句子的正译与反译.doc

句子的正译与反译 英汉两种语言习惯不同，有时英语里正说的句子，译成汉语时不得不处理成反说，反之亦然。所谓正译，是指把句子按照与原语相同的语序或表达方式译入目的语。所谓反译则是指把句子按照与原语相反的语序或表达方式译入目的语。 正译和反译都是一种翻译方法，其目的是为了解决翻译过程中所遇到的表达方面的困难，使译文更通顺达意。实际上英汉两种语言均可以从正面或反面来表达同一概念。如：在美国，人人都能买到枪。正译：In the United States, everyone can buy a gun. 反译：In the United States, guns are available to everyone.你可以从因特网上获得这一信息。正译：You can obtain this information on the Internet. 反译：This information is accessible/available on the Internet. 他突然想到了一个新主意。正译：Suddenly he had a new idea. He suddenly thought out a new idea. 反译：A new idea suddenly occurred to/struck him. 他仍然没有弄懂我的意思。正译：He still could not understand me. 反译：Still he failed to understand me.无论如何，她算不上一位思维敏捷的学生。正译：She can hardly be rated as a bright student. 反译：She is anything but a bright student. Please withhold the document for the time being.正译：请暂时扣下这份文件。反译：请暂时不要发这份文件。正说反译或反说正译的相互转换，其目的主要有三个：1.明确语义。2.加强修辞。3.符合目的语习惯。例如：一、.正说反译 Please tender exact fare. 自备零钞、不找零钱。（明确） Thats a thing that might happen to anyone.这种事谁也难免。（加强修辞）But we must bear in mind that the great proportion of books, plays and films which come before the censor are very far from being works of art. 可是我们要牢记送到审读员面前的大量书刊、戏剧和电影远非杰作。 To criticize it (intelligence test) for such failure is roughly comparable to criticizing a thermometer for not measuring wind velocity. 批评智力测验不反映上述情况，犹如批评温度计不能测出风速一样。（such failure是正面表达，但从上下文看，是指An intelligence test does not measure character, social adjustments .,故译为不反映上述情况。）He was absent from his own country last year.他去年不在自己的国家里。（原文正说，译文反说。）We may safely say so.我们这样说万无一失。 Both sides thought that the peace proposal was one they could accept with dignity. 双方认为，那和平建议是一个他们可以接受而不失体面的建议。 The decision has to come. 决定还没做出。 If it worked once, it can work twice. 一次得手，再次不愁。 这小孩现在完全能自己走了。 The child can walk without any help now. （汉语原文正说，英文译文反说。） 法律面前，人人平等。 Law is no respecter of persons. 我和老王说句话，马上就回来。Just to have a word with Old Wang. I wont be long. 在不少情况下，有的介词短语如不从反面着笔，译文就不通，这时必须反译。像beyond, past，against等表示超过某限度的能力或反对.时，其短语有时用反译法。如： It is past repair这东西无法修补了。 There are some arguments against the possibility of life on this planet有人不同意这行星上可能有生物的说法。 Radio telescopes have been able to probe space beyond the range of ordinary optical telescopes射电望远镜已能探测普通光学望远镜达不到的宇宙空间。 用语义冗余不仅能为单个的词选择意义或发现“新义”，而且可以准确译出一段中的许多词语。利用语义冗余还有助于表达：一般说来，词义理解正确了，off, from等表示地点，距离时，有时用反译法。如：The boat sank off the coast.这只船在离海岸不远处沉没了。but，except，besides等表示除去、除外时，也用反译法： Copper is the best conductor but silver铜是仅次于银的最优导体。The molecular formula, C6H14, does not show anything except the total number of carbon and hydrogen atoms.分子式C6H14只用来表示碳原子和氢原子的总数。from，in等介词短语作补足语时，有时用反译法。如： An iron case will keep the Earths magnetic field away from the compass铁箱能使地球磁场影响不了指南针。 The signal was shown about the machine being order.信号表明机器没有毛病。请注意所谓英语正面表达是指在原文中没有用no、not或带否定意义前缀的词，如：dishonest, impossible, indirect。英语中有些词或短语常常正说反译，如：miss the bus(没有赶上公共汽车)，live up to the Partys expectations(不辜负党的期望)，be absent from the meeting(没有出席会议)，a final decision(不可改变的决定)，(be) at a loss (不知所措)等。 英语中有时原词所表达的并不是其字面意义，而是其字面意义的反义，或者说是对其字面意义的否定。例如：gas mask(防毒面具)，riot police(防暴警察)，crisis law(反危机法案)。有些句子则需通过上下文，根据逻辑推理，仔细推敲关键词的实际含义，再采取适当的反译法进行翻译。例如：In fact, the willingness to experiment is one of the most striking features of China today, and it seems to be rooted in confidence rather than security.实际上，这种敢于试验的愿望是当今中国最显著的特点之一。它源于信心，而非出于担忧。（此句中security其实指的是insecurity。作者是说中国对未来充满信心而大胆进行改革实验，并不是因为国内混乱和不稳定才被迫改革。）总之，所谓正说反译的目的就是使译文和原文所表达的真正含义相一致。二、.反说正译 I wont keep you waiting long.我一会儿就回来。（明确语义） Isnt it funny! 真逗！（加强修辞） “You will try to tide me over, wont you?” “Wont I!”“你会帮我渡过难关的，是吗？” “当然！”（符合汉语习惯）反说正译是重要的翻译方法之一。常见的反义正译的例子还有：In the long run, there is no doubt that everybody would be much better off if smoking were banned altogether, but people are not ready for such drastic action. 从长远的观点来看，十分清楚，如果完全禁止吸烟，那么每个人的境况将得到很大改善。但对于采取这种极端措施，人们尚无准备。The method of scientific investigation is nothing but the expression of the necessary mode of working of the human mind.科学研究的方法只是人类思维活动的必要表达方式。It is no less than blackmail to ask such a high price. 开这么高的价，简直是敲竹杠。 I am not so sick but I can come to sit for the exam.我尽管有病，但是还能来参加考试。（或：我还没有病到不能来参加考试。）The beaten enemy had no other choice than to surrender. 被击败的敌人只得投降。 You cannot attach too much importance to the matter.你应该非常重视这件事情。He is no less clever than his brother. 他和他兄弟一样聪明。The man over there is none other than our principal. 站在那儿的人正是我们的校长。No spitting ! 严禁吐痰！（英文反说，汉语正说。） The train coming from Moscow will arrive in no time. 从莫斯科来的火车很快就到。 Dont lose time in posting this letter. 赶快把这封信寄出去。 Such flights couldnt long escape notice. 这类飞行迟早会被人发觉的。 请勿大声喧哗。Keep quiet. （汉语原文反说，英语译文正说。）他提前三天到达是我们没有想到的。 His arrival three days in advance is beyond our expectation. 油漆未干。 Wet paint. 在收据未签字以前不得付款。 Before the receipt has been signed, the money must not be paid. 如果没有她的帮助，我早就失败了。 But for her help, I should have failed. 他开车时心不在焉，几乎闯祸。 His absence of mind during the driving nearly caused an accident. 他显然有不同的想法。 He evidently thinks otherwise. 我要铅笔，不要钢笔。 I want a pencil instead of a pen. 他太自私了，几乎没人喜欢他。 Hardly anybody likes him, because he i