华南师范大学英语学习--翻译技巧.doc

Diction(2) 恰当地选词（2） 1词义的引申在翻译过程中，经常会碰到用词典上给出的字面意思会使译文变得很难理解的情况。语言是活的，经常处于变化之中，汉语和英语中有很多词在使用中都有词义引申的情况。在这种情况下，不能只按字面的意思进行翻译，而要把原词的内容实质，也就是所要引申的意思在译文中体现出来。常用的词义引申有两种情况：一种是将词义抽象化，一种是将词义具体化。下面分别举例说明。（1） 词义抽象化引申英语中经常有用一个具体形象的词来表达某一抽象事物或概念的情况。在这种情况下，要将这些词的词义作抽象化引申才能准确自然地翻译出原文之意。如：例1：Everybody has his smiles and tears.译文：每个人都有自己的欢乐和悲哀。这里用smile（微笑）和tears（眼泪）这两个词义具体的词来代表快乐的和悲伤的时刻，翻译时引申为“欢乐”和“悲伤”。同样的例子还有：例2：The technological process at that time was a newcomer to the U.S., so application was rare.译文：这种工艺流程当时在美国还刚刚问世，因此应用得并不多。例3：Tony is only nineteen, and is the baby of our crew.译文：托尼只有19岁，是我们当中最年轻的。例4：He was a man to let his heart rule his head.译文：他是个感情用事的人。例5：I was practically on my knees but he still refused.译文：我几乎是苦苦哀求，但他仍然拒绝。例6：The matter was finally settled under the table.译文：事情终于私下了结了。例7：He Hamleted at a chance and regretted for it.译文：机会到来时他犹豫不决，过后又后悔不已。例7当中的Hamlet一词本来是莎士比亚名剧王子复仇记中的主人公之名，在这里用作动词，以他优柔寡断的性格特点来比喻类似的情况，翻译时必须把这个词抽象化，否则中国读者很难理解其义。同样的例子还有下句中的Titanic一词：例8：The canoe Titanicked on the rock in the river.译文：小船在河上触礁遇难。(2） 词义具体化引申英语中也常用表示抽象概念的词来表示一种具体的事物，翻译的时候要引申为比较具体明确的词，以免译文晦涩难懂。如：例9：The Great Wall is a must for most foreign visitors to Beijing.译文：长城是大多数外国游客在北京必不可少的游览项目。这里把“must”这个词义比较抽象的词引申为具体的“必不可少的游览项目”，清楚地表达了原文的例子。词义具体化引申的例子还有：例10：He was a tough proposition.译文：他是个难对付的人。例11：We must fight against corruption and injustices.译文：我们必须和贪污腐化以及各种不公正现象作斗争。例12：I knew I would encounter extremes of weather.译文：我知道会遇到最冷和最热的天气。例13：Many voices have been raised demanding the setting up of an Arab common market.译文：许多人要求建立一个阿拉伯共同市场。例14：We would like to build a colored society where all men have equal opportunity.译文：我们愿意建立一个肤色人种不同而机会均等的社会。例15：He visited all the tourist attractions in the city.译文：他游览了这座城市所有的旅游景点。翻译的过程中进行词义引申旨在使译文更加清楚，并能更加充分地表达原文意思。至于哪些词应当引申并没有固定的分类。判断是否应当进行引申主要还是从词的基本意思出发，紧密地联系上下文。引申一定要适度，千万不能脱离词本身的含义任意发挥。2词义的褒贬翻译的 “忠实”标准不仅仅是指忠实于原文的意思，还指忠实于原文的风格。这就要求在翻译词的时候，不仅要翻译出词的字面意义，还要注意词的隐含意义，包括词的感情色彩、语体色彩等。例如statesman和politician这两个词都有“政治家”的意思，但前者含有“睿智的”，“有远见”的褒义，而后者则常用于贬义，表示“政客”，所以翻译时要注意词的不同感情色彩。而“horse”，“steed”和“nag”三个词均可指“马”，但“horse”属于语言中的共核部分（common core），可以使用于一切场合，“steed”用于文学或诗歌当中，而“nag”则用于口语中，因此这三个词的语体色彩不同。在翻译时一定要注意所选择的译文同原词的色彩相同，这样才能在风格上保持和原文一致。下面通过例子来分析在翻译过程中怎样处理词的感情色彩。(1） 有些词本身就带有明显褒义或贬义色彩英语中有些词本身就带有明显的感情色彩，如“famous”和“notorious”这两个词虽然都表示“有名的”，但前者是褒义词，后者是贬义词。这些词相对来说比较容易翻译，我们只要按照它原来的感情色彩进行翻译即可。如：例16：He was known as a famous professor.译文：他是一位著名的教授。例17：He was a notorious rouge in Shanghai in the old times.译文：他是旧上海臭名昭著的大流氓。例18：Her husband was a brave pilot during the Second World War.译文：她的丈夫是二战期间一名勇敢的飞行员。例19：She is quite unpopular among her colleagues as she is so egotistic.译文：她在同事中人缘不好，因为她太自私了。例20：The boy is appreciated by all his teachers for his carefulness in his homework.译文：这个男孩因做功课认真仔细而受到所有老师的赞赏。(2） 有些词虽然经常带有某些褒义或贬义，但在一定的上下文中可以表示中性英语当中有一些词我们习惯上经常用做褒义词或贬义词，但在某些上语境中却可以用来表示中性，不带有任何褒义或贬义的色彩，如下面两个句子中“discriminate”一词的感情色彩就有所不同：例21：The president promised to work to repeal state and federal laws that discriminate against women.译文：总统承诺将力求废除歧视妇女的州法及联邦法。例22：By a 6-3 vote, the court held that this official discrimination did not violate the Constitution.译文：法院以六票对三票的裁决认定，政府在这个问题上采取的区别对待的办法并不违反宪法。“discriminate”一词通常表示“歧视”之意，带有贬义，如在例21中的用法。但在例22中“discriminate”一词却表示“treat in different ways”，不含任何贬义。如果我们取“歧视”一意来翻译显然不合适，因此在这里应译为“区别对待”这个中性词。类似的例子还包括下面的“flatter”和“perfect”等词：例23：John was too obviously flattering the gentleman by saying that he was the most courageous man he had ever seen.译文：约翰说这位绅士是他所见过的最有胆量的人，他的奉承太露骨了。例24：Mr. Brown felt greatly flattered when he received the invitation to deliver a lecture.译文：受到邀请要进行演讲，布朗先生感到非常荣幸。例25：This perfect plan was greatly appreciated.译文：人们对这个完美的计划赞赏有加。例26：How was the perfect crime found out?译文：那个不露蛛丝马迹的罪行是怎样发现的？(3） 有些中性词在不同的上下文中可以显示不同的感情色彩英文当中专门表示褒义或贬义的词相对汉语来说要少得多，许多词属中性，既可以表示褒义，又可以表示贬义，翻译过程中要根据上下文来确定选择褒贬词义。例如：例27：Many people think he is one of the most ambitious politicians of our times.译文：很多人认为他是我们这个时代最野心勃勃的政客之一。例28：The ambitious girl wants to become a world champion.译文：这个壮志凌云的姑娘想夺得世界冠军。例29：Hitler pursued an aggressive policy after he seized power.译文：希特勒掌权后推行了侵略政策。例30：An aggressive young man can go far in this firm.译文：在这个公司里，积极上进的年轻人大有希望。例31：The stubborn boy refused to listen to his parents advice.译文：这个倔强的男孩不愿意听从父母的忠告。例32：The invaders met a stubborn resistance from the local people.译文：侵略者遭到了当地人民顽强的抵抗。从上述例子可见英语中大部分词词义的感情色彩变化比较灵活。中性词在不同的语境中可以显示不同的感情色彩，而许多通常用来表示褒义或贬义的词在某些语境中也可以表示中性,因此判断词的感情色彩的关键还是在于上下文。在确定一个词的感情色彩时，有时可以借助字典，但主要还是取决于语境，可根据上下文的逻辑推理来加以辨别。翻译时如果能够处理好词的色彩，就能在风格和内容上更加忠实于原文。Exercises:1. 将下列句子译成汉语： (1) Since I got this news at second hand, I took it with a grain of salt. (2) Its regrettable that our appeal remains a dead letter. (3) You must work out some solutions. (4) The dancing hall was filled with gaiety. (5) They serve their motherland with devotion and loyalty. (6) These die-hard Nazis went out to serve their Third Reich. (7) The Japanese fascists invaded China in 1937. (8) The American architects have invaded the Middle East to direct the most ambitious building program in theworld. (9) He is a man with a reputation for honesty. (10) He is a man of integrity, but unfortunately he has a certain reputation.2. 将下列文章翻译成汉语： On LeadershipWhat is leadership?Its qualities are difficult to define. But they are not so difficult to identify.Leaders dont force other people to go along with them. They bring them along. Leaders get commitment from others by giving it themselves, by building an environment that encourages creativity, and by operating with honesty and fairness.Leaders demand much of others, but also give much of themselves. They are ambitious - not only for themselves, but also for those who work with them. They seek to attract, retain and develop other people to their full abilities.Leaders know that when there are two opinions on an issue, one is not bound to be wrong. They recognize that hustle and rush are the allies of superficiality. They are open to new ideas, but they explore their ramifications thoroughly.Successful leaders are emotionally and intellectually oriented to the future- not wedded to the past. They have a hunger to take responsibility, to innovate and to initiate. They are not content with merely taking care of whats already there. They want to move forward to create something new.Leadership is all about getting people consistently to give their best, helping them to grow to their fullest potential, and motivating them to work towa