第一節(jié)　詞義的選擇、引申和褒貶

一、詞義的選擇

在翻譯過程中，首先碰到的問題是詞義。英語(yǔ)中一詞多義，漢語(yǔ)中一字多義，這是常見的語(yǔ)言現(xiàn)象。英國(guó)倫敦語(yǔ)言學(xué)派創(chuàng)始人弗思指出:“Each word when used in a new context is a new word．”這充分體現(xiàn)了英語(yǔ)詞匯的靈活性。因此，正確選擇詞義成為翻譯過程中極其重要的一步。

請(qǐng)看英語(yǔ)詞匯“run”在下列詞組中的含義:

由此可見，“run”一詞的含義極其豐富，除了本義“跑步”，還有許多意思。

再請(qǐng)看“way”在下列句子中的含義:

Which way do you usually go to town?

你進(jìn)城一般走哪條路線?

The arrow is pointing the wrong way．

這個(gè)箭頭指錯(cuò)了方向。

She showed me the way to do it．

她向我示范做這件事的方法。

I don’t like the way he looks at me．

我不喜歡他那種樣子看著我。

Success is still a long way off．

離成功還遠(yuǎn)著呢。

We must not give way to their demands．

我們決不能對(duì)他們的要求讓步。

漢語(yǔ)詞匯也是如此，下面請(qǐng)看“上”的例子:

再請(qǐng)看“輕”在下列句子中的含義:

這件大衣很輕，但非常暖和。

This coat is light but very warm．

易碎品———小心輕放。

Fragile———handle with care．

他年紀(jì)雖輕，但做事非常負(fù)責(zé)。

He is young at age but very responsible in work．

不要輕看自己。

Don’t belittle yourself．

不要輕易做出選擇。

Don’t make choices so easily．

今天我有些輕微的頭疼。

I’ve got a slight headache today．

不難看出，翻譯中選義的難易程度有多方面的因素在起作用。除了語(yǔ)言工具書可以幫助翻譯，更重要的是，要借助具體的語(yǔ)境。以下幾個(gè)方面都直接影響到詞義的選擇。

(一)名詞的數(shù)

英語(yǔ)中的大部分名詞具有單復(fù)數(shù)形式之分，而有些名詞數(shù)的變化會(huì)直接影響到我們對(duì)于釋義的選擇。

(二)詞的類別

英語(yǔ)中，同一個(gè)詞，詞類也相同，在不同場(chǎng)合往往具有不同含義。如:

(1)He is the last man to come．

他是最后來的。

(2)He is the last man to do it．

他決不會(huì)干那件事。

(3)He is the last person to do such a job．

他最不配干這個(gè)工作。

(4)He should be the last man to blame．

怎么也不該怪他。

(5)He is the last man to consult．

根本不宜找他商量。

(6)This is the last place where I expect to meet you．

我怎么也沒料到會(huì)在這個(gè)地方見到你。

同一個(gè)詞，詞類不同時(shí)，詞義更要仔細(xì)斟酌，如:

1．like

(1)He likes mathematics more than physics．

他喜歡數(shù)學(xué)甚于喜歡物理。(動(dòng)詞)

(2)In the sunbeam passing through the window there are fine grains of dust

shining like gold．

在射入窗簾的陽(yáng)光里，細(xì)微的塵埃像金子一般在閃閃發(fā)亮。(介詞)

(3)Like knows like．

英雄識(shí)英雄。(名詞)

2．firm

(1)That boy needs a firm hand to help him grow up．

那個(gè)男孩需要嚴(yán)加管教才能有所長(zhǎng)進(jìn)。(形容詞)

(2)He hold firm to his beliefs in his life．

他一生都堅(jiān)守他的信仰。(副詞)

(3)Our firm has made 200 workers redundant．

我們的公司已裁減200多名雇員。(名詞)

(4)The parties firmed up the contract in the end．

雙方最終使合同達(dá)成最后形式。(動(dòng)詞)

(三)詞的搭配

根據(jù)搭配不同，翻譯時(shí)各句詞義也有所區(qū)別。下面以英語(yǔ)詞匯“take”及漢語(yǔ)詞匯“讓”為例。

1．take

(1)I was taken aback by his rudeness．

他那樣粗魯無理使我大吃一驚。

(2)Your daughter takes after you very much．

你女兒長(zhǎng)得很像你。

(3)Let’s take the radio apart and see what’s wrong with it．

咱們把收音機(jī)拆開看看有什么毛病。

(4)The scandal took away greatly from his public image．

那丑聞極大地?fù)p害了他的形象。

(5)The smell of seaweed took him back to his childhood．

海草的氣味使他回想起童年時(shí)代。

(6)Sales of home computers have taken off in recent years．

家庭電腦的銷售量近年來上升很快。

2．讓

(1)請(qǐng)讓一讓。

Excuse me．

(2)讓我試一下。

Let me try．

(3)大夫讓我臥床。

The doctor advised me to stay in bed．

(4)他把客人讓進(jìn)來。

He invited the guest in．

(5)她讓我在雨里等了兩個(gè)鐘頭。

She kept me waiting in the rain as long as two hours．

(6)店主讓我父親一天干16個(gè)小時(shí)活。

The shop-owner made my father work 16 hours a day．

(四)對(duì)上下文或句子的理解

詞匯總是在具體的上下文中才顯得五彩斑斕，請(qǐng)看以下例子的不同選義:

1．business

(1)How was business today?

今天生意怎樣?

(2)It’s none of your business．

不關(guān)你的事。

(3)He set up his own business soon after graduating from the college．

大學(xué)畢業(yè)后不久，他建立了自己的企業(yè)。

(4)She is the best designer in the business．

她是該行業(yè)最好的設(shè)計(jì)師。

(5)Regarding the usage of the land，the business and the government disagreed

with each other．

政府和商界對(duì)這塊地的用途意見不一。

(6)She took her business to a trustworthy salesperson．

將她的主顧交給一個(gè)可靠的推銷員。

2．頭

(1)這娃娃頭真大。

The baby has got a big head．

(2)讓我從頭說起吧。

Let me tell the story from the very beginning．

(3)事情不能只顧一頭。

We mustn’t pay attention to only one aspect of the matter．

(4)這還是我頭一回來杭州。

This is the first time I have been in Hangzhou．

(5)他頭天上午就來了。

He came here on the previous morning．

(6)吉米把鉛筆頭給扔了。

Jimmy has thrown away the pencil stub．

二、詞義的引申

所謂詞義的引申，指的是在一個(gè)詞所具有的基本詞義的基礎(chǔ)上，進(jìn)一步加以引申，選擇比較恰當(dāng)?shù)臐h語(yǔ)詞來表達(dá)，使原文的思想表現(xiàn)得更加準(zhǔn)確，譯文更加流暢。詞義引申主要使用詞義轉(zhuǎn)譯、詞義抽象化、詞義具體化等方法實(shí)現(xiàn)。

(一)詞義轉(zhuǎn)譯

有些詞照搬辭典翻譯會(huì)使譯文晦澀、含混，甚至造成誤解。這時(shí)就應(yīng)根據(jù)句、文邏輯關(guān)系引申轉(zhuǎn)譯。如:

(1)heavy的基本詞義是重，heavy crop引申為大豐收，heavy current引申為

強(qiáng)電流，heavy traffic引申為交通擁擠等。

(2)sharp的基本詞義是鋒利的、尖的，sharp eyes引申為敏銳的目光，sharp image引申為清晰的形象，sharp voice引申為刺耳的聲音，sharp temper引申為易怒的脾氣等。

又如以下例句中:

(3)Optics technology is one of the most sensational developments in recent years．

光學(xué)技術(shù)是近年來轟動(dòng)一時(shí)的科學(xué)成就之一。(developments不譯為發(fā)展，引申為“科學(xué)成就”)

(4)The beauty of living California is that the whether is so good．

在加利福尼亞居住的妙處就在于氣候宜人。(beauty不譯為美麗，引申為“妙處”)

(5)The prisoner studied ways to escape．

犯人策劃了各種逃跑的方法。(study不譯為學(xué)習(xí)，引申為“策劃”)

(6)The elevator girl reads novels between passengers．

這個(gè)看電梯的姑娘在沒有乘客坐電梯的時(shí)候抓緊時(shí)間看小說。(between不譯為在……之間，引申為“沒有乘客坐電梯的時(shí)候”)

(二)詞義抽象化

英語(yǔ)中常常用一個(gè)表示具體形象的詞來表示一種屬性、一個(gè)事物或一種概念。翻譯這類詞時(shí)，一般可將其詞義作抽象化的引申，譯文才能流暢、自然。如:

(1)Every life has its roses and thorns．

每個(gè)人的生活都有甜有苦。(roses和thorns抽象化后引申為“甜”和“苦”)

(2)We have to cut through all of the red tape to expand to the French market．

我們必須克服所有的繁文縟節(jié)，開拓法國(guó)市場(chǎng)。

(3)Mary stands head and shoulder above her classmates in playing tennis．

瑪麗打網(wǎng)球的水平在班里可以說是“鶴立雞群”。(head and shoulder抽象化后引申為“鶴立雞群”)

(4)They left the hall in ones and twos．

他們?nèi)齼蓛傻仉x開了會(huì)場(chǎng)。(ones and twos抽象化后引申為“三三兩兩”)

(5)We have gone through the dog days．

我們已經(jīng)熬過了苦日子。(dog抽象化后引申為“苦”)

(6)How do we account for this split between the critics and the readers，the head and the heart?

評(píng)論家和讀者之間，也就是理智和情感之間的這種分歧應(yīng)如何解釋呢?(the head and the heart抽象化后引申為“理智和情感”)

(三)詞義具體化

英語(yǔ)中許多詞意義較籠統(tǒng)、抽象，根據(jù)漢語(yǔ)表達(dá)習(xí)慣，引申為意義較明確、具體的詞。這樣，譯文表達(dá)清晰、流暢、更加形象生動(dòng)。如:

(1)The car in front of me stalled and I miss the green．

我前頭的那輛車停住了，我錯(cuò)過了綠燈。(green具體化后引申為“綠燈”)

(2)The big house on the hill is my ambition．

山上的那間大屋是我渴望得到的東西。(ambition具體化后引申為“渴望得到的東西”)

(3)It’s a crime you didn’t finish school．

你上學(xué)沒畢業(yè)真是件遺憾的事。(crime具體化后引申為“遺憾的事”)

(4)This survey is the work of a real professional．

這份調(diào)查是真正內(nèi)行人做的。(professional具體化后引申為“內(nèi)行人”)

(5)Wait a minute．Let me put on my things．

等一等，讓我把衣服穿上。(things具體化后引申為“衣服”)

(6)The specific demands that a government wants to make of its scientific establishment cannot generally be foreseen in detail．

一般來說，一國(guó)政府對(duì)其科研機(jī)構(gòu)提出的具體要求是無法詳細(xì)預(yù)測(cè)的。(establishment具體化后引申為“機(jī)構(gòu)”)

三、詞義的褒貶

為了忠實(shí)于原文，僅查看詞典是不夠的。譯者還必須正確理解原文背景，了解其思想內(nèi)容乃至其政治觀點(diǎn)等，然后選用適當(dāng)?shù)恼Z(yǔ)言手段來加以表達(dá)。原文中有些詞本身就含有褒義和貶義，譯者在翻譯時(shí)要相應(yīng)的將其表達(dá)出來，但有些詞孤立起來看是中性的，而放在上下文中揣摩則可增添其褒貶色彩，譯者在翻譯時(shí)也應(yīng)恰如其分地將其表達(dá)出來。

(一)褒義詞

(二)貶義詞

(三)中性詞

英語(yǔ)中有些詞不具有褒貶色彩，但根據(jù)語(yǔ)言表達(dá)的需要，翻譯時(shí)要譯出褒義或貶義達(dá)到更加忠實(shí)原文的目的。

(1)reputation

a．I’m very lucky to attend this college with an excellent reputation．

錄取到這所享有盛譽(yù)的學(xué)校，我很幸運(yùn)。(褒義)

b．He was a man of integrity，but unfortunately he had a certain reputation．

他是一個(gè)正直真實(shí)的人，但不幸有某種壞名聲。(貶義)

(2)ambition

a．My sister worked so hard that she achieved her great ambitions．

我姐姐如此努力工作，最終實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的抱負(fù)。(褒義)

b．Ambition dominated their lives．

他們的生活受野心驅(qū)使。(貶義)

(3)demanding

a．This old professor has been persisting in his demanding research job．

這位老教授一直都不懈努力地追求著他的研究課題。(褒義)

b．As a demanding boss，he expected total loyalty and dedication from his employees．

他是個(gè)苛刻的老板，要求手下的人對(duì)他忠心耿耿，鞠躬盡瘁。(貶義)

(4)clever

a．Lucy is a clever and industrious student．

露西是一個(gè)既聰明又勤奮的學(xué)生。(褒義)

b．She is clever and always gets what she wants by playing office politics．

她詭計(jì)多端，總能靠耍手段達(dá)到她的目的。(貶義)

(5)aggressive

a．My wife is an aggressive white-collar worker，who does her job quite well．我妻子是個(gè)積極肯干的腦力勞動(dòng)者，她工作非常出色。(褒義)

b．U．S．business today is challenged by aggressive overseas competitors．今天的美國(guó)商業(yè)受到咄咄逼人的外國(guó)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者的挑戰(zhàn)。(貶義)

(6)incite

a．They incited him to go into further investigation．

他們鼓勵(lì)他再做進(jìn)一步的調(diào)查。(褒義)

b．The manager was fired for inciting his colleagues to leak the classified documents to other companies．

那個(gè)經(jīng)理因煽動(dòng)同事將機(jī)密文件泄露給其他公司而被開除了。(貶義)由此可見，詞義的研究頗有意義。只有在詞義選擇、引申和褒貶方面經(jīng)過仔細(xì)推敲，才能翻出更漂亮的譯文。

Exercises

一、翻譯下列詞組，注意詞義的選擇

二、翻譯下列英語(yǔ)詞組，注意詞義的選擇

三、翻譯下列各漢語(yǔ)詞組，注意詞義的選擇

四、翻譯下列英語(yǔ)句子，注意斜體詞在句中的含義

1．matter

1)It’s an important matter．

2)The article is full of matter．

3)It is a matter of no laughing．

4)I’ll be back in a matter of hours．

5)Of course this must have priority———it’s a matter of life and death．

6)Don’t trust him，no matter what he says．

2．lot

1)That’the lot．

2)A lot of people were queuing for the film．

3)I play tennis quite a lot in the summer．

4)Her lot has been a hard one．

5)A school is going to be build in this vacant lot．

6)If the quality of the first lot turns out to the satisfaction，we will place a repeat order with you in large qualities．

3．charge

1)The air is charged with odors．

2)The troops charged at the enemy lines．

3)How much do you charge for mending shoes?

4)An experienced worker is in charge of the project．

5)The court brings a charge of dishonesty against the prisoner．

6)Electrons are negatively charged with electricity;protons are positively charged．

4．change

1)Where shall we change for Liaoning?

2)I must change before I go to the party．

3)The witch changed the prince into a frog．

4)It was the hard work that had changed her．

5)In autumn the leaves change from green to yellow．

6)I have no change about me．Can you change me a ten-Yuan note?

五、翻譯下列漢語(yǔ)句子，注意斜體詞在句中的含義

1)做

a．你今天一天都在做什么?

b．畢業(yè)后她終于做了一名老師。

c．媽媽正在廚房做飯。

d．我已經(jīng)做完的家庭作業(yè)。

e．這個(gè)課題已做了充分的研究。

f．他做出要打她的架勢(shì)。

2)吃

a．他總是吃苦在前。

b．好漢不吃眼前虧。

c．你最好不要自討苦吃。

d．那是吃力不討好的事。

e．走這么長(zhǎng)的路恐怕你吃不消。

f．你要先考慮清楚，免得吃后悔藥。

六、翻譯下列英語(yǔ)句子，注意斜體詞的引申含義

1)The key won’t go in the lock．

2)Victory always goes to the strong．

3)I am of one mind with you on this．

4)We’re not going to let him bring shame on our corporation．

5)In two years，he was a national phenomenon．

6)I am busy packing my things for the long journey．

7)I marveled at the relentless determination of the rain．

8)The oil provides some cooling effects．

9)Its roots go back to many different countries and many different kinds of music and musicians．

10)The message might be carried by word of mouth or it might be translated into signs cut on a stick or knots on a string according to a prearranged scheme or code．

七、翻譯下列句子，注意斜體詞的褒貶

1)His notoriety as a rake did not come until his death．

2)Henry keeps boasting that he has talked to the President．

3)His new house was the envy of all his friends．

4)He had lied to me and made me the tool of his wicked deeds．

5)Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it．

6)That so-called sale is a scheme to swindle the consumer．

7)He was a man of high renown．

8)London is a city invaded by tourists．

9)He is doing famously at his new job．

10)We were shocked by his course manners．