一、确立主干
1、确立主语
(1)避免主语机械对应
这个地区雨比较多。
It rains a lot in this area.
(2)方位词或时间词在主语位置
山下住着一位老妇人。
There lives an old lady at the foot of the mountain.
(3)用it做主语翻译主语是复合结构的汉语
信不信是你的事。
It is your concern whether you believe me or not.
*好是等他们回来。
It is advisable to wait till they come back.
勤能补拙
It is diligence that makes for deficiency.
2、确立谓语:英语的动词通常只能由某个动词或者系表结构担任
在人际关系上我们不要太浪漫主义。
We shouldn't be too romantic about personal relationship.
当他活着*,总要尽量多工作、多学习,不肯虚度年华,不让时间白白地浪费掉。
As long as he is living, he always works and studies as hard as possible, unwilling to dream his life away, let alone waste even a single moment of life.
二、语序调整
1、定语的位置:英语中,单词充当定语时多为前置,短语和从句充当定语时多为后置。
钓鱼是一项能陶冶性情的运动,有益于身心健康。
Fishing is an outdoor sport that can cultivate your mind and it is good for your mental and physical health.
2、状语的位置
他是1970年5月20日在北京朝阳区出生的。
He was born in Chaoyang District of Beijing on May 20, 1970.
3、汉英语言叙事重心不同:汉语先叙事,后表态或评论,以突出话题,这叫主题句。汉译英有时会译为掉尾句,即先表态或评论,后叙事,以突出主语。
万一有什么困难,给我们一个信。
Send us a message in case you have any difficulty.
4、汉英语言强弱词语的顺序不同:英语遵循前轻后重,前简后繁的原则。
一霎时,一阵被人摒弃,为世所遗忘的悲愤兜上心头,禁不住痛哭起来。
In no time, I was thrown into a feeling of sorrowful anger at being forgotten and abandoned by the rest of the world and could not help crying my heart out.
5、否定的转移
不是所有的金属都具有同样好的导电性能。
All metals do not conduct electricity equally well.
我的朋友都不吸烟。
None of my friends smoke.
6、习惯用法
衣食住行是老百姓关心的大问题。
Food, clothing, shelter and transportation are the biggest concern of the common people.
他饥寒交迫,吃了不少苦。
He suffered a great deal from cold and hunger.
三、正反互换
1、汉语正说,英语反译
那个房间的窗户总是关着的。
The windows of that room were never open.
2、汉语反说,英语反译
汉语用"无、不、没、非"等词表示全部否定,在英语中可用no, not, none, nothing, nor, neither等词以及否定前缀、后缀等来对应翻译。
学习外语离不开好的词典。
A good dictionary is indispensable for learning a foreign language.
汉语用"决不、永不、从不"等词表示*否定,在英语中可用never, not at all, by no means等进行对译。
在任何情况下我们都不应该放弃希望。
Under no circumstances should we give up our hope.
汉语用"并非总是""不是太"等表示部分否定,在英语中可用not every, not much, not always等进行对译。
汉语中用"几乎不、很少"等表示半否定,在英语中可用barely, hardly, seldom等进行对译。
3、汉语反说,英语正译:英语中有一类词形式上是肯定的,但意义上是否定的,在翻译汉语否定句时,可以直接使用。
生活远非净是乐事。
Life is far from being a bed of roses.
风景美得无以言表。
The scenery is too beautiful to describe.
4、双重否定的翻译:汉译英的双重否定用"否定词+not"来处理。
没有你的帮助,我是不能按时完成这一工作的。
But for your help, I should not have finished the work in time.
人不会不犯错误。
It is impossible but that a man will make some mistakes.
四、语态对译
1、汉语中的许多隐性被动结构在英译文中药转为显性。
推荐我的是一位教授。
I was recommended by a professor.
2、汉语泛称如"有人"、"大家"等做主语时,英译时多使用被动结构;含有"据说"等不定人称的词语时,通常比较固定的用被动结构进行英译中。
3、汉语表示被动的句子在译为英语时,也可能转为主动句:一是表示"开始"、"结束"意义的不及物动词;二是表示"移位"、"运转"意义的动词;三是无灵主语的动作正在进行时。
蔬菜正在锅里做着。
The vegetables are cooking.
五、长句翻译
1、原序对译:针对单一主语长句,关键是分清逻辑中心和层次。
我在山坡的小屋里,悄悄掀起窗帘,窥见园中大千世界,一片喧闹。
Without being noticed, I lifted the curtain of my small room, only to spy a bustle of a kaleidoscopic world down in the garden.
*为常见的是,一个人走着走着突然停下来,眼睛盯着手机屏幕发短信,他不在乎停在马路中还是厕所旁边。
We are very familiar with the scene when a person suddenly stopped his/her steps to edit short messages with eyes glued at the phone, not caring about his/her stopping in the road center or beside the restroom.
2、分句合译
它们几乎没有一个顾得上抬起头来,看一眼这美丽的黄昏。
Hardly any of them cares to look up and throws a glance at the beautiful twilight.
一个人的生命究竟有多大意义,这有什么标准可以衡量吗?
Could there be any standards to evaluate the meaning of one’s life?
3、断句分译
一个春天的傍晚,园中百花怒放,父母在园中设宴,霎时宾客云集,笑语四溢。
One spring evening, my parents held a banquet in the garden where all sorts of flowers were in full bloom. Instantly, a crowd of guests gathered together and their laughter was heard all over there.
六、无主句 但是,大体上看一个人对待生命的态度是否严肃认真,看待他对待工作、生活的态度如何,也就不难对这个人的存在意义做出适当的估计了。 However, if we, on the whole, can find out whether his attitude towards his life is serious or not and what is his attitude towards his life and work, it would not be difficult to make an appropriate evaluation of the meaning of one’s life.
