英汉句式区别与翻译

Chapter 2 Major Differences in Sentence Patterns between Chinese and English

Objectives:

By the end of this chapter, students are expected to be able to:

1. Know basic differences between Chinese and English sentences;

2. Learn about basic translation methods

3. Translate between Chinese and English sentences and

4. Appreciate successful translation and tell the reasons.

Main contents

Major Differences in Sentence Patterns between Chinese and English

ctic vs paratactic

（形合与意合）

Hypotactic

----the

dependent

or

subordinate

construction

or

relationship

of

clauses

with

connectives.

Paratactic

----The

arranging

of

clauses

one

after

another

without

connectives

showing

the

logical relation between them.

English tends to be hypotactic while Chinese tends to be paratactic. We should remember the

tendency in the two languages is relative not absolute. The structure of English is compared to a

tree

with

various

branches on

different

levels,

while

the

Chinese

one

is

compared to

a

bamboo

with one part after another.

e

.g. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us: that from

these

honored

dead

we

take

increased

devotion

to

that

cause

for

which

they

gave

the

last

full

measure of devotion; that we here highly revolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that

this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by

the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg

Address ) (

我们应该做的 是献身于他们留给我们的伟大任务。我们的先烈已将自己的全部精

诚付与我们的事业，< /p>

我们应从他们的榜样中汲取更多的精神力量，

努力使他们的鲜血不 致白

流。

在上帝的保佑下，

自由将得到 新生。

我们这个民有、

民治、

民享的政 府将永存于世上。

)

两种特征形成的效果是，

英语结构紧凑严密；

而汉语结构简练明快。

英语 好像一棵参天

大树，一串葡萄，一串珍珠；汉语好比一根竹子，一盘珠子，一波江涛。具 体说来，在英语

中，主干突出，即主谓机制突出，名词尤其是抽象名词用得多，介词也用 得多，英语在表达

复杂的思想时，

往往开门见山，

然后借用英语特有的词汇关系代词，

把各个句子有机地结合

< br>起来，构成一串串葡萄似的句子。主干可能简单，但上面却借着累累硕果。如：

(1) The isolation of the rural world, because of distance and the lack of transport facilities, is

compounded by the paucity of the information media.

译文： 由于距离远，有缺乏交通工具，是农村社会与外界隔绝，而这种隔绝，又由于通

讯工具不 足而变得更加严重。

(2) It does not do to live in memories, in regrets for the good old days, or in sadness about friends

who are dead.(from How to Grow Old)

译文：为美好的 往昔而遗憾，为逝去的朋友而哀伤，是没有用的。

(3)Man proposes, God disposes. (paratactic)

谋事在人，成事在天。

翻译实例：汉语的意合到英语的形合

(4)

中国将努力促进粮食生产，正常情况下粮食自给率不低于

95

％。

China

endeavors

to

increase

its

grain

production,

so

that

its

self-sufficiency

rate

under

normal

conditions will be no lower than 95%.

(5)

他来，我走。

He comes, I go.

【错句】

If

he comes, I will leave.

Since he has come, I will leave.

As soon as he comes, I will leave.

(6)

门开了，学生们一涌而入。

When the door opened, the students rushed in.

The door opened and the students came crowding in.

翻译实例：英语意合到汉语意合

(7)Even if the monk can run away, his temple cannot run with him.

跑得了和尚，跑不了庙。

(8)Even if I were to be beaten to death, I will not tell.

打死我也不说。

(9)Modesty helps one go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind.

谦虚使人进步，骄傲使人落后。

(10)If winter comes, can spring be far behind?

冬天来了，春天还会远吗？

(11)We will not attack unless we are attacked.

人不犯我，我不犯人。

翻译实例：英语意合到汉语形合

(12)Grasp all, lose all.

贪多必失。

(13)Sure bind, sure find.

若想东西好找，事先必须放好。

II. Stactic vs paratactic

Stacti

c----

English

tends

to

use

nouns

(including

abtracts

nouns),

prepositions

to

express

some ideas which would be expressed by verbs in Chinese(dynamic).

(14)A woman with fair opportunities, and without an an absolute hump, may marry whom she

likes. (Vanity Fair)

译文：一个女人只要有机会好，又不是很驼背，想嫁给谁都行。

(15) Carlisle street runs westward, across a great black bridge, down a hill and up again, by little

shops and meat- markets, past single-storied homes, until suddenly it stops against a wide green

lawn.(pay attention to the use of prepositions)

译 文：卡莱尔大街往西伸展，越过一座黑色大桥，爬下山岗又爬上去，经过许多小铺和肉

点 ，又经过一些平房，然后突然朝着一大片绿色草地中止。

（注意汉语句子在表达相应内容

时用的是动词）

In Chinese , verbs does not need any morphological change, therefore, it is very convenient to use

Chinese verbs, especially for dynamic description.

晴文先接了出来，笑道：

“

叫我研了墨，早起高兴，只写了三个字，扔下笔就走了，哄我等

了这一 天，快来给写完了这些墨才算呢！

”

(16)He

could

not

help,

too,

rolling

his

large

eyes

round

him

as

he

ate,

and

chuckling

with

the

possibility

that

he

might

one

day

be

lord

of

all

this

scene

of

almost

unimaginable

luxury

and

splendour.

译文 ：他一边吃，一边瞪着大眼睛环顾四周，不禁暗自发笑，眼前这一派富丽奢华，说不

定某 一天会统统落进我的掌心。

III. Impersonal vs Personal

（人称和物称）

Impersonal

----not

showing

any

feelings

of

sympathy,

friendliness.

An

impersonal

sentence

or

verb is one where the subject or object is represented by a word such as “it”.(

人称

)

(17)It was surprising that I met her that time.

(18)The year of 1949 witnessed this accident.

(19

)My heart went out to the old warrior as spectators pushed by him to shake Darrow’s hand. (

比

较：当观众从他身边挤过 去与道拉握手时，我都同情起这位沙场老将起来。

)

(20)(I am much less selfish and more peaceful, I think.) When there are so many animals that need

to be taken care of, it takes the focus off me. (WE, 2001/2,p56)

（英语中 即便是涉及自己的事

情，仍然可以用不带感情色彩的表达方式）

译文：因为有许多动物要照料，我没有时间关注自己的事了。

（汉语译文体现更多的个人色彩）

Compare the following pairs:

I hope…

(personal)

It is my hope that …

(impersonal)

There are 4 members in his family.

(impersonal)

He has 4 members in his family

(personal)

ct vs Concrete

(21)Men

feel

happier

knowing

that

their

wife

is

having

as

much

medical

attention

as

possible

despite the fact that what their wives actually need is some peace and the freedom to shout and

scream without being made to feel self-conscious.

(WE,2001,1,P68~69)

< br>（注意

men

是否可以有多种译法。

freedom

的理解和翻译没有和后面的

without being made to

feel self- conscious

联系起来，太抽象

,

此处宜用比较具体的说法。

）

译文

：当作丈夫的得知他们的妻子正在得到理想的医疗护理时，他们会 感到好受些。但是，

他们却忽视了一点，事实上，妻子真正需要的是适当的安静，无拘无 束地喊叫。

To use verbs to substitute for actions nouns

(22) I marveled at the relentless determination of the rain.

雨 无情地

下个不停

，我感到惊异。

(23) He had surfaced with less visibility in the policy decisions.

在决策 过程中，他已经不那么

抛头露面

。

(24) These problems defy easy classification.

这些问题难以

归类