Lesson 16 Translation of formal texts Theoretical part

Further to my letter of 18/9/01, I am writing to you … [formal opening for a letter]
In addition to winning the gold medal, she also broke the world record.
In addition to his BA in History, he has a PhD in Sociology.
He’s on the school board, as well as being a local councilor.
Besides / Apart from having a salary, he also has a private income.
Apart from her many other hobbies, she restores old racing cars.
They sell chairs, tables, beds, and so on / etc. [and so on is more informal than etc.]

sentence/clause 1	and	sentence/clause 2
For this job you need a degree.	In addition	you need some experience
Video cameras are becoming easier to use.	Furthermore Moreover What is more	they’re becoming cheaper.
It’ll take ages to get there and it’ll cost a fortune.	Besides (a more emphatic way of adding information; similar in meaning to anyway)	we’ll have to change trains three times at least.
Children should respect their parents.	Equally Likewise	they should respect their teachers.
We’ll have all the stress of going to court and giving evidence.	On top of (all) that (even more emphatic: used mostly in informal spoken English)	we’ll have to pay the lawyers’ bills.

 Exercise 5.  Fill in the gaps in this letter with suitable adding words and phrases.
Dear Mr. Coldy,
............ (1) my letter of 16.3.03, I should like to give you more information concerning my qualifications and experience. .............. (2) holding a Diploma in Catering, I also have an Advanced Certificate in Hotel Management. The course covered the usual areas: finance, front services, publicity, space allocation ............(3).
I also wish to point out that ............... (4) holding these qualifications, I have now been working in the hotel trade for five years. ....................... (5), my experience prior to that was also concerned with tourism and hospitality.
I hope you will give my application due consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Nora Hopy


 Exercise 6. Match the markers on the left with the appropriate function on the right

marker	function
1 leaving aside	change the topic
2 in parenthesis	read something earlier in the text
3 turning to	this will not be discussed
4 in conclusion	this document is about another one
5 with reference to	to finish off
6 see above	as an aside / secondary issue

Formal and informal language
 
We use formal language in situations that are serious or that involve people we don’t know well. Informal language is more commonly used in situations that are more relaxed and involve people we know well.
Formal language is more common when we write; informal language is more common when we speak. However, there are times where writing can be very informal, for example, when writing postcards or letters to friends, emails or text messages. There are also examples where spoken English can be very formal, for example, in a speech or a lecture. Most uses of English are neutral; that is, they are neither formal nor informal.
Formal language and informal language are associated with particular choices of grammar and vocabulary.
Contractions, relative clauses without a relative pronoun and ellipsis are more common in informal language.
Compare

She has decided to accept the job.	formal
She’s decided to accept the job.	informal: She’s = contraction

Compare

The girl whom I met in Singapore was interested in working in Australia.	formal
The girl I met in Singapore was interested in working in Australia.	informal: relative clause without the relative pronoun whom

Compare

We went to Barcelona for the weekend. We have a lot of things to tell you.	Formal
Went to Barcelona for the weekend. Lots to tell you.	Informal: ellipsis (more likely to be written or texted than spoken)

More formal vocabulary commonly involves longer words or words with origins in Latin and Greek. More informal vocabulary commonly involves shorter words, or words with origins in Anglo-Saxon. Most dictionaries indicate very informal and/or formal words.

formal	informal
commence	start
terminate	end
endeavour	try

We often choose to use certain modal verbs to be more formal and polite:
Can I suggest you try this new model? (neutral)
May I suggest you try this new model? (more formal)
Might I suggest you try this new model? (very formal)
How to translate official documents
Many customers ask us whether we can “translate official documents”. This could mean one of three things:

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  translating documents which are official in nature (from a ministry, for example), or
  
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  adding some sort of “official” stamp to the translation, or
  
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  translating documents in an official way. These are often called
  
  •