商务英语翻译3

1、商商 务务 英英 语语 翻翻 译译第一章第一章 翻译理论与技巧翻译理论与技巧第三讲第三讲 翻译过程及常用翻译方法翻译过程及常用翻译方法主讲：主讲： 李璐李璐The process of translation is a very complex one. Nida (奈达) thinks that “The process of translating is always a matter of choosing the best or the better rendering from various alternatives (翻译过程是不断从各种不同译文中选择最佳或较佳译文的过程)。”

2、Usually there are three steps:First of all, accurate comprehension is always the foremost concern in translation. Without an accurate comprehension of the original, there can be no translation faithful to the original. So comprehension is the prerequisite of representation. In order to achieve a tho

3、rough comprehension of the original, we should pay attention to the following points.1. Comprehension(1) Have a good grasp of the linguistic phenomena, the meaning of the vocabulary, the sentence construction and the idiomatic usages.e.g. The new mayor earned some appreciation by the courtesy of com

4、ing to visit the poor.新市长来看望了城市贫民，这一表示关心的举动赢得了他们的某种好感。 courtesy一词除表示a polite action外，还可表示a kind action。e.g. Suddenly the line went limp. “Im going back,” said Kurth. We must have a break somewhere. Wait for me. Ill be back in five minutes.引爆电线突然耷拉下来。库尔思说，“我回去看看。一定是哪个地方断了。等一等，我五分钟就回来。” 多义词break既可作“断”

5、解，又可作“休息”解，这里应作“断”解。e.g. It will strengthen you to know that your distinguished career is so widely respected and appreciated.译文：译文：当您认识到您的崇高事业受到人们如此广泛的尊敬和赞赏时，您就力量倍增。(或：您就有了力量。)该 句 的 不 定 式 短 语 t o k n o w t h a t appreciated 是句子的主语，由先行词it引导。翻译时，要对该句的句子结构进行正确分析与理解。e.g. John is now with his parents in

6、 New York City; it is already three years since he was a bandmaster.约翰现在同父母住在纽约市；他不担任乐队指挥已三年了。要正确理解since在这种情况下的惯用法即since从句中的过去式联系动词was或were是指一种状态的结束。e.g. They can fish. 他们会捕鱼。他们会捕鱼。 他们把鱼制成罐头食品。他们把鱼制成罐头食品。(2) Have a thorough comprehension of the underlying logic of the original. The logical relations

7、hips can help you to comprehend what the grammatical relationships cannot.e.g. It is good for him to do that.这句话可以有两种意思： (a) 这样做对他有好处； (b) 他这样做是件好事。这时，译者必须从上下文来推理，选用一种合乎逻辑的译法。e.g. By the first evening, the number of Germans on the island had been more than doubled, and was progressively reinforced b

8、y parachute drop, by glider, and, from the second evening onward, by troop carriers.第一天晚上，岛上的德国人增加了一倍以上，并且不断地用空投和滑翔机增援，从第二天晚上起，还用运输机来增援。这里carriers的意思可以是“运输机”，也可以是“运输舰”或“航母”；但这句话的上文是“这次空中袭击是出乎意外的”，下文是“这些飞机开始在被占领的机场降落”。因此从上下文逻辑关系看，carriers应作“运输机”解。e.g. After all, all living creatures live by feeding o

9、n something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive.因为，毕竟所有活着的生物，不论是植物还是动物，死的还是活的都靠吃某种别的东西生存。原译中“活着的生物”竟然还包括“死的”而“死的”还要“靠吃别的东西生存”，这显然是不合逻辑的。所有活的动物毕竟都靠吃别的东西来生存的，而不管这些东西是植物或动物，是死的还是活的。(3) Try to have a thorough understanding of the subject matter concerned. A translator should be familiar w

10、ith the cultural background of the language, this includes historical, literary, philosophical and even religious references and allusions. In translation, some words or phrases need to be traced back to their origins before they can be understood exactly.e.g. John can be relied on. He eats no fish

11、and plays the game.约翰为人可靠，他既又。“To eat no fish”comes from an allusion. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, protestants refused to keep the customs that only fish was eaten on Friday because that was the practice of Roman Catholic, who were against the Elizabethan government. The protestants refuse

12、d to follow the custom in order to show their loyalty to their government. Consequently, “ to eat no fish”means “to be loyal and honest.” (既忠诚又老实)。“To play the game” means “to play fair” (规规矩矩地比赛；公平对待；举止光明正大；为人正直。)As a result, whenever you get an article to translate, youd better read it through to

13、the end, so as to have a general idea of the whole piece. Then you have to try to know the background knowledge as much as possible. Good dictionaries are absolutely needed, including not only English-Chinese dictionaries, but also English-English dictionaries. New words have to be looked up in dict

14、ionaries; words which are not new to you may have new meanings in a certain context. When you begin translating the piece, the sentence structure must be made clear to you. That is to say, make a clear grammatical analysis of each sentence, long sentences in particular. A thorough understanding of t

15、he sentence structure is not enough. You are required to make sure of the meanings of the words. No context, no text. Sometimes from the context, the meaning of a word may be figured out.2. RepresentationRepresentation is the result of comprehension, but accurate comprehension does not mean adequate

16、 representation. It seems that sometimes you understand the meaning of the sentence, but you dont know how to represent it in appropriate words. At this stage, words chosen and sentences constructed must all be expressed to convey the accurate meaning of the original. Here, we advocate the use of li

17、teral translation (直译) and free (liberal)translation (意译) flexibly and appropriately in the process of translation. Both literal translation and free translation are widely adopted translation methods. In fact, the two methods are both necessary. Sometimes you may use the method of literal translati

18、on, sometimes that of free translation, and sometimes both of them must be employed together.(1) Literal TranslationLiteral translation refers to an adequate representation of the original. When the original coincides or almost tallies with the Chinese language in the sequence of vocabulary, in gram

19、matical structure and rhetorical device, literal translation can be used. Literal translation may be defined as having the following characteristics: Literal translation takes sentences as its basic units and the whole text into consideration at the same time in the course of translation. Literal tr

20、anslation strives to reproduce both the ideological content and style of the entire literary work and retain as much as possible the figures of speech and sentence structures of patterns.e.g. He walked at the head of the funeral procession, and every now and then wiped his crocodile tears with a big

21、 handkerchief.他走在送葬队伍的前头，还不时用一条大手绢抹去他那鳄鱼的眼泪。e.g. Hitler was armed to the teeth when he launched the second World War, but in a few years, he was completely defeated.译文译文：希特勒在发动第二次世界大战时是武装到牙齿的，可是不过几年，就被彻底击败了。 下面几个词组和句子的原文与译文在思想内容和语言形式两方面都完全相等，自然采取直译法为好。pour oil on fire 火上加油火上加油have something at ones

22、finger-ends 了如指掌了如指掌Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.远亲不如近邻。远亲不如近邻。You cant clap hands with one palm.孤掌难鸣。孤掌难鸣。类似的直译还有：类似的直译还有： hot line 热线热线； chain stores 链锁商店链锁商店； round-table conference 圆桌会议圆桌会议； baptism of war 战争洗礼战争洗礼To sum up, literal translation means “ not to alter t

23、he original words and sentences”, it strives “ to keep the sentiments and style of the original.” You must try to find a corresponding and appropriate expression for it when you translate something literally. It would be “ dead” translation if you should mechanically move the definition into your tr

24、anslation regardless of whether it is well-collocated or not in the target language. You cant mistake “ dead”translation for “ literal ”translation. Thats a great confusion.(2) Free TranslationFree translation is also called liberal translation because it does not adhere strictly to the form or word

25、 order of the original. Its a supplementary means to mainly convey the meaning and spirit of the original without trying to reproduce its sentence patterns or figures of speech. When there exist dissimilarities or great differences between English and Chinese in the sequence of vocabulary, in gramma

26、tical structure and artistic devices, free translation should be adopted.e.g. If you see any green in his eye, you are wrong.如果你以为他是幼稚可欺的话，那你就如果你以为他是幼稚可欺的话，那你就错了。错了。+The above sentence means: “ If you think he is so simple as to be easily deceived, you are wrong.”e.g. He was up to his neck in debt.他

27、深深地陷入债务之中。他深深地陷入债务之中。( (或：他负债累累。或：他负债累累。) )+Many English words in general, and phrases and idioms in particular, cannot be translated word for word. Attention should be paid to them in translation.e.g. Thats all Greek to me.误译：误译：那对我来说全是希腊语。那对我来说全是希腊语。改译改译：那个我可一窍不通。那个我可一窍不通。e.g. Insecurity and unemp

28、loyment, the “ rat race” of American life place heavy strains on marriage and the family.误译：不安全，失业和美国生活的误译：不安全，失业和美国生活的“耗子赛跑耗子赛跑”给婚姻和家庭制造紧张局势。给婚姻和家庭制造紧张局势。改译：失业和缺乏保障，美国生活的改译：失业和缺乏保障，美国生活的“激烈竞激烈竞争争”给婚姻和家庭带来沉重的压力。给婚姻和家庭带来沉重的压力。e.g. Dont cross the bridge till you get to it. 不必担心太早。不必担心太早。( (不必自寻烦恼。不必自寻

29、烦恼。) )e.g. 寄人篱下寄人篱下误译：误译：to live under someones fence改译：改译：to live under subjugatione.g. 袖手旁观袖手旁观误译：误译：to look on with hands in sleeves改译：改译：to look on with folded armse.g. 大刀阔斧大刀阔斧误译：误译：a great knife and broad axe 改译：改译：in a bold and resolute wayTo sum up, the correct attitude should be: When you t

30、ranslate sentences which are similar in structure or in figure of speech in the two languages, literal translation should be used; when you translate sentences which are dissimilar in structure or figure of speech, free translation should be used; and when you translate sentences which are partly si

31、milar and partly dissimilar in structure or figure of speech, the two methods should be flexibly and cleverly combined.e.g. I want a man who will throw his hat over the Chindwin and then lead his troops after it.译文：译文：我要是这样一个人，我要是这样一个人，他决心在钦敦江破他决心在钦敦江破釜沉舟釜沉舟，然后率领部队前进。，然后率领部队前进。在这里，主句以及定语从句的后半部分用直译法处

32、理，定语从句的前半部分则用意译法处理。定语从句中的who will throw his hat over the Chindwin 是习语to throw ones hat into the ring (原指斗士在参加竞赛前先把帽子丢进竞技圈内，表示争一高低的决心 )的变体。In a word, literal translation and free translation are both indispensable and supplementary to each other. In our translation, we should adopt these two methods

33、flexibly and cleverly.在翻译中如何做到表达得体呢？要注意以下几条：在翻译中如何做到表达得体呢？要注意以下几条： 一定要联系上下文，这是确定词义，表达得体的基础。 注意文字表达的分寸与褒贬。 活用词典，即不能照抄词典上的译文。要根据各种词典所赋予的基本意思，融会贯通，创造出恰如其分的措词或词典上碰巧合适的译文。 充分发挥汉语和英语的优势，使译文更地道，做到精益求精。3. Checking upGuesswork or carelessness always causes a translator to make foolish mistakes. So at the fin

34、al stage of translating, we should do the following things carefully:(1) Check the names of persons, places, dates, direction, numerals and so on with the original work.(2) Make sure there is no omission of paragraphs, sentences or words in your version.(3) Revise those words or sentences that are n

35、ot properly translated.(4) Try to avoid rarely used words, and hackneyed or stereotyped expressions.(5) Generally speaking, we should check our translation work twice. The first time lay the stress on checking the content. The second time, polish the version so as to make it pleasing to the readers.

36、+Only by solving all these problems can we claim to have the final version.e.g. uniformed容易误认为是容易误认为是 uninformed soup 误看成误看成soap south Africa 误译为误译为“南非南非”，应为，应为“非洲南部非洲南部” South Africa 才是才是“南非南非” out of question (毫无问题毫无问题)与与out of the question (绝不可能绝不可能)混淆混淆25of invoice value (发票金额的发票金额的25)与与25off in

37、voice value (发票金额减去发票金额减去25) the School of the air 广播学校广播学校(误：空军学校误：空军学校)a family tree 家谱家谱 (误：一棵家庭树误：一棵家庭树)Miss Universe 美人皇后或世界小姐美人皇后或世界小姐协议书：协议书：Agreement (或：或：Written Agreement 误：误：Agreement Book)家政学：家政学：Home Economics (误：误：the learning of home governing)Exercise: Translate the following English

38、 sentences into Chinese.1. John is a bull in a china shop. 约翰是个好闯祸的人。约翰是个好闯祸的人。2. Actions speak louder than words. 行动比语言更响亮。行动比语言更响亮。(直译直译) (不如意译更符合汉语习惯不如意译更符合汉语习惯)事实胜于雄辩。事实胜于雄辩。(意译意译)3. The best answer is to roll up your sleeves and do the job yourself. 最好的办法是卷起袖子自己干。最好的办法是卷起袖子自己干。(直译直译) 求人不如求自己。求人

39、不如求自己。(意译意译) 由于汉语找不到类似的比输，自然的直译为由于汉语找不到类似的比输，自然的直译为好；而意译只是根据这个比喻的含义所做的好；而意译只是根据这个比喻的含义所做的解释，并不能形象地反映原文的意味。解释，并不能形象地反映原文的意味。4. To believe in man is the first step toward helping him. 相信人是帮助人的第一步。相信人是帮助人的第一步。(直译直译) 要帮助人首先要相信人。要帮助人首先要相信人。(意译意译)直译是很好的译文；意译也同样是很好的译直译是很好的译文；意译也同样是很好的译文，而且富于表现力。文，而且富于表现力。5

40、. She didnt like him much, but if she went out with him, itd be one in the eye for Kath. 她并不怎么喜欢他，可是如果她跟他一起出去玩，那倒可以让凯丝心中感到不是滋味。“ To be one in the eye ”原指击拳时眼上被击了一拳。如把itd be one in the eye for kath直译为“那倒可以给凯丝眼上击一拳”，貌似忠实，实际上反而背叛原义，所以意译为“那倒可以让凯丝心中感到不是滋味。”原句其余部分是直译。6. Ruth was upsetting the other childr

41、en, so I showed her the door. 鲁丝一直在扰乱别的孩子，我就把他撵了出去。这是在一个句子中同时兼用直译法和意译法处理的译例。7. This film is a dramatic treatment of a threatened stoppage in a factory. 本片用戏剧手法，表现一家工厂面临罢工威胁的情况。通过变换句型和一些词性，并添几个词，就可以使译文“前后引衬，以显其意”。8. “How loyal is that man?” he asked a White House staffer about a potential hand. 在起用某人

42、以前，他向一位白宫人员探询，在起用某人以前，他向一位白宫人员探询，“此人在忠诚方面怎么样此人在忠诚方面怎么样”(意译意译)9. With old plaster-casting, the bone takes longer to knit and crippling effects from muscle inactivity result. 如果用上石膏模子的老办法如果用上石膏模子的老办法,得很长时间骨头得很长时间骨头才能愈合才能愈合,同时肌肉不能活动，还会造成残废同时肌肉不能活动，还会造成残废的后果的后果.10. Tremendous research work is required t

43、o bring about fantastic speeds. 要达到要达到这种神奇的速度这种神奇的速度,就需要进行巨大的研就需要进行巨大的研究工作究工作.11. The composer began his musical career as a violinist. 作曲家的音乐生涯是作曲家的音乐生涯是从小提琴手开始的从小提琴手开始的。12. The custom had its spring in another country. 这种风俗这种风俗起源于起源于别的国家。别的国家。13. The elevator girl reads books between passengers. 这位开电梯的姑娘在这位开电梯的姑娘在没有客人乘电梯的时没有客人乘电梯的时抽抽空读书。空读书。14. Dont do your own thing, or you will meet with failure. 不要一意孤行。否则，你会遭到失败的。不要一意孤行。否则，你会遭到失败的。15. The elevator boys ooze the spit and polish of West Point