A study of modality system in Chinese-English legal translation from the perspective of SFG

Abstract

As a special genre, legislative discourse reflects the power of a state through the usage of unusual forms of expressions in choosing words and making sentences. Based on the theory of modality in Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) and the theory of legislative language in forensic linguistics, this study is designed to analyze the modality system in English translation of Chinese legislative discourses in its attempt to explore its translation problems. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses with the aid of Parallel Corpus of China's Legal Documents, it is found that there are three prominent anomic features in English translation of modality system in Chinese legislative discourses. These features reveal that translators of Chinese legislative discourse pursue language diversity at the cost of accuracy and authority of the law. A summary of some tactics and suggestions are also presented to deal with the translation of modality system in Chinese legislative discourses from Chinese into English. © 2014 Academy Publisher Manufactured in Finland.