of the object of the contract; (4) The technical conditions, quality, standard, specifications and quantity of the object of the contract; (5) the time limit, place and method of performance; (6) the price, amount and method of payment, and various incidental charges; (7) whether the contract is assignable and, if it is, the conditions for its assignment; (8) liability to pay compensation and other liabilities for breach of contract; (9) the ways for settling contract disputes; (10) the language(s) in which the contract is to be written and its validity. Generally speaking, in the part of general provision, the following items should be involved: the full name of each party to the contract and their nationalities, type of entity, principal places of business or residential address, contract No., the date and the place of signature of the contract. The part of body contains most of the information of the subject matter: the kind, scope of the subject matter of the contract, time limit, place and method of performance, terms of price, amount and way of payment, and various additional charges, whether the contract could be assigned or conditioned for assignment, the compensation and other liabilities for breach of the contract, ways for settlement of disputes in case of disputes arising from the contract. And in the last part ’ending’, the most important items are the languages to be used in the contract and their effectiveness. 5 Conclusion Take all of these into consideration, as a kind of lawful text, economic contract is surly a distinctive type of text. Studying the language characteristics of foreign economic contract, in essence, is the study of the special way how the contract consists of. Its purpose is to provide some help in understanding or even using foreign economic contract to the people who would like to work in the area of foreign trade. The language characteristics of foreign economic contract, analyzed in the assay, generally speaking, included the lexical features, syntactic feature, and text features. Its main characteristics are the professional, formal and accurate words, the specially organized sentences and the stable structure. As the assay is only a kind of simple analysis, the language characteristics of foreign economic contract are much deeper than imagination and worth a further study. In the point of the writer, the same with studying some other professional English, a lot of practice is much of importance. The simple theory of economic knowledge is far from enough. Only with the attitude of endless learning and the spirit of keeping practice, can one draft a standard foreign economic contract. Bibliography 1. “Rosy future for China＇s foreign trade“ People＇s Daily Online(16:57, October 29. 2008).21 Feb, 2012 <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90780/91344/6523700.html> 2. Law of the People＇s Republic of China on Economic Contracts Involving Foreign Interest (Adopted at the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People＇s Congress, promulgated by Order No. 22 of the President of the People＇s Republic of China on March 21, 1985,and effective as of July 1, 1985) 3. Halliday, M.A.K.& Hasan, R. Cohesion in English. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching And Research Press, 2001 4. Nicholas R. Lardy (1995). “The Role of Foreign Trade and Investment in China＇s Economic Transformation“. The China Quarterly No.144: 1065-1066 5. 张礼贵. 涉外合同英语的词汇特征及其翻译 [J].考试周刊,2007,(27):65-66. 6. 袁建军. 浅谈国际经贸英文合同的词法特征与翻译 [J].消费导刊,2008,(13):171-172. 7. 杨芳. 商务合同英语用词特点及翻译的特色标记[N]. 洛阳师范学院学报,2004,(1):129-130. 8. 朱敏冠，唐新萍. 从文体角度谈涉外经济合同的汉英翻译[N]. 湖南第一师范学报, 2006,6(3):128-130. 9. 王超. 经贸合同英语翻译中的词法准确性[J]. 集团经济研究,2007,2月下旬刊,（222）:237. 10. 钟立胜. 涉外经济合同翻译时应注意的问题[J]. 昌河科技,2004,(3):56-60. 11. 陈春晓. 涉外经济合同汉英翻译[J].中国科技翻译,2000,13(4):10-16. 12. 康淑敏. 涉外经济合同英文语体初探[N]. 西安外国语学院学报,1996,17(1):16-21. 13. 周红. 英文商务合同中时间词的翻译[J]. 集团经济研究,2007,9月中旬刊,（242）:310. 14. 陈晶瑛. 英文本涉外经济合同的句法特征[N]. 山西财经大学学报,2000,22,增刊:164. 15. 彭建明,李永霞. 涉外经济合同英文本语篇内部的衔接手段初探[N]. 甘肃省经济管理干部学院学报,2004,17(3):63-65. 16. 易治贤. 涉外经济合同英译的重复法[N]. 中国科技翻译, 1999,12（2）:7-10. Appendix (a sample of simple contract) Contract for agency NO：
Date：

　　This Agreement is entered into between the parties concerned on the basis of equality and mutual benefit to develop business on terms and conditions mutually agreed upon as follows: 1. Contracting Parties Supplier: （hereinafter called “party A”）
Agent: （hereinafter called “party B”）
Party A hereby appoint Party B to act as his selling agent to sell the commodity mentioned below. 2. Commodity and Quantity or Amount It is mutually agreed that Party B shall undertake to sell not less than…… of the aforesaid commodity in the duration of this Agreement. 3. Territory In …… only. 4. Confirmation of Orders The quantities, prices and shipments of the commodities stated in this Agreement shall be confirmed in each transaction, the particulars of which are to be specified in the Sales Confirmation signed by the two parties hereto. 5. Payment After confirmation of the order, Party B shall arrange to open a confirmed, irrevocable L/C available by draft at sight in favor of Party A within the time stipulated in the relevant S/C. Party B shall also notify Party A immediately after L/C is opened so that Party A can get prepared for delivery. 6. Commission Upon the expiration of the Agreement and Party B＇＇s fulfillment of the total turnover mentioned in Article 2, Party A shall pay to Party B…… % commission on the basis of the aggregate amount of the invoice value against the shipments effected. 7. Reports on Market Conditions Party B shall forward once every three months to party A detailed reports on current market conditions and of consumers＇＇ comments. Meanwhile, Party B shall, from time to time, send to party A samples of similar commodities offered by other suppliers, together with their prices, sales information and advertising materials. 8. Advertising & Publicity Expenses Party B shall bear all expenses for advertising and publicity within the aforementioned territory in the duration of this Agreement and submit to Party A all patterns and/or drawings and description for prior approval. 9. Validity of Agreement This Agreement, after its being signed by the parties concerned, shall remain in force for…… days from …… to …… If either Party wishes to extend this Agreement, he shall notice, in writing, the other party one month prior to its expiration. The matter shall be decided by the agreement and by consent of the parties hereto. Should either party fail to implement the terms and conditions herein, the other party is entitled to terminate this Agreement. 10. Arbitration All disputes arising from the execution of this Agreement shall be settled through friendly consultations. In case no settlement can be reached, the case in dispute shall then be submitted to the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade for arbitration in accordance with its provisional rules of procedure. The decision made by this Commission shall be regarded as final and binding upon both parties. Arbitration fees shall be borne by the losing party ,unless otherwise awarded. 11. Other Terms & Conditions Party A shall not supply the contracted commodity to any other buyer（s）
in the above mentioned territory. Direct enquiries, if any, will be referred to Party B. However, should any other buyers wish to deal with Party A directly, Party A may do so. But party A shall send to Party B a copy of Sales Confirmation and give Party B……% commission on the basis of the net invoice value of the transaction（s）
concluded. This Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions in the Sales Confirmation signed by both parties hereto. This Agreement is signed on …… at…… and is in two originals, each Party holds one.

Party A: Party B: （Signature）
（Signature）
Acknowledgment First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Zhu Xiaoyu, for her patient guidance and valuable comments and advice in every stage of the writing of this thesis. Without her enlightening instruction, impressive kindness and patience, I could not have completed my thesis. Her keen and vigorous academic observation enlightens me not only in this thesis but also in my future study. I shall extend my thanks to Karen, who is the manager of Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., Ltd. for all her kindness and help. Last but not least in importance, I want to express my special thanks to my friends, especially my three lovely roommates, for their encouragement and support.