英语特殊结构的翻译技巧
英语特殊结构的句型比较固定,在纷杂的英语句子中出一些普遍性和代表性的规律,对理解或翻译颇有裨益。在尊重汉语习惯表达方式的前提下,如何将英语特殊结构译成准确的汉语,是提高翻译水平的关键问题之一。
1.倒装句
英语倒装句,无论是完全倒装,还是部分倒装,都与汉语的语序有差异,翻译时应尊重汉语习惯,将句子理顺。例:
1)Down came the hammer and out flew the sparks.铁锤一落,火星四溅。<原句为完全倒装。)
2)Shot by the guerrillas were two entirely innocent tourists.被游击队打死的是两个无辜的游客。<原句为完全倒装。)
3)Not until the jet engine had come into use could planes travel at supersonic speeds.直到使用喷气发动机之后,飞机才能以超音速飞行。<原句为部分倒装。)
4)All the engineers could do was bridge it,and that was a hell of a job.But bridge it they did ,and only in twenty-four hours.项目师们所做的就是架桥,这可是一项艰苦的工作。但是他们却架起了桥,而且只花了24小时。<倒装句的主动词提前,因句中无情态动词,所以根据其时态加了did,翻译时不必译出。)
5)No matter what measure they took,in no sense could the overflowing tide be controlled.无论采取什么措施,外流的潮流都无法控制。
6)Not only are the different situations arising in practice too numerous,but the technical capacity of the contractors is too uneven to admit of any advice at a distance.这不仅因为实践中出现的情况五花八门,而且施工者的技术能力参差不齐,不可能考虑在远距离外提出任何建议。<原句的前半句为部分倒装。后半句中uneven意思为“不相等”,at distance“远处”,too...to含有否定意义。)
2.强调句
翻译好强调句的关键在于掌握好强调句型<It is...that/who/which/...)。应注意该句型与主语从句意义上的差异。例:
1)It is an unusual person who can live free from financial stress or who can spend money on others as he spends on himself.
只有不同寻常的人才能远离经济重压,才能把钱花在别人身上就像花在自己身上一样。<该句强调an unusual person,在译文中用“只有”两字体现出来。)
试比较主语从句:We had a lot of fun at the beach.It was really a fly in the ointment that George cut his foot on a piece of glass.我们在海滩上玩得很开心,美中不足的是乔治的脚被一块玻璃割破了。<句中的It为形式主语,代替that引导的主语从句。a fly in the ointment油膏里有一只苍蝇,喻美中不足。)
2)It was not until I got to the station that I missed my wallet.到了车站我才发现我的钱包不见了。<此类强调句型It was not until...that...可翻译成“直到……才……”。)
3)It is these cultural common denominators upon which we can build understanding,respect and communication.就是基于这些文化的共同特征,我们才能增进理解、尊重和交流。
4)Thus,in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers,coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes,that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.因此,在美国的经济制度中,正是各种不同消费者的需要和企业家获最大利润的要求及人们想获得最多收入的愿望联系起来,共同决定着要生产什么和怎样利用资源去生产。<该句的强调部分较长,但核心词是the demand,翻译时加上“正是……,”,使强调部分突出出来。)
5)I was stuck in a job I hated and trapped in an engagement with a woman I didn't love.At the time,both commitments seemed like a good idea,but I suppose it was the fantasy of being a successful,married businessman that appeal to me far more than the reality.我被讨厌的工作所束缚,并陷入与自己并不爱的女人的婚约。那时候,这两种承诺似乎都像是不错的构想,可是我却感到当个有成就的已婚富商的幻想,远比现实的吸引力大得多。<文中it was the fantasy of ...that...是强调句,反映了作者想“重塑自我”的心理状态。)
3.被动语态
idea是什么意思英语翻译英语被动语态使用比较多,尤其是科技论文中特别突出,这与汉语形成鲜明的对照。在汉语表达中,主动语态比被动语态用得更普遍些。因此,在进行英译汉时,最好能尊重汉语习惯,将英文被动句转换成汉语主动句。翻译时应注意运用以下技巧:
1)英语的主语转换成汉语的宾语
有些被动语态只能用汉语的主动句来翻译时,可以将英语被动句的主语变为汉语主动句的宾语,以便突出谈论的事物,不需要表明的行为主体可以省略。
<1)The present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness.绝不可用那些已经无用的习俗来束缚现在的手脚。
<2)At first only a few sentence patterns can be learnt.Consequently a teacher will find it difficult to make the work interesting and natural.刚开始时只能学少数句型。因此教师要把课上得有趣而自然,那是不容易的。
<3)Every day ,the news of the world is relayed to people by over 300 million copies of daily papers,over 400million radio sets,and over 150 million television sets.每天,三
亿多份报纸、四亿多台收音机和1.5亿多台电视机向人们传送世界新闻。
2)用“被”等词提示行为的主体
译文必须表示出被动时,可以用“被”、“为……所”、“受到”、“叫”、“让”、“靠”、“遭到”、“挨”、“将”、“是<由)……的”等词来表示,这样更能引人注目。
<1)The earth's surface in the area of M anhattan is composed of solid concrete.曼哈顿地区的地层表面是由坚硬的混凝土构成的。
<2)The makers of the spaceship will have seen that passengers are equipped so that this enormous speed does not harm them.The ship must also be designed so that the heat caused by the machine rushing through the lower air will not melt the ship,as a shooting star is melted and burned as it rushes through the air toward the earth.宇宙飞船的制造厂家必须保证让乘客有适当的装备,以防止因飞船速度过快而受到伤害。必须使飞船设计得不因其在低空飞行中摩擦产生高温而熔化,像陨星一样,在穿过大气层落向地球时被熔化和烧毁。
<3)On the whole,such a conclusion can be drawn with a certain degree of confidence,but only if the child can be assumed to have had the same attitude towards the test as the other with whom he is being compared,and only if he was not punished by lack of relevant informa- tion which they possessed.总的来说,得出这种结论是有一定程度把握的,但是必须具备两个条件:能够假定这个孩子对测试的态度和与他相比较的其他孩子的态度相同;他也没有因为缺乏其他孩子已掌握的有关知识而被扣分。
分析:该句除去but之后的两处省略部分:<can)only<be drawn)与...<can)only<be drawn)以外,出现的被动语态有:...canbe drawn...can be assumed ...is being compared ...was not punished。翻译时,只有最后一个was not punished译成被动形式,其他的都依照汉语习惯处理成主动形式。
5.分离结构的翻译
1)分离结构的翻译技巧
有些较复杂的英语句子,特别是长句中,经常有插入成分将句子的主———谓———宾关
系隔开,或者出现割裂修饰<分割定语)现象,造成理解和翻译上的困难。进行英译汉时应按照汉语习惯调整语序,将原意译出。例:
We contend,however,that this shift from products to service,if it is to be fully leveraged as a driving force,requires a parallel transformation in the way organizations are conceptualized,structured and ,most important,managed.然而,我们坚决主张,这种从产品到服务的转变,如果它作为驱力可以发挥杠杆作用,那么就需要在各种机构的概念、结构,更重要的是,在管理方面有相应的转变。<该句中的分离结构有:<1)主句中“however”将动词“contend”和that引出的宾语从句分离;<2)在宾语从句中“if...”条件句将从句主语“shift”与其谓语部分requires...分离;<3)插入成分“and,most important”将并列结构conceptualized,structured...managed分离。)