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【摘要】鉴于英汉在表达方式上存在着差异,一些带有否定词语的英语句子采用直译法很难译成对等的汉语否定句。本文利用比较详实的翻译实例展示了通过把肯定句译成否定句、否定句译成肯定句这种否定转移法或视角转移法来保障译文即忠实于原文又使其对目的语读者具有可读性。
【关键词】否定词语;文化差异;否定转移;视角转移
【Abstract】In view of the differences in the mode of expression between English and Chinese, it is very difficult to put some English sentences with negatives into equivalent Chinese ones by literal translation. Many specific example translations from affirmative sentences to negative ones and from negative sentences to affirmative ones are used to show that the approach of negative transformation or shift of perspective has secured the faithfulness of the translated to the original and the readability to the TL reader.
【Key words】negatives; cultural difference; negative transformation; shift of perspective
【作者简介】王楠(1983-),女,河北唐山人,北京政法职业学院基础部讲师,硕士学位,研究方向:商务英语,二语习得;丁洪霞(1978-),女,山东临沂人,北京政法职业学院基础部讲师,硕士学位,研究方向:英语语言文学。
识别一个带有not, no, never和类似词语的否定句并把该句译成对等的汉语否定句似乎很容易。但是事实并非总是如此。原因在于英汉在表达方式上存在着差异。就这些差异而言,有时为了保证汉语译文能忠实于原文,需要在汉语译文中作出一些变动。譬如:
Won’t you mind signing your name here?
No, I won’t.
Yes, I will.
The above should be rendered into Chinese:
你不介意在这儿签字吧?
是的,我不介意。
不,我介意。
这一例子表明中国人在回答该问题上有别于英语为母语的人。母语为英语的人回答该问题依据的是事实而不是句子是否定句还是肯定句。奈达(1997)指出:“源语与目的语的文化差异越大,调整的需求就越大;源语与目的语的语言差异越大,调整的需求越大。但是,通常情况下,文化差异可以引起更为重要的调整”。所以,为了目的语读者的缘故,翻译一些英语句子时会使用否定转移法或柯平(1991)所称之为视点转换法。否定转移或视点转换主要表现在:
一、 把含有否定意义词语的英语肯定句译成汉语的否定句
1.动词或动词词组。
(1) More and more people prefer purchasing on line to shopping in a cash-and-carry store.
越来越多的人喜欢线上购物,不喜欢到现购自运的商店购物了。
(2) Please remember to bring your certificate of vaccination next time.
下次不要忘記带来你的免疫证书。
(3) All payments in reimbursement of taxes and duties are excluded from the contract price.
该合同价格不包括支付税款。
(4) The marketing manager is wanting to his duty.
那位销售总监部称职。
(5) The contractor failed to honor his obligations stipulated in the contract.
承包人未能履行合同规定的义务。
(6) The salesman sacrificed his conscience for money in cheating the old man.
这个推销员为了钱欺骗那位老人,没有一点良知。
(7) This law indemnified the hired against time lost in disease.
这项法律保障了雇工不会因病误工而遭受损失。
(8) They delayed in the shipment of cargo.
他们没能按时发货。
(9) Under such circumstances, you are released from obligations.
在这些情况下,贵方可以不履行责任。
(10) Some imported goods are knocked into a cocked hat by the Chinese ones. 一些进口产品的质量远远不及中国产品的质量。
(11) Their disagreement on the price prevented them from renewing their contract.
由于他们在价格上达不成共识,他们之间的合同不再展期。
2. 形容词。
(1) This project will require less investment.
该工程需要的投资不多。(这项工程投资较少)
(2) The stock and security market has been erratic .
股票市场一直涨落不定。
(3) They tried their best to work out a solution to have the country out of the ailing economy.
他们竭尽努力寻求使该国摆脱经济不景气的方法。
(4) He is a half-baked broker.
他不是个成熟老练的掮客。
(5) Turkey undertook few significant reductions on industrial tariffs in the Uruguay Round.
在乌拉圭谈判回合上,土耳其没有对工业品关税做出重大削减。
(6) This is a half-way solution.
这不是个干净彻底解决问题的方法。
(7) Offshore funds are exempt from U.S. regulation.
海外基金不受美国管制。
(8) She felt sad when he said her career is secondary.
听到他说她的职业生涯无关紧要时,她感到不悦。
(9) The subway offers cut-rate tickets for off-hour passengers.
地铁对非高峰出行的乘客出售减价票。
(10) He has a clear title to the house.
他对该房享有无债务的房产权。
(11) He worked hard to keep his outstanding loan paid on time.
他努力工作以便按时支付未偿还贷款。
3. 介词。
(1) The board of directors chose Mr. Smith over other candidates as the manager general of the company.
董事会没有选择其他候选人,而是选择了史密斯先生出任公司总经理。
(2) The buyer raised a claim against the supplier for he thought the equipment was below standard.
购货商因认为设备没有达标,向供货商提出索赔要求。
(3) He is above telling lies.
他绝不会说谎。
(4) A driver must sticks to the traffic law to load cargo within loading range.
司机必须要遵守交通法规,装货不能超过规定限度。
(5) He went into business against his will.
他经商不是他的意愿。
4. 连词。
(1) One of the closely watched measures included in this report is the capacity utilization ratio, which estimates the portion of productive capacity that is being used rather than standing idle in the economy.
報告里密切监管的方法之一是产能利用率。产能利用率是对经济活动中正在使用的而不是闲置的生产能力比例的估算。
(2) If Europe wants to produce a durable economic recovery and make its single market really pay off, it will have to concentrate on a lot more than lower interest rates and other typical pump-priming measures.
欧洲如果想使经济复苏持久并使单一市场成功就必须去做许多别的事而不仅仅是降低利率和运用其他一些典型的以政府投资来刺激经济的措施。
(3) I wish you had consulted me before you took that step, you’ve upset my applecart now.
你在没有采取行动之前征求一下我的意见该多好啊,现在我的计划被全盘打乱了。
(4) His audacious bet against the British pound last year seemed from his savvy reading of Britain’s economic malaise and a belief that, despite strong statements to the contrary, Britain would abandon the European exchange rate rather than continually defend the pound through repeated and expensive interventions in the currency markets. 去年他做出英镑不会贬值这一很有胆识的断言源于他对英国经济不景气状况卓有见地的分析和理解。他认为虽然其他一些见解也颇具说服力,但是英国不会老在货币市场上反复使用昂贵的干预手段来维持英镑,而是要放弃欧洲的汇率机制。
(5) The firm thought it would be better to unwind its positions than to buy gold.
该公司认为购买黄金不如平仓好。
(6) He said he would rather resign than stay as a yes man.
他说他宁愿辞职也不留下做个应声虫。
(7) But for their intervention, the two sides would have reached a contract.
若不是因为他们的干扰,双方就会签订了合同。
5. It is …that … (这不是强调句而是谚语):
(1) It is a wise father that knows his own child.
再聪明的父亲也不见得了解自己的孩子。
(2) It is a good divine that follows his own instructions.
即使好牧师也不会总履行自己的宣教(能说者未必能行)。
(3) It is a foolish bird that fouls his own nest.
再蠢的鸟也不会弄脏自己的窝(家丑不外扬)。
二、因英语否定句中还包含着具有否定意义的词语,所以句子的双重否定使句义变为肯定
(1) We could not wish for a more qualified person for the post than you.
在我们看来,你是该职位的最佳人选了。
(2) The company could do nothing but being swallowed up in the corporate merge.
该公司只能在该次公司合并中被收购了。
(3) The new government is determined to spare no efforts in curbing the present inflation.
新一届政府决心全力以赴控制当前的通货膨胀。
(4) The two sides didn’t leave off their talk until 3 p.m. without any fruitful result.
双方的会谈持续到下午3点钟,没有取得任何重大成果。
(5) Your quotation is not unacceptable.
贵方报盘可以接受。
(6) Eating disorders have a reputation as white, upper-middle class afflictions, reserved for adolescent girls who succumb to the dictum that you can never be too rich or thin.
饮食失调作为白人中上层阶级的苦恼而著称,为信奉越有钱、越瘦就越好的青春少女而特有。
(7) With such a great damage to the cargo, the shipping company can not fail to compensate for it.
由于货物受损如此严重,船运公司必须赔偿。
(8) We have no objection to the terms of the contract.
我们同意合同条款。
(9) They can’t help but redo the work at their expense.
他们必须返工,费用由他们承担。
(10) It is impossible but that a sever trade competition will take place between the countries.
国与国间的贸易竞争大战必将展开。
(11) It is marvelous for him to have finished such work that none but a man of genius could do.
他完成了只有天才才能完成的工作,真了不起。
上述例子中所采用的否定转移法实际上是一种归化翻译法,为含有否定成分的英语句子提供了一种替代翻译方法。韦努蒂(1995)把归化翻译法定义为译者使用目的语读者易懂流畅的文体翻译以便尽量减少原文陌生感的翻译方法。虽然由于不同译者在解读原文上的主观因素会使译文不尽相同,但是译者所能为和不能为的必须是以用最接近的自然对等语重现原语信息为前提,译者必须是能够打开语言和文化帷幔使人们能够清楚地理解原文信息意义之人(奈达,2001:139)。
參考文献:
[1]Nida, E. A.. Language, Culture and translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,1997:119,123,325.33.
[2]柯平.视点转换、具体化和概略化[J].中国翻译,1992:24-26.
[3]Nida, E. A.. Language and Culture——Contexts in translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,2001.
[4]Venuti, Lawrence. The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation[M]. London and New York: Routledge,1995:20.
【关键词】否定词语;文化差异;否定转移;视角转移
【Abstract】In view of the differences in the mode of expression between English and Chinese, it is very difficult to put some English sentences with negatives into equivalent Chinese ones by literal translation. Many specific example translations from affirmative sentences to negative ones and from negative sentences to affirmative ones are used to show that the approach of negative transformation or shift of perspective has secured the faithfulness of the translated to the original and the readability to the TL reader.
【Key words】negatives; cultural difference; negative transformation; shift of perspective
【作者简介】王楠(1983-),女,河北唐山人,北京政法职业学院基础部讲师,硕士学位,研究方向:商务英语,二语习得;丁洪霞(1978-),女,山东临沂人,北京政法职业学院基础部讲师,硕士学位,研究方向:英语语言文学。
识别一个带有not, no, never和类似词语的否定句并把该句译成对等的汉语否定句似乎很容易。但是事实并非总是如此。原因在于英汉在表达方式上存在着差异。就这些差异而言,有时为了保证汉语译文能忠实于原文,需要在汉语译文中作出一些变动。譬如:
Won’t you mind signing your name here?
No, I won’t.
Yes, I will.
The above should be rendered into Chinese:
你不介意在这儿签字吧?
是的,我不介意。
不,我介意。
这一例子表明中国人在回答该问题上有别于英语为母语的人。母语为英语的人回答该问题依据的是事实而不是句子是否定句还是肯定句。奈达(1997)指出:“源语与目的语的文化差异越大,调整的需求就越大;源语与目的语的语言差异越大,调整的需求越大。但是,通常情况下,文化差异可以引起更为重要的调整”。所以,为了目的语读者的缘故,翻译一些英语句子时会使用否定转移法或柯平(1991)所称之为视点转换法。否定转移或视点转换主要表现在:
一、 把含有否定意义词语的英语肯定句译成汉语的否定句
1.动词或动词词组。
(1) More and more people prefer purchasing on line to shopping in a cash-and-carry store.
越来越多的人喜欢线上购物,不喜欢到现购自运的商店购物了。
(2) Please remember to bring your certificate of vaccination next time.
下次不要忘記带来你的免疫证书。
(3) All payments in reimbursement of taxes and duties are excluded from the contract price.
该合同价格不包括支付税款。
(4) The marketing manager is wanting to his duty.
那位销售总监部称职。
(5) The contractor failed to honor his obligations stipulated in the contract.
承包人未能履行合同规定的义务。
(6) The salesman sacrificed his conscience for money in cheating the old man.
这个推销员为了钱欺骗那位老人,没有一点良知。
(7) This law indemnified the hired against time lost in disease.
这项法律保障了雇工不会因病误工而遭受损失。
(8) They delayed in the shipment of cargo.
他们没能按时发货。
(9) Under such circumstances, you are released from obligations.
在这些情况下,贵方可以不履行责任。
(10) Some imported goods are knocked into a cocked hat by the Chinese ones. 一些进口产品的质量远远不及中国产品的质量。
(11) Their disagreement on the price prevented them from renewing their contract.
由于他们在价格上达不成共识,他们之间的合同不再展期。
2. 形容词。
(1) This project will require less investment.
该工程需要的投资不多。(这项工程投资较少)
(2) The stock and security market has been erratic .
股票市场一直涨落不定。
(3) They tried their best to work out a solution to have the country out of the ailing economy.
他们竭尽努力寻求使该国摆脱经济不景气的方法。
(4) He is a half-baked broker.
他不是个成熟老练的掮客。
(5) Turkey undertook few significant reductions on industrial tariffs in the Uruguay Round.
在乌拉圭谈判回合上,土耳其没有对工业品关税做出重大削减。
(6) This is a half-way solution.
这不是个干净彻底解决问题的方法。
(7) Offshore funds are exempt from U.S. regulation.
海外基金不受美国管制。
(8) She felt sad when he said her career is secondary.
听到他说她的职业生涯无关紧要时,她感到不悦。
(9) The subway offers cut-rate tickets for off-hour passengers.
地铁对非高峰出行的乘客出售减价票。
(10) He has a clear title to the house.
他对该房享有无债务的房产权。
(11) He worked hard to keep his outstanding loan paid on time.
他努力工作以便按时支付未偿还贷款。
3. 介词。
(1) The board of directors chose Mr. Smith over other candidates as the manager general of the company.
董事会没有选择其他候选人,而是选择了史密斯先生出任公司总经理。
(2) The buyer raised a claim against the supplier for he thought the equipment was below standard.
购货商因认为设备没有达标,向供货商提出索赔要求。
(3) He is above telling lies.
他绝不会说谎。
(4) A driver must sticks to the traffic law to load cargo within loading range.
司机必须要遵守交通法规,装货不能超过规定限度。
(5) He went into business against his will.
他经商不是他的意愿。
4. 连词。
(1) One of the closely watched measures included in this report is the capacity utilization ratio, which estimates the portion of productive capacity that is being used rather than standing idle in the economy.
報告里密切监管的方法之一是产能利用率。产能利用率是对经济活动中正在使用的而不是闲置的生产能力比例的估算。
(2) If Europe wants to produce a durable economic recovery and make its single market really pay off, it will have to concentrate on a lot more than lower interest rates and other typical pump-priming measures.
欧洲如果想使经济复苏持久并使单一市场成功就必须去做许多别的事而不仅仅是降低利率和运用其他一些典型的以政府投资来刺激经济的措施。
(3) I wish you had consulted me before you took that step, you’ve upset my applecart now.
你在没有采取行动之前征求一下我的意见该多好啊,现在我的计划被全盘打乱了。
(4) His audacious bet against the British pound last year seemed from his savvy reading of Britain’s economic malaise and a belief that, despite strong statements to the contrary, Britain would abandon the European exchange rate rather than continually defend the pound through repeated and expensive interventions in the currency markets. 去年他做出英镑不会贬值这一很有胆识的断言源于他对英国经济不景气状况卓有见地的分析和理解。他认为虽然其他一些见解也颇具说服力,但是英国不会老在货币市场上反复使用昂贵的干预手段来维持英镑,而是要放弃欧洲的汇率机制。
(5) The firm thought it would be better to unwind its positions than to buy gold.
该公司认为购买黄金不如平仓好。
(6) He said he would rather resign than stay as a yes man.
他说他宁愿辞职也不留下做个应声虫。
(7) But for their intervention, the two sides would have reached a contract.
若不是因为他们的干扰,双方就会签订了合同。
5. It is …that … (这不是强调句而是谚语):
(1) It is a wise father that knows his own child.
再聪明的父亲也不见得了解自己的孩子。
(2) It is a good divine that follows his own instructions.
即使好牧师也不会总履行自己的宣教(能说者未必能行)。
(3) It is a foolish bird that fouls his own nest.
再蠢的鸟也不会弄脏自己的窝(家丑不外扬)。
二、因英语否定句中还包含着具有否定意义的词语,所以句子的双重否定使句义变为肯定
(1) We could not wish for a more qualified person for the post than you.
在我们看来,你是该职位的最佳人选了。
(2) The company could do nothing but being swallowed up in the corporate merge.
该公司只能在该次公司合并中被收购了。
(3) The new government is determined to spare no efforts in curbing the present inflation.
新一届政府决心全力以赴控制当前的通货膨胀。
(4) The two sides didn’t leave off their talk until 3 p.m. without any fruitful result.
双方的会谈持续到下午3点钟,没有取得任何重大成果。
(5) Your quotation is not unacceptable.
贵方报盘可以接受。
(6) Eating disorders have a reputation as white, upper-middle class afflictions, reserved for adolescent girls who succumb to the dictum that you can never be too rich or thin.
饮食失调作为白人中上层阶级的苦恼而著称,为信奉越有钱、越瘦就越好的青春少女而特有。
(7) With such a great damage to the cargo, the shipping company can not fail to compensate for it.
由于货物受损如此严重,船运公司必须赔偿。
(8) We have no objection to the terms of the contract.
我们同意合同条款。
(9) They can’t help but redo the work at their expense.
他们必须返工,费用由他们承担。
(10) It is impossible but that a sever trade competition will take place between the countries.
国与国间的贸易竞争大战必将展开。
(11) It is marvelous for him to have finished such work that none but a man of genius could do.
他完成了只有天才才能完成的工作,真了不起。
上述例子中所采用的否定转移法实际上是一种归化翻译法,为含有否定成分的英语句子提供了一种替代翻译方法。韦努蒂(1995)把归化翻译法定义为译者使用目的语读者易懂流畅的文体翻译以便尽量减少原文陌生感的翻译方法。虽然由于不同译者在解读原文上的主观因素会使译文不尽相同,但是译者所能为和不能为的必须是以用最接近的自然对等语重现原语信息为前提,译者必须是能够打开语言和文化帷幔使人们能够清楚地理解原文信息意义之人(奈达,2001:139)。
參考文献:
[1]Nida, E. A.. Language, Culture and translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,1997:119,123,325.33.
[2]柯平.视点转换、具体化和概略化[J].中国翻译,1992:24-26.
[3]Nida, E. A.. Language and Culture——Contexts in translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,2001.
[4]Venuti, Lawrence. The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation[M]. London and New York: Routledge,1995:20.