1、 英汉翻译理论与实践 第 6章 翻译技巧 Translation Techniques By amplification we mean supplying necessary words in our translation work so as to make the version correct and clear, to make it more like the language translated into. Of course words thus supplied must indispensable either syntactically or semantically
2、. In other words, a translator is not supposed to add any meaning to the original. There are two kinds: 1)Words for syntactic constructionto secure correctness, 2)Words supplied for semantic completionto secure clearness. Both aim at making the version expressive and readily understood by the reader
3、. Amplification (增译法 ) 1、增加动词 1). Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. 读书使人充实 ,讨论 使人 机智 ,笔记 ( 写作 ) 使人 准确 。 2) . We don t regret, we never have and never will. 我们不会后悔,我们从来没有 后悔 过,我们将来也不会后悔 。 3). After the basketball, he still has an important conference. 看完 篮球比赛
4、之后,他还有一个重要会议 要参加 。 2. 增加形容词或副词 1). With what enthusiasm the Chinese people are building socialism! 中国人民正以多么 高的 热情建设社会主义啊! 人群 渐渐 散开了。 2). The crowds melted away. 他一坐下来就讲开了, 滔滔不绝地 讲个没完。 3). As he sat down and began talking, words poured out. 4). She lingered long over his letter. 5). In the films of t
5、hose days, all too often it was the same one: boy tractor driver meets girl tractor driver; they fall in love and drive tractor together. 在那时候的电影里, 总是老一套:男拖拉机手和女拖拉机手 始而 相遇, 继而 相爱, 终而 并肩开拖拉机了。 她 反反复复地 回味着他的来信。 玛丽的丈夫癌症去世后,就靠洗 衣服 维持生活。 2). Mary washed for a living after her husband died of cancer. 3).
6、He ate and drank, for he was exhausted. 他吃了 点 东西 ,喝了点 酒 ,因为他疲惫不堪了。 3. 增加名词 1). First you borrow, then you beg. 头一遭借 钱 ,下一遭就讨 饭 。 4). That black jacket is indeed cheap and fine. 那件黑夹克真是 价 廉 物 美。 5). He was wrinkled and black, with scant gray hair. 他 满脸 皱纹, 皮肤 黝黑,头发灰白稀疏。 6). A new kind of carsmall, ch
7、eapis attracting increasing attention. 一种新型轿车正越来越引起人们的注意 这种轿车体积 小, 价钱 便宜。 由例、可见,均在形容词前增加名词,从而使译文更具体,更符合译语习惯。 8). His arrogance made everyone dislike him. 他的傲慢 态度 使谁也不喜欢他。 9). After all preparations were made, the planes were flown across the U.S. to San Francisco. 一切准备 工作 就绪以后, 飞机就飞越美国去了旧金山。 由例 8 、
8、9可以看出 , 某些动词或形容词派生来的抽象名词 , 翻译时可以根据上下文在其后面增添适当的名词 , 使译文更符合规范 。 又如 : to persuade 说服 persuasion说服工作 to prepare 准备 preparation准备工作 backward 落后 backwardness落后状态 tense 紧张 tension紧张局势 arrogant 自满 arrogance自满情绪 mad 疯狂 madness 疯狂行为 antagonistic敌对 antagonism 敌对态度 4. 增加代词 1). 小不忍则乱大谋。 If one is not patient in
9、small thing, one will never be able to control great ventures. 2). 交出翻译之前,必须读几遍,看看有没有要修改的地方,这样你才能把工作做好。(钟述孔 英汉翻译手册 ) Before handing in your translation, you have to read it over and over again and see if there is anything in it to be corrected or improved. Only thus can you do your work well. (Zhong
10、 Shukong, A Handbook of Translation) He who makes no investigation and study has no right to speak. 3). 没有调查就没有发言权。 当然了 , 例还可以认为是增补主语 “ he” 。 又如: “ 又要马儿跑得快 , 又要马儿不吃草 , 简直可笑 。” You want the horse to run fast and yet you don t let it graze. Isn t it ridiculous! Don t put your hands in your pockets. 4)
11、. 别把手搁在口袋里。 5). 一天天冷起来了。 It is getting colder day by day. 6) 尝试而失败还是比不尝试好。 It is better to try and fail than never try at all. 7). 你三星期完成这项设计不容易。 It was not easy for you to finish this design in three weeks. 8). 把钟拆开比把它装起来容易。 It is easier to take a clock apart than to put it together again. 5、增加语气词或
12、量词 汉语有许多语气助词 , 如 “ 的 ” 、 “ 吧 ” 、 “ 呢 ”、 “ 啊 ” 、 “ 呀 ” 、 “ 嘛 ” 、 “ 吗 ” 、 “ 啦 ” 、 “ 了” 不同的语气词可以发挥不同的作用 , 英汉互译时需用心体验 , 以期译出从意义和修辞色彩等都符合的译文 。 同时 , 英语中的数词 ( 包括不定冠词 a) 与可数名词直接连用 , 它们之间并无量词 , 而汉语往往要借助量词 。 因此英译汉时 , 应根据实际情况恰当地增加表示其形状 、 特征或材料的 名量词 。 不要生气 嘛 !我不过开开玩笑 罢了 。 1). Don t get angry. I m just making fu
13、n of you. 3). They (the eyes) were the same colour as the sea, cheerful and undefeated. 2). As for me, I didn t agree from the very beginning. 我 呢 ,从一开始就不赞成。 那双眼睛 啊 ,像海水一样的蓝,令人愉快,毫不沮丧 4). A red sun is rising slowly on the horizon. 一 轮 红日正从地平线上冉冉升起。 5). A stream was winding its way through the valley
14、 in into the Dadu river. 一 弯 溪水蜿蜒流过山谷,汇合到大渡河去 了 。 6) This too was a complicate lie. 这也纯粹是一 派 胡言。 7). Once, they had a quarrel. 有一次,他们争吵了 一 番 。 从例 7、 8、 9可见,英语中有些动词或动作名词,译成汉语时常需增加一些表示行为、动作的 动量词 。又如: have a rest 休息一下 ; make a stop停一下 . 8). Seeing is believing. 百 闻不如 一 见。 9). The essence remains its id
15、entity while appearances may vary. 万 变不离其宗。 Opposite to the principle of amplification, omission is however not contradictory to it. On contrary, omission supplementary to amplification, omits what is considered necessary and indispensable in English may be deemed useless, superfluous and even encum
16、brance. This principal makes the version brief, concise and clear. For example, Omission (省译法 ) 1. 省略代词 英语中通常每句都有主语。但根据汉语习惯,但前句出现一个主语且后句仍为同一主语时,后句主语一般省掉。如: 1).He was thin and haggard and he looked miserable. 他消瘦而憔悴,看上去一副可怜相。 2). We live and learn. 活到老,学到老。 3). Everywhere you can find new types of me
17、n and objects in new Campus. 新校区处处可以看到新人、新事物。 4). If you give him an inch, he will take a mile. 得寸进尺。 5). I have received your letter and read it with delight. 我收到了你的信,愉快地读了。 6)有条件要上;没有条件,创造条件也要上。 When conditions exist, go ahead; when they don t, create them and go ahead. 例 2、 3英语句子的主语都是泛指的,在译成汉语时,多
18、省掉。又如 : “ You can never tell.” 译为:“很难说”。 解说:例 4、 5、 6汉译时常把英语中作宾语的代词省掉。尤其是例 4,省略了做主语的代词,宾语的代词,连句中的连词 “ if” 也省略了,但思想内容却丝毫未变,可谓形神皆备。而下面的例子( 7、 8)却恰当地省略了物主代词。 7). I wash my face in the morning. 我早上洗脸。 8). He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. 他耸耸肩,摇摇头,两眼看天,一句话不说。
19、 思考: it 的两种特殊用法 非人称用和强调用。汉译时往往省略或不译 2. 省略连词 我们在讨论增译法时 , 提到 “ 汉语语言精炼 , 并列连词较少使用 , 其上下逻辑关系常常是暗含的 , 由词语顺序来表示 。 但译为英语时 , 需要增补 。 证实了英语是形合语言 , 汉语是意合语言的命题 。 ” 相反 , 把英语译成汉语时 , 很多情况则需省略连词 。 如: 1). He looked gloomy and troubled. (表并列) 他看上去有些忧愁不安。 2). As the temperature increase, the volume of water becomes gr
20、eater. (表原因) 温度升高,水的体积就增大。 3). We knew winter vocation was coming as (because) we had seen the big stone in the River. (表原因) (我们)看见了河里大石头,就知道寒假要来了。 4). If winter comes, can spring be far behind? (表条件) 冬天来了,春天还会远吗? 5). When it is dark in the east, it is light in the west; when things are dark in the
21、south there is still light in the north. (表时间) 东方不亮西方亮,黑了南方有北方。 3. 省略前置词(介词 ) 一般说来, 表示时间和地点的英语前置词,译成汉语如 出现在句首,大都可以省略,出现在句尾时大都不省 。如: 1). The People s Republic of China was founded in 1949. 一九四九年中华人民共和国成立。 比较:中华人民共和国成立于一九四九年。 2). In July, 1956, Egypt had seized the Suez Canal. 一九五六年七月,埃及占领了苏伊士运河。 比较:埃
22、及占领苏伊士运河是在一九五六年。 3). And on July 1st, 1999, I graduated from university. 一九九九年七月一日,我大学毕业了。 4). Smoking is prohibited in public places. 公共场所不准吸烟。 4. 省略冠词 英语有冠词,汉语没有冠词;因此,英译汉时往往要将冠词省略。相反,汉译英时,多要增加冠词,也就是增译法中的增加冠词。如: 1). A book is useful. (是)有用(的)。 2). The earth goes around the sun. 地球绕太阳转。 (省略表示独一无二的事物
23、的定冠词 the)又如: The moon was slowly rising above the sea.) 3). A teacher should have patience in his work. 当教员的应当有耐心。(省略表示类别的不定冠词 A) 4). The girl standing at the window is his girlfriend. 站在窗口的(那个)女孩是他女朋友。 此句中 girl后有定语,汉译时定冠词 The 可省也可保留。) 5). Milk is sold by the pound. 牛奶按磅计价。(牛奶是 论磅卖。) 当然,有些场合,冠词是不能省略
24、的。比如不定冠词 a 或 an 表示数量“一”时,定冠词 the 表示“这”或“那”时,均不能省略。 6). He left without a word. 他一句话不说就走了。 7). The children are of an age. 这些孩子都是同岁的。 1. White clouds float over the blue sky. 蓝蓝的天上漂浮着朵朵白云。 2. Can you manage without help? 如果没有人帮忙, 你能应付的了吗? 3. I dare say that the Chinese way of reforms is more characte
25、ristic and effective than others. 我认为,中国的改革方式比别国的改革方式更 富有特色、更卓有成效。 Excercises 4. In general, all the metals are good conductors, with silver the best and copper the second. 一般说来, 金属都是良好的导体,其中以银 为最好,铜次之。 5. “ How shall I do it?” “ Just as you wish!” 这事儿我该怎么办才好? 你想怎么办, 就怎么办。 6. He felt the patriot rise within his breast. 他感到一种爱国热情在心中荡漾。 7. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. ( compare this with S1) 读史 使人 明智,读诗 使人 灵秀,数学 使人周密,科学 使人 深刻,伦理 使人 庄重,逻辑修辞 使人 善辩。