英汉翻译学习Lesson3.doc

Lesson 3 Paradoxes of Translation (continued)Activity 1 QuizTask 1 Translation from Chinese to English1. soft money(纸币) soft answer (温和委婉的回答) soft goods（毛织品） soft heart（易感动之心，慈心）a hard blue （一种刺目(眼)的兰色） hard evidence（确凿的证据/铁证）sophisticated electronic device （高度精密的电子装置） run to seed不修边幅2. Did you at least total the guy that hit you?对那个揍你的家伙，你至少已经向他报复了吧？Some Americans pop across the border simply to fuel up on flavorful Mexican food and beer.一些美国人越过国境，只是为了吃点可口的墨西哥食物，喝点墨西哥啤酒。But his attack was always repulsed by a kick or a blow from a stick.但是他每冲一次，不是让人一脚踢了回去，就是让人一棍子打了回去。At this stage there is only soft intelligence about the enemy intention. We should not shoot him from the hip.在目前，关于敌人的意图还只有不太充分的情报，我们不能卤莽行事。Task 2 Translation from English to Chinese1 下策(an unwise decision/ a stupid move) 下旬(the last ten-day period of a month)上当to be taken in 上相to come out well in a photograph; to be photogenic上任to take up an official post 上台to come to power （女孩子写给男友的）绝交信 a “Dear John” letter 表扬信（客人对于受到款待的感谢信）a bread and butter letter 2. 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 conquers himself is strong. 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.Activity 2 Questions based on Eugene Nida.1. For many people the need for human translators seem paradoxical in this age of computers. Since modern computers can be loaded with dictionaries and grammars, why not let computers do the work?(1)Computers can perform certain very simple tasks, providing (conj.倘若) there is sufficient pre-editing and post-editing. (2) But the results of machine translating are usually in an unnatural form of language and sometimes just plain weird (adj.怪异的). (3) The human brain is not only digital and analogic (adj.类似的, 类推的), but it also has a built-in system of values which gives it an incalculable advantage over machines. Human translators will always be necessary for any text which is stylistically appealing and semantically complexwhich includes most of what is worth communicating in another language.2. In your view, what type of texts are the most difficult to translate?You might think that the most difficult texts to translate are highly literary productions. However, those texts which say nothing, i.e. the type of language often used by politicians and delegates to international forums (论坛,讨论会), prove to be more difficult to deal with than literary writings. At least this is what a group of professional translators at the United Nations headquarters in New York have insisted. The next most difficult type of text is one filled with irony or sarcasm. 3. Some people imagine that the greatest problem in translating is to find the right words and constructions in the target language. What do you think?The most difficult task for the translator is to understand thoroughly the designative and associative meanings of the text to be translated. This involves not only knowing the meanings of the words and the syntactic relations, but also being sensitive to all the nuances (n.细微差别) of the stylistic devices. As one struggling (adj.奋斗的, 努力的, 苦斗的) translator summed up his problems, “If I really understood what the text meant, I could easily translate it.”4. Do you think that a person who knows two languages well can be a good translator or interpreter?Knowing two languages is not enough. It is also essential to be acquainted (adj.有知识的, 知晓的) with the respective (adj.分别的, 各自的) cultures.Activity 3 Translation Skill: Changing the Positions of Some PhrasesDuring last class, we took a look at one point on which Chinese and English differ, namely the meanings and connotations of some words. We have also had a taste of the impact this difference has on translating between the two languages. Since Chinese and English belong to two different language families and present a lot of differences in their grammar, lexicon, discourse structure, etc., one of the problems we cant avoid while translating is how to make the translated version sound as smooth and natural as possible. To achieve this, there are certain translation skills we can follow. In this activity, we examine one such skill, namely “ change the positions of some particular phrases”. Task 1 Comparing the two versionsEach of the following five English sentences has two versions of Chinese translation. Which do you think sounds more natural（B）? And why? Your attention is called to the positions of the italicized parts.1. Not having children after getting married is not yet widely acceptable in a family-oriented society.A 不要孩子，在结婚以后，尚未普遍被人接受，在一个注重家庭的社会中。B 婚后不要孩子在一个注重家庭的社会中尚未普遍被人接受。2. In Hong Kong, many pop song singers become famous overnight after singing only one song.A 在香港，很多流行歌星一夜成名，在唱了一首歌之后。B 在香港，很多流行歌星仅唱了一首歌就一夜成名。 3. The mild capitalism emerging in Eastern Europe is a far cry( far cry n.长距离) from the free-market economics practiced in the West.A 温和的资本主义正出现在东欧，与西方实行的自由市场经济相距甚远。B 东欧正在出现的温和的资本主义，与西方实行的自由市场经济相距甚远。4. About 1840, a canal was constructed across the meadows of the farm.A 大约在1840年，一条运河被开，横穿农场的草地。B 大约在1840年，开凿了一条横穿农场草地的运河。5. Cheerful, efficient and warm-hearted, they will do everything to make your journey smooth and comfortable.A 愉快，能干，热情，他们会想方设法使你的旅途顺利舒适。B 他们愉快、能干、热情，会想方设法使你一路上顺利舒适。Now can you look back at the above five English sentences and their italicized parts and summarize what kind of phrases tend to be moved during translation? Please write down your answers in the space provided below.1. phrases indicating time2. phrases indicating condition3. present participle phrases as attributives4. subjects of passive structures5. inverted parts of inverted sentencesTask 2 Translating Chinese into EnglishThe skill we introduced in the above task is also quite often used when translating Chinese sentences into English.Look at the following four sentences and their translations. Can you improve on the translation? Again pay special attention to the positions of the italicized parts.1. 在那次爆炸之后，这道城墙开始出现许多裂痕。After that explosion, the city wall began to appear many cracks.(Many cracks began to appear on the city wall after that explosion.)2. 在这种时候发生了这样不幸的事不是你的错。That such an unfortunate thing happened at such a time is not your fault.(Its not your fault that such an unfortunate thing happened at such a time.)3. 物体越小，地心引力(gravity)对它的作用就越小，重量也就越轻。When the object is small, the pull of gravity( pull of gravity重力)has little impact on it, hence the weight is light.(The smaller the thing the less the pull of gravity on it and the less the weight.)4. 她每天早上在她的小书房里教我们学法语。She every morning in her small study teaches us French. (She teaches us French in her small study every morning.)Now can you summarize what kind of Chinese phrases often get moved while translating? Please write down your answers in the space provided below.1. non-animate(living)（无生命的） objects used as subjects2. long subject clauses3. special sentence structures like 越越4. phrases indicating time5. phrases indicating placeActivity 4 Translating skill: Changing Words or Phrases into SentencesIn Activity 3, we practiced a translation skill called “changing the positions of some particular phrases”. Now we move on to another translation skill. When translating English into Chinese, we frequently come across some adverbs or adjectives or nouns which are very difficult to deal with. In order to convey their meanings, we have to paraphrase them using a sentence. This is called “changing words into sentences”.Task 1 Filling in the Blanks Go through the following sentences and their translations. The italicized word of each sentence has been left for you to translate. Can you fill in the blanks with an acceptable translation? An example is given in the first one, where the italicized word justifiably is presented as a short sentence in the Chinese version.1. The Chinese are justifiably proud of their economic achievements in recent years.中国人为他们近几年来在经济上取得的成就而自豪，这是理所应当的。2. Incidentally, I hope I can make a trip to the Great Wall during my stay in Beijing.顺便提一下，我希望在北京期间能去一趟长城。3. They, not surprisingly, did not take any action at all.他们根本没有采取任何行动，这是不足为奇的。4. He talked with understandable pride of his daughters achievements.他骄傲地谈起女儿的成就，这是可以理解的。5. As a secret training base, this small town in the desert was an excellent site, its remoteness effectively masking its activity.作为秘密训练基地，这座沙漠小城是个理想的地方。它地处边陲，人们不易了解其中的活动。6. He remained silent and his eyes were wide, then narrowed in disdain.他没有说话，双目睁得圆圆的，接着又眯成一条线，露出了轻蔑的神色。Task 2 Filling in the blanksSometimes we also have to translate a noun phrase, or a preposition phrase, or a particular phrase, etc. as a separate sentence of itself. This is called “changing phrases into sentences”.Now try the following sentences. As in Task 1, only the italicized phrase staring at the teapot on the table is presented as a sentence in the Chinese version.1. She sat with her hands cupping（put into the shape of a cup） her chin, staring at the teapot on the table.她双手拖腮坐在那儿，眼睛盯着桌上的茶壶。2. Sunrays filtered in, driving out darkness and choking the shadows.阳光照了进来，赶走了黑暗，驱散了阴影。3. I wrote three chapters in the first week, a speed which amazed my supervisor.我第一个星期就完成了三章，速度之快令我的导师感到惊讶。4. The earth moves around the sun and the moon around the earth, a universally accepted fact.地球围绕太阳转，月亮围绕地球转，这是一个公认的事实。5. Their power increased with their number.他们人数增加了，力量也随之增强。6. He arrived in Beijing with his delegates at a ripe moment internationally.他和代表团来到北京，就国际形式来说时机正合适。Activity 5 For your enjoymentThe following is an excerpt from Helen Kellers autobiography “The Story of My Life”.On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant. I guessed vaguely from my mothers signs and from the hurrying to and fro in the house that something unusually was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun penetrated the mass of honeysuckle (n.植忍冬, 金银花) that covered the porch, and fell on my upturned(adj.朝上的, 翻过来的) face. My fingers lingered (v.逗留, 闲荡, 拖延, 游移) almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms (n.花(尤指结果实者), 花开的状态, 兴旺期vi.开花, 兴旺, 发展) which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what the future held of marvel (n.奇迹v.大为惊异, 觉得惊奇) or surprise for me. Anger and bitterness had preyed (n.被掠食者, 牺牲者, 掠食vi.捕食, 掠夺, 折磨) upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor (n.衰弱无力) had succeeded this passionate (adj.充满热情的) struggle.(Let me remind you that the translated version provided below is only for your reference. It is by no means the correct translation. If you think yours is better than mine, good, then stick to your own.) 那个不寻常的下午，我一声不响，怀着期待的心情站在门廊里。从母亲的手势和屋内人们匆匆的走动中，我模模糊糊地预感到有什么特别的事就要发生了。我来到门口，站在台阶上等着。午后的阳光透过门廊上覆盖着的一层厚厚的忍冬，照在我仰起的脸上。我的手指几乎是无意识地停留在我所熟悉的叶片和花朵上，这刚刚绽出的叶片和花朵迎来了芬芳的南方的春天。不知今后等待着我的是欣喜还是惊骇。几个星期以来，愤怒和痛苦缠绕着我，这种感情上的激烈斗争过去之后，继之而来的是深深的疲惫。念奴娇 赤壁怀古(宋) 苏轼大江东去，浪淘尽千古风流人物。故垒西边，人道是三国周郎赤壁。乱石崩云，惊涛裂岸，卷起千堆雪。江山如画，一时多少豪杰。遥想公瑾当年，小乔初嫁了，雄姿英发。羽扇纶巾，谈笑间，强虏灰飞烟灭。故国神游，多情应笑我，早生华发。人生如梦，一樽还酹江月。Memories of the Past at Red CliffEast flows the mighty river,Sweeping away the heroes of time past;This ancient rampart on its western shoreIs Zhou Yus Red Cliff of Three Kingdoms fame;Here jagged boulders pound the clouds,Huge waves tear banks apart,And foam piles up a thousand drifts of snow;A scene fair as a painting,Countless the brave men here in time gone by!