英汉互译理论和实践(选修)
(二)词义的引申
英译汉时,如果某些词在字典上找不到合适的词义,就应根据上下文和逻辑关系,从该词的根本含义出发,进一步引申,选择比较恰当的汉语词来表达。
将词义做抽象化引申
在现代英语中常用一个表示具体形象的词来表示一种属性、一个事物或一种概念。翻译时,一般可以将其词义做抽象化的引申。
1)将表示具体形象的词译成该形象所代表的属性的词。 例5
原文:There is a mixture of the tiger and the ape in the character of the imperialists. 译文: 帝国主义的特点及凶猛又狡猾 例6
原文:Every life has its roses and thorns. 译文:
2)注意词汇的字面意思与引申意义 例7
原文:The music business marries art and commerce. 原译:音乐与艺术和商业成了亲。 改译:
将带有特征性形象的词译成该形象所代表的概念的词 例8
原文:Hitler’s storm troops goosestepped into power in Furth in 1930. 译文: 希特勒的突击队
3.将词义做具体化的引申
英语中有用代表抽象概念或属性的词来表示一种具体事物,英译汉时一般可做具体化引申。 例9
原文:Vietnam was his entrée to the new Administration. 译文:
英语中有些词在特定的上下文中,其含义是清楚的,但译成汉语时必须做具体化的引申,否则就不够清楚。 例10
原文:The car in front of me stalled and I missed the green. 译文:
(三)词义的褒贬
英语中有些词本身带有褒贬意义,汉译时要表达出来 例11
1)He was a man of high renown.
2)The tasks carried out by them are praiseworthy.
第三章 英译汉常用方法和技巧
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英汉互译理论和实践(选修)
3)“He was polite and always gave advice willingly,” she recalled. 4)His notoriety as a rake did not come until his death. 5)Henry keeps boasting that he had talked to the President. 6)We were shocked by his coarse manners.
英语中有些词是中立的,本身不表示褒贬,但在一定上下文中可能有褒贬意味,汉译时就应用具有褒贬意味的相应词来表达 例12
原文:Once, early in 1974, while driving along the San Diego Freeway to Los Angeles, he was asked to reflect on his hopes and ambitions. 译文:
例13 原文:He was a man of integrity, but unfortunately he had a certain reputation. I believe the reputation was not deserved. 译文:
省略与增补
主要有语法性的省略与增补、语义性的省略和增补、修辞性的省略与增补和语篇性省略和增补。前者主要是由于英汉两种语言在语法功能方面存在着许多差异所致,如:英语中有虚拟语气、时态、语态、非谓语动词、独立主格、倒装等,汉语没有这些现象。后者主要着眼于语义性的等值转换。
使用增减法时,应遵循以下原则:增减要适度,决不能根据自己的主观意愿胡乱增减,破坏原文意思,要力争做到增词不增义,减词不减义,无论是增补还是省略都要保证原文信息的饱满传递。一般来说,增词是为了表达明晰,减词是力求简洁。
[I] 语法性的省略与增补 1.省略
删除原文中某些词在译文中没有必要表达出来的词语,但删除部分的意义仍隐含在译文中。删掉那些不必要的、繁琐的、违背译入语表达习惯的词语,是为了使译文更加符合译文读者的欣赏品位。
与英语相比,汉语里代词(尤其是人称代词)和连接词(尤其是并列连接词“和”)用得不多,能被省略的代词和连接词一般都不在句子里出现。因此,在汉译英时,应该避免在句子中过多地使用代词和连接词,否则译文就会显得生硬不自然。
英译汉常见的省略情况包括:省略代词、连词、冠词、介词、动词、非人称代词“it”。 省略代词 例1
原文:He put his hands into his pockets and then shrugged his shoulders. 译文: 例2
原文:Eleven-year-old Vladimir Putin infuriated his gym teacher, skipped his maths homework, nearly flunked drawing, and in short, was “one of us”, a popular Russian tabloid declared. The paper announced it had unearthed Putin’s grade book in the attic of a small wooden house where he spend his childhood. The evidence hardly bore signs of future greatness.
第三章 英译汉常用方法和技巧
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英汉互译理论和实践(选修)
译文:
省略连词 例3
原文:He looked gloomy and troubled. 译文: 例4
原文:A thousand years will pass and the guilt of Germany will not be erased. 译文: 例5 原文:No man can be brave who considers pain as the greatest evil of life; or temperate, who regards pleasure as the highest good. 译文:
省略冠词 例6
原文:The moon was slowly rising above the sea. 译文: 例7
原文:A teacher should have patience in his work. 译文:
只有在强调“一个”、“这个”或“这些”时才将冠词译出。有时译出冠词是出于措辞的需要。 例8
原文:Colombians see themselves as the world’s happiest people, as shown in an internet survey of more than 400,000 people around the globe. 译文: 例9
原文:The palm-sized gadget developed by 911 Computer Co. samples the timbre in human speech for signs of faltering then delivers its verdict. 译文:
省略介词
表示时间或地点的英语介词往往不译。 例10
原文:Many water power stations have been built in the country. 译文:
例11
原文:Hydrogen is the lightest element with an atomic weight of 1.0008. 译文:
第三章 英译汉常用方法和技巧
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英汉互译理论和实践(选修)
(5)省略动词 例12
原文:When the pressure gets low, the boiling point becomes low. 译文:
(6)省略非人称代词“it” 例13
原文:Outside it was pitch dark and it was raining cats and dogs. 译文: it气象代词 例14
原文:This formula makes it easy to determine the wavelength of sounds. 译文:
例15
原文:It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the blast furnace came into use. 译文:
2.增补
如原文的真正意义隐含在原文的词义中,翻译时需要将隐含意义挖掘出来,加以展开,用增词法,将其内容补充完整。
有如下六种情况:增添原文所省略的词语;必要的连接词;用增词法表达出原文的复数概念;把抽象概念表达清楚;逻辑性增词;概括性增词等 增添原文所省略的词语 例16
原文:Matter can be changed into energy, and energy into matter. 译文:
例17
原文:The Italians are wise before the deed, the Germans in the deed, the French after the deed.
原译:意大利人事前聪明,德国人事中,法国人事后。 改译: 德国人事中聪明
增添必要的连接词 例18
原文:Heated, water will change into vapor. 译文:
例19
原文:Had we needed to get in touch with them, we could have sent a telegram. 译文:
表达出原文的复数概念 例20
第三章 英译汉常用方法和技巧
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英汉互译理论和实践(选修)
原文:The mountains began to throw their long blue shadows over the valley. 译文:
用增词法把抽象概念表达清楚 例21 原文:This lack of resistance in very cold metals may become useful in electronic computers. 译文:
逻辑性增词 例22
原文:According to scientist, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of topsoil. 译文:
概括性增词 例23
原文:The Americans and Japanese conducted a completely secret exchange of message. 译文:
[II] 语义性省略和增补
有时英文句子是完整的,但按照字面翻译过来,则汉语句子的意思就显得不完整,或意思含混不清,或句子繁琐。 省略 例24
原文:The sun was sinking fast and the peasants had all left the church area. 译文:
例25
原文:说起季羡林先生的认真,那是出了名的。 译文:
增补 例26
原文:Instead of kilometers, we have light-years in universe. 译文:
例27
原文:He did all this without looking at the mayor. But the mayor didn’t take his eyes off him. 译文:
例28
原文:女孩子为了扮靓,小手也一次次伸向她富足抑或拮据的老爸老妈面前。 译文:
[III] 修辞性省略和增补
为了使意思更加明确,重复性增词
第三章 英译汉常用方法和技巧
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