翻译汉译英之主语的确定.ppt

1、Determining the Subject a Sentence,主语的选择,钱你不用还了。这匹马上骑着两个人。被人缠上是件讨厌的事儿。老子打儿子,天经地义。上面坐着主席团。从她那儿能找到解决问题的办法。说的是古代的一个老头，名叫愚公。给国家纳税是天经地义的事。,You dont have to pay it back/repay the money.Two people were riding on the horse.It is annoying to be pestered/troubled.It is perfectly justified for a father to beat

2、 his own son.On the platform were sitting the members of the presidium.We can turn to her for a solution.The story is about an old man named Yugong in ancient times.It is only right and proper that we should pay taxes to the state.,1汉英主谓结构的差异,1.1主题Vs 主语1.2有灵Vs 无灵1.3 零主语Vs 形式主语,1.1主题Vs 主语,主语显著的语言是指该语

3、言的核心句型是主语谓语构成的框架，而主题显著是指由主题述题构成的句式。主题即句子的起首部分，相当于“话题”，述题是针对“话题”发表的信息或评论，通常是“新的信息”。汉语句子的主题可能是名词结构，与主语一致，但在很多情况下还可能是其他成分。汉语是“注重主题的语言”(topic-prominent language)英语是“注重主语的语言”(subject-prominent language).e.g.这件事你不用操心。（通顺）This you dont need to worry about.()You dont need to worry about this.()It is unneces

4、sary for you to worry about this.()(汉语没有对应结构)There is no need for you to worry about this.()（汉语没有对应结构）,C-E，主语不一定相同,英语属于偏重形式的语言，一个句子要独立表达一个完整的意思，必须包含主语和谓语两个组成部分，英语中绝大部分句子都是按“主语谓语”形式构建而成的。主语与谓语的关系是施动者与动作的关系。根据美国语言学家所提出的语言类型学观点，英语属于“主语突出”型（Subject-prominent）语言。汉语是重内容的语言，“形散神聚”是汉语句子的特点。因此汉语被称作是典型的“意合”语言

5、。汉语中的主语不像英语的主语那样容易确定，“主语谓语”形式的句子在汉语里比例是不大的，因此在汉语语法中出现了主题（话题）(Topic)这一概念。我国著名学者赵元任（1968）说：“把主语、谓语当作话题和说明来看待,比较合适”。汉 语属于“主题突出”型（Topic-prominent）语言,昨天的事多亏你帮忙。Thank you for your help yesterday.本句的主题“昨天的事”虽然是个名词词组，但它显然游离于“主谓”结构之外，不能将其译成英语的主语。婚姻的事，年轻人都自己做主了。As for the marriage，the young people would make

6、their own decision.而本句中的话题“婚姻的事”译成英语时，则将其处理成状语，这样更贴近英语的表达习惯。,1.2有灵Vs 无灵,英语与汉语句子的另一个重要差异是，英语常用无灵主语，即用无生命的物体或抽象概念的名词或各种形式的非谓语动词充当主语。而汉语则常用有灵主语，即用有生命的人或动物作主语。英语较注重“什么事发生在什么人身上”，而汉语则较注重“什么人怎么样了”。我一想到还要在这里再呆一年就浑身不舒服。The thought of spending another year makes me physically sick.汉语句子用的是有灵主语“我”，可英译文中却没有用I作主

7、语，而是用了无灵主语thought，这一点正符合了英语中“什么事发生在什么人身上”的表达。,1.3 零主语Vs 形式主语,英语句子常常必须有主语，有时找不到表示事物或人的名词或代词作主语时，就用“it”作形式主语。尤其在表示天气、时间、距离、度量等概念时，这种与汉语思维方式的差异就显得尤为突出。相比较而言，汉语中主语的使用灵活得多，而且常常可以省略。只要通过上下文可以判断句子的主语，主语就没必要出现，此时所用的就是我们常说的“零位主语”。英语中的形式主语是汉语所没有的，而汉语的零位主语在英语中也是不存在的。,刮风了。下雨了。It is raining.It is blowing.这两句中的it

8、究竟具体指什么，谁也说不清楚。英语语法认为它是无人称代词，表示天气、时间、距离、度量等，无词义，只是用它来占一下主语的位置。而中国人只简单地说“刮风了，下雨了”就可以了，是个无主句，至于主语是什么，用不着提。不经一事不长一智。Wisdom comes from experience.这类汉语句子的泛指性很强，类似警句格言，大多数不用主语，然而译成英文时却要采用意译的方法，补上适当的主语，以符合英文的表达习惯。,2主语选择的原则,无主句必须添加必要的主语;必须是句中应该突出的信息；必须符合英美人的思维视角；必须符合英语的逻辑搭配习惯；必须符合行文连贯的需要。,2.1 无主句翻译，添加必要的主语,

9、下雨了。It is raining.得第一名获金牌，第四名什么也拿不到。Whoever comes first wins a gold medal but anyone who comes fourth gets nothing.改革开放胆子要大一些，要敢于试验。When it comes to reforms and opening-up,we must be courageous enough to venture on experiments as far as reforms are concerned.北静王笑道：名不虚传，果然如“宝”似“玉”。“You live up to you

10、r name,”remarked the prince.“You are really like precious jade.”,2.2 主语必须是句中应该突出的信息,人们已把李白的诗集译成了多种外国文字。The collection of Li Bais poems has been translated into many foreign languages上海采取了一系列的优惠政策来吸引外资。A series of preferential policies have been adopted in Shanghai to attract foreign capital这次国家调动了16

11、0万军队去帮助守护大堤，将被洪水淹没地区的百姓迁走。1.6 million troops have been mobilized to help protect the dikes and to move people out of areas being flooded 到去年年底，上海已与好几个国家签订了建造拉索桥的合同或协议。By the end of last year，contracts or agreements were signed with some countries for the construction of stayed bridges in Shanghai,汉语

12、中用地名、时间、工具作主语很普遍,昨晚抓住了三个小偷。Three thieves were caught last night.一把菜刀闹革命。His revolution started with a kitchen knife.校园东头盖了一栋房。A house has been built on the east of the campus.明年将出版更多的儿童读物。More books for children will be published next year大多数高校已将权利下放给系主任。In most colleges and universities，the decisio

13、n-making rights have been given to department heads,2.3 主语必须符合英美人的思维视角,中国人在表达思想时十分注意主体意识，常以有生命的、具体的名词或代词作主语，多用主动语态和无主句。有时主语虽省略，主体意识仍然强烈，读者容易体会到。如：找工作处处碰壁，搞得我心乱如麻。My job-hunting has failed again and again and it made me terribly upset.英美人则较强调客观，注重客观事物对人的影响和作用，因此无生命、抽象的名词作主语远比汉语中多。英语这类非人称主语句采用“无灵主语”(i

14、nanimate subject)，表示抽象概念、心理感觉、事物名称或时间地点等，但谓语却常常使用“有灵动词”(animate verb)，表示人或社会团体的动作和行为，如see，find，bring，give，escape，surround，kill，deprive，seize，send，know，tell，permit，invite，take，drive，prevent.from等。,她从来没想到他是个不诚实的人。It never occurred to her that he was a dishonest man.(强调客观事实)She has never thought that h

15、e is a dishonest man.(强调主观印象),这时我激动得说不出话来。Words failed me here.我昨天收到你的信。Your letter reached me yesterday.我一时记不起他的名字。His name escaped me.不同的人对退休持不同的态度。Attitudes towards retirement vary from person to person,我害怕起来了，而且越来越害怕。Then fear set in and commenced to build up他突然发现地毯上有个深色斑点。A dark stain on the ca

16、rpet caught his eyes/suddenly attracted his attention.他两天就抽完了一包烟。A pack of cigarettes lasts him only two days.,A.原文中表示条件、原因等意思的词语可在翻译中用来作主语,走廊的地毯厚厚的，我走在上面，一点脚步声也没有。The thick carpet on the corridor killed the sound of my footsteps没有几天的工夫，由于抢购，商店里的货就卖光了。Within days,panic buying emptied store shelves由于

17、计划不周，他不仅浪费了时间，而且浪费了所有钱。Poor planning wasted all his money as well as his time.,B.原文中表示时间、地点的词语可在翻译中用来作主语，同时谓语改为see,witness,find等,2001年中国成功加入世贸。The year 2001 saw Chinas entry into WTO.众所周知，中国在1980年成功地发射了第一颗洲际导弹。As is known to all,1980 saw the successful launching of Chinas first intercontinental guid

18、ed missile.这个运动首先在北京兴起。Beijing first saw the rise of the movement.在南京城发生过许多重大的历史事件。Nanjing witnessed many great historic events.,C.可以采用“there be”句型取代原文的主语,他今天的举止有些反常There is something strange about his behavior today.这个事件不象看上去的那样简单。There is no guarantee that the new job will be better than the old o

19、ne.自1983年以来，已经建立了一百多个这样的组织。There have been established more than one hundred organizations of this kind since 1983.There is more to the incident than meets the eye.新工作不见得比原先的工作强。,2.4 主语必须符合英语的逻辑搭配习惯,从语法角度看，汉语的主谓搭配习惯和英语的主谓搭配习惯不尽相同。汉语中的主语有时在英语的句子里不适合作英语的主语。因此这时要调整。他的英语讲的很好（*）His English speaks good.He

20、 speaks good English.这种拟人法现象在汉语中常见，而在英语中，多数情况下，是视为修辞上的一种毛病。因此在汉英翻译中要注意这个区别，避免受汉语影响而出问题。我们的事业从胜利走向新的胜利。A series of victories have been won for our cause,任何新生事物的成长都是要经过艰难曲折的。Any emerging thing is bound to experience difficulties and setbacks before it reaches maturity读书可以增长知识。Through reading one can a

21、cquire knowledge宗教不得干预政治。It is impermissible to interfere with politics in the name of religion汉字在历史上有过不可磨灭的功绩。The system of Chinese characters has played an invaluable role in our history.我国的社会主义建设事业需要尽可能多的知识分子为它服务。China needs the service of as many intellectuals as possible in building socialism,2

22、.5 主语必须符合行文连贯的需要,作为句子“龙头”的主语在连词成句、连句成篇、承上启下的过程中起着举足轻重的作用。因此选择译文的主语，还有考虑一个连贯一致的因素。英语中有一个修辞的原则，即平行一致原则(parallelism)。也就是说，相邻的几个句子在结构上要保持一致。为了保持连贯，英语往往通过避免重复原词，更多地使用照应和替代的方式来衔接上下文。汉语当中没有这样的要求，相邻几句的主语可以不一样，大量的流水句的存在便是这种特点的体现。学习篇章的汉译英，还需牢记英语和汉语的这一差异，根据上下文确定主语。否则，篇章只不过是缺乏逻辑的句群的堆砌或者“句不达意”。,语言这东西不是随便可以学好的，非下

23、苦功不可。The mastery of language is not easy and requires painstaking effort.报告的其他部分没有提到这一点。This point was not mentioned elsewhere in his report.一天，父亲来封快信，上面说：“顷得汝岳丈电报”One day an express letter came from his father.It read as follows:“I have just received a telegram from your father-in-law.”,五十年代初期，美国企图

24、征服朝鲜，但是中朝军民共同努力，最后打败了他们。In the early 1950s,the U.S.tried to conquer Korea,but finally was defeated by the joint efforts of the army and the people of Korea and China.我父亲狂热地追求绘画，绘画已成了他生活的一切，要比母亲，比他的孩子，甚至比他自己都更为重要。For my father,painting was a governing passion.It came before Mother,before his children

25、 and even before himself.在未来的许多岁月里，人民都会感受到洪灾对中国经济的总体影响。The overall effect of the flood on Chinas economy will be felt for many years to come.,（A）原文以原词复现的手段承接上下文时，译文可采用照应和替代的办法承接上下文。,中国妇女今天的社会地位和平等权利来之不易。妇女所遭受的深重压迫和苦难，不但远远超过了男子，就是世界其他国家也不多见。1949年，新中国成立，占全世界妇女四分之一的中国妇女终于获得了历史性的解放。在婚姻家庭领域，妇女已获得了婚姻自主权、独

26、立的姓名权，与男子一样获得了家庭财产的所有权和继承权等等权利。Women did not gain their rights easily:the worst oppression of all was that on Chinese women,who were made to suffer far more than menwho faced treatment,in fact,even harsher than in other parts of the world.and when the Peoples Republic of China came into being in 194

27、9,they finally won their freedom.The immediate benefits of this could be seen in marriage and the home,as women gained the right to marry whom they wished and the right to keep their own names after their wedding.They also got to exercise various rights,up to that point enjoyed only by men,such as t

28、hose dealing with property and family inheritance.,（B）原文以照应的手段承接上下文时，译文亦应采用照应的手段承接上下文。,年前，在上海展览馆，看了一场奇特的服装表演，“模特”们都已人到中年甚至老年，从42岁直至74岁。他们穿了自己设计裁剪的衣服，随着音乐走在长长的红色地毯上，操着没有训练的朴素的步子，面带羞怯而勇敢的微笑。他们逐渐地镇定下来，有了自信。他们的脚步渐渐合拍，注意到了观众。Previous to the Chinese New Year,at the Shanghai Exhibition Hall I saw a unique

29、fashion show.The“models”were all of middle age and even old age,ranging from 42 years to 74.They wore clothes of their own designing and making,walking on a red carpet,with the accompaniment of music,stepping naturally without training,beaming shyly and yet courageously.They gradually calmed down,re

30、stored self-confidence,and began to step in harmony with one another,and became conscious of the audience.,（C）原文以省略的手段粘连篇章结构时，译文可采用照应和替代的办法承接上下文。,八达岭这一段是1957年修复的，是长城的典型建筑，平均高7.8米，底部宽6.6米，顶部宽5.8米。The section at Badaling was restored in 1957,and it is typical in its structure.It is 7.8 meters high on average,6.6 meters wide at the bottom,and 5.8 meters wide at the top.,结语,汉语重意念，寻找主语时应先理解全句的意思，然后找出话题，或用英语中的对等词语、或易词而译、或补充主语，有时还需要考虑与上下文的呼应与衔接。在此过程中，我们不仅要考虑到汉英语言规范上的差异，也有语言使用者的思维视角的不同。,