-
Diction
?
the proper choice of words and phrases
in the process of translation to fit their context
?
Methods of
Discriminating the Original Meaning of an English
Word
1.
According
to word-formation: compounding, derivation,
blending, acronym formation, clipping
?
compounding(
合成法
):
generation
gap,
summer
time
(
夏令时
),
test-tube
baby
(
试管婴儿
),
brain-drain
(
人才外流
),
picturephone
(
可视电话
),
soft-landing
economy(
软着陆
经济
)
credit
card
(
信用卡
), pocket
money(
零用钱
), greenhouse
effect (
温室效应
)
?
derivation
（派生法）
:
non - friend (
假朋友
),
antifreeze (
抗冻剂
),
preschooler
(
学龄前儿童
)
,
?
blending (
拼缀法
):
comsat ( communication +
satellite,
通讯卫星
) , lunarnaut
( lunar + astronaut,
登月宇宙航行员
)
, Chinglish (Chinese +
English,
汉式英语
)
?
acronym formati
on(
首字母缩略法
)
：
PC ( personal computer,
个人电脑
) , CALL ( computer -
aided language learning,
计算机
辅助
语言
学习
) , CIA
( the Central
Intelligence Agency,
中央
情报局
)
?
clipping
（截缩法）
:
ad ( advertisement) , homo (
homosexuality) ,memo (memorandum) , bus
( omnibus) , flu (
influenza)
2.
According to the references
(1)
third-person
pronouns
He sent John to the university
and was eager to have
him
distinguish
himself
.
(2)
demonstrative
pronouns and demonstrative adverbs
Health is above wealth, for
this
cannot give so much
happiness as
that
.
(3)
references of
comparison
I hate blue shirts; white
shirts suit me but gray is
the most
preferable
.
3.
According to the context and
collocation
?
No
context, no translation. e.g.
I’ll
finish
the
book next week.
Tension
is
building up.
?
Each word, when used in a new context,
is a new word.
As luck
would have it
, no one was in the
building when the explosion occurred.
As luck would have it
, there
was rain on the day of the picnic.
The war is
becoming the most important
story
of this generation.
It
is quite another
story
now.
Some reporters who were not included in
the session broke the
story
.
What a
story
! I
don
’t believe a word of it.
The
story
about
him became smaller and by and by faded out from
American TV
.
在这种
情况
下
under such circumstances / such being
the case
这种
情况
必须改变
。
This state of affairs must change.
现在
情况
不同了。
N
ow things are different.
他们的
情况
怎么样？
How do matters stand
with them?
前线有什么
情况
？
How is the situation at the front?
我们可能去那儿，那得看
情况
而定。
We may go there, but that depends.
4.
According to
different branches of learning and specialties
base
:
词根
（
le
xicology
）
本金
（
bu
siness
）
底涂
（
pa
inting
）
基线
（
su
rvey
）
根据地
（
military
science
）
底座
（
ma
chinery
）
底边
（
ma
ths
）
1
The lathe should be set on a firm
base
.
Line AB is the
base
of the triangle ABC.
The
weary troops marched back to the
base
.
?
Techniques of
Translating a Given Word
1.
Deduction
：
to
deduce the original meaning in the light of the
explanation of a dictionary
cybercafé
–
a coffee house that
provides patrons with computer terminals for
browsing the Internet for
a fee
网吧
smart
card
–
electronic
card: a small plastic card containing a microchip
that can store personal data
and bank-
account details
智能卡
win-win
–
beneficial to all in some
way
双赢
上班
上报
上台
上场
上冻
上告
上当
2.
Transplant: to
translate the ingredients of a given English word
literally and then combine each part of
them
blue tooth
microwave
white-collar
supermarket
春节
中秋节
泼水节
火把节
3.
Extension: the
extension of meaning is from the concrete to the
abstract, and vice versa.
1)
from the concrete to the abstract
lick sb’s boots
巴结
eat one’s heart
out
极度悲痛
catch forty
winks
打盹儿
eat like a
bird
吃
得极少
谦虚态度
modesty
发展过程
development
无知的表现
innocence
鸡毛蒜皮
trifling
同情
心理
sympathy
I was practically on my knees but he
still refused.
The matter was finally
settled under the table.
He
earns scarcely enough to keep body and soul
together.
I have no head for music.
这是他们夫妻之间的事，
你去插一脚干吗
?
这消息让我出了一身冷汗。
他毛遂自荐来这所小学当老师。
真正的好朋有应该是雪中送炭。
这些问题盘根错节
,
三言两语说不清楚。
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