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语篇翻译--Part I 课文学习--第五页
Text and Translation
 
    评价一个人,先要了解他是个什么人,了解他的历史。胡雪岩,祖籍安徽绩溪,生于 1823 年,父早逝家贫。少年时读书不多...

    Mr . Hu Xueyan has no doubt become the focus 0f publishing and show business these years . The complete Story of Hu Xueyan , a best-seller by Gao Yang in Taiwan , has seen many reprints and impressions in China . A TV series based on his life was put on air years ago , which would soon been succeeded by another two series. The reason for the cast of the new series , it is said , is that the previous one , entitled Fragrant Osmanthus in Mid-autumn , failed to present the essence of Hu's business philosophy , and failed to catch up with the tide of commodity economy . So many companies are ardent in sponsoring the series that one general manager in China has pointed out that it really a tragedy for the Chinese business circle to prettify Hu Xueyan .

    It is tragedy because Hu Xueyan was only a shrewd but not so decent businessman. Born in Jixi , Anhui in 1823 , Hu was brought up in a poor family , with little schooling ...

    ( 选自姚暨荣: “ 论篇章翻译的实质 ” ,载《中国翻译》 2000 年第 5 期 )

    在第一段的翻译中,译者根据段落的内容概括出一个主题句,“ Mr . Hu Xueyan has no doubt become the focus of publishing and show business these years” ,使得译文更符合英语写作的规范,读者也比较容易抓住中心,顺着文章的脉络,去把握文章段落的主题。第二段也是如此,因为下文中,介绍完胡雪岩的身世之后,接着讲他如何营私舞弊、拍马钻营的套路,如何利用别人,甚至捐银买官,一步一步发迹的故书。

    汉语段落中的首句,有时可能并不是表达段落的主题,而起着一种导入主题的作用,形式上看,与中心话题关系不大,这种情况,可以考虑将它们删除或译成从属结构 ( 分词结构,介词结构,或从句 ) ,而根据段落意义增加英语译文的主题句。例如:

    中国各大城市因历史不同,文化各异,放射其独有的光彩。天津是近代崛起的城市,由于它地处首都北京的门户,便成为西方列强叩入古老中国的必经之地。 1860 年第二次鸦片战争之后,天津就被迫开埠,成为通商口岸.并应允英、法、美三国在天津城南紫竹林一带划地为租界。 1894 年中日甲午战争和 1900 年八国联军入侵津京以后,德、日、俄、意、比、奥等国相继在海河岸边开辟租界。各国修建的建筑都鲜明地具有其独特的风格,今天看来,可以一目了然区别开来。中西方文化便在这里激烈地碰撞,最初是生硬地穿插,渐渐又走向相互结合。 ……

    Owing to different history and culture , each of the major cities of China has its unique splendor . As Tianjin , a city rose in the modern times , is a gateway to Beijing , the capital , it turned out to be a place where the western powers must pass when they encroached upon ancient China .

    After the Second Opium War in 1860 , Tianjin was open to foreign countries as a trade port under the coercion . And foreign concessions were set up by Britain , France and the United States in the south of the city 0f Tianjin . In the wake of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 and the invasion of Beijing and Tianjin by the allied forces of eight powers in 1900 , countries such as Germany , Japan , Russian , Italy , Belgium and Austria set up their concessions on both banks of the Haihe River . The buildings constructed by these countries are of distinctive styles which can be easily distinguished one from the other . Here the Chinese and western civilization collided with each other sharply in the beginning and gradually blended with one another ...

    上例的第一句与该段的中心话题即 “ 由于各国列强划分租界地使得天津的建筑风格多样化”显然较远。而翻译中,译者显然没有注意到英语段落主题句的作用,使得整段英语译文没有中心点。为了使得译文更符合英语语篇习惯,译者可以有两种选择,将第一句删去或是将第一句译成从属结构:如,将译文的开头改为: Tianiin , like the other major cities in China whose special history and culture help to form their own unique splendor , has developed its unique style of architecture in the course of history ...

    段落的调整

    由于英语的段落一般围绕一个中心主话题,而段落内的每句话都紧密地围绕这一中心主话题展开,而汉语的段落划分则自由得多,因此,翻译中有时 ( 特别是汉译英时 ) 需要调整段落。段落的调整包括:

(1) 段落多余信息的删减;

(2) 段落的拆分和组合。

    (1) 段落多余信息的删减:

    由于汉语的段落结构相对要松散一些,因此翻译成英语时,可以根据需要做一定的删节。而删节部分的信息,如果有必要,可以在文章其他段落中补出来。例如:

    小说的艺术可以说是达到了出神入化的境界。严谨、缜密的结构,生动准确的个性化语言,特别是鲜明的人物形象,都是非常杰出的。书中出现的人物,粗计多达四百多人。不仅主角贾宝玉、林黛玉和其他十多名主要人物成为人们熟知的艺术典型,而且许许多多次要人物,有的甚至是一笔带过的,也都形象鲜明,栩栩如生。小说的艺术表现达到如此高超的水准,在世界文学名著中,也是极为罕见的。

    The novel is outstanding for its brilliantly balanced structure , a lyrical yet precise prose style and rich characterization . Although there are more than four hundred characters , the principal characters number fewer than twenty ; with Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu pre-eminent . Among the array of secondary characters , even those appearing only briefly are clearly drawn and realistic .

    汉语原文的下划线部分没有翻译,李运兴教授认为 (p . 211) :这是介绍《红楼梦》短文中的一个句群,主旨在于阐述《红楼梦》在人物描写方面的特点,但第一句和最后一句,一个像是开篇综述,一个像篇末总结,俨然形成了一个微型古文写作的“起、承、转、合”的惯用程式。而英语说明文则要求段落的一致性 (unity) ,因此与主题无关的多余实事应该删除,所以译者把这两句省略,以保证译文段落的一致性。
 
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