翻譯中的譴詞用句問題

基本的翻譯技巧一般包括 1).Diction(選詞用字); 2).Amplification(增益); 3).Omission(省略);4).Repetiton(重復(fù)); 5).Conversion(轉(zhuǎn)換); 6).Restructuring(詞序調(diào)整); 7).Negation(正說反譯，反說正譯); 8).Division(長句拆譯).我們將逐一為您介紹，歡迎點擊。

本期將闡述翻譯中的遣詞用字問題。

遣詞用字是任何翻譯工作者自始至終需面臨的一個現(xiàn)實問題。由于英漢分屬不同的語系，所以在翻譯時源語與譯語之間往往沒用相對固定的詞義對應(yīng)關(guān)系。本期用對比的方式歸納了英漢詞字層次上的五種對應(yīng)情況：1.完全對等，2.多詞同義，3.一詞多義，4.詞義交織，5.無對等詞語。

詞義辨析是遣詞用字的前提。本期從四個角度探討了如何判斷某一英語詞語的準(zhǔn)確含義，即1.根據(jù)構(gòu)詞法辨別詞義;2.根據(jù)指代關(guān)系辨別詞義;3.根據(jù)上下文或詞的搭配辨別詞義;4.根據(jù)不同學(xué)科或?qū)I(yè)類型辨別詞義。

在詞義辨析的基礎(chǔ)上，本期歸納了英語詞語翻譯的8種常用技巧：1.推演法，2.移植法，3.引伸法，4.替代法，5.釋義法，6.合并法，7. 圖形法和8.音譯法。

1. Correspondence Between English and Chinese at Word Level

----英漢詞字層次上的五種對應(yīng)情況

In most cases there is no existing pattern for sentence translation, nor are there fixed rules for word transformation. Generally speaking, the correspondence between English and Chinese at word level may be categorized as follows:

1) Word-for-word Correspondence

This is most evidently shown in proper nouns and technical terms. For example:

Marxism = 馬克思主義

Aspirin = 阿斯匹林

2) One Word with Multiple Equivalents of the Same Meaning

This is a common case in translation. For example:

犬：dog, hound, spaniel, mastiff, pointer, setter, retriever, terrier……

3) One Word with Several Equivalents of Different Meaning

This is also very common in translation. For example:

carry: 搬、運、送、提、拎、挑、擔(dān)、抬、背、扛、摟、抱、端、舉、夾、捧…..

走：walk, saunter, amble, stride, trudge, trapes, shamble, prance, scamper, clump, tiptoe ….

羊： sheep, goat, ram, ewe, lamb……

4) Equivalents Interwoven with One Another

5) Words Without Equivalents

In this case, an explanation is given instead of an equivalent. For example:

clock-watcher: 老是看鐘等下班的人

陰： (in Chinese thought) the soft inactive female principle or force in the world

陽： (in Chinese thought) the strong active male principle or force in the world

(目不識)丁: (not know one's) ABC

2. Methods to Discriminate the Original Meaning of an English Word

-----詞義辨析

Since English words are prone to various meanings, it is of vital importance for a translator to discern the right meaning of a given word. And the following are the major methods of discriminating word meaning suggested by some linguists.

1) Judging from the Word Formation

In order to discriminate the original meaning of an English word, it is necessary for us to have a knowledge of English lexicology, and specifically, a knowledge of word formation, such as compounding, derivation, affixation, blending, acronym, clipping, etc. A good command of them will help to shed light on the correct meaning of some difficult words.

For example, the word ""parabiospheric"", which consists of para-(outside) +bio-(biologic) +spheric (having the form of a sphere). After a brief analysis, we may safely put it into ""外生物層的"". Another more complicated instance, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. This extremely long word seems appallingly complicated. However, an anatomic study of its composition enables us to get a clear understanding of its meaning: pneumono- (of lung) +ultra- (beyond) + micro (very small) + scopic- (of viewing or observing) + silico- (of silicon)+ volcano + coni- ( koni, of dust) + osis (forming the name of a disease). Even if we are not sure of the equivalent of this medical term, we may roughly get the right meaning of the long word: a kind of lung disease caused by extremely small silicon particles. And a look into some dictionary leads us to the definite answer: 硅酸鹽沉著病，肺塵病(一種礦工易染的病)。

2) Judging from the References

The meaning of a pronominal word, that is, what it refers to, is to be judged from the references. The pronominal words include:

(1) third person pronouns; indefinite pronouns such as some, any, each, both; and definite pronouns such as much, many, few, little, etc. For example:

He [father] sent John to the university and was eager to have him distinguish himself.

他送約翰上大學(xué)，巴望能讓兒子出類拔萃。

(2) demonstrative pronouns, such as this, that, these, those, and demonstrative adverbs such as here, there, now, then, etc. For example:

Health is above wealth, for this cannot give so much happiness as that.

健康比財富更重要，因為財富不能像健康那樣給人以幸福。(or: 因為后者不能像前者那樣給人以幸福。)

(3) references of comparison. For example:

I hate blue shirt; white shirt suits me but gray is the most preferable.

我討厭穿藍(lán)襯衫，喜歡穿白襯衫，而最喜歡穿灰襯衫。

Without the referential words ""father"", ""health"", ""wealth"" and ""shirt"" in the above three sentences, it would be very difficult to make out the real meaning of such words as ""him"", ""himself"", ""this"", ""that"" and ""the most preferable"".

3) Judging from the Context and Collocation

The meanings of the words ""tension"" and ""story"" in previous examples are explicit enough in the context. Here is another example: develop.

1. His plane developed engine trouble only seven miles after takeoff. (發(fā)生故障)

2. Modern aircraft are so heavy that the wings must develop a very large lift force in order to sustain the aircraft. (產(chǎn)生升力)

3. Inspired by these ideas, in 1752 Franklin developed a practical lightning rod. (發(fā)明避雷針)

4. A hypothesis is a specific statement developed by a scientist from observations.(得出論斷)

5. Until the domain theory of magnetism was developed, they did not have much success. (提出理論)

6. To develop the capabilities of the geophysical prospecting, the renewal of the techniques and equipment is the first thing to be considered. (提高能力)

7. Most of the money came from selling the secret of a new type of potato he had developed. (培育新品種)

8. As young Goddard grew into manhood, he developed tuberculosis. (患上結(jié)核病)

9. We must develop all the natural substances in our country which can make us rich.(開發(fā)資源)

10. Several attempts have been made through the years to develop the deposit.(開采礦床)

11. In developing a design, the engineer must apply his knowledge of engineering and material science. (進行設(shè)計)

Collocation is also an inseparable factor in diction. Let's look at the word ""delicate"" in the following illustrations, where different renditions are given to the same word so as to suit the collocation.

Delicate skin 嬌嫩的皮膚/ porcelain 精致的瓷器/ upbringing 嬌生慣養(yǎng)/ living 奢侈的生活 /stomach 容易吃壞的胃/vase 容易碰碎的花瓶 / diplomatic question 微妙的外交問題

/difference 講不大清楚的差別 / surgical operation 難做的外科手術(shù)/ear for music 對音樂有鑒賞力

/sense of smell 靈敏的嗅覺/touch 生花妙筆 /food 美味的食物

4) Judging from Different Branches of Learning and Specialties

For example, the word ""base"":

(1) The lathe should be set on a firm base.

車床應(yīng)安裝在堅實的底座上。 (機械)

(2) As we all know, a base reacts with an acid to form a salt.

眾所周知，堿與酸反應(yīng)生成鹽。 (化學(xué))

(3) A transistor has three electrodes, the emitter, the base and the collector.

晶體管有三個電極，即發(fā)射極，基極和集電極。(電子)

(4) Line AB is the base of the triangle ABC.

AB線是三角形ABC的底邊。(數(shù)學(xué))

(5) He is on the second base.

他在二壘。(體育)

3. Some Techniques Employed in Translating a Given English Word

----英語詞語翻譯的8種常用技巧

In his Stylistics and Translation, Mr. Liu Miqing has suggested 7 techniques in translating a given English word. We may add in another technique, pictographic translation, to make up the total number of 8.

1) Deduction(推演法)

Deduction is to deduce the original meaning in the light of the explanation of an English dictionary. This is a major means in English-Chinese translation. For example:

Stopout --- (U.S.) a student who interrupts his education to pursue some other activity for a brief period 輟學(xué)學(xué)生

community--- a social group or class having common interests ……派(界)，……界人士

challenge --- to question the lawfulness or rightness of (sth. Or sb.) 對……表示懷疑, 質(zhì)疑; 對……提出異議

2) Transplant(移植法)

That is a literal translation of the parts of a given English word.

Microwave 微波 supermarket 超級市場

splashdown 濺落 dataphone 數(shù)據(jù)送話(機)

3) Extension(引伸法)

This may be either from specific to general or from concrete to abstract, and vice versa.

Bottleneck 瓶頸→交通狹口→阻塞 (from concrete to abstract)

brain trust 腦托拉斯→智囊團 (from specific to general)

brain drain 腦排干→人才外流→人才流失 ( from concrete to abstract)

It is more than transient everydayness. 這遠(yuǎn)非一時的柴米油鹽問題。(from abstract to concrete)

4) Substitution(替代法)

This is to replace the words of the original expression with Chinese synonyms or idioms according to different situations.

To kill sb. As an example殺一儆百 (or: 殺雞給猴看 )

Please withhold the handout.請不要發(fā)這些材料。

He was indeed a good riddance.他還是不在的好。

The same is not true with a mortal illness. 如果是得了不治之癥 ( or: 絕癥)，情況就不一樣了。

5) Explanation(釋義法)

This technique is commonly used when there is no corresponding Chinese expression and all the above-mentioned techniques fail to make sense.

Mindlessness 思想上的渾濁狀態(tài)

togetherness 不分彼此的集體感

redshirt 美國大學(xué)中在體育方面有發(fā)展前途的學(xué)生

swan song 絕唱，辭世之作、歸天之作

a throwaway society 一個大手大腳、浪費成風(fēng)的社會

6) Combination(合并法)

This means to integrate two words of close meaning into one expression.

So subtle and careful an observer 一位如此精細(xì)的觀察者

his mendacity and dishonesty 他的狡詐

a grim and tragic Christmas 一個慘淡的圣誕節(jié)

the body and mind cramped by noxious work有害工作造成的身心困頓

7) Pictographic Translation(圖形法)

By this technique English words are translated according to their actual shapes.

H-beam 工字梁 O-ring 環(huán)形圈

U-steel 槽鋼 V-belt 三角皮帶

X-brace 交叉支撐 Y-curve 叉型曲線

8) Transliteration(音譯法)

This technique is most frequently used in dealing with proper nouns (especially the names of people and places, trademarks, etc.). Besides, it is also used in coinage where no existing Chinese expression is available.

Wall Street 華爾街 The Times 泰晤士報

Pentium 奔騰 (計算機微處理器) Citroen 雪鐵龍(汽車商標(biāo))

quinine 奎寧(一種樹皮名稱) clone 克隆

Internet 因特網(wǎng) hacker 黑客

4. Diction in Chinese-English translation

Diction in Chinese-English translation is somewhat different from that in English-Chinese. If the crux of the latter lies in picking out the right Chinese word from those we know very well, the former then is much more difficult - we have to deal with an English vocabulary that we are not so familiar with. For example, the familiar Chinese adjective ""老"", so simple and common a word, when used in different contexts, the English equivalents rarely keep to its original meaning ""old""- that explains why we are often frustrated when trying to find out an accurate English equivalent for a certain Chinese word.

(1) 老戰(zhàn)士 a veteran

(2) 老領(lǐng)導(dǎo) a senior leader

(3) 老師傅 a master craftsman

(4) 老閨女 the youngest daughter

(5) 老黃牛 a willing ox

(6) 老芹菜 overgrown celery

(7) 老皇歷 last year's calendar

(8) 老生常談 commonplace

Apparently, the translation of the same original word varies with context and collocation, and there is no fixed pattern to follow either in English-Chinese or Chinese-English translation. A qualified translator must be aware of this circumstance and make conscientious and constant efforts to achieve the best effect."