英汉翻译常用技巧.docx

英汉翻译常用技巧2008-05-29 20:47:46|分类：英汉笔译|举报|字号订阅一、在翻译过程中如何进行词义的选择?英汉两种语言都有一词多类、一词多义的现象。一词多类就是指一个词往往属于几个词类，具有几个不同的意思。一词多义是说同一词在同一词类中，有几个不同的词义。词义的选择可以从以下三方面着手。（一）根据词类1、The earth goesround（介词）the sun.地球环绕太阳运行。2、The food supply will not increase nearly enough to match this，whichmeans that we are heading into a crisis in the matter of producing andmarketing（动词）food.食品供应无法跟上人口增长的步伐，这意味着在粮食的生产和销售方面我们将陷入危机。分析:market可以既作名词又作动词。在作名词时，可译为“市场”、“行业”、“需求”等等。例句中的market是作动词用的，可以译为“买，卖”或“销售”，根据句中描述的情形，用“销售”更妥当。（二）根据上下文和搭配关系3、Power can be transmitted over a long distance.电力可以被输送到很远的地方。4、A car needs a lot of power to go fast.汽车高速行驶需要很大的动力。5、Explosive technological development after1990gave the medical professionenormous power to fight disease and sickness.1990年以来，随着技术的迅速发展，医学界大大提高了战胜疾病的能力。（三）根据可数或不可数6、After their interview，he compares not theirexperience（不可数），but their statistics面试以后，他并不比较他们的经验，而是比较他们的统计数字。7、Our journey to Tibet was quite anexperience.（可数）我们的西藏之旅真是一次难忘的经历。二、在翻译过程中如何进行词义的引申?引申是指从原词的内在含义出发，结合语境和译入语的表达习惯，在译文中对某些词作一定的语义调整，以达到忠实、通顺的目的。英译汉时常常会遇到许多单词，按词典上给的词义来翻译，译文就会生硬难懂，甚至造成意思上的曲解。因此，需对词义进行必要的变动，引申出能表达词语内在含义的新的表达方式。引申既可化具体为抽象，也可化抽象为具体。（一）具体抽象8、Were it left to an American to decide whether they should have agovernment withoutnewspapersornewspaperswithout a government，he should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.如果让一个美国人决定要没有言论自由的政府还是要言论自由而无政府的国家，他会毫不犹豫地选择后者。9、There were times when emigrationbottleneckwas extremely rigid andnobody was allowed to leave the country out of his personal preference.过去有过这种情况:移民限制极为严格，不许任何人出于个人考虑而迁居他国。分析：bottleneck本指“瓶颈”，由于具有使缓慢和阻滞的效果，因而被抽象地引申为“限制”。（二）抽象具体10、While there are almost as many definitions of history as there arehistorians，modern practice most closely conforms to one that sees history as the attempt to recreate and explain the significant events of the past.几乎每个史学家对史学都有自己的界定，但现代史学家们的观点都趋向于认为史学是试图重现并阐明过去发生的重大事件。 11、When the Jones were little，they were forbidden to set foot there，because of the revolting language and of what they might catch.琼斯家里的人，小时候是不允许走进那里的，生怕学到一些下流话，或沾染上什么毛病。12、All theirregularities of the students in that university resulted in punishment.那所大学的学生作出的任何越轨行为都会受到处罚。3.如何使用“增补法”进行翻译?英汉两种语言，由于表达方式不尽相同，翻译时既可能要将词类加以转换，又可能要在词量上加以增减。增补法就是在翻译时按意义上和句法上的需要增加一些词来更忠实通顺地表达原文的思想内容。这当然不是无中生有地随意增词，而是增加原文中虽无其词而有其意的一些词。（1）词汇加词1）增加名词13、According to scientists，it takes nature500years to create an inch oftopsoil.根据科学家们的看法，自然界要用500年的时间才能形成一英寸厚的表面土壤。14、From agreement on this general goal，we have，unfortunately，in the pastproceeded to disagreement on specific goals，and from there to totalinaction.遗憾的是，过去我们在总的目标方面意见是一致的，但涉及各个具体目标时，意见就不一致了，因而也就根本不能采取什么行动。2）增加动词15、In the evening，after the banquets，the concerts and the table tennisexhibitions，he would work on the drafting of the finalcommunique.晚上在参加宴会，出席音乐会，观看乒乓球表演之后，他还得草拟最后公告。16、The cities utilize these funds for education，police and fire departments，public works andmunicipal buildings.市政府将这些资金用于兴办教育事业，加强治安消防，投资公共建筑和市政工程。3）增加形容词17、With what enthusiasm the Chinese people are building socialism.中国人民正在以多么高的热情建设社会主义啊!18、The plane twisted under me，trailing flame and smoke.飞机在我下面旋转下降，拖着浓烟烈焰掉了下去。19、What a sight!多美的景色啊!4）增加副词20、The crowds melted away.人群渐渐散开了。21、Theory is something，but practice is everything.理论固然重要，实践尤其重要。22、He was fascinated by the political processesthewheeling and dealingofpresidential politics，the manipulating，releasing and leaking of news，the public and private talks.一幕幕政治花招使他看入了迷:总统竞选活动中的勾心斗角，尔虞我诈;对新闻消息的幕后操纵，公开发表和有意透露，以及公开和秘密的谈话。5）增加表示名词复数的词23、When the plants died and decayed，they formed layers of organicmaterials.植物腐烂后，形成了一层层有机物。24、Thingsin the universe are changing all the time.宇宙中万物总是在不断变化的。25、There is enough coal to meet the worlds needs forcenturiesto come.有足够的煤来满足全世界未来几个世纪的需要。6）增加语气词26、Dont be childish.Im only joking.别孩子气了嘛，这只不过是开玩笑罢了。27、As for me，I didnt agree from the very beginning.我呢，从一开始就不赞成。7）增加量词28、A red sun rose slowly from the calm sea.一轮红日从风平浪静的海面冉冉升起。8）增加概况词29、It leads the discussion to extremesat the outset;it invites you to thinkthat animals should be treated either with the consideration humansextend to other humans，or with no consideration at all.这种说法从一开始就将讨论引向两个极端，使人们觉得要么就像关心自身一样关心动物，要么就完全不顾它们的死活。30、The thesis summed up the new achievements made in electroniccomputers，artificial satellites and rockets.论文总结了电子计算机、人造卫星和火箭三方面的新成就。31、We have got great achievements militarily，politically and economically.我们在军事、政治、经济等方面取得了巨大的成绩。（2）逻辑加词1）增加连接词32、Could you imagine what a fool I would make myself without that sum ofmoney on me?你能想象我要是身上没带那笔钱，该显得多傻吗?2）增加承上启下的词33、Yes，I like Chinese food.Lots of people do these days，sort of the fashion.不错，我喜欢中国菜。现在很多人喜欢中国菜，这种情况算是有点赶时髦吧!（3）语法加词增加表示时态的词34、Humanshave been dreamingof copies of themselves for thousands ofyears.千百年来，人类一直梦想制造出自己的复制品。35、The high_altitude planewas and still isa remarkable bird.高空飞行过去是而且现在仍还是一种了不起的飞行器。4.如何使用“重复法”进行翻译?重复法实际上也是一种增词法，只不过所增加的词是上文刚刚出现过的词。（1）为了明确1）重复名词36、I had experienced oxygenand/orengine trouble.我曾碰到过，不是氧气设备出故障，就是引擎出故障，或两者都出故障。37、Water can be decomposed by energy，a current of electricity.水可由能量来分解，所谓能量也就是电流。2）重复动词38、They wanted to determine if he complied with the terms of hisemployment and his obligations as an American.他们想要确定，他是否履行了受雇条件，是否履行了作为美国公民所应尽的职责。39、He supplied his works not only with biographies，but with portraits of theirsupposed authors.他不仅在他的作品上提供作者传记，而且还提供假想作者的画像。3）重复代词40、Big powers havetheirstrategies while small countries also havetheirownlines.强国有强国的策略，小国有小国的路线。41、He hated failure;he had conquered it all his life，risen above it，despisedit in others.他讨厌失败，他一生中曾战胜失败，超越失败，并且藐视别人的失败。（2）为了强调1）英语原文中有词的重复，译成汉语有时可以保持同样的词的重复。42、Workwhile youwork，playwhile youplay.工作时工作，游戏时游戏。2）英语原文中有词的重复，译成汉语有时可以用同义词重复。43、They would read andre_readthe secret notes.他们往往一遍又一遍地反复琢磨这些密件。（3）为了生动1）运用两个四字词组44、He showed himself calmin an emergency situation.他在情况危急时，态度从容，镇定自若。2）运用词的重叠45、I wasntevasivein my reply.我的回答并不躲躲闪闪。3）运用四字对偶词组46、The trial，in his opinion，was absolutelyfair.据他看来，这次审判是绝对公平合理的。5.如何使用“减词法（省略法）”进行翻译?省略是指原文中有些词在译文中不译出来，因为其在译文中是不言而喻的。换言之，省略是删去一些可有可无的，或者有了反嫌累赘或违背译文语言习惯的词。但省略并不是把原文的某些思想内容删去。（1）冠词的省略47、Because the bodys defense system is damaged，the patient has littleability to fight off many other diseases.由于人体的免疫系统遭到破坏，病人几乎没有什么能力来抵抗许许多多其他疾病的侵袭。48、Any substance is made up of atoms whether it isasolid，aliquid，oragas.任何物质，无论它是固体、液体或气体，都是由原子构成的。（2）代词的省略49、The desert animals can hidethemselvesfrom the heat during the daytime.沙漠中的兽类能躲避白天的炎热天气。50、We all tookitfor granted that he would attend the meeting，but in the endhe never turned up.我们都想当然地以为他会来开会，但直到最后他也没有露面。51、We live and learn.活到老，学到老。（3）连词的省略52、Like charges repel each otherwhileopposite charges attract.同性电荷相斥，异性电荷相吸。53、He looked gloomyandtroubled.他看上去有些忧愁不安。54、Ifwinter comes，can spring be far behind?冬天来了，春天还会远吗?（4）介词的省略55、The density of air varies directlyaspressure，with temperature beingconstant.温度不变，空气的密度和压力成正比。56、Smoking is prohibitedinpublic places.公共场所不许吸烟。57、A bodyinmotion remains in motion unless acted on by an external force.如果没有外力的作用，运动的物体仍然保持运动状态。（5）同位语前置名词的省略58、Behaviorists，in contrast，say that differences in scores are due tothe factthat blacks are often deprived of many of the educational and otherenvironmental advantages that whites enjoy.相反，行为主义者认为，成绩的差异是由于黑人往往被剥夺了白人在教育及其他环境方面所享有的许多有利条件。分析:在同位句中，the fact就是指that所引导的blacks are often deprivedofthat whites enjoy.在翻译成汉语时，就可以省略the fact，以免显得累赘。（6）同义词或近义词的省略59、Technology is the application of scientific method and knowledge toindustry to satisfy our materialneeds and wants.技术就是在工业上应用科学方法和科学知识以满足我们物质上的需求。分析:例句原文中的needs and wants是近义词，在英语中常一起出现，但从中文的角度来看，表达的是同一个意思。所以译文可以简洁一些。60、Insulators in reality conduct electricitybut，nevertheless，their resistanceis very high.绝缘体实际上也导电，但其电阻很高。分析: but，nevertheless是近义词，在文中都表示“但是”。6.在翻译过程中，如何进行词类转换?在英译汉过程中，有些句子可以逐词对译，有些句子则由于英汉两种语言的表达方式不同，就不能用“一个萝卜一个坑”的方法来逐词对译。原文中有些词在译文中需要转换词类，才能使汉语译文通顺自然。（1）转译成动词1）名词转换成动词61、Interestin historical methods has arisen，less through external challengeto the validity of history as an intellectual discipline and more frominternal quarrels among historians themselevs.人们之所以关注历史研究的方法，主要是因为史学家们内部分歧过大，其次才是因为外界并不认为历史是一门学科。分析: interest在原文中是名词，而在译文中为了符合中文的表达方式，在不改变意思的前提下，将它改成动词。62、With theclickof a mouse，information from the other end of the globe willbe transported to your computer screen at the dizzying speed ofseven_and_a_half times around the earth per second.只要一点鼠标，来自世界另一端的信息便会以每秒绕地球七周半的惊人速度传输到你的电脑屏幕上。2）形容词转换成动词63、Additionalsocial stresses may also occur because of the populationexplosion problems arising from mass migration movementsthemselves made relatively easy nowadays by modern means oftransport.由于人口的猛增或大量人口流动（现代交通工具使大量人口流动变得相对容易）所造成的种种问题也会增加社会压力。64、Doctors have said that they are notsurethey can save his life.医生们说他们不敢肯定能否救得了他的命。65、Success isdependenton his effort.成功与否取决于他的努力。3）副词转换成动词66、She opened the window to let fresh airin.她把窗子打开，让新鲜空气进来。4）介词转换成动词67、Many laboratories are developing medicinesagainstAIDS.许多实验室正在研制治疗艾滋病的药物。68、“Coming!”Away she skimmed over the lawn，upthe path，upthe steps，acrossthe veranda，andintothe porch.“来了!”她转身蹦着跳着地跑了，越过草地，跑上小径，跨上台阶，穿过凉台，进了门廊。（2）转换成名词1）动词转换成名词69、The universityaims atthe first rate of the world.学校的目标是世界一流。70、The net and electronic commerce will foster a large number offree_fancers，and this willaffectsocial structure in a big way.网络和电子商业将会造就一大批自由职业者，从而将对社会结构产生深远的影响。71、Numerous abstentionsmarkedthe French elections.这次法国选举的特点是弃权的人多。2）形容词转换成名词72、They did their best to helpthe sickandthe wounded.他们尽了最大努力帮助病号和伤号。73、Thedifferentproduction cost is closely associated with the sources ofpower.生产成本的差异与能源密切相关。3）代词转换成名词74、According to a growing body of evidence，the chemicals that make upmany plastics may migrate out of the material and into foods and fluids，ending up inyour body.越来越多的证据表明，许多塑料制品的化学成分会移动到食物或流体上去，最终进入人体内。分析: your body直译是“你的身体”，而细读原文，我们发现其实your body是泛指人体。作者为了引起与读者的共鸣，用了与读者更息息相关的your。在翻译时，应将此代词转换成名词，体现其真实含义。75、Though we cant seeit，there is air all around us.虽然我们看不见空气，可我们周围到处都有空气。4）副词转换成名词76、The new type of machine is shownschematicallyin Figure1.图一所示是这种新型机器的简图。77、Internallythe earth consists of two parts，a core and a mantle.地球的内部由两部分组成:地核和地幔。（3）转换成形容词1）副词转换成形容词78、The engineer had preparedmeticulouslyfor his design.工程师为这次设计做了十分周密的准备。79、When tables and other materials are included，they should beconvenientlyplaced，so that a student can consult them without turningover too many pages.当书中列有表格或其他参考资料时，应当将这些内容编排在适当的位置，以便使学生在查阅时，不必翻太多的书页。2）名词转换成形容词80、Most teenagers feel nodifficultyin learning and operating computers.绝大部分青少年在学习和操作电脑方面并不觉得困难。81、The instrument has been welcomed by users because of itsstabilityinserviceability，reliabilityin operation andsimplicityin maintenance.该仪器性能稳定，操作可靠，维护方便，因而受到用户的欢迎。（4）转换成副词形容词转换成副词82、The wide application of electronic machines inscientificwork，indesigningand ineconomiccalculations will free man from the labor of complicatedcomputations.在科学研究、设计和经济计算方面广泛地应用电子计算机可以使人们从繁重的计算劳动中解放出来。83、By dialing the right number，you may be able to select a play，golf lessonor lecture in physics，from apretapedlibrary in a remote city，for showingon your home screen.只要拨对了号码，你就可以在家里电视机上选看到由远方城市一座图书馆发出的预先录制的一出戏，一堂打高尔夫球的讲课，或者一次物理学讲演。7.在翻译过程中如何进行结构转换?结构转换着眼于句子成分的相互转换和基本句型的改变。句子成分的相互转换主要在主语与宾语，补语与表语，主语与定语，定语与状语，状语与主语之间进行。（1）句子成分的转换1）非主语译成主语84、Since the invention of the transistor at the Bell Telephone Laboratoriesin1984，it has foundits way into varied applicationsin the commercial，industrial and military fields.自从1984年贝尔电话研究所发明晶体管以来，晶体管的种种应用已遍及商业、工业和军事各个领域。（状语译成主语）85、Television isdifferent fromradio in that it sends and receives pictures.电视和无线电的不同点在于电视能收发图像。（表语译成主语）86、Matter is usually electrically neutral，that is，it hasas many protons，as electrons.物质通常是不带电的，就是说，它的质子和电子数量是相等的。（宾语译成主语）2）非谓语译成谓语87、There isa needfor improvement in your study habits.你的学习习惯需要改进。（主语译成谓语）3）非宾语译成宾语88、He is admiredby everybody.大家都很钦佩他。（主语译成宾语）89、Materials to be used for structural purpose are chosen so as to behaveelasticallyin the environmental condition.用于结构上的材料必须选择得使它们在周围环境条件下具有弹性。（状语译成宾语）4）非状语译成状语90、He drew adeepbreath.他深深地吸了一口气。（定语译成状语）91、Picturesshow him in the company of men like Churchill，Einstein andGandhi.在这些照片中我们可以看到他和邱吉尔、爱因斯坦、甘地这些人的交往。（主语译成状语）（2）基本句型的转化1）简单句转换成复合句92、Atthe slightest improvement in my work they would show warm approval.我工作稍有进步，他们就热情肯定。2）复合句转换成简单句93、This causes the construction of gigantic buildings where too large massesof human beings are crowded together.这样就盖起了许多人聚居的高楼大厦。8.在翻译过程中，如何进行倒译与顺译?按照原句语序进行翻译便是顺译。然而，英汉两种语言的语序经常出现差异，翻译时需重新调整语序，包括词序与句序，尤其当英语出现后置及倒装情况时。倒译是语法上的需要。有时由于意思的需要也要将原文的叙述顺序颠倒。这种将原文叙述顺序进行前后调整的翻译技巧便是倒译。（1）顺译法94、Computers can work through a series of problems and make thousandsof logical decisions without becoming tired.计算机能解决很多问题，做出成千上万个符合逻辑的决定，而不感到疲倦。95、From a long_term perspective，Internet shopping is but a low_levelaspect of the Net，and it is not likely to become the most important trend.从长远来看，网上购物仅仅是低层次的网络化，未必会成为最主要的趋向。96、We are taking steps to prevent stream and air pollution.我们正采取措施防止河流和空气污染。（2）倒译法97、Every living thing has what scientists call a biological clock that controlsbehavior.每一种生物都有控制自己行为的时钟，科学家们称之为生物钟。98、The moon is completely empty of water because the force of gravity onthe moon is much less than on the earth.月球的引力比地球的引力小得多，所以月球上根本没有水。99、That energy and mass are equal and interchangeable is known to everystudent of science.理科学生人人都懂得能量和质量是相等而且是可以互相转换的9.在翻译过程中，如何进行反译?反译即通常所说的反面着笔译法，是指突破原文形式的束缚，变换语气，把原文中肯定的表达形式译成否定形式，把原文中否定的表达形式译成肯定形式。（1）否定译成肯定100、Itsnot easyto talk about Dolly in a world thatdoesntshare a uniformset of ethical values.世界各地的伦理观念不同，因此就多利羊展开讨论很难达成一致意见。101、Iceis not asdense as water and it therefore floats.冰的密度比水小，因此能浮在水面上。（2）肯定译成否定10