试析英语定语从句翻译策略

【英语论文】试析英语定语从句翻译策略ATentativeStudyonTheStrategiesusedinTranslatingEnglishAttributiveClause试析英语定语从句翻译策略ATentativeStudyonTheStrategiesusedinTranslatingEnglishAttributiveClauseApapersubmittedinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsofthedegreeofBachelorofArtsTheInstituteofOnlineEducationBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity摘要本文旨在研究英语定语从句的翻译策略,由于前置法、后置法、合并法及状语转换法在英语定语从句中广泛应用,作者在文中着重关注此四种方法的翻译策略。此研究对多个语料进行举例分析。本文中首先简述了英给语定语从句的概念与翻译的研究现状,其次给出了前置法、后置法、合并法及壮语转换法的概念及相关的翻译方法。然后,通过对30个英语定语从句译文进行分析,分别评论各个译文所采用的翻译方法。最后就英语定语从句中应采用的翻译策略提出建议。本研究表明,在英语定语从句的翻译中,必须考虑汉英两种语言的文化差异,运用正确的翻译策略,才能撰写出高质量的译文。同时,英汉两种语系的迥异差别使得译者在翻译时必须善于变通,根据上下文语境适当调整,灵活处理。汉译时必须正确理解体会原文的逻辑概念,合理安排译文的语序,按汉语的表达习惯处理行文。这样才能重现原文的内容,又保证了译文的通顺流畅。作者希望本文的研究成果能够对英语定语从句翻译的实践有所裨益,同时也希望翻译学术界对英语定语从句的翻译工作给予更多的关注和支持。关键词:英语定语从句;前置法;后置法;合并法;状语转换法;翻译策略AbstractThispaperfocusesitsstudyinthetranslationstrategiestobeappliedtoEnglishattributiveclauses.Theauthorshowsherparticularinterestintranslatingstrategiesonreversing,postpositioning,combinationandconversingintoadverbialclausesbecausetheyarewidelyused.Basedontheanalysisofseveralrationale,thisresearchaimstocomeupwithsomestrategiesintranslatingEnglishattributiveclauses.ItfirstprovidesareviewofthedefinitionofEnglishattributiveclauses,andexistingtranslationprinciplesandstrategies.Second,itcoversconceptsofreversing,postpositioning,combinationandconversingintoadverbialclauses,aswellasthestrategiesoftranslatingthem.Then30selectedexamplesofattributiveclausesareanalyzedandthetranslationstrategiesofeveryexamplesarecommentedbytheauthor.Finally,theconclusionofferssomesuggestionsontheuseofappropriatestrategiesintranslatingattributiveclauses.TheresearchshowsthatonlybytakingintoaccounttheculturedifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinese,canatranslatorcreateorselecteffectivestrategiestohelpproduceaqualitytranslation.Inaddition,bothoflanguagesarefromdifferentlanguagefamilies,whichmakesthetranslatormustversatile,appropriatelyandflexiblelydealwithbaseoncontext.Thereforethetranslatorshouldwellunderstandthelogicalconceptoftheoriginalcontext,andarrangethewordsequencesaccordingtotheChinesewayofexpressiontodealwiththelanguage,soastoreproducetheoriginalcontentandensurethefluenttranslation.TheauthorhopedthatthisresearchcanbeusefulforthefutureEnglishattributiveclausetranslationpractice.Meanwhile,shelooksforwardtoseeingmoreattentionpaidandeffortdevotedtothedevelopmentofattributiveclausetranslation.Keywords:Englishattributiveclause;reversing;postpositioning;combination;conversingintoadverbialclause;translationstrategyDIRECTIONSFORLEARNERS1Analyzethedatainnolessthan1,000wordsbyusingoneorsomeofthemethodsrecommendedinStep2andStep3ofStage7inWritingYourBAPaperThroughPracticalTranslationProjectDesign.Theanalysisshouldbebasedontheexamplesfromthedata,ornolessthan3samplesfromeachcategoryofthedata.2Theheadingforthissectionhasbeengiven.Youmaydecideonyourownsubheadingsifthereareany.3Insertyouranalysisofthedatainparagraphs,tables,diagramsorlistingsinthespacebelow.4.DataAnalysisAttributiveclausesarewidelyusedinEnglish.Inordertoprovidegoodtranslationforpeople,itisnecessarytofindpropertranslationstrategies.Thepurposeoftheresearchistoseekforcorrespondingtranslationstrategieswhichcanserveasreferencefortranslationpractice.Therefore,thefocusisonthetranslationskillsindetailthatcanbeusedasprinciplesinhandlingtranslation.4.1TheAnalysisofTranslationRestrictiveAttributiveClauses4.1.1TheanalysisofreversingtranslationusedinEnglishrestrictiveattributiveclausesReversing,asdefinedbyGuoFuqiangGuo,2008:121-125,meanschangingtheoriginalsentencepositionnoftheattributiveclause,maketheclausebeforethemodifiedword.Originalorderingreferstotranslatetheattributiveclauseaccordingtoitsoriginalorderinthesentence.限制性定语从句与主句联系紧密,一般不能分割,翻译时,要省去连词,译成“…的”定语词组,即将复合句译成汉语单句,前置法常用于较短的定语从句中。InExample1,therestrictiveattributiveclause“whichpeoplecommunicateideaswitheachother”(人们交流思想的)ismadebeforethemodifiedword“tool”(工具)bythetranslator.Betweenthem,thetranslatoradda“的”tochangetheoriginalsentencepositionoftheclause.InExample2,therestrictiveattributiveclause“whopreparedthemagnificentdinner”istranslatedbyadding“的”as“准备了这次盛大晚会的人”,and“whohaveprovidedthesplendidmusic”istranslatedas“演奏了这样美好音乐的人”byaddinga“的”。InExample3,therestrictiveattributiveclause“whatwevaluemost”canbetranslatedas“我们最珍惜的东西”byadding“的”。Onlyinthisway,canthesentencebereadclearlyandcoherently.InExample2,therestrictiveattributiveclause“thepeoplewhoworkedforheralladmiredherclevernessandcourage”istranslatedas“在她手下工作的人都很佩服她的智慧和勇气”。4.1.2TheanalysisofpostpositioningtranslationusedinEnglishrestrictiveattributiveclausesPostpositioning,asitismentionedinGuYueguo’sbook,meanssomerestrictiveattributiveclausesespeciallywhentheyareverylong,maybestbeputafterthewordstheymodify.Gu,2008:185InExample5,therestrictiveattributiveclause“whichisclosetotheheartofeveryChineseandforwhich”modifies“theideal”,canbetranslatedas“这个理想是每个中国人所爱的”。InExample6,therestrictiveattributiveclause“whofirstreadthenewspaper”modifies“he”.Herecanbetranslatedas“是他第一个看了那份报纸”。InExample7,“that”clausemodifies“eachdaywemadechoices”.Itcanbetranslatedas“我们每天都要做出选择,其选择结果也会影响自己的生活,有时也会影响别人的生活”。4.1.3TheanalysisofdivisiontranslationusedinEnglishrestrictiveattributiveclausesDivisionmeansmakeaEnglishattributiveclausetranslatedintoaindependentclausewithinacompoundsentence.InExample8,therestrictiveattributiveclause“thatweigheduptotwopoundseach”modifies“tomatoes”.Itcanbetranslatedas“西红柿,每个重达两磅”byrepeatingtheEnglishantecedent.Example9alsocanbeusedthesamemethodasExample8,splitupthewholesentenceandtranslaterespectively.4.1.4TheanalysisofmixturetranslationusedinEnglishrestrictiveattributiveclausesMixturemeansthatbreakingtheoriginalphrasestructure,thentranslatedtheoriginalmeaning.InExample10,therestrictiveattributiveclause“whowantstoseeyou”modifies“amandownstairs”.Thissentenceonlycanbesimplelyandsmoothlytranslatedas“楼下有人要见你”,notonlysimplebutalsonatural.InEample11,“Goodlockshavependulums”ismodifiedby“whichareautomaticallycompensatedfortemperaturechanges”Thisoriginalphrasestructuremustbebrokenfortranslatingsmoothly,sothatitcanbeuseddivisionmethodtotranslateas“好的钟摆可以自动补偿温度变化造成的误差”。Example12isalongandcompoundsentence,wecantranslateitbymixture.4.1.5TheanalysisofconversingintocdverbialclausestranslationusedinEnglishrestrictiveattributiveclausesInExample13,theattributiveclauseplaystheroleofattributivebutalsoplaystheroleofadverbial,indicatingthereason.Therefore,thissentencecouldbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofreason.Example14issameasExample13.Example15expressesthepurposeofthesubject.Sothetranslatorcouldtranslateitintoanadverbialclauseofpurpose.Example16couldbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofresult.Example17couldbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofcondition4.2TheAnalysisofTranslationNon-restrictiveAttributiveClausesThepurposeoftheresearchistoexploreacorrespondingtranslationstrategieswhichcanserveasreferencefortranslationpractice.Thereforethefocusisnotonthetranslationskillsbutongeneralrulesthatcanbeusedasprinciplesindealingwithtranslationofnon-restrictiveattributiveclauses.Ontheotherhand,thedataanalysisinthisprojectwillcoverthefollowingaspects:1Theanalysisofconversingintoadverbialclausesadoptedtotranslatenon-restrictiveattributiveclauses.2Reversingusedintranslatingnon-restrictiveattributiveclauses.3Originalorderingusedintranslatingnon-restrictiveattributiveclauses.4Divisionadoptedtotranslatenon-restrictiveattributiveclauses.5Theanalysisofcombinationusedintranslatingnon-restrictiveattributiveclauses.4.2.1Theanalysisofconversingintoadverbialclausesadoptedtotranslatenon-restrictiveattributiveclausesInExample18,thesentence“Ihavenotgivenupmyefforttogetapassport”isusedtodescribethefact,“whichwillenablemetovisitChina”isusedtoexpressthepurposeofgettingapassport.Thereforethisnon-restrictiveattributiveclausecanbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofpurposeas“在争取获得一张护照,以便访问中国”。Inthesameway,Example19couldbetranslatedanadverbialclauseoftime.Example20describesthereasonwhyacatcanseeclearlyinthenight,soitcouldbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofreason.Example21expressestheresultof“hedecidedtotakethisdifficultcourse”,soconsiderthewholesentenceshouldbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofresult.Exampe22showsustheconditionthatmenwanttokeepalivetheirfamiliesjustdesperateforwork.Hence,thissentencecanbetranslatedintoanadverbialclauseofcondition.4.2.2Reversingusedintranslatingnon-restrictiveattributiveclausesInExample23,thisisacompoundsentence,inthiscasewecanadoptthereversingtomakethesentencesmoothandclearlyinsense.Becauseitisbettertotranslateitas“如何看待当前这种使得我们每个人不寒而栗的战争呢?”ratherthan“如何看待当前这种战争呢?它使我们每个人不寒而栗”。Example24isacomparativesentence,whichshouldusereversingtotranslateitasasimplesentence.Itisbetterthantranslatedas“他喜欢妹妹,其热情愉快;而他不喜欢哥哥,其冷漠高傲”。Thelattersoundsunnatural.4.2.3Originalorderingusedintranslatingnon-restrictiveattributiveclausesInExample25,“whereheisamachinist”playsaroleofcompensating,soitcanbeadoptedoriginalorderingtotranslate.InExample26,therearetwoseparatedsentencetodescribeafact.Accordingtothecontext,itcanbetranslatedbyoriginalordering.4.2.4Divisionadoptedtotranslatenon-restrictiveattributiveclausesExample27andExample28aretwosimplesentencesbothinstructuresandmeanings.Theyjustdescribethetruth.Thereforewecanadoptdivisiontotranslatethemseparately.4.2.5Theanalysisofcombinationusedintranslatingnon-restrictiveattributiveclausesInExample29,“Thesun,whichhadhiddenallday”couldbetranslatedas“整天躲在云层里的太阳”betterthan“太阳整天躲在云层里”。AsforExample30,itisalongsentencebutsimplestructure.Inordertomakethemeaningclearlyexpressed,wecouldtranslateitas“甚至一直支持她的丈夫也劝她放弃”。ASSESSMENTCHECKLISTFORTUTORSPleasetickinthepropercellandwriteyouroverallcommentsintheboxof“Tutor’sComments”below.In-textcommentsshouldalsobeofferedifnecessary.评价项目AssessmentItems 评价指标AssessmentCriteria 评估Acceptable/Revise请打勾进行评估(√)合格 需修改语料分析DataAnalysis 与研究目标相关。Theanalysisisrelatedtotheobjectiveoftheresearch以“文献综述”中引用的概念或理论为支持。TheAnalysisissupportedbytheconceptsortheoriesquotedintheRationale针对语料中原语与译语的差异(建议从语言、体裁、修辞或文化等角度比较),或同一原语的不同译语间的差异(建议从翻译的社会背景、目标、对象或译者的翻译倾向等角度比较),具体分析语言、文化或社会因素对翻译的影响。Theanalysisillustratestheeffectsoflinguistic,culturalorsocialvariantsontranslationbycomparingandcontrastingthesourcelanguagewiththetargetlanguagefromthelinguistic,stylistic,rhetorical,culturalorotherperspectives,ordifferenttranslationversionintermsofthesocialbackground,translationpurpose,targetreader,translator’sapproachtotranslation,etc.分析充分详细,涵盖语料中的相关示例或相关示例代表,代表不少于3例。Theanalysisisadequateanddetailed,basedontheexamplesfromthedata,ornolessthan3samplesfromeachcategoryofthedata语言准确,表意清楚,逻辑连贯。Theanalysisispresentedinclear,correctandcoherentEnglish6字数不少于1,000字。Theanalysiscontainsnolessthan1,000Englishwords7.格式(标题、字体和行间距)符合要求。TheanalysisisformattedasrequiredTutor’sComments:DIRECTIONSFORLEARNERS1Derivetheresultsfromtheanalysisyouhavemadeabove,andthenbasedontheseresults,makesomesuggestionsonthefuturetranslatingpractice.Thesectionofresultsandsuggestionsshouldcontainnolessthan1,000Englishwords.2Theheadingforthissectionhasbeengiven.Youmaydecideonyourownsubheadingsifthereareany.3Inserttheresultsandsuggestionsinthespacebelow5.ResultsandSuggestions5.1ResultsWhatispracticelikeinattributiveclausetranslation?Basedontheaboveanalysis,wefindfourprinciplessuggestedbyGuYueguo2008,puttingrestrictiveattributiveclausesbeforetheworditmodifies,adding的;putitaftertheworditmodifiesandmakingitanothersentence,andmergingitintotherestofsentenceareappliedbytranslatorintranslatingEnglishattributiveclauses.Lastbutnottheleast,conversingintoadverbialclausesarealsoadoptedwidelyadoptedintranslating.Puttingrestrictiveattributiveclausesbeforetheworditmodifies,adding的,alsocalledreversing;Onthecontrary,putitaftertheworditmodifiesandmakingitanothersentence,andmergingitintotherestofsentencearealsonamedpostpositioning.Theadvantageofreversingistoconveythelinguisticandculturalinformationaswellasthetranslator’screativepurposetothereaders.ItisusedfrequentlyindealingwithtransaltingEnglishattributiveclauses.Consideringdifferentcultureandlanguageorderduringtranslatingattributiveclause,themethodofreversingisnominatedtoexpresstheoriginallogicconceptandmeaning.Thespecifictranslatingstrategieslikereversing,postpositioning,originalordering,division,combination,andmixtureareusedtosmooththedifferenceinexpressandhabitscausedbysocialandculturaldifferencebetweenChineseandEnglish.Thenwhatconsiderationsshouldthetranslatortakeintoaccountwhileindealingwithculturaldifferencesintranslation?WhattranslationstrategiesaremoreappropriatefortranslatingEnglishattributiveclauses?Myresearchhascometothefollowingfindings:TheChinesereader’sresponseisstillasignificantcriterionandthemainconsiderationintranslatingEnglishattributiveclauses.Nomatterwhatwords,sentencesortonetheychoose,thetranslatorshouldconsiderwhetherthetranslationsaresuitableforChinese.ItisalsoveryimportanttomakethetranslationconformstoChineseusualpractice.BecausetherearenoattributiveclausesinChinese,EnglishattributiveclausesaredifferentfromChinesesentencesinlogicandstructure,sothatwecanunderstandinrightway.Accordingtothegeneralprincipleoftranslation,thetranslatorshouldensurethetranslationsaresmoothandclear.5.2SuggestionsontheUseofTranslationStrategiesAsweknow,excellenttranslationshouldbefaithfultotheoriginalinideologicalcontent,reflectingthesceneandflavoroftheoriginalandabsorbingthenewwaysofexpression.SoisthetranslationofEnglishattributiveclause.Translatorsshouldadoptvariouscreativestrategies,soastoreachthe“closesttonaturalequivalenceofthesource-languagemessage.”NidaandTaber,1969:12HerearesomesuggestionsforthefuturepracticeoftranslationgEnglishattributiveclauses.Aslongaswetranslatetheclauses,thestrategiesofreversing,postpositioning,combinationandconversingintoattributiveclauses.Bythecomplementaryuseofthesefourprinciples,numerousattributiveclausescouldbeunderstoodbytheChinesepeople.Thefourspecificstrategiesprovidedasfollows.Incaseofshortsentencesofrestrictiveattributiveclauses,whichmergedinthemainsentences,shouldbetranslatedbyaddinga的。Itisalsoadoptedinnon-restrictiveattributiveclause.Forinstance,“the