






































01.V02issue01.05.2022.pdf


Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

- 8 - 

Imbalance between Schema and Dynamic Equivalence: An Analysis of the C-E 
Translation of Profile of Air China 

Yali CHENG1 

1School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China, E-mail: 
20200310011@gdufs.edu.cn 

Abstract 
Schema is a concept from cognitive poetics, a complete information system composed of correlative knowledge. Dynamic 
equivalence theory proposed by Eugene A. Nida is a precise translation theory centered on reader’s reception. This paper 
synthesizes schema theory with theories in dynamic equivalence, based on which the author constructs a framework for 
analyzing the translation process of the profile of Air China (CA), revealing some existing problems and appealing for the 
specific strategies for the translation of CA’s profile. This paper concludes that in the C-E translation of CA, there exist 
imbalances between the schemata and dynamic equivalences, namely from the perspectives of language, content and culture. 
It is hoped that some constructive attention and promising improvement are generated for CA’s English profile or even for 
other enterprises’ profiles. 
Keywords: schema theory, dynamic equivalence theory, C-E translation of Chinese airline profiles, Air China (CA) 
1. Introduction
For an airways, in addition to providing products1 and services, it also needs to publicize itself through proper channels in 
order to raise its international popularity and prestige in markets at home and abroad. In addition, as the universal language, 
English exerts a crucial impact on international communication and commercial intercourse. Under this circumstance, the 
C-E translation of Chinese airline profiles, usually acts as an information window, the highly condensed content of the 
company, often presenting the most valuable information to the target audience (Li, 2021). Airline profiles to some extent 
decide the very first impression of an enterprise to foreigners. However, many Chinese airlines are devoid of attention to the 
English translation of their corporate profiles, ignoring crucial factors that should be delicately handled.  As such, decent C-
E translations of Chinese airline profiles are necessary and insightful, which is conductive to the enhancement of airline’s 
images, and in turn, in regard to the airline profile, it involves a wide scope with high value of translation. The C-E 
translation of Chinese airline profiles in this study is under the guidance of schema theory and dynamic equivalence theory.  
Firstly, schema is a concept from cognitive poetics, represents the presentation form of knowledge which systematically 
associates the new information with the given information for the purpose of information storage and processing; it is a 
complete information system composed of correlative knowledge (Liu & Zhao, 2014).  
Secondly, dynamic equivalence theory proposed by Eugene A. Nida (1986) is a precise translation theory centered on 
reader’s reception (Du, 2019). Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory is universally acknowledged as the commonly applied 
translation theory to achieve the linguistic, content and cultural equivalence between the source text (ST) and the target text 
(TT) due to its focus on accurate transformation of ST’s cultural connotations instead of the rigid superficial translation, 
which has been highly valued and influenced China’s translation practice. 
This paper will synthesize schema theory in cognitive poetics with theories in dynamic equivalence, based on which the 
author attempts to construct a framework for analyzing the translation process of CA’s profile (ST), try to propose some 
existing problems of profile’s translation (TT) and explore the specific strategies for them, hoping that some constructive 
suggestions could be provided for the references of CA’s profile or even for other enterprises’ profiles.  
2. Literature Review
This part is an overview of previous studies on translation of company profile from the angles of schema theory and from 
dynamic equivalence theory as well as from other perspectives. 
2.1 Studies on Translation of Company Profiles from the Angle of Schema Theory 

1 The product of civil aviation is space transfer (displacement) of passengers and goods. 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

 
 

 
- 9 - 

Milton (1999) regards corporate profile as an effective tool to win potential customers’ trust and to make a good impression 
on them by giving a brief introduction of who you are and what you do. Generally speaking, a corporate profile seems as a 
bridge between a company and its customers or potential customers, and it is clear that the function on a whole is to inform, 
to promote and finally to persuade favorable responses from the target readers (Jiang, 2014). Therefore, how to translate 
their profiles as the ST (Chinese) to meet the stylistic requirements of the TT (English) and achieve the promotional 
objective become a common concern for companies and business translators (Liu, 2012). 
The word “schema” (plural: schemata) is from the Greek vocabulary2 and is firstly put forward by the German philosopher 
Immanuel Kant in 1781 in his famous work Critique of Pure Reason. According to Kant, new concept could become 
meaningful only when it has been connected with one’s existing knowledge (Cui, 2002: 53). According to Bartlett, the term 
“schema” refers to an active organization of past reactions, or of past experience, which must always be supposed to be 
operating in any well-adapted organic response” (Bartlett, 1932: 201). Since this paper is mainly about the translation of 
airline profiles from the angle of schema theory, contents as follow will conduct a more detailed literature review about it. 
Li (2014) explores the application of schema theory in the progress of business translation and discusses the relation 
between business translation and the four forms of schema theory, namely, linguistic schema, content schema, structural 
schema and cultural schema. However, the study is too general to reveal the relevance to specific company issues, such as 
the translation of company profile, translation of company contracts, etc. 
Fortunately, there are still some valuable studies concerning company profiles under the guidance of schema theory. For 
example, Qiao (2014) conducts a comparative study on schemata of corporate profiles about the Chinese companies and the 
British and American ones, which discovers that they have both similarities and differences of schemata in their corporate 
profiles at three levels: language schemata, cultural schemata and formal schemata (Qiao, 2014). Although Qiao’s study, to 
some extent, will help Chinese companies create corporate profiles which can be comprehended and recalled more easily by 
the foreign readers, her analysis is only limited to analyzing the schema similarities and differences between Chinese, 
British and American company profiles. As such, detailed suggestions on improving the translation and writing of corporate 
profiles ought to be proposed on the basis of the study. Besides, it will be better if the study is carried out with more data. 
Four years later, Li (2018) interprets English profiles of Chinese and American telecommunication companies based on 
schema theory. Li analyzes 60 corporate English profiles in China and the U.S. from the aspects of linguistic schema, 
formal schema, content schema and schema activation so as to find out the similarities and differences between the two and 
to interpret the differences from the cognitive and social-cultural perspectives. This paper can shed some light on the study 
of applying schema theory to corporate profiles and provide some implications for Chinese telecommunication companies. 
However, it is devoid of discussion of detailed translation methods and strategies for Chinese companies to create high-
quality English profiles.   
As what Yan (2019) reveals in her review of cultural schemata theory in China from 2000 to 2018, most of these studies are 
repetitive, and the proposed translation methods are based on the translation strategies and methods proposed by previous 
scholars, lacking innovation; in terms of research methods, many authors only cite relevant examples, lacking in-depth 
discussions and explanations, which should be avoided in future studies (Yan, 2019).  
In short, schema theory has been extensively applied in various domains in domestic studies, but at present, those studies 
which apply schema theory mainly concentrates on conventional methods, frameworks or strategies, which are devoid of 
innovation. In addition, papers analyzing the company abound, but few of which specifically focus on company profiles, not 
mention to airline profiles. Besides, some current research on C-E translation of company profiles is disconnected from 
prevalent guiding theories, remaining only in the level of theoretical introduction rather than concrete application of theory 
and practice. There are apparent research gap in study of translation of company profiles by combining schema theory with 
other theories like dynamic equivalence theory. Therefore, it is of great necessity and significance to fill the research gap of 
corporate profile translation by finding new theoretical guidance. 
2.2 Studies on Translation of Company Profiles Based on Dynamic Equivalence Theory 
                                                           
 
2 Greek skhéma meant ‘form, figure’. Latin took it over as schēma and used it as the equivalent of figure in a range of applications, such 
as ‘figure of speech’ and ‘diagram’, many of which were originally taken over by English.  Source: 
https://www.quword.com/etym/s/scheme [accessed on November 28th , 2021]  
 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

 
 

 
- 10 - 

In this part, studies on dynamic equivalence theory are first introduced and then previous studies on company profile from 
the perspective of dynamic equivalence theory and other perspectives will be reviewed. 
The definition of dynamic equivalence is firstly given by Nida in his book Toward a Science of the Translation. In this 
book, based on the experience in biblical translation, Nida put forward two translation approaches: dynamic equivalence 
and formal equivalence. Dynamic equivalence advocates that “the relationship between receptor and language should be 
substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message” (Nida, 1964: 159). While 
formal equivalence pays attention to translating the meanings of words and phrases in a more literal way so as to keep literal 
fidelity. Nida also emphasizes the priority of dynamic equivalence over formal equivalence. 
Dynamic equivalence is the quality of a translation in which “the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond 
to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language” (Nida, 1969: 24). It is wildly spread and 
gradually gains wide acceptance. Furthermore, dynamic equivalence not only applies the research results of linguistics to 
the practice of translation but also provides a linguistic theory of translation for researchers and is of referential significance 
to translators (Zhu, 2020). 
This paper prefers Nida’s dynamic equivalence, because the essence of this theory is found to correspond with the 
characteristics of translation in C-E translation of Chinese airline profiles. The detailed analysis will be presented in the 
following parts. Because dynamic equivalence theory (also functional equivalence theory) originates the guidance of 
translation, research on translation based on it is abundant especially in China. However, the author finds that prevalent 
studies on Chinese airline profiles are scarce. Next, some crucial studies on company profiles under the guidance of 
dynamic equivalence will be reviewed.  
Liu et al. (2014) analyzes the differences between Chinese and foreign profiles of some well-known large companies, trying 
to use the strategy of discourse reconstruction to solve these differences based on Nida’s dynamic theory. They argue that it 
is necessary to reconstruct the discourse in the progress of translation according to the readers’ requirements, so that the 
functional equivalence can be achieved and the final purpose of the company profile can be realized. 
Zheng (2021) takes the C-E translation of export-oriented company profiles in Liaoning Province as an example to analyze 
the problems encountered in the C-E translation of company profiles and the strategies used in translation. He draws 
conclusions that the current translation quality is uneven, and there are problems in the C-E translation of company profiles 
such as improper translation, logical confusion, which affect the image and publicity effect of the company. Additionally, 
due to differences in culture, thinking styles, expression habits, writing styles, there are many differences in content, words, 
syntax, and culture in Chinese and English company profiles. In the process of achieving functional equivalence, methods 
such as restructuring, shifting, and omission methods can be used to make the translation more suitable for the target 
language reader’s habits (Zheng, 2021). Zheng collects profiles of some export-oriented companies in Liaoning Province 
from their official website. As what he acknowledges in the end of the paper, the authenticity of these corpora is beyond 
doubt. Thus, this paper still needs to be improved and further research needs to be done on this subject. 
Apart from export-oriented company profiles, studies on other companies’ profiles are also in full swing. Fu et al. (2021) 
compare the differences between the English profiles of British and American e-commerce companies (Walmart, Asda, 
Onbuy, etc.) and Chinese e-commerce companies (Alibaba, Qidian, Jingdong, etc.), discussing the translation problems of 
Chinese e-commerce companies’ profiles and proposing the causes and corresponding solutions. According to their 
findings, the translation of e-commerce company profiles on the basis of functional equivalence is not only the conversion 
between forms and contents, but also the communication between cultures (Fu, et al., 2021). Therefore, when translating 
company profiles, the translator should pay attention to the reading response of the target readers, deeply understand the 
culture of the ST, and adopt the method of translation, change the person, increase the content and adjust the structure to 
meet the reading habits of the target readers, so that the English company profile can be translated smoothly. 
2.3 Studies on Translation of Company Profile from Other Perspectives 
After searching for studies on company profiles, the author gains two results: Firstly, these studies almost use only one 
theory to conduct the research. Despite the fact that those studies have somewhat refined the previous studies, they still lack 
multifaceted analyses and interdisciplinary perspectives. Secondly, studies on company profiles is increasingly popular, but 
those focusing on airline profiles are insufficient. For example, Xu (2020) explores the problems in the English translation 
of tea company profiles under the guidance of Newmark’s communicative translation theory (1981: 22). It is proposed that 
tea company profile translation ought to give priority to the acceptance level of English readers and fully consider the 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

 
 

 
- 11 - 

differences in Chinese and English language and thinking styles. Also, Tan (2021) makes a report on C-E translation of 
profile of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus CO., Ltd in the light of communicative translation theory. 
Based on German functionalist translation theory, Gao (2019) compares and analyzes two groups of pharmaceutical 
company profile in China and abroad. The results show that there are significant differences between the two groups in 
terms of length, information distribution, high-frequency vocabulary and genre characteristics. Therefore, translators need to 
adjust the structure of the English translation of the profiles according to the information needs and reading habits of 
Western audiences (Gao, & Ma, 2019). 
Form the perspectives of Aristotle’s “Three Appeals Theory”, Perelman and Olbrechts’ Audience Theory and Presence 
Theory, Li (2020) takes Huawei company profile as an example to explore the positive role of rhetorical persuasion in the 
selection of translation strategies and construction of translated texts in enterprise’s international publicity, aiming to help 
enterprises realize effective persuasion and increase their influence. 
Besides, there are scholars absorbed in other theories to analyze company profiles, such as Verschueren’s Adaption Theory3 
(Wu, 2009 & Jin, 2011), Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory4 (Li, 2013). Also, Shi Chunrang conducts a corpus-
based study on the translation of Chinese enterprise profiles (Shi, et al., 2012). Such examples abound.  
However, the author deems that whatever theories are used to study company profiles, most of the subjects studied in these 
results are too general. That is, if the research subject is expanded to company profiles, then the reference value is not 
sufficiently targeted when facing companies with different types and nature. This paper focuses on a detailed subject, 
airlines in China, to study the dynamic equivalence problems in the C-E translation based on schema theory, striving to 
enhance the innovation and relevance values of company profile research. 
3. Theoretical Framework 
This part contains a general introduction of the relevant concepts in schema theory and dynamic equivalence, on the basis of 
which a synthetic framework of analysis will be constructed and further explained. 
3.1 The Categories of Schema Theory 
3.1.1 Linguistic Schema 
Carrell (1983: 79) puts forward that “linguistic schemata include knowledge of letters and their corresponding sounds, 
grammar, vocabulary, idioms, word attack skills, and distinctions between spoken and written forms of the language”. 
That’s to say, knowledge of contexts or language can activate schemata stored in people’s mind when they encounter a new 
discourse. Translation is a process of decoding (understanding) and coding (expression). As a translator, he or she is first 
and foremost a reader (Yan, 2016: 26). Good translation can only be generated when the translator masters both the ST and 
the TT, thus it could be possible to decode the ST and construct comparative schema to encode the TT in a proper way. 
3.1.2 Content Schema 
Content schema refers to one’s background knowledge of the content area of the text and it contains both specific and 
general information in the given topic (Carrel & Eisterhold, 1983: 79), which exerts a crucial influence on translators to 
understand the ST. Kern makes a more detailed explanation for content schema: it is related to the cultural concept, the 
topical knowledge and the extent of readers’ understanding about the world (Kern, 2000). Linguistic schema is the first step 
to comprehend the ST, while content schema makes compensation for the inadequacy of previous understandings, helping 
translators well master the ST and generate more perfect TT. 
3.1.3 Cultural Schema 
Numerous scholars around the world have defined cultural schema. According to Garro (2010), cultural schema is related to 
the cultural knowledge beyond the text, the generalized collection of customs, tradition, folklore etc., which is a cultural 
knowledge structure in people’s mind concerning the past experience. George Yule states that cultural schema refers to 
previous knowledge structures based on experience in a particular culture (Sun, 2015: 14). Specializing in the research on 

                                                           
 
3 A linguistic theory created by Jef Verschueren, a leading Belgian linguist and Secretary General of the International Pragmatics Society.  
4 Hofstede's cultural dimension theory is a framework proposed by Geert Hofstede, a Dutch psychologist, to measure cultural differences 

among different countries. 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

- 12 - 

the application of schemata to translation, Liu (2003) maintains that cultural schema is the knowledge structural chunk 
about culture existing in people’s brain, or it is an organizational model of the knowledge of culture based on previous 
experience, which can be mobilized to perceive and understand various cultural phenomena in the world.  
In a word, besides the translation process, cultural schemata can be used in diverse areas and they are dynamic with many 
differences, but there are also commonalities which can be learned through efforts. Thus, cultural schemata can be 
compensated in one way or another. 
3.2 Dynamic Equivalence in Translation 
Nida (1969) once said that the purpose of translation is to achieve the closest equivalence between the ST and the TT, which 
is also important in the process of C-E translation of airline profiles. Furthermore, the surface structure of the ST needs to be 
divided into the basic elements of the deep structure 5 ; these are “transferred” in the translation process and then 
“restructured” semantically and stylistically into the surface structure of the TT (See the Figure 3.2). 

Figure 3.2: Nida’s Three-Stage System of translation (from Nida and Taber, 1969: 33) 

 Next, for the sake of better guidance for the C-E translation of Chinese airlines, the author carries out a detailed analysis of 
equivalence from the perspectives of language, content and culture, aiming to make an instructive connection to the three 
corresponding schemata mentioned in the section 3.1 (linguistic, content and cultural). 
3.2.1 Linguistic Equivalence 
According to the author, both the semantic and stylistic concepts belong to the category of language, so semantic 
equivalence and stylistic equivalence mentioned above are collectively referred to as linguistic equivalence. Semantic 
equivalence is the most fundamental and important principle in translation, which requires the translator to pay attention to 
the grammatical and semantic relationships between words, phrases and sentences. In other words, in order to achieve 
semantic equivalence, translators are expected to pay attention to the lexical levels as well as syntactical ones; as for 
stylistic equivalence, it is defined as functional equivalence among the source text and translated text, aiming at achieving 
consistent expression by the use of invariant with the same meaning (Nida, 1969). Usually, parallel clauses are used in 
Chinese airline profiles, and they are antithetical and neat, which may cause translation challenges for both translators and 
target readers. To achieve stylistic equivalence, translators can adopt literal translation method under the guidance of 
dynamic equivalence theory.  
3.2.2 Content Equivalence 
Nida (1969) believes that translation ought to firstly adhere to the content equivalence and then form equivalence. Content 
equivalence is not strictly word-to-word or word-to-sentence equivalence. Therefore, in the process of translation, the 
translator should focus on the meaning and spirit of the original text, instead of sticking to the linguistic structure of the 
original text, that is, not sticking to formal correspondence. When translating the Chinese airline profiles, the translator 
cannot only analyze the language itself but put the language into a specific context to analyze its meaning and function. As 

5 Some of Nida’s systematic approaches borrow theoretical concepts and terminology both form semantics and pragmatics and from 

Noam Chomsky’s work on syntactic structure which formed the theory of a universal generative-transformation grammar. 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

 
 

 
- 13 - 

such, Nida proposes a number of tweaks, such as adding notes or footnotes. In order to make the readers of the target text 
can react similarly to the readers of the original text, the translator should fully consider the needs of the target readers for 
understanding and appreciation, and select annotations suitable for the specific context. 
3.2.3 Cultural Equivalence 
Language is an essential and important part of a given culture and that the impact of culture upon a given language is 
something intrinsic and indispensable. When it is used in contexts of communications, it is bound up with culture in 
multiple and complex ways. As is known, the relationship between language and culture exerts great impact on translation, 
in which case, translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another 
language, so the process of translation at least gets involved two different cultures. In terms of the cultural difference in 
translation, the equivalence between Chinese and English can be categorized into total equivalence, near equivalence, little 
equivalence and non-equivalence (Wang, 2016).  
3.3 Analytical Framework for the Present Study 
Since this paper is based on schema theory and dynamic equivalence theory, the Figure 3.4 synthesizes both of them to 
illustrate the analytical process. The detailed processes and illustrations are as follow. 
 

Figure 3.3: Analytical model of translation process Based on Schema Theory and Dynamic Equivalence Theory for Present 
Study 

Firstly, the schemata starts from the writer of the ST who can transfer his/her schemata in the mind into the texts, otherwise 
the ST and the later TT (translation) will not be generated. Secondly, the translator ought to make a contrastive analysis of 
the schemata embodied in the ST and TT from the angles of language, content and culture, thus activating the corresponding 
ST schemata and encoding them into the texts of TT (translation). Meanwhile, the transformation of dynamic equivalence 
between the ST and TT need finishing. Thirdly, based on the TT, translators should regard themselves as the target readers 
or find some real ones, trying to encode the TT in the most appropriate way to construct TT schemata which can achieve the 
highest degree of schemata transformation from ST to TT. 
4. Discussion and Results 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

- 14 - 

In the light of the Figure 3.3, the author will go through the following three steps to interpret the translation process. Firstly, 
decoding the ST and activating the ST schemata from language, content and culture; secondly, comparing the ST and TT 
and actively constructing the schemata of the TT; thirdly, verifying the accomplishment of dynamic equivalences between 
the schemata of ST and TT and polishing the TT again. Next, some specific examples from the profile of CA6 will be 
analyzed based on these three steps. 

Table 4.1: Five Examples Cited from the Profile of CA 

Example 1 

ST TT 

CA

The design also features the calligraphic version of CA’s Chinese 
name, a reproduction of the handwriting by late Chinese leader Deng 
Xiaoping, the architect of China’s drastic social and economic 
transformation who laid the foundation for the country’s economic 
power. 

Example 2 
The corporate logo of CA depicts phoenix, a legendary bird 
worshiped by the nation since ancient times as a symbol of luck and 
happiness. 

Example 3 

With imagination stretched a bit, the way the logo is laid out recalls 
the English word “VIP”. The deep red color is used since it’s 
associated with anything happy and lucky in Chinese culture. 

Example 4 

Chinese ancient literature contains constant references to the bird 
which “flies from the eastern Happy Land over mountains and seas 
and bestows luck and happiness upon all parts of the world”. 

Example 5 

Our vision is to become “A leading carrier in the world”. Our mission 
stresses “ operational safety, customer orientation, steady growth, 
people development and fulfillment of responsibilities”. Our brand 
positioning is to be “a professional, trusted, internationally respected 
Chinese brand closely associated with China ”. 

Step 1: Decoding and activating the ST schemata.  
As is shown, from the angles of language, these four examples are full of long,  compound sentences and four-word 
structure words, making information detailed and understandable, such as Example 1 (

) and Example 5 ( ). A series of four-character 
structures also make the ST symmetric, vivid, full of vigor and rhythmic beauty. However, the contents are connected to 
Chinese history and legend, and the time span of context is large, from ancient legend to modern society such as Example 4 
( ) and Example 5 ( ), so the understandings and 
schemata of the ST become harder to decode. Furthermore, from the angle of culture, there are a large amount of research 
value in the ST. 
Step 2: Comparing the ST and TT and constructing the schemata of the TT. 

Table 4.2: Analyzing Translated Texts 

Three Angles Comparative Schemata 

6 Sources: http://www.airchina.com.cn/cn/about_us/company.shtml & http://www.airchina.com.cn/en/about_us/company.shtml 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

- 15 - 

ST (Chinese)                     TT (English) 

Linguistic 

(1) Chinese emphasizes the implicit coherence 
of sentences without fixed grammar or 
syntactic format. 
(2) The text is sometimes compact but 
sometimes scattered. 
(3) In the ST, the modern vernacular and 
ancient Chinese can be switched flexibly. 

(1) English pays attention to syntactic structures and 
their explicit cohesion. 
(2) The text is scattered. 
(3) In the TT, modern English is universally used. 

Content 

(1) Contents cited from classical quotes make 
meaning more difficult to be decoded. 
(2) The time span of context in the ST  is large, 
from ancient legend to modern society. 

(1) In the TT, the content schemata of Chinese 
classical quotes are elusive. 
(2) The time span of context in the TT is disordered, 
from ancient legend to modern society and then to the 
past century. 

Cultural 
Expressions related to distinctive Chinese 
history, myths and legends have frequently 
occurred. 

The TT is devoid of expressions or explanations 
about Chinese history, myths and legends. 

From the aspect of linguistic equivalence, the sentences in the ST usually have no obvious conjunctions and the content 
structure is fragmented; while sentences in the TT have complete subject-verb-object with compact and complete structure. 
In Example 3, although the ST lacks a detailed subject, it is understandable that the logo of airline, or the phoenix is 
illustrated with reference to the context, which emphasizes the implicit coherence of sentences without fixed grammar or 
syntactic format. In the TT, however, sentences must have complete subject-verb-object with compact and complete 
structure to make the meaning clear and readable.  
From the perspective of content equivalence, the TT fails to achieve the correspondence of meaning with the ST. Foe 
instance, in Example 3, “ ” is translated as “With imagination stretched a bit”. The 
concept of “imagination stretched a bit” is extremely vague and the translation is somewhat arbitrary, breaking the content 
equivalence. Also, “ ” in the ST cannot find the translated meaning in the TT. 
From the angle of cultural equivalence, there exist cultural defaults by comparing the ST and TT because the translation 
version cannot provide reasonable and readable connotations of the ST. For example, in Example 4, “ ” has neither a 
counterpart nor an interpretation in the TT; “ ” is translated as “eastern Happy Land”, but how “ ” 
can be connected to “Happy Land”? It contains a cultural default here. Also, “ ” in Chinese refers to selecting the 
essence, but there is no corresponding expression in the TT. Such cultural defaults abound in the C-E translation of the 
profile of CA. 
Step 3: Verifying the accomplishment of dynamic equivalences between the schemata of ST and TT and polishing the TT 
again. 
Based on the linguistic equivalence, the author deems that the schemata of ST and TT fail to accomplish linguistic 
equivalence in the fields of the word-selection, syntax, text order and style. For instance, “ in 
Example 1 is translated as “the architect of China’s drastic social and economic transformation”, breaking the semantic 
equivalence and leading target readers to the domain of architecture or a social revolution, which is far from the original 
definition. In fact, there is a proper noun to express “ in English, that’s “China’s reform and opening-up”. 
Thus, personally speaking, the TT of can be better translated as “the chief architect of 
China's reform and opening up”. 
Similarly, the schemata of ST and TT exist content equivalence problems in terms of meaning, spirit, as well as context, and 
the cultural equivalence is little accomplished. For instance, Example 2, the ST is 
translated as “a legendary bird worshiped by the nation since ancient times as a symbol of luck and happiness”, which 
breaks the content and cultural equivalences. Because on the one hand, the word “ lacks equivalent translation, 
and it is not specified which country this is. On the other hand, the translation of is inaccurate, missing the 
cultural connotations. In Chinese, refers to “something auspicious”, a sign of good fortune. It is considered by 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

 
 

 
- 16 - 

Confucianism to be a natural phenomenon that expresses the will of heaven and is beneficial to human beings. Thus, 
contains the connotation of oneness of heaven and humans and it cannot simply translated as “a symbol of luck and 

happiness” What’s worse, is devoid of corresponding translation in the TT. In summary, from the 
perspective of authors, Example 2 can be better translated as “Phoenix, the king of birds, is the auspicious bird in the 
ancient legend of the Chinese nation”. 
By and large, the company profile of CA suffers from a series of translation problems, concentrating on the imbalance 
among the schemata of ST, the schemata of TT, and dynamic equivalences. Thus, some translation strategies is necessary 
for CA.  
According to the contents above, strategies for solving the problems in the C-E translation of A's profiles can be provided 
from the perspectives of language, content and culture. Firstly, from the linguistic angle, translators are expected to have a 
good command of linguistic features and differences of the source language and the target language, trying to activate the 
schemata based on the corresponding linguistic habits, such as the text, grammar, syntax and style. Secondly, in addition to 
the language abilities, translators ought to possess abundant knowledge as well as excellent competence of sorting and 
interpreting information, because rich knowledge accumulation and sufficient practice are conductive to the process of 
schemata adjustment. Thirdly, on the level of culture, it is necessary for translators to strengthen and deepen the 
understanding of different culture and customs, avoiding cultural prejudices and ambiguities, adding footnotes for opaque 
and elusive contents and omitting redundant contents. 
5. Conclusion 
Under modern circumstance, C-E translation is an indispensable bridge for communication and understanding between 
China and the world. Hence, scholars and translators are expected to find translation problems and spare no efforts to 
present more better and smooth translations. The paper provides an innovative analytical framework that allows more 
translation problems to be studied in the future. What’s more, this framework synthesizes schema theory and a series of 
dynamic equivalence rather than under a single theory. Therefore, for the future researches on C-E translation of company 
profiles or on other translation problems of company issues, it is hopefully applicable and feasible. 
 
References 
Bartlett, C. (1932). Remembering: a Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University 

Press. 
Cai, Y. (2018).  [An Eco-translatological Study on Tourism Text Based on 

Schema Theory: With the C-E Translation of Guangzhou Scenic Spot Introductions as Case Analyses]. ,
 [Master’s paper in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies]. 

Carrell, P. L. &  Eisterhold, J. C. (1983). Schema Theory and ESL Reading Pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17(4) , 553-573.  
Chen, Y. (2013).  [A Brief Discussion of Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory]. 

[Youth Years], (16), 137 
Cui, Y. P. (2002). L2  [The Application of Schema Theory in Second Language Reading]. 

 [Foreign Language Education], (05), 52-57. 
Du, Y. N. (2019).  [A Study on the E-C Translation of Subtitle 

Culture-loaded Expressions in House of Cards from the Perspective of Dynamic Equivalence]. ,
.  Master’s paper in Xihua University. 

Fu, X., Zheng, W., Lu, L. X. & An, R. X. (2021). , ,  & .(2021). . 
[A Study on English Translation of Chinese E-Commerce Company Profiles].  [Overseas English], (03), 162-
163. 

Gao, Yun & Ma, Baiju. (2019). .  [Problems and Strategies of English 
Translation of Chinese Medicine Company Profiles from the Perspective of Functionalist Translation Theory]. 

 [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Management], (16), 29-32. 
Garro, C. (2010). Remembering What One Knows and the Construction of the Past: A Comparison of Cultural Consensus 

Theory and Cultural Schema Theory. Ethos,28(3), 275-319. 
Han, X. (2017).  [The Application of Schema Theory in the Study of Business 

Translation]. ,  [Master’s paper in Nanjing Normal University]. 



Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting; Vol. 02 No. 01 (2022) 
ISSN (online): 2766-791X 
ISSN (print):    2770-6354  

Jiang, Y. W. (2014).  [On C-E Translation of Corporate Profiles of 
Chinese Local Airlines from the Perspective of the Functionalist Approach]. , . [Master’s 
paper in Jilin University of Finance & Economics]. 

Kern, R. (2000). Literacy and Language Teaching. Oxford University Press. 
Li, B. J. (2018).  [A Comparative Study of English Profiles of Chinese 

and American Telecommunication Companies Based on Schema Theory]. ,  
[Master’s paper in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies]. 

Li, L. L. (2020). .  [An Analysis of 
Translation Strategies in Enterprise International Publicity from the Perspectives of Rhetorical Persuasion: A Case 
Study of Huawei Company Profile].  [Foreign Studies], (01), 67-72+108. 

Liu, G. F., Jiang, T. W. & Huang, L. (2012).  [The Reconstruction of Discourse in the 
English Translation of Chinese Company Profiles].  [Journal of Hubei Open Vocational College], 
25(08): 130-132. 

Liu, W. & Zhao, Z. H. (2014).  [A Study on Cognitive Poetics].  [Beijing: Chinese 
Cultural and Historical Press]. 

Li, X. F. (2021). .  [Research on Translation Teaching of 
Enterprise’s Profile Based on Parallel Text from the Perspective of  “One Belt and One Road”]. ( ) 
[Shanxi Education], (07), 37-38. 

Li, Y. (2014). . (eds.) [A Study on the Application of Cognitive Schema 
Theory in Business English Translation. (eds.)]  
[Proceedings of the Fourth National Symposium on Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition], 35-36. 

Nida,  A. (1964). Toward a Science of Translating. Leiden: E.J.Brill.  
Nida,  A. & Charles T. (1969). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: E.J.Brill. 
Nida,  A. (2004). Toward a Science of Translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.  
Qiao, J. B. (2014). [A Schema-Based Comparative Study on 

Corporate Profiles of Chinese Companies and British and American Companies]. 
[Master’s paper in Beijing Forestry University]. 

Shi, C. R., Lin, Q. Y. & Li, L. (2012).  [A Corpus-
Based Study on the Translation of Chinese Enterprise Profiles].  [Journal of 
Northwest University(Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition)], (05), 180-182. 

Sun, Q. Y. (2015). [Translation of Cultural-loaded Words in Light of Schema 
Theory: A Case Study of Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Feng Ru Fei Tun]. 
[Master’s paper in Sichuan International Studies University]. 

Tan, W. G. (2021). [Report on CE-Translation of Profile of 
Zhengzhou Yutong Bus CO., Ltd]. [Master’s paper in Shanghai Normal University]. 

Wu, Q. R. (2009).  [An Adaption Approach to Translation of Company Profiles]. 
. [Master’s paper in Hunan Normal University]. 

Xu, X. C. (2020). [A Study on the C-E Translation Problems of Tea 
Company Profiles from the Perspective of Communicative Translation Theory]. [Tea in Fujian], (09), 236-
237. 

Yan, A. H. (2016). [A Study on Translation Process Based on Schema Theory]. 
[HEIHE JOURNAL], (01), 26-27. 

Yan, X. Y. (2019). [A Review of Cultural Schemata Theory in China (2000-
-2018)]. [Journal of Hubei University of Arts and Science], (03), 66-71. 

Zheng, L. (2021). [On the C-E Translation Strategies of 
Export-oriented Company Profiles from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory  Case Study of 
Company Profiles in Liaoning Province]. [Master's paper in Jilin University of 
Finance and Economics]. 

Zhu, L. (2020).  [E-C Translation under the Guidance of the Dynamic Equivalence Theory-
---A Case Study of the Translation of One of Ours]. . [Master’s paper in Jiangxi 
University of Finance and Economics]. 

- 17 - 
 

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY) 4.0




