華南師范大學英語學習--翻譯技巧.doc

Diction(2) 恰當地選詞（2） 1詞義的引申在翻譯過程中，經常會碰到用詞典上給出的字面意思會使譯文變得很難理解的情況。語言是活的，經常處于變化之中，漢語和英語中有很多詞在使用中都有詞義引申的情況。在這種情況下，不能只按字面的意思進行翻譯，而要把原詞的內容實質，也就是所要引申的意思在譯文中體現出來。常用的詞義引申有兩種情況：一種是將詞義抽象化，一種是將詞義具體化。下面分別舉例說明。（1） 詞義抽象化引申英語中經常有用一個具體形象的詞來表達某一抽象事物或概念的情況。在這種情況下，要將這些詞的詞義作抽象化引申才能準確自然地翻譯出原文之意。如：例1：Everybody has his smiles and tears.譯文：每個人都有自己的歡樂和悲哀。這里用smile（微笑）和tears（眼淚）這兩個詞義具體的詞來代表快樂的和悲傷的時刻，翻譯時引申為“歡樂”和“悲傷”。同樣的例子還有：例2：The technological process at that time was a newcomer to the U.S., so application was rare.譯文：這種工藝流程當時在美國還剛剛問世，因此應用得并不多。例3：Tony is only nineteen, and is the baby of our crew.譯文：托尼只有19歲，是我們當中最年輕的。例4：He was a man to let his heart rule his head.譯文：他是個感情用事的人。例5：I was practically on my knees but he still refused.譯文：我?guī)缀跏强嗫喟?，但他仍然拒絕。例6：The matter was finally settled under the table.譯文：事情終于私下了結了。例7：He Hamleted at a chance and regretted for it.譯文：機會到來時他猶豫不決，過后又后悔不已。例7當中的Hamlet一詞本來是莎士比亞名劇王子復仇記中的主人公之名，在這里用作動詞，以他優(yōu)柔寡斷的性格特點來比喻類似的情況，翻譯時必須把這個詞抽象化，否則中國讀者很難理解其義。同樣的例子還有下句中的Titanic一詞：例8：The canoe Titanicked on the rock in the river.譯文：小船在河上觸礁遇難。(2） 詞義具體化引申英語中也常用表示抽象概念的詞來表示一種具體的事物，翻譯的時候要引申為比較具體明確的詞，以免譯文晦澀難懂。如：例9：The Great Wall is a must for most foreign visitors to Beijing.譯文：長城是大多數外國游客在北京必不可少的游覽項目。這里把“must”這個詞義比較抽象的詞引申為具體的“必不可少的游覽項目”，清楚地表達了原文的例子。詞義具體化引申的例子還有：例10：He was a tough proposition.譯文：他是個難對付的人。例11：We must fight against corruption and injustices.譯文：我們必須和貪污腐化以及各種不公正現象作斗爭。例12：I knew I would encounter extremes of weather.譯文：我知道會遇到最冷和最熱的天氣。例13：Many voices have been raised demanding the setting up of an Arab common market.譯文：許多人要求建立一個阿拉伯共同市場。例14：We would like to build a colored society where all men have equal opportunity.譯文：我們愿意建立一個膚色人種不同而機會均等的社會。例15：He visited all the tourist attractions in the city.譯文：他游覽了這座城市所有的旅游景點。翻譯的過程中進行詞義引申旨在使譯文更加清楚，并能更加充分地表達原文意思。至于哪些詞應當引申并沒有固定的分類。判斷是否應當進行引申主要還是從詞的基本意思出發(fā)，緊密地聯系上下文。引申一定要適度，千萬不能脫離詞本身的含義任意發(fā)揮。2詞義的褒貶翻譯的 “忠實”標準不僅僅是指忠實于原文的意思，還指忠實于原文的風格。這就要求在翻譯詞的時候，不僅要翻譯出詞的字面意義，還要注意詞的隱含意義，包括詞的感情色彩、語體色彩等。例如statesman和politician這兩個詞都有“政治家”的意思，但前者含有“睿智的”，“有遠見”的褒義，而后者則常用于貶義，表示“政客”，所以翻譯時要注意詞的不同感情色彩。而“horse”，“steed”和“nag”三個詞均可指“馬”，但“horse”屬于語言中的共核部分（common core），可以使用于一切場合，“steed”用于文學或詩歌當中，而“nag”則用于口語中，因此這三個詞的語體色彩不同。在翻譯時一定要注意所選擇的譯文同原詞的色彩相同，這樣才能在風格上保持和原文一致。下面通過例子來分析在翻譯過程中怎樣處理詞的感情色彩。(1） 有些詞本身就帶有明顯褒義或貶義色彩英語中有些詞本身就帶有明顯的感情色彩，如“famous”和“notorious”這兩個詞雖然都表示“有名的”，但前者是褒義詞，后者是貶義詞。這些詞相對來說比較容易翻譯，我們只要按照它原來的感情色彩進行翻譯即可。如：例16：He was known as a famous professor.譯文：他是一位著名的教授。例17：He was a notorious rouge in Shanghai in the old times.譯文：他是舊上海臭名昭著的大流氓。例18：Her husband was a brave pilot during the Second World War.譯文：她的丈夫是二戰(zhàn)期間一名勇敢的飛行員。例19：She is quite unpopular among her colleagues as she is so egotistic.譯文：她在同事中人緣不好，因為她太自私了。例20：The boy is appreciated by all his teachers for his carefulness in his homework.譯文：這個男孩因做功課認真仔細而受到所有老師的贊賞。(2） 有些詞雖然經常帶有某些褒義或貶義，但在一定的上下文中可以表示中性英語當中有一些詞我們習慣上經常用做褒義詞或貶義詞，但在某些上語境中卻可以用來表示中性，不帶有任何褒義或貶義的色彩，如下面兩個句子中“discriminate”一詞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.譯文：總統(tǒng)承諾將力求廢除歧視婦女的州法及聯邦法。例22：By a 6-3 vote, the court held that this official discrimination did not violate the Constitution.譯文：法院以六票對三票的裁決認定，政府在這個問題上采取的區(qū)別對待的辦法并不違反憲法?！癲iscriminate”一詞通常表示“歧視”之意，帶有貶義，如在例21中的用法。但在例22中“discriminate”一詞卻表示“treat in different ways”，不含任何貶義。如果我們取“歧視”一意來翻譯顯然不合適，因此在這里應譯為“區(qū)別對待”這個中性詞。類似的例子還包括下面的“flatter”和“perfect”等詞：例23：John was too obviously flattering the gentleman by saying that he was the most courageous man he had ever seen.譯文：約翰說這位紳士是他所見過的最有膽量的人，他的奉承太露骨了。例24：Mr. Brown felt greatly flattered when he received the invitation to deliver a lecture.譯文：受到邀請要進行演講，布朗先生感到非常榮幸。例25：This perfect plan was greatly appreciated.譯文：人們對這個完美的計劃贊賞有加。例26：How was the perfect crime found out?譯文：那個不露蛛絲馬跡的罪行是怎樣發(fā)現的？(3） 有些中性詞在不同的上下文中可以顯示不同的感情色彩英文當中專門表示褒義或貶義的詞相對漢語來說要少得多，許多詞屬中性，既可以表示褒義，又可以表示貶義，翻譯過程中要根據上下文來確定選擇褒貶詞義。例如：例27：Many people think he is one of the most ambitious politicians of our times.譯文：很多人認為他是我們這個時代最野心勃勃的政客之一。例28：The ambitious girl wants to become a world champion.譯文：這個壯志凌云的姑娘想奪得世界冠軍。例29：Hitler pursued an aggressive policy after he seized power.譯文：希特勒掌權后推行了侵略政策。例30：An aggressive young man can go far in this firm.譯文：在這個公司里，積極上進的年輕人大有希望。例31：The stubborn boy refused to listen to his parents advice.譯文：這個倔強的男孩不愿意聽從父母的忠告。例32：The invaders met a stubborn resistance from the local people.譯文：侵略者遭到了當地人民頑強的抵抗。從上述例子可見英語中大部分詞詞義的感情色彩變化比較靈活。中性詞在不同的語境中可以顯示不同的感情色彩，而許多通常用來表示褒義或貶義的詞在某些語境中也可以表示中性,因此判斷詞的感情色彩的關鍵還是在于上下文。在確定一個詞的感情色彩時，有時可以借助字典，但主要還是取決于語境，可根據上下文的邏輯推理來加以辨別。翻譯時如果能夠處理好詞的色彩，就能在風格和內容上更加忠實于原文。Exercises:1. 將下列句子譯成漢語： (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. 將下列文章翻譯成漢語： 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