Company 與Corporation

字號(hào):

此兩詞均可作“公司”解。通說(shuō)認(rèn)為“company”乃英國(guó)英語(yǔ),而美國(guó)英語(yǔ)則用“corporation”公司。引自美國(guó)人寫、在美國(guó)出版、講美國(guó)法律的專著的下列句子——
    1.
    / Your federal trademark application must be made to the Commissioner of Patents in Washington, D.C. / It should include your name, home address, citizenship and the location of your company (or those of a corporation if you have formed one to sell your product).
    ——You and the Law, the Reader's Digest Association. Inc. 1980, p. 193
    上列句中圓括弧內(nèi)的“corporation”與圓括弧外的“company”顯然是不同的概念、具有不同的含義(而決非都指“公司”這一概念)。試想一位因任務(wù)緊迫而信筆譯來(lái)的譯者已逐詞把“company”譯做“公司”于先,則隨后戀皆怖ɑ±锏摹癱orporation“又如何譯才好呢?
    其實(shí),句子的“company”并非“公司”,“商行”是也。有書(shū)為證:
    2.
    Company, a flexible term. (1)A corporation. (2)An unincorporated association organized for commercial purposes.
    ——Cochran's Law Lexicon. 1977, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 72—95860
    最后,必須指出:即使是美國(guó)英語(yǔ),“corporation”也未“公司”而已。此詞還可以有一個(gè)較“公司”更廣的內(nèi)涵——“法人”。請(qǐng)看:
    3.
    Corporation, an artificial person[法人]composed of individuals. It usually has a corporate name and perpetual duration. Sometimes its duration is a fixed term of years. It substitutes for the individuals who compose it. See also Municipal Corporation
    ——Ibid
    附帶提一句:就上列有關(guān)詞義而論,不妨說(shuō)“company”與“corporation”是一對(duì)反義詞——你說(shuō)是嗎?是的,你會(huì)說(shuō),因?yàn)椤癱ompany”是unincorporated的,而“corporation”則是incorporated的。再說(shuō),如果要把“公司法”譯成英語(yǔ),得根據(jù)情況分別譯作“corporate law”(以美國(guó)英語(yǔ)讀者為對(duì)象)或“company law”(以英國(guó)英語(yǔ)讀者為對(duì)象)。但美國(guó)英語(yǔ)中,“公司法”偶爾也有作“corporation law”的:
    4.
    The usual term in the U.S. for the law of corporations is corporate law. The equivalent in G.B. is company law. Corporation law is a variant phrase occasionally used.