英汉翻译学习Lesson2.doc

Lesson 2 Paradoxes(似非而是的论点, 自相矛盾的话) of TranslatingActivity 1 QuizTask 1 Translation from English to Chinese1. John is now with his parents in New York City; it is already three years since he was a bandmaster. (grammar: since从句中的过去式联系动词was 或were 是一种状态的结束。注意：主句用 一般现在时)约翰现同父母住在纽约市；他不担任乐队指挥已三年了。2 John can be relied on. He eats no fish and plays the game. (注意短语用法)约翰为人可靠，他既忠诚又正直。3Dont cross the bridge till you get to it.不必担心太早。（不必自寻烦恼。）4Do you see any green in my eye? 你以为我是好欺骗的吗？5Theres no pot so ugly it cant find a lid. 罐儿再丑，配个盖子不发愁。（姑娘无论多么丑也能配个汉子。）Task 2 Translation from Chinese into English1. “武装到牙齿”（armed to the teeth）“象牙塔”（ivory tower）趁热打铁（strike while the iron is hot）“血浓于水”（Blood is thicker than water）2. 不愛紅妝愛武裝 .To face the powder and not to powder the face.3. “情人眼中出西施” Beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder4. 一日之计在于晨 An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. 5. 無邊落木蕭蕭下 不見長江滾滾來The boundless forest sheds its leaves shower by showerThe endless rivers rolls its waves hour after hourActivity 2 Questions1. Could you write down the difficulties that you have come across when doing translation? (5mins) 2. The following 4 questions are mainly based on Eugene A. Nida (1993). Please think over the questions below and write down your understandings.(1) Translating is a complex and fascinating task. In fact, some scholars have claimed that it is probably the most complex type of event in the history of the cosmos(宇宙). And yet, translating is so natural and easy that children seem to have no difficulty in interpreting for their immigrant parents. These children normally do very well until they have gone to school and have learned about nouns, verbs, and adverbs. Why?Answer: Because they then try to match the words and grammar rather than the content.(2) Most people assume(vt.假定, 设想, 采取, 呈现) that literalness(n.文字的, 表面意义上的, 无修饰的) in translating means faithfulness to the text. Because of the many discrepancies (n.相差, 差异, 矛盾)between meanings and structures of different languages, some people have insisted that translating is impossible. What do you think?Answer: Those who insist that translating is impossible are usually concerned with some of the more marginal(adj.记在页边的, 边缘的, 边际的) features of figurative (adj.比喻的, 修饰丰富的, 形容多的) language and complex poetic structures. The use of figurative language is universal(adj.普遍的, 全体的, 通用的, 宇宙的, 世界的), but the precise figures of speech in one language rarely match those in another. Yet translating is simply doing the impossible well. In fact, though some famous authors insist that translating is impossible, they do not hesitate to have their own writing translated.(3) What do you think of the view that paraphrase(explanation) should be avoided in translating?Answer: In fact, all translating involves different degrees of paraphrase, since there is no way in which one can successfully translate word for word and structure for structure. For example, the Chinese saying 他下海了is literally “He went down to the sea”, but is more appropriately translated as “He became a businessman”. Since languages do not differ essentially in what they can say, but in how they say it, paraphrase is inevitable. What is important is the semantic(语义的) legitimacy (n.合法(性), 正统(性), 正确(性), 合理(性) of the paraphrase.(4) There is a widespread( adj.分布广泛的, 普遍的) view that a translator should first produce a more or less literal rendering(translating) of the source text(source text源程序正文) and then proceed to improve it stylistically(adv.在文体上). Do you agree?Answer: Style is not the frosting on the cake(蛋糕上的糖霜), but an integral part（integral part主要的部分）of the text right from the beginning. It must be built into the text right from the beginning. It is usually better to aim first at a stylistically satisfactory rendering of the source text and then review it carefully to “tighten it up” by analyzing and testing the correspondences（n.相应, 通信, 信件）. A few errors in the correspondences of lexical meaning are much more excusable （adj.可原谅的, 可容许的, 言之有理的, 可免除的）than missing the spirit and aesthetic （adj.美学的, 审美的, 有审美感的）character of the source text. (Now how did you feel after going through the above 4 questions? You might feel a bit disappointed for there seems to be nothing particularly exotic and exciting in Nidas saying. At the same time, you might also feel a bit confused, for the above 4 questions do not present a very clear and well-organized picture of translation. Well, do not worry too much at this stage. In the rest of the book, we shall take a closer look at the nature and the procedures of translation. Our focus, however, will be on introducing some useful translation skills and on practicing translating ourselves. We shall also spend some time examining those language points on which English and Chinese differ, hence are difficult to deal with in translation. One such point is presented in Activity 3 below.)Activity 3 Language Differ: Differences in LexiconsSince translation theories and skills are both built upon the differences and similarities between the source language and the target language, in each chapter of this course, we shall examine one or two language points on which English and Chinese differ. First of all, Chinese and English show a lot of discrepancies in their lexicons, especially in word meanings and word combinations.Task 1 Words sharing the same designative（指定的） and associative （adj. 联想的）meaningsSome English words and their Chinese counterparts share exactly the same designative and associative meanings. These are mainly some proper names, technical terms and the names of some everyday objects.Can you give their Chinese equivalents?The U.S. State Department 美国国务院Cognitive linguistics 认知语言学The Indian Ocean 印度洋AIDS 艾滋病Helicopter 直升飞机Skyscraper 摩天大楼Now please list 5 English examples and their Chinese counterparts and 5 Chinese examples and their English counterparts in the space provided below. Discuss with your partner if all the examples you list indeed share the same meanings and the same connotations（内涵） with their counterparts in the target language.List AList BTask 2 Words Not Sharing the Same MeaningsWhen you were thinking of your own examples for Task 1, you might already notice that many English words and their seeming （adj.表面上的）Chinese counterparts do not really share exactly the same meanings or connotations. (1) Is the following translation version provided the only possible one? If not, can you offer other versions?Brother哥 弟Mother-in-law岳母 婆婆Grandparents祖父母 外祖父母Aunt姑 姨、婶、Uncle叔 伯、舅(2) Now can you think of your own English and Chinese examples? If yes, please write them down in the space provided below. You may have a brainstorming （自由讨论，智力爆发）with your partners if you happen to get stuck on your own.Task 3 English Words with More Than One MeaningAs learners of English, we are familiar with the fact that most English words have more than one meaning depending on different context. When translating into Chinese, these different meanings are usually matched with different Chinese words rather than with one Chinese word.A. To take “hard” as an example, can you translate the following phrases into Chinese?1. hard rocks 坚硬的岩石2. a hard blue 一种刺目(眼)的蓝色3. hard drugs 烈性毒品4. hard sounds 清音5. hard currency 硬通货6. hard water 水质较硬的水7. hard evidence 确凿的证据(铁证)8. a hard winter 一个严寒的冬天(严冬)9. hard times 艰难岁月10. hard on somebody 对某人很严厉11. a hard smile (一个)冷酷的微笑12. think hard 认真地思考13. hard work 辛苦的工作14. a hard question (一个)难回答的问题B. Look at the meanings of man1. man and his wife 丈夫和妻子2. officers and men 官和兵3. his man Friday 他的仆人礼拜五（丹尼尔笛福鲁滨逊漂流记）4. man-of-war 军舰5. Be a man! 要像个男子汉C. sophisticated1. sophisticated man 老于世故的人2. sophisticated woman 狡黠的女子3. sophisticated columnist 老练的专栏作家，资深专栏作家4. sophisticated electronic device 高度精密的电子装置5. sophisticated weapon 尖端武器D. run1. run to seed 花谢结子不修边幅丧失活力破旧不堪2. run the streets 流浪街头3. run a hare 追捕野兔追捕坐车不买票的人4. run ones eyes down a list 匆匆看一下单子5. run ones head into a wall 撞南墙；碰壁6. the machine runs well 机器运转良好7. the river runs east 河水流向东方（大江东流去）8. the news runs rapidly in the town 这个消息迅速在镇上传开Task 4 Chinese Words with More Than One MeaningYou might already be saying to yourselves “Well, English is not alone in giving one word many different meanings. Chinese is even more extreme in this respect.” You are certainly justified（v.证明.是正当的）in thinking that way.To take a very simple word下as an example. Can you translate the following into English?1 下班 get off work/ knock off2 下半辈子 the later half of ones life3 下策 an unwise decision/ a stupid move4 下厨房 go to the kitchen (to prepare a meal)5 下蛋 lay eggs6 下饭 go well with rice7 下岗 go off sentry（卫兵，岗哨） duty8 下课 finish class/ the class is over9 下列 listed below10 下坡路 a downhill path11 下棋 play chess12 下属 subordinate13 下乡 go to the countryside14 下旬 the last ten-day period of a month15 下意识 sub-consciousnessTask 5 Co-occurrence with Other Words:Many English words and their Chinese counterparts also show a lot of differences in their combinations with other words. To take “play” as an example, to play basketball is 打篮球, to play football is踢足球 , and to play the piano is弹钢琴 .Now please try to translate the following sentences into Chinese, paying special attention to the italicized parts.1. He wore a pair of dark glasses and a thick grey overcoat.他戴一副墨镜，穿一件厚厚的灰外套。2. I just had a glass of milk and a piece of bread for my breakfast this morning. I got up late.今天早上我只喝了一杯牛奶，吃了一片面包。我起晚了。3. He was a good Christian, a good father, a good husband, and a good employee.他是虔诚的教徒，慈爱的父亲，尽职的丈夫，优秀的员工。4. During the one week we stayed in HK, we got into the streets, shops, parks, theatres and restaurants.我们在香港的那一个星期，遛大街，逛商店，游公园，上剧场，下饭馆。5. As student of his, we have all benefited a lot from his great knowledge, experience, wisdom and humor. 作为他的学生，我们(都)从他广博的学识、丰富的经验、卓越的智慧和诙谐的幽默中受益匪浅。I would like to draw your attention once again to the five sentences youve just translated. In English, you can wear glasses and coats, but in Chinese you can only戴眼镜,穿衣服. In English, you can have your milk and bread, but in Chinese you can only 喝牛奶,吃面包. Different verbs go with different nouns and Chinese and English do not always match in this respect. This is a point worth bearing in mind.Activity 4 A Passage for Practice (6 students a group- hand in the translation before class is over) (154words)（Discuss about the translation next time）When we look at the difference between some of the other Wireless Application computing models that are out there, we can quickly see some benefits that we can accomplish by using J2ME.First of all, we look at thin Client Applications（ client applications计 客户应用程序）.Thin Client Applications are the Wireless Internet Applications （internet applications Internet计应用软件）, browser-based applications using WML, HDML, XHTML, HTML itself, different markup languages that are delivered to a browser in an online only fashion.These sets of applications typically will only work for you when you do have a constant network connection, you lose that network connection, you no longer can use the application, and that can be very problematic.The J2ME platform along with J2EE-that combination allow us to develop Smart Client Applications, applications that can work in connected or disconnected modes, and from the end-user perspective that is a very powerful combination.It goes well beyond what we can accomplish or just Web browsing.Activity 5 For your enjoyment老子道德经汉译选1).知人者智， 自知者明。 胜人者有力， 自胜者强。 知足者富， 强行者有志， 不失其所者久， 死而不亡者寿。He who knows others is wise;He who knows himself is clever;He who conquers others is forceful; He who knows contentment is rich;He who perseveres is a man of will;He who does not lose his root can endure;He whose Tao survives him is long-lived.2).知不知， 尚矣； 不知知， 病也。 夫惟病病， 是以不病。 圣人不病， 以其病病， 是以不病。Knowing ones ignorance of certain knowledge is the best attitude;Not knowing certain knowledge yet pretending to know is a bad attitude.