一 省略 省略法是指在翻译中,原文中有些词在译文中可以省略不必译出。译文中虽然没有这个词但已具有了原文这个词所表达的意思。省略目的在于使译文更加通顺流畅,更符合译文习惯。需要注意,省略不是把原文的某些思想内容删去,省略不能改变原文的意义。 1. 人称代词省略 a. He was thin and haggard and he looked miserable. 他瘦弱憔悴,看上去一副可怜相。 b. We live and learn. (泛指人称代词省略) 活到老,学到老。 c. When will he arrive?—You can never tell. 他什么时候到?——说不准。 2. 省略连接词和动词 汉语词语之间连接词用得不多,其上下逻辑关系常常是暗含的,由词语的次序来表示。英语则不然,连接词用得比较多。因此,英译汉时在很多情况下可不必把连接词译出来。 a. He looked gloomy and troubled. 他看上去有些忧愁不安。(省略并列连接词) b. As it is late, you had better go home. 时间不早了,你最好回家去吧。(省略表示原因的连接词) c. If winter comes, can spring be far behind? 冬天来了,春天还会远吗?(省略表示条件的连接词) d. When the pressure gets low, the boiling-point becomes low. 气压低,沸点就低。 3根据汉语习惯,译文中可以省略一些可有可无的词。 a. There was no snow, the leaves were gone from the trees, the grass was dead. 没有下雪,但叶落草枯。(此句如果译成“...树叶从树上落下来,草也枯萎了”就嫌累赘。) b. There is no month in the whole year, in which nature wears a more beautiful appearance than in the month of August. 一年之中,大自然的美景莫过于八月金秋。 例:1997.09真题: 著名物理学家杨振宁教授曾说: “高科技战场是中国超越发达国家的主战场,也是最后的战场。” Professor Yang Zhenning, a famous physicist, once said, “The high-tech battlefield is the main and the last battlefield for China to overtake the developed countries.” 再例: To use microwave communication has many advantages, for example, the capacity is large, the quality for secrecy is better, and the cost is low. 采用微波通讯工具有容量大、保密性强、成本底等优点。 二 合并 同切分相反,有时我们需要合并语言成分,因为这样符合中文习惯,更加顺畅;一般说来,英语句子要比汉语句子长,英译汉时切分用得较多;但是较口语化的英语句子也比较短,英译汉时有时也得用合并。合并常见情况: 1. The inauguration took place on a bright, cold, and windy day. 就职典礼那天天气晴朗,寒风凛冽。 2. She is intelligent, ambitious and hard-working. She is also good at solving problems.
她很有才智、雄心勃勃、工作努力,还善于解决问题。 3. His eyes were triumphantly cold. There was no light in them, no feeling, no interest. 他的目光傲慢冷酷,呆痴无光,淡漠无情。 4. The book is so lovely that I was simply taken away. 这本书真叫人爱不释手。 1998年9月真题: With 140 million listeners across the globe, broadcasting in 44 languages, heard on short-wave, medium-wave, FM and satellite. 拥有1.4 亿听众,可以通过短波、中波、调频和卫星收听以44种语言广播的节目。 三 同位语从句处理 同定语从句翻译比较相似,注意区分that引导的定语从句和同位语从句。其一,同位语从句与先行词是相等的关系,定语从句与先行词是修饰的关系。 比较: a. He heard the news that his team had won.(the news=his team had won, that引导同位语从句) 他听到他们队获胜的消息。 b. It is a question that needs very careful consideration.(that从句修饰名词question,所以是定语从句) 这是一个需要认真考虑的问题。 其二:同位语从句中that只是一个连词,而在定语从句中,则充当句子成分。 例: a. The fact that the prisoner was guilty was plain to everybody. 这个犯人有罪的事实大家都很清楚。(that不充当句子的任何成分,所以引导同位语从句) b. The news that appeared in the paper this morning was well received. (that充当从句的主语,所以引导定语从句) 今天早晨报纸上刊登的消息引起了很大的反响。 其二,充当定语从句先行词的名词是无限的,而充当同位语从句先行词的名词是有限的。一些表示概括意义的抽象名词:assumption, fact, idea, news, belief, message, proposal, proposition, evidence, proof, possibility, suggestion, feeling等。 例: a. Obviously there was little probability that they would succeed, but they didn't mind. 很显然,他们成功的可能性极小,但是他们不在意。 b. I have a feeling that our team is going to win.(同位语从句) 我有一种感觉,那就是我们的球队将取胜。 c. We'll be there tomorrow on the assumption that it doesn't rain.(同位语从句) 假如不下雨,我们明天就去那里。 翻译时,如果同位语从句较简单,一般采用合译,that不用翻译出来;如较为复杂,则采取拆译,这时that经常译成“即”、“那就是”之类的词,或使用冒号、破折号之类的标点;有时则根据具体的用词译成状语从句。 1.先翻译从句,即从句前置 This is a universally accepted principle of international law that the territory sovereignty doesn’t’ admit of infringement. 一个国家的领土不容侵犯,这是国际法中尽人皆知的准则。 练: a. It does not alter the fact that he is the man responsible for the delay. b. But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well as without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory. 2. 拆分法 Canada has long subscribed to the view that no state should use its territory or allow it to be used in such a way as to injure the environment of another state or of the "international commons". 长期以来,加拿大一直认为,任何国家都不应该用自己的领土或允许别国利用其领土来破坏另一个国家或"国际社会"的环境。 3.增加“即”(或“以为”)或用冒号、破折号分开 But considered realistically, we had to face the fact that our prospects were less than good. 但是现实地考虑一下,我们不得不正视这样的事实:我们的前景并不妙。 1999.3真题: The appealing image of Japan the victim has no room for the underside of Japan the aggressor. 日本作为战争的受害者,形象很感人,从而掩盖了其侵略者的一面. 练习: But the idea that the journalist must understand the law more profoundly than an ordinary citizen rests on an understanding of the established conventions and special responsibilities of the news media. 但是,新闻工作者对于法律的理解应该比普通公民更加深刻,这个观点是在对于新闻媒体的既定规范和特殊的社会责任有深刻认识的基础之上建立的。
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