否定句的译法.doc

否定句的译法 英语中否定含义的表达形式多种多样，其中有些表达方式与汉语的表达方式完全不同。由于英汉两种语言在表达否定概念时使用的词汇手段、语法手段以及语言逻辑方面存在差异，在英译汉时往往需要做正反处理。就词汇而言，英语中表示否定的词比汉语多，有名词、代词、动词、形容词、副词、介词、连词等；从意义上分类有全部否定、部分否定、含蓄否定、否定转移、特殊结构等。其形式相当繁杂，归纳如下： 7.1 全部否定(Absolute Negation) 全部否定用“全部否定词+肯定式谓语”表示，其否定范围自否定词起一直延续到句末。如： 例1. As we know, electricity can not be conducted by means of insulation. 我们知道，电不能靠绝缘体来传导。例2. China of today is not what it was thirty years ago. 今天的中国已经不是30年前的中国了。例3. The book was nowhere to be found. 这本书到哪里也找不着了。例4. I found none of the things that I was looking for. 我要找的东西，一样都没有找到。例5. Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. 世上无难事，只怕有心人。 7.2 部分否定(Partial Negation) 英语中表示“全体”意义的代词(如：all, both, everybody, everyone, everything)和表示“全体”意义的副词(如：altogether, always, entirely, everywhere, wholly)与not连用时，均表示“不都”、“并非都”等部分否定意义，这种句型不同于汉语的思维方式，不要误会作全部否定。如： 例1. Not all the answers are right. 并非所有的答案都是正确的。例2. All is not gold that glitters. 闪光的东西并不都是金子。例3. I do not know all of them. 对于他们我不是个个都认识。例4. I dont know everything about her. 关于她的事我不全知道。例5. Such a thing is not found everywhere. 这样的事情并非什么地方都有。例6. Im not altogether satisfied. 我并不完全满意。例7. A great scholar is not always a very wise man. 大学者未必一定是极聪明的人。例8. I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure. 您认为我那短短的讲话还不是彻底失败，我感到十分高兴。 7.3 半否定(Semi-Negation) 半否定也称准否定(Quasi-Negation)，它在否定中持一丝保留，没把话说绝。半否定词有scarcely(几乎不)、barely(几乎没有)、few(不多的，几乎没有的)、hardly(几乎不，简直不)、little(不多的，毫不)、rarely(很少，难得)、seldom(很少)。这些词与谓语动词肯定式连用，构成半否定句。如： 例1. He had barely rested when he was called out again. 他再次被人唤走时，几乎还没有休息。例2. They are very few in number. 他们的数量很少。例3. On hearing the news, one could hardly believe his ears. 听到这个消息，人们简直不相信自己的耳朵。例4. He slept little last night because of the pain. 由于疼痛，他昨夜几乎没睡。例5. Little remains to be said. 简直没有什么可说的了。 7.4 特指否定(Special Negation) 否定谓语动词称为一般否定(General Negation)，否定非谓语成分(即除谓语以外的其他成分，否定的仅是一个方面)称为特指否定或局部否定(Local Negation)。如： 例1. They are allowed not to go swimming. 允许他们不去游泳。例2. You should pay attention not to what they say but to what they do. 你应当注意的不是他们说什么而是他们做什么。例3. They want not your pity but your help. 他们要的不是你的怜悯，而是你的帮助。例4. He came to work not by bus, but on foot. 他不是坐车，而是步行上班的。 特指否定可以用下列结构表达。这些结构可构成寓否定意义于肯定形式的英语句子，可译为汉语的否定行文。如： 1) too.to (太不能)例1. Hes too much of a coward to do that. 他太怯懦了，干不了那件事。例2. Instances are too numerous to list. 例子多得举不胜举。2) more A than B (与其B不如A)或more than + 含有can (could)的从句例3. He is more brave than wise. 他有勇无谋。例4. My gratitude for your help is more than I can express. 对于你给我帮助的感激之情我无法表达。例5. This house is more like a school than a church. 这所房子与其说像教堂，不如说像学校。3) 比较级 + than + 不定式(不至于做)例6. You should know better than to play football in the classroom. 你应懂得不该在教室里踢足球。例7. He was wiser than to have done such a thing. 他不至于愚蠢得竟然做出这样的事情。4) 连词or、before、unless在具体语境中表达特指否定意义例8. Give me liberty or give me death. 与其不自由，不如就去死。(不自由毋宁死。)例9. Hed die of hunger before he would steal. 他宁愿饿死不愿偷窃。例10. She desired no one for husband before him. 她非他不嫁。例11. He slipped out before the meeting started. 会议还没开始，他就悄悄地溜出去了。例12. Unless you put on your overcoat, youll catch a cold. 如果你不穿大衣，就会着凉。 7.5 双重否定(Double Negation) 双重否定是用否定副词not加否定意义的词构成的。not的作用是把后面一个词语中已有的否定含义颠倒过来，形成“否定+否定=肯定”的语言效果，这种双重否定可译成汉语的肯定行文，有些是表示加强语气，有些是委婉的表达法。如： 例1. I have brought back your man not without risk and danger. 我已经把你的人带回来了那还是有风险的。例2. It is not uncommon for a great scholar to be ignorant in everyday affairs. 伟大的学者对日常事务无知，这种情况常见。例3. There is no metal but expands when heated and contracts when cooled. 金属都是热胀冷缩的。【评析】but相当于否定性关系代词which not，使此句构成双重否定。例4. I could not see you and not love you. 我见到你就生爱慕之心。例5. No one can read the story without being moved to tears. 谁读了这篇小说都会潸然泪下。例6. Americans dont speak English without slang. 美国人开口必说俚语。cannot.too/over/enough是双重否定的一种特殊句型，意为“怎么都不过分”。如：例7. You cannot be too careful. / You cannot be over careful. / You cannot be carefulenough. 你越小心越好。(你多么小心都不过分。)例8. He cant be over praised. 怎么赞扬他都不为过。有时可用hardly、scarcely、impossible、difficult替换cannot.too结构中的not。如：例9. We can hardly come back too soon. 我们回来得愈快越好。例10. Now, I have recalled these beginnings of the careers of Franklin, Darwin and Mozart because they strikingly illustrate a profound psychological truth, the significance of whichcan scarcely be overestimated. 现在，我又一次重温了弗兰克林、达尔文以及莫扎特开创事业的情况，因为这些情况显然阐明了一个心理方面的深刻道理，其意义无论怎样估计也是不过分的。 7.6 转移否定(Transferred Negation) 转移否定是用于否定中的一种特殊现象，即句中的否定虽然出现在主句谓语动词部分，否定范围却不在主句谓语动词本身，而转移到了句子末端的宾语、状语或其他成分上。 1. 转移否定表示思维活动 转移否定多局限于表示思维活动，如判断看法之类的动词，比如：anticipate(预料，期待)、believe(相信)、calculate(计划，打算)、expect(幻想)、figure(想象)、hope(希望)、imagine(想象)、reckon(认为)、suppose(设想，推测)、think(想，认为)等。使用这类动词时，主语中的否定往往转移到宾语从句中。 例1. I dont believe that Peter is guilty of the crime. 我相信彼得是无罪的。例2. I dont suppose that my boss will object to my absence. 我想老板不会反对我请假。例3. I dont fancy we can win easy victories. 我认为我们不能轻易取胜。例4. I dont imagine these young people are dropouts. 我想这些年轻人不是退学学生。例5. I dont think this article is any easier than that one. 我认为这篇文章一点不比那篇容易。需要注意的是，并非所有这种相似含义的动词都能用于否定转移结构，assume(设想)、surmise(推测)、presume(假设，推定)等词就不用于否定转移。如：例6. They dont assume that Tom came. 他们不相信汤姆来了。例7. They assume that Tom didnt come. 他们相信汤姆没有来。 2. 表示感觉 表示感觉的系动词seem(看起来)、appear(看上去，似乎)、feel(感觉)、look as if(看上去似乎)、sound as if(听起来似乎)等做主句的谓语时，否定转移到其后的从句中。如： 例1. It doesnt seem likely that he will pass the exam. 看起来他考试不会及格。例2. It doesnt appear that she had a taste for music. 她对音乐似乎没有什么鉴赏能力。例3. I dont feel I can stand it much longer. 我觉得我再也受不了啦。例4. It doesnt look as if well have to walk. 看起来我们似乎不必步行。例5. His voice doesnt sound as if he, had a cold. 他的声音听着不像伤风似的。 此外，如果表示“想，设想”的动词或上面所提到的动词跟情态动词连用或有副词修饰时，这时否定就不转移到从句上。如： 例6. I cant believe that they are married. 我不能相信他们结婚了。例7. I didnt ever suppose they were happy. 我从来不认为他们幸福。例8. You mustnt think he is stupid. 你千万不要认为他笨。例9. I wouldnt have imagined that he would be here. 我从不曾想到他会在这儿。例10. It just didnt seem that it would rain. 就是看不出来天会下雨。 在这些例子中，否定不能再转移的原因很清楚，情态动词有它自己的意思，而状语则是强调主句中的谓语动词的。 3. 否定从谓语转向不定式 在某些情况下，否定可以从谓语动词向不定式转移，即否定词not由谓语部分移向不定式to之前。如： 例1. The baby doesnt appear to be awake. =The baby appears not to be awake. 那孩子看上去没有醒着。例2. She didnt seem to have changed much. =She seemed not to have changed much. 她看上去没多大变化。例3. I didnt come here to hear your grievances. =I came here not to hear your grievances. 我到这儿来并不是为了听你诉苦。 4. not because结构 在not because结构中，常有否定转移现象，在这类结构中，虽然从语法上看，not与谓语动词连用，但是否定重心不在谓语动词上，而在由because引起的从句和由for引起的介词短语上。如： 例1. I dont teach because teaching is easy for me. 我之所以教书不是因为我觉得教书轻松。例2. He doesnt like them because they are always helpful but because they never complain. 他喜欢他们并不是因为他们乐于助人，而是因为他们从不抱怨。例3. Raven didnt leave the party early because Carol was there. 雷文并不是因为卡洛尔在那里而很早地离开了那个聚会。 5. 语境与否定转移 丹麦英语语法学家Otto Jesperson在A Modern English Grammar一书中说，“英语有一种趋势，就是尽量在本应使用特指否定的地方改用一般否定，即将否定词尽量置于谓语部分。”换言之，谓语部分的否定词可以和句中的任何成分发生关系，因此否定句所表示的可以不止一种关系，而可能是多种关系，是表层结构(surface structure)相同，但深层结构(deep structure)各异的歧义结构。比如例句：I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. 若说话者带上不同的对比核心重音，否定的焦点便落在不同的位置上，句子的意思便产生了区别。从逻辑上讲，这一句子可有六种不同的意义： 例1. I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. (I forgot to do so.) 我今天没带琼到游泳池去游泳。(我忘记带她去了。)例2. I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. (It was Mary.) 我今天带到游泳池去游泳的不是琼。(是玛丽)例3. I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. (just to see it) 我今天带琼到游泳池去不是游泳。(只不过是看看而已)例4. I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. (I took her to the seaside) 我今天带琼去游泳的地方不是游泳池。(是海边)例5. I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. (It was last week that I did so). 我不是今天带琼去游泳池游泳的。(我是上周带她去的)例6. I didnt take Joan to swim in the pool today. (It was my brother who took her) 今天带琼去游泳池游泳的不是我。(是我兄弟带她去的。) 对于把英语作为外语来学习的中国人来说，这种转移否定最易造成误解，因为汉语的语序同语义有十分密切的关系，句子的意思是靠相邻成份的粘连，否定词很难越过其相邻的词而和相距甚远的成份发生关系。而英语中否定词的否定范围却可以包括句子的每个成份。若不以话语形式出现，若不受上下文约束，下面这些句子至少都有两种理解。 例1. He didnt mention it on purpose. He mentioned it unintentionally. 他不是故意提到这事的。 He deliberately didnt mention it. 他故意不提这事。例2. He didnt go downtown because his father was ill. He went downtown, but it wasnt because his father was ill. 他进城并不是因为他父亲病了。 Because his father was ill, he didnt go downtown. 他没进城，因为他父亲病了。例3. I have not studied English for two years. I have studied English for less than two years. 我学英语还不到两年。 I stopped studying English two years ago. 我已经有两年不学英语了。 事实上，我们理解句子并非只依赖语序等句法结构，非语言知识在句子理解中起着十分重要的作用。一旦用常识来判断、辨别，有的否定句即使无逻辑重音和上下文也不会产生歧义。如： 例1. The earth does not move round in empty space. 地球并不是在空无一物的空间中运转。例2. The engine didnt stop because the fuel was finished. 发动机不是因为燃料用完而停下来的。例3. He was not ready to believe something just because it was said to be so by Aristotle. 他(伽利略)并不是因为亚里斯多德说过某事如何如何，就轻易地相信了。【评析】若理解成否定主句：“只是因为亚里斯多德说过某事，他才不愿相信”。就大错特错了，好像伽利略对亚里斯多德抱有很深的成见，因而固执成见，甚至不顾真理似的。例4. Facts do not cease to exist just because they are ignored. Aldous Huxley. 事实并不因为人们忽视就不再存在了。赫胥黎例5. The sky is not less blue because the blind man does not see it. 天空不会因为盲人看不见，就不那么蓝了。例6. Neither believe nor reject anything, because any other person has rejected or believed it. Thomas Jefferson. 不要因为别人相信或否定了什么东西，你也就去相信或否定它。杰斐逊 应当指出的是，上文提到的否定范围是一个重要的语法概念。例如，I didnt go because I was afraid. 按否定转移可理解为：我不是因为害怕才去的。若写成I didnt go, because I was afraid, 则按否定主句来理解，意思是：因为我害怕，所以我才没去。因为否定范围到逗号就结束了。 大多数情况下，都要根据上下文，逻辑推理，说话人的语调，标点符号的运用等加以确定，细心揣摩，具体分析，不能以某种规则去硬套。 7.7 含蓄否定(Implied Negation) 有些句子单从形式上看是肯定的，而意义上是否定的，称为含蓄否定。从英译汉的角度看，下述几类值得注意： 1. 用虚拟语气构成 虚拟语气是构成含蓄否定的语法手段。虚拟语气是表示说话人主观愿望或假设情况，往往与事实相反，所以肯定式的虚拟语气，往往表示事实上的否定。如： 例1. She would have fallen but for his sudden arm. 要不是他一把抓住她，她就摔倒了。例2. As if he would ever go! (= Of course he wont go.) 他才不会去呢。例3. If I had time for that! (= I dont have time for that.) 要是我有时间干那件事多好!(实际上我没有时间干那件事。)例4. If I only knew! (= Its a pity that I dont know.) 要是我知道多好!(很遗憾我不知道。) 2. 用隐含否定含义的成语构成 含有否定意义的常用成语有：to be (all) Greek to(不懂)、to be all thumbs(不顺手，不通)、to be at sea(茫然，不知如何是好)、to be barren of(无益的，无结果的)、to cut sb. (不理睬，假装没看见)、for want of(因缺少)、to give sb. the go-by(不理睬)、to give sb. the cut direct(故意不理某人)、to be a layman(外行，不懂)、to mind ones own business(不要管闲事)、to null and void(无效，失效)、toturn a deaf ear to(充耳不闻)、to shut ones eyes to(视而不见，熟视无赌)等。如： 例1. Bionics is all Greek to me. 仿生学我一窍不通。例2. He is so upset today, he is all thumbs. 他今天心烦意乱，做事很不顺手。例3. I was (quite) at a loss how to do. 我不知怎么做好。例4. He turns a deaf ear to all warnings. 他对所有警告都充耳不闻。例5. The plants died for want of water. 这些植物因缺水而枯死了。例6. John fell in love with Mary, but she gave him the go-by. 约翰爱上了玛丽，但玛丽却不理睬他。例7. How have I offended you? You gave me the cut direct? 你故意不理我，我怎么得罪你了? 3. 用隐含强烈否定意义的习语、反语、问句等构成 用暗含强烈否定意义的习语、反语、问句等修辞手段是一种表示含蓄否定的方法。这种否定方法往往比一般的否定句更具有强烈的否定意义，更能表达深刻的思想、强烈的感情。这种含蓄否定既无特定句型，又无否定词，其否定含义多为习惯用语或引申义。如： 例1. Ill buy it. 我答不上来(或“不晓得”)。例2. Catch me making the same error again. 我决不再犯同样的错误。例3. I dare him to jump. 我谅他也不敢跳。例4. Keep it dark! 这事不可泄露出去。例5. She bears her age well. 她一点不显老。例6. For all I care! 这事我才不管呢。(我才不在乎呢!)例7. Its anyones guess. 这事谁也不清楚。例8. What difference does it make? (=It makes no difference.) 这有什么不同?(这没有什么不同。)(修辞问句)例9. Much I care! (=I dont care.） 我太在乎了!(我才不在乎呢!)(反语)例10. A fat lot you know! (=You know nothing.) 你懂的真多!(你懂个屁!)(习语)例11. Much right he has to interfere with me. 他有那么多干涉我的权力!(他根本没有干涉我的权力!)(反语)例12. Be dazed/hanged if I know. (=I dont know at all.) 鬼才知道!(我根本不知道。)(赌咒语) 4. 由It is.that.形成的英文谚语构成 在英文谚语中，It is.that的含义是“再也不会(不能)”、“无论多么也不会(也不能)。”从其含义上看可以视为一种表示“让步”概念的特殊表现法。有不少具有这种结构的英文谚语有含蓄否定意义。如： 例1. It is a bold mouse that breeds in the cats ear. 再胆大的老鼠也不会在猫耳朵里下崽。例2. It is silly goose that comes to the foxs sermon. 再傻的鹅也不会听狐狸说教。例3. It is a fond fisher that angles for a frog. 再笨的渔翁也不至钓青蛙。例4. It is a good gear that lasts aye. 再好的工具也不会永远不坏。例5. It is a wise father that knows his own child. 聪明的父亲，也往往不了解自己的儿子。例6. It is a good doctor that follows his own advice. 名医不自医。例7. It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest. 再坏的鸟也不会弄脏自己的窝巢(家丑不可外扬)。例8. It is a poor mouse that has only one hole. 再笨的老鼠也不会只打一个洞(狡兔三窟)。 在以上8个例句中，that部分从形式看都是肯定的，其含义都是否定的。原因在于，这种句型不同于一般的含有定语从句的复合句，更不是强调句型。若从英译汉的角度看，这是一种需要反译的特殊句型。从上述例句看，后面的that原文是肯定句，应译成否定句；相反，也有一些此类英谚原文是否定句，但应译成肯定句。如： 例1. It is a long lane that has no turning. 再长的长巷也有转弯(路必有弯，事必有变)。例2. It is a wise man that never makes mistake. 智者千虑，必有一失(圣人也会犯错误)。例3. It is a sad (poor) heart that never rejoices. 再悲伤(不幸)的人也有欢乐的时候。例4. It is a skilled worker that never blunders. 人有失手，马有失蹄。例5. It is a good machine that never goes out of order. 永远不出故障的机器是没有的(再好的机器也有发生故障的时候)。 7.8 非否定意义的否定句 英语中有些句子形式上是否定句，意义上却是肯定的。这种句子被称为非否定意义的否定句，可译成汉语的肯定行文。从句型或用法上看，有下述几类： 1. not.for nothing 在句型not.for nothing中，not用来否定for nothing，从而加强了谓语的肯定意义。例1. Believe me; he did not fly into such a rage for nothing. 请相信我，他勃然大怒是有原因的。例2. I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you; this expression and smile did not did not strike delight to my inmost heart for nothing. (Charlotte