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第四章
英汉翻译时词汇的处理
◆
英汉词汇的对应
英语词汇意义在汉语里的对应程度,大致可分为以下几种情况:
(一)
英语中有些词所表示的意义,
在
汉语中可以找到完全对应的词来表达。
这主要是一些
已有通用译
名的专用名词、术语和日常生活中的一些事物的名称。如:
Marxism=
马克思主义
Aspirin=
阿司匹林
The U.S. State
Department
美国国务院
tuberculosis=
结核病
(二)
英语中有些词与汉语中有些词在词义上只有部分对应。<
/p>
它们在意义上概括的范围有广
狭之分。如:
marriage:
娶,嫁
gun:
枪,炮
brother:
兄,弟
morning:
早晨,上午
(三)
< br>英语中有些词所表示的意义,
目前在汉语里还找不到最后确定的对应词来表达。<
/p>
这主
要是英语中一些新词,
包括专用名词
、
术语以及一些反应英美社会特殊风气及事物的
词。
Teenager:
(13
至
1
9
岁的青少年
)
Clockwatcher:
(
老是看钟等下班的人
)
mascon (mass concentration)
(表示月球表层下高密度的)物质聚集
beddo
(一种多用途的)床
overkill
(核弹超过军事目的的)过度杀伤
力(系资产阶级渲染核武器威力了用
语,现又用来表示宣传活动等方面不必要的过度行为
)
plumber
p>
(形成于“五角大楼文件”泄密事件后白宫专门设立的特工机构。
“
plumber
”
原意“铅管工”
p>
,用以指特工,系借用“铅管工”堵漏、防
漏之义
< br>
(四)
英语中有许多词一词多义,
其所表示的各个意义,
分别与汉语中几个不同的词或词组
对
应。
多意词的具体意义,
有时不是从本身看得很清楚,
而要通过这个词在不同语境
下的多次再现才能确定。如:
President:
总统、总裁、主席、董事长、议长、会长、社长、校长……
Carry:
搬、运、送、提、拎、挑、担、背、扛、搂、抱
、端、举、夹、捧……
Cousin:
堂兄、堂弟、堂姐、堂妹、表哥、表姐、表弟、表妹
◆
词义的选择与确定
一般说来,词义的选择应遵循以下几个原则:
(
1
)根据词类
/
词性确定词义;
(
2
)根
据词的搭配习惯确定词义;
(
3
)根据词的使用场合确定词义。
一、根据词
类
/
词性确定词义
< br>有些英语单词具有几种不同的词性,而各种词性的含义之间也没有多少联系。翻译时
应首先确定该词在句中属于哪种词类,语法功能是什么,
然后根据词性来确定其意义。
如:
1
)
Examples help
show exactly what a word
means
.
例证有利于确切地表明一个单词的含义。
2)
It is
mean
to spread gossip about
others.
散布有关他人的流言蜚语是卑鄙的。
3)
Eight hours
is a happy
mean
between too
much sleep and too little.
八小时睡眠正合适,不算太多,也不算太少。
4)
The door must
have blown shut.
门肯定是被风吹得关上了。
5)
The car had
been blown to pieces.
那汽车被炸得粉碎。
6)
They dealt
the enemy a deadly
blow
.
他们给了敌人以致命的打击。
二、根据词的搭配习惯确定词义
英汉
两种语言的搭配习惯不同,而词语的搭配意义往往是灵活多变的。汉译时要对不
同的搭配
做具体的分析,按汉语的搭配习惯处理,切不可以不变应万变。以动词
play
为例:
play
a
joke
开玩笑;
play
basketball
打篮球;
play
chess
下棋;
play
football
踢足球;
play
the part of Hamlet
扮演哈姆雷特;
play
the piano
弹钢琴;
play
the violin
拉小提琴;
play
traunt
逃学
再以
形容词
delicate
为例:
delicate
skin
娇嫩的皮肤
delicate
porcelain
精致的瓷器
delicate
upbringing
娇生惯养
delicate
living
奢侈的生活
delicate
health
虚弱的身体
delicate
stomach
容易吃坏的胃
delicate
vase
容易碰碎的花瓶
delicate
diplomatic question
微妙的外交问题
delicate
difference
讲不清楚的差别
delicate
surgical operation
难做的外科手术
delicate
ear for music
对音乐有鉴赏力
delicate
sense of smell
灵敏的嗅觉
delicate
touch
生花妙笔
delicate
food
美味的食物
三、
根据词的使用场合确定词义
p>
同一个单词用于不同的学科、
专业或场合时其意义往往不同,
翻译时一定要根据原
文的主题内容、
原句的使
用场合来对词义进行分析选择,
才能保证译句的正确。
以
develop
一词为例:
The color TV sets
developed
by our company are
of high quality.
我们公司
研制
的彩色电视机质量上乘。
The aim of
this course is to
develop
the students
’
reading
skills.
这门功课的目的
是
培养
学生的阅读技能。
While in high school, I
developed
an interest in
biology.
我上中学时就
对生物学
产生
了兴趣。
再以
base
一词为例:
The
base
of
the
company
is
in
New
York,
but
its
branches
are
all
over
the
world.
该公司
总部
设在纽约,但它的分公司却遍布全世界。
Our
warship returned to the
base
before dusk.
黄昏前我们的战舰返回了
基地
p>
。
The new invention
was regarded as a
base
of
further development.
这项新发明被看做是进一步发展的
基础
。
Line
AB is the
base
of the
triangle ABC.
线段
AB
是三角形
ABC
的
底边
。
5
)
He is on the
second
base
.
他在二
垒。
6
)
As we all know,
a
base
reacts with an acid
to form a salt.
众所周知,
碱
与酸反应生成盐。
7) The lathe
should be set on a firm
base
.
车床应安装在坚实的
底座
上。
Practice:
将下列汉语译文加以改进,使之更符合汉语的表达习惯。
(1)
We expressed
our gratitude for the outstanding and challenging
speech of Mr. Smith.
我们对史密斯先生杰出而又有挑战性的演说表示感谢。
(2) He put forward some new ideas to
challenge the interest of all concerned.
他提出了一些新见解,挑战有关人士的兴趣。
(3)
None of them
challenge the validity of those resolutions.
没有一个人挑战那些决议的有效性。
(4)
Any man who
was a man could travel alone.
无论是谁,只要是人,就可以单独旅行。
(5)
This was the
last place the explorers would leave, for it lay
riches and natural resources.
这是探险家们最后离
开的地方,因为那里蕴藏着财富和自然资源。
(6)
There is a
definite link between smoking and heart disease
and lung cancer. But this
doesn
’
t
make you
too uncomfortable because you are in good company.
抽烟和心脏病以及肺癌的确有关系。但这并不能使人们感到太大的不舒服,因为你是在<
/p>
一个好的公司里。
(7)
From life to
death is man
’
s reach.
从生到死是人所能达到的。
(8)
The essence
of the mistake was the failure to carry out the
principle.
错误的实质在于执行该原则的失败。
(9)
It is very
necessary for you to have a sound sleep.
你非常需要熟睡。
(10) He
once again imparted to us his great knowledge,
experience and wisdom.
他又一次传授了他渊博的学识、丰富的经验和无穷的智慧。
assignment
:
Put
the following sentences into Chinese.
A.
1.
He was badly wounded in the
head.
2.
You should use your
head
a bit.
3.
He has a god
head
for mathematics.
4.
The dinner
cost us five dollars a
head.
5.
Prick with the
head
of a needle.
6.
He was
standing at the
head
of the
staircase.
7.
Let’s discuss the question under five
heads.
8.
The
head
of his
bed was piled with books.
9.
Present at the meeting were the
heads
of government of the
four countries.
10.
Go and ask the
head
of our department.
11.
Heads
or tails?
12.
Where is the
head?
B
.
1.
This war is becoming the most important
story
of this generation.
2.
It is quite
another
story
now.
3.
Some reporters
who were not included in the session broke the
story
.
4.
He’ll be very
happy if that
story
holds
up.
5.
The Rita
Hayworth
story
is one of the
saddest.
6.
What
a
story
! I don’t believe a
word of it.
7.
Last
December
the
Post
first
reported
that
probes
were
being
made
in
each
of
those cities, but
officials refused to confirm the
story.
8.
The
story
about him became
smaller and by and by faded out from American TV.
◆
英译汉的词语翻译技巧
一、增词
(
amplification
)
英译
汉的增词主要是出于汉语表达的考虑,用增词法译出原文所省略的词语,增添必要
的连接
词、量词或复数概念,或从修辞连贯方面考虑,使译文符合汉语习惯表达法。
【译例】
1.
We can imagine
what a world without water would be like.
< br>我们可以想象没有水的世界是个什么
样子
。
(增译名词)
2.
The latest type of TVR system is light,
inexpensive and easy to manipulate.
这种最
新型电视录像装置
重量
轻、
价格
便宜、操作简便。
(增译名词)
3.
Atomic cells
are very small and very light as compared to
ordinary dry cells.
与普通干电池相比,原子电池的
体积
非常小,
重量
非常轻
。
(增译名词)
4.
All matter is
known to possess weight.
大家
知
道,所有物质都具有重量。
(增译出行为的发出者)
5.
In the past,
it was generally believed that the earth was flat.
过去
人们
大都认为地球是平的。
(增译出行为的发出者)
6.
Mary hates to
be treated as a child. She thinks herself a grown-
up.
玛丽讨厌
别人
拿她当小孩子看
待。
她觉得自己长大了。
(增译非谓语动词的行为发出
者)
7.
The computers you ordered will be
delivered in a day or two.
您所订的
< br>那些
计算机将于一两日内交货。
(增译表示复数的词语)
8.
This
report
summed
up
the
new
achievements
made
in
our
economy,
culture
and
education.
这份
报告总结了我们在经济、
教育和文化
三方面
所取得的成就。
(增译表示复数的词
语)
< br>
9.
Speed and
reliability are the chief advantages of the
electronic computers.
速度
快
、可靠性
强
是电子计算机的主要特点。
(增译形容词)
10.
The United
States of America has been a melting pot ever
since its beginning.
美国自建国以来一直就是个民族的大熔炉
。
(增译形容词)
11.
After the
football match, the players all shook hands with
each other.
足球比赛
结束
后,队员们互相握手。
(增译动词)
12.
He could see
that she had been patient all her life, so that
now, after years of it, her lips
were
in a gentle and saintly smile.
他看得出,她一生
都很有耐心。因此现在,在经过多年的忍耐之后,她的嘴边总是
挂着
一丝温柔、圣洁的微笑。
(增译动词)
13.
Take an
umbrella with you in case it rains.
带上<
/p>
把
雨伞,免得下雨挨淋。
(增译量词)<
/p>
14.
We
saw two cars running towards us.
我们看见有两
辆
汽车朝我们驶来。
(增译量词)
p>
15.
The
fox stopped, looked around and then sneaked into
the yard.
那狐狸停住脚,向四周望了
一下
,然后便悄悄地溜进了院子。
(增译量词)
16.
Remember that
science requires the efforts of a lifetime.
要
记住,科学需要人们付出毕生精力。
(增译语气助
词)
17.
Be
careful
in
making
a
chemical
porary
natural
sciences
are
now
working for new important breakthrough.
做化学试验时
一定要
多加小心。
(增译语气助词)
18.
We can learn
what we did not know.
我们能学会我们
原来
不懂的东西。
(增加表示时态的词)
19.
Censorship
has been in force since early in World War II.
审查制度从第二次世界大战初期
一直
实行
p>
到现在
。
(增加表示时态的词)
20.
English prose is elaborate rather than
simple. It was not always so.
现今
英国散文华巧而非简朴,
过去
却并非如此。
(增加表示时态的词)
21.
Had there
been no computers, there would have been no
artificial satellites or rockets.
假如
没有计算机的话,
便
不可能有人造地球卫星和
火箭。
(增加状语类的词语)
22.
Should it
rain tomorrow, the meeting would be cancelled.
万一
明天下雨,会议
就
延期。
(增加状语类的词语)
23.
Be the shape
of a body complicated, it is possible to find out
its volume.
无论
物体的形状多么复杂,也能够求
出它的体积。
(增加状语类的词语)
24.
Matter can be
changed into energy, and energy into matter.
物质可以转化为能量,能量也
可以转化
为物质。<
/p>
(增加原文中省略的词语)
25.
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,写作
使人
严谨。
(增
加原文中省略的词语)
26.
If we permit our economy to drift and
deline, the vulnerable will suffer most.