本研究基于知识翻译学理论框架,系统探究平行语料库在《中华人民共和国民法典》(以下简称《民法典》)术语翻译中的应用机制与效能。研究通过构建《民法典》中英平行语料库,并对比分析四个权威英译本(法工委、HeinOnline、人大官网、北大法宝),发现:在语言形式层面,各译本在基础词汇句法特征上高度趋同,有效再现了法律英语的规范文体特征;高频程式语的使用虽存差异,但整体遵循了目标语法律文本的表达范式。在核心民事主体术语翻译层面,译者主要采用“直译法”处理具有直接对等的术语,确保概念准确性;对于中国特色或概念空缺术语,则运用“释义法”进行跨法系知识重构,力求在目标体系中实现功能等效。研究表明,平行语料库的核心应用机制在于:提供目标语规范参照、揭示概念差异与空缺、辅助翻译策略选择与验证以及维护术语一致性,从而有效支撑译者克服法系差异,在“真、善、美”原则指导下实现法律概念的精准传递与功能等效。本研究为《民法典》等法律文本的英译提供了基于语料库实证的路径,并丰富了知识翻译学视角下的法律翻译理论研究。

Drawing on the theoretical framework of transknowletology, this study investigates the application mechanisms and effectiveness of parallel corpora in translating legal terminology from The Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (hereafter the Civil Code). By constructing a Chinese-English parallel corpus and comparatively analyzing four authoritative translations (from the Legislative Affairs Commission, HeinOnline, the NPC official website, and PKU Law Database), the research yields the following findings: At the linguistic level, all translations show considerable consistency in basic lexical and syntactic features, effectively reproducing the stylistic conventions of legal English. While variations exist in the usage of high-frequency formulaic expressions, overall adherence to the target language’s legal textual norms is evident. Regarding key civil subject terms, translators predominantly employ literal translation for terms with direct equivalence to ensure conceptual accuracy. For culturally specific or conceptually non-equivalent terms, translators adopt explanatory translation strategies to reconstruct cross-system legal knowledge, aiming for functional equivalence in the target context. The findings demonstrate four critical functions of parallel corpora: providing normative references, identifying conceptual gaps, assisting translation strategy selection and validation, and maintaining terminological consistency. These functions enable translators to overcome systemic legal differences and realize accurate conceptual transmission and functional equivalence under the principles of accuracy, appropriateness, and stylistic conformity. The research offers corpus-based approach for translating the Civil Code and enriches the theoretical research of legal translation from a transknowletology perspective.