.

此两词均可作“公司”解。通说认为“company”乃英国英语，而美国英语则以“corporation“公司”。如1979年香港Michael Stevenson Ltd.出版、早年曾任复旦大学教授的洪士豪法学博士编、前东吴法学院第一任华人院长法理学博士吴经熊为之序的、似乎是相当可靠的A New English—Chinese Law Dictionary中就有这样一条：

“Company公司指依公司法所规定之程序所组织之以营利为目的之社团。美国称corporation”。

此说自不得谓毫无根据。但根据此说，又如何理解引自美国人写、在美国出版、讲美国法律的专著的下列句子呢?

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

上列句中圆括弧内的“corporation'’’与圆括弧外的“company”显然是不同的概念、具有不同的含义(而决非都指“公司”这一概念)。试想一位因任务紧迫而信笔译来的译者已逐词把“company"译做“公司”于先，则随后读到圆括弧里的“corporation'’又如何译法才好呢?

其实，句子的“company”并非“公司”，“商行”是也。有书为证：

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，必须指出：即使是美国英语，“corporation"也未 “公司”而已。此词还可以有一个较“公司”更广的内涵——“法人”。请看：

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

附带提一句：就上列有关词义而论，不妨说“company””与“corporation"是一对反义词——你说是吗?是的，你会说，因为"company"是unincorporated的，而“corporation”则是incorporated的。再说，如果要把“公司法”译成英语，得根据情况分别译作"corporate law"（以美国英语读者为对象）或"company law"（以英国英语读者为对象）。但美国英语中，“公司法”偶尔也有作"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

DoMLU, pp.155-156

DoMLU, pp.155-156