摘要

作为一种重要的交际语言，近年来商务英语在国际贸易行为中扮演着越来越重要的角色。在追求效益的过程中，人们非常注重效率。在这种环境下，为了节省人力、财力和物力，商务英语缩略语被极度需要。缩略语可以使交际方便简洁，却也因其自身的特点给人们带来了困难，因为要准确理解和翻译缩略语不是一件很容易的事。显而易见，掌握好缩略语的用法对每一个想要把握机会做出杰出的成绩的外贸工作者来说至关重要。所以，本文旨在探讨商务英语缩略语的起源，构成方式和翻译。

关键词：缩略语，构成，翻译

Abstract

As an important communicative language, business English is playing a more and more important role in international business event during recent years. During the process of pursuiting benefit, people pay great attention to efficiency. Under this circumstance, abbreviations of business English are badly needed to save effort as much as possible. Abbreviations can make communication convenient and succinct when doing business, but they also make us confused to understand and translate them. It is obviously important for us international trade workers to master the use of abbreviations in business English skillfully to seize opportunities and do an excellent job. This thesis is to discuss the origin, formation and translation of abbreviations in business English.

Key Words: abbreviations, formation, translation.

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
With the rapid development of science and technology, people's work and life rhythm is accelerating and efficiency is becoming the theme of modern life, which has been a burden to the language communication. But language itself has the function of adjustment. One of the ways is to compress the amount of words and at the same time to increase the amount of information carried by the words. Because of language’s economy principle, or less effort principle (Martinet (1962)), we can express the most abundant information with the most concise language.  The less effort principle is to get the greatest cognitive effect with the least effort during the use of language, while the economy principle is to express the complete meaning with as less language as possible so as to save time and effort. As the full name is so long as to impede the speed of idea exchange, there need to be a shorter language unit to replace the full name. Thus abbreviations arise at the historic moment. As to the definition of business English, the English expert Nick Brieger said:” Business should include language knowledge, communication skills, cultural awareness and other core content. English used in technology imports, foreign trade, foreign - related insurance, international transport, foreign labor service contracts and other business activities can be collectively referred to as business English.”