順序法翻譯不改變原文表達語序,不會影響對原文內容的理解。
例1 即使在我們關掉床頭燈甜甜地進入夢鄉(xiāng)時,電仍然為我們工作:開動電冰箱,把水加熱,或使室內空調機繼續(xù)運轉。
譯文: Even when we turn off the bedside lamp and are fast asleep , electricity is working for us, driving our refrigerators, heating our water, or keeping our rooms air-conditioned.
在句子中,句子前半部分是一個讓步狀語從句,后半句的"開動","加熱","使......運轉"都是"電在為我們工作"的具體內容。因而在譯文中,譯者將這三個并行動作處理成了V-ing 形式,補充說明working的內容。譯文按照原句的語序完全傳達了原文的意思,采用順序法翻譯,達到了"精確,通順"的目的。
例2 It was a Saturday evening, when Tom was lying on the bench of the school listening to a blackbird and composing a lyric, that he saw the girls running among the trees, with the red-cheeked Joe in swift pursuit.
譯文: 那是周六的傍晚,湯姆正躺在學校的長凳上,一面聽畫眉鳥唱歌,一面寫一首抒情詩,忽然看見女孩子們在樹林里奔跑,后面緊跟著那紅臉的喬。
原句里一連串出現(xiàn)了一系列的動詞如:lying, listening, composing, saw,這是按湯姆進行這些動作的先后順序來描述的,如果在譯文中打亂這些順序,就反而會顯得凌亂,沒有邏輯。
6)逆序法
逆序法根據(jù)目標語使用者表達習慣與目標語讀者的認知能力,按原文語序反向翻譯,以便更好地傳達原文的內容。
例3 他經(jīng)常做禮拜的時候,總坐在固定的座位上,可是那天他們發(fā)現(xiàn)他不坐在老地方。
請讀者比較下面兩句譯文,你認為哪一句較好?
譯文1:When he attended worship, he always took a certain seat, but they found that he took a different one that day.
譯文2:They remarked how he took a different seat from that which he usually occupied when he chose to attend worship.
兩種譯文忠實傳達了原文內容。第一種為順序翻譯,第二種為逆序翻譯。第一種顯得有些冗長拖沓,且前后簡單句主語不一致(前半句主語為he,后半句主語是they),給人表述混亂之感。第二種由于采用了逆序法將原句意思用一個復合句表達出來,內容清晰,結構緊湊。
順序法和逆序法主要是針對翻譯長句而言,六級新題型漢譯英題不會涉及此類譯法,但作為翻譯策略之一,應有所了解。
Exercise Three
1.We wish to convey to you ________________ (我們衷心的祝賀).
2. __________________(無論從哪一方面考慮),they ought to be given another chance.
3. ________________(隨著時間的流逝),.they forgot their bitter sufferings.
4.We must _______________(使自己適應)the demands of our times; otherwise we’ll fall behind the other industrialized nations of the world.
5.The number of the students in the city has ___________________ (增加了五倍) in comparison with 2001.
1. our hearty congratulations
解析:全句意為:我們希望向你表達我們衷心的祝福。主要考查詞是"衷心的"。hearty 表示發(fā)自內心的,衷心的,親切的,熱烈的意思。如:a hearty welcome(熱烈的歡迎);a hearty invitation(真誠的邀請);a hearty support(全力的支持。另外,"希望(做)某事"可以說成:wish to do sth./ wish + sth.
2. Taking everything into consideration
解析:本題考查的是反面表達法。"無論從哪一方面考慮"即:方方面面都考慮到。"考慮"的短語表達有:take sth. into consideration /take sth. into account 。因為此句主句已給出,所以take應用現(xiàn)在分詞的形式,在句中作原因狀語。本句采用反譯法,使譯文符合英文表達習慣。