1、翻译技巧之减词法 Omission,A difference arose between the neighbors over the height of the fence. 邻居之间为了篱笆的高度惹起了一场争论。 邻居为篱笆的高低有过争论。,The time-keeping devices of electronic watches are much more accurate than those of mechanical ones. 电子表比机械表准确得多。 He took off his coat and shoes. Then he put on his slippers，wen
2、t to the sofa and began to watch TV. 他脱了大衣和鞋子，然后穿上拖鞋，走到沙发前，开始看电视。,减词法(omission),减词法是对原文中的某些词语略而不译。这是出自于译语行文习惯的需要而采用的一种翻译技巧。 有些词语在英语中必不可少，但在汉语中就未必如此。 减词不减义,（二）修辞性减词 1. 原文重复词语或同义词省略 2. 不言而喻词语的省略,(一)、句法性省略,汉语没有冠词，代词（尤其是人称代词、关系代词）、连词、介词、关系副词等用的也远远比英语少。上述词类汉译时往往省略，省略后意思反而更为简洁。,从语法角度进行减省 英汉两种语言在语法上差异较大，例如
3、：英语有冠词，而汉语却没有；英语重形合、连接词较多，汉语重意合、连接词较少；英语中介词丰富，多达280多个，汉语中介词则较少，只有30来个；英语中经常使用代词，尤其是经常使用人称代词、关系代词等，而汉语中代词则用得较少；因此，英译汉时可根据具体情况将冠词、连接词、介词、代词略去，使译文练达晓畅。,一.代词省略,1. 在英语中，代词充当主语的情况相当多。为了使译文前后的句子意思紧凑，避免重复用词，汉语习惯采用无主句，其主语就是前面的代词。 He was thin and haggard and he looked miserable. 他消瘦而憔悴，看上去痛苦不堪的样子。,Whether the
4、 laws are good or bad, they cannot complain, they cannot question, they cannot suggest changes. 无论法律是否公正，他们都无法抱怨、无法质疑、无法建议修改。,2.英语中的泛指人称代词作主语时，常常可以省略，翻译成无主句。 As you come into the room, youll notice a piano. 一进房间门，就会看见一台钢琴。 One can never be too careful in ones work. 工作越仔细越好。,Fight when you can win; m
5、ove away when you cannot win. 打得赢就打，打不赢就走。 We have 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. 一周有七天，一天有24小时。,The significance of a man is not in what he attains but rather in what he longs to attain. 人生的意义不在于已获取的，而在于渴望获得什么样的东西。 Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in an advance
6、d age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow old. 知识是人到老年舒适而又必须的归宿。如果年轻时不种下知识之树，老年时就得不到树阴的遮蔽。,3. 作宾语的代词,翻译时也可以省略. Please take off the old picture and throw it away. 请把那张旧画摘下来扔掉。Gathering facts, confirming them, suggesting theories, testing them, and organizing
7、findings this is all work of science. 收集事实并加以论证，提出理论并加以检验，以及整理研究成果这全都是科学工作的内容。,4. 物主代词在英语中出现的频率非常高，翻译时完全可以省略他们。 So the train came, he pinched his little sister lovingly, and put his great arms about his mothers neck and then was away. 火车来了，他爱抚地捏了一下小妹妹，用两条巨大的胳膊搂了一下母亲的脖子，然后走了。Halliday put his pipe dow
8、n, crossed his hands behind his neck, and turned his face towards the window. 哈利德放下烟斗，两手交叉放在脖子后面，转过头去看窗户。,Her dark hair waved untidy across her broad forehead, her face was short, her upper lip short, showing a glint of teeth, her brows were straight and dark, her lashes long and dark, her nose stra
9、ight. 她的黑发蓬松地飘拂在宽宽的前额，脸是短短的，上唇也是短短的，露出亮亮的牙齿；眉毛又直又黑，睫毛又长又黑，鼻子笔直。,5. “It” 作代词时，也常常可以省略。 It is not entirely right to say that if there is food, let everyone share it. 说有饭大家吃并不完全正确。Outside it was pitch dark and it was raining cats and dogs. 外面漆黑一团，下着瓢泼大雨。,“It” 用于强调句中，没有实际意义，也要省略。 It is only shallow peop
10、le who judge by appearances. 只有浅薄的人才会以貌取人。 It was only then I began to have doubts whether my story would ever be told. 只是那时我才开始怀疑我的经历究竟能不能公之于众。 It was with some difficulty that he found the way to his own home. 他费了不少劲才找到家。,二.连词省略,英语重形合，词与词，短语之间，句子之间的关系，主要通过连词表达；而汉语重意合，词与词之间靠顺序体现，句子之间的关系也往往通过句序体现。翻译
11、时，可以根据实际情况省略连词。,He did not sleep much, but when he did he dreamed of beautiful princess, splendid castles, and gold and silver. 他没睡多久，要是一入睡便梦到如花似玉的公主，梦到富丽堂皇的城堡，梦到黄金，梦到白银。,把汉语翻译成英语或写作时，注意形合和意合，还有就是有无主语：“Yes Madam, quite big family!eight children, six sons, two daughters. Big family! Ha! Ha! No good.
12、Madam. In those days, where got family planning in Singapore. （哪里有计划生育）,If winter comes, can spring be far behind? (Shelly, Ode to the West Wind) 冬天来了，春天还会远吗？ As the desert is like a sea, so is the camel like a ship. 沙漠似海，骆驼似舟。,三. 冠词省略,The article is the hallmark of English. However, we do not have
13、the articles in Chinese. The moon was slowly rising above the sea. 月亮从海边慢慢升起。 Winter is the best time to study the growth of trees. Although the leaves are gone and the branches are bare, the trees themselves are beautiful. 冬天是研究树木生长的最好季节，虽然树叶落了，树枝光了，但树本身却是美丽的。,Any substance is made of atoms whether
14、 it is a solid, a liquid, or a gas. 任何物质，无论是固体、液体还是气体，都由原子组成。 A teacher should have patience in his work. 当老师的应当有耐心。 Things of a kind come together; people of a mind fall into the same group. 物以类聚，人以群分。 The horse is a useful animal. 不可省略： Jack often drives at 90 miles an hour. We enclose a cheque fo
15、r US $ 10,000. How do you like the film?,四. 介词省略,Smoking is prohibited in public places. 公共场所禁止吸烟。 Now complaints are heard in all parts of that country. 该国各地怨声载道。 Rumours had already spread along the streets and lanes. 各种流言传遍了大街小巷。 但是，动词后的介词一般不省略。 He stood by the desk. She hid behind the door.,五. 动
16、词省略,When the pressure gets low, the boiling point becomes low. 气压低，沸点就低。 This laser beam covers a very narrow range of frequencies. 这个激光束的频率范围很窄。 These developing countries cover vast territories, encompass a large population and abound in natural resources. 这些发展中国家土地辽阔，人口众多，资源丰富。,(二)、修辞性减词,修辞性减词是从译
17、文修辞角度考虑，省略英文中的某些词语。这些词语的涵义在译文中虽无其字但已有其意，如果不将其省略，就可能造成译文语意的重复或累赘。,一. 原文重复词语或同义词省略,To our knowledge, advertisement and commercials do many important things for society; they convey business information, facilitate communication and help keep the business world moving. 据我们所知，广告在社会中起着重要的作用：传递商品信息，促进交流，使
18、商界正常运作。,University applicants who had worked at a job would receive preference over those who had not. 报考大学的人，有工作经验的优先。 There was no snow, the leaves were gone from the trees, the grass was dead. 没有下雪，但已叶落草枯。,China is also a country of people with a passionate love of flowers and trees and intense d
19、edication to the welfare of children and to the work ethic. 中国人还热爱鲜花和树木，专心致力于儿童的福利事业，并且严格恪守工作道德。 Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a womans youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid
20、work until retirement at sixty. 如今，妇女结婚时的年龄已趋年轻化，剩余的孩子也少了。通常，最小的孩子长大15岁时，母亲才45岁，还有望再活35岁，所以，很可能在60岁退休前得到有收入的工作。,二. 不言而喻词语的省略,Poisons of opposing qualities are said, in ancient books of medicine, to have the power of counteracting each other. 古代医书说，毒能攻毒。 （若译作“性质相反的毒药有互相抵消的力量“就显得啰嗦了）。,从上面的例子可以看出，减词法基本
21、上都是出于译文语言习惯和语法的需要，不省去这些词语，译文就显得拖泥带水，甚至画蛇添足的结果。使用减词法压球译者对译文有驾轻就熟的运用能力。,译文比较,We should be pleased to let you have samplers to give a demonstration at your premises. 译文一：能为您奉赠品在贵厅展出，我们甚感欣慰。 译文二：欣奉我样品，在贵厅展出。 We are looking forward with interest to your reply. 译文一：我们带着极大的兴趣盼望贵方的答复。 译文二：盼复。If one found th
22、e right spot, then it was easy to bring up the liquid material. It was much easier to do that than to send men underground to chip out chunks of solid coal. 译文一： 如果找到了合适的地点，那么可以很容易地把石油这种液体物质抽上来，这样做要比把人送到地下铲出大块大块的固体煤容易得多。 译文二：如果找到了合适的地点，那么可以很容易地把石油这种液体物质抽上来，这样做要比把人送到地下铲出大块大块的煤容易得多。,1. If the chain re
23、action went on without being checked, it could cause a terrible explosion.如果连锁反应不加控制，就可能引起可怕的爆炸。 2. When the pressure gets low, the boiling-point becomes low. 气压低，沸点就低。 3. The supply of oil can be shut off unexpectedly at any time, and in any case, the oil wells will all run dry in thirty years or s
24、o at the present rate of use. 石油供应可能随时被切断，不管怎样，以目前的这种消费速度只需30年左右所有的油井都会枯竭。,4. 联合国召开紧急会议以缓和中东的紧张局势 The UN is holding an emergency meeting in order to ease tension in the Middle East. 5. He behaved politely while answering the interviewers questions. 他在回答采访者的问题时，很有礼貌。 6. China will keep a close watch
25、on developments in this event. 中国将密切关注这一事态的发展。,1. The crowd was pushing hard. Those in the middle were squeezed against each other so tightly that they could not move in any direction. 人群越挤越厉害，夹在中间的人被挤得动弹不得,2. If you confer a benefit, never remember it; if you receive one, remember it always.施恩勿记，受恩勿忘。（省略表条件的连词）,
