在英译汉的过程中,针对原文的内容正确地选择汉语词义,是保证译文质量的关键。如何正确选择词义,笔者建议可以从以下三个方面考虑。
一、根据词性确定词义
单词的词性不同,其意义也不同。因此有时可以借助上下文先确定词性,一旦词性确定了,意义也就确定了。如:
I think ,however ,that ,provided work is not excessivein amount , even the dullest work is to most people lesspainful than idleness.
若把provided 看作过去分词,修饰work ,语法上没有问题,但意思不通,逻辑也不对。如果把它看作一个连词,作“假如”、“只要”解,意思就顺了。因此该句可译为:“然而,我认为,对大多数人来说,只要工作量不是太大,即使所做的事再单调也总比无所事事好受。”又如:
We assemble thousands of operatives in the factory ,
and in the mine ,of whom the employer can know little ornothing ,and to whom he is little better than a myth.
mine 可以是物主代词(前面不加the) ,如Hisspeciality is physics ;mine is chemistry (他的专业是物理;我的专业是化学) 。mine 也可以是一个实词,作为名词意为“矿井”、“矿山”。粗看in the factory andin the mine , 可以理解成in his factory , and in myfactory结构。但仔细分析上下文,这里是并没有提及“我的工厂”,而作“在工厂、在矿上有许许多多工人”解是合理的。因此,句子可译为“在工厂里,在矿上,我们聚集了成千上万的工人。”
二、结合上下文确定词义
上下文之间的内在联系构成特定的语言环境,
而语言环境是判断词义的重要条件,同时也是衡量我们所选词义是否正确的依据。根据上下文来确定词义,其方法有:
11 根据文中所述各事物间的内在联系来判断词义。如:
Suddenly the line went limp.“I’m going back. ”SaidSmith.“We must have a break somewhere. Wait for me. Iwill be back in five minutes. ”
引爆线突然耷拉下来。史密斯说:“我回去看看。一定是某个地方断了线。等一下,我五分钟就回来。”
在一般情况下,have a break 常被译成“休息一下”。但是在此句中, 根据上文: Suddenly the linewent limp (引爆线突然耷拉下来) 判断,Have a break只能作“断了线”讲。又如:
We finally succeeded in launching of a mannedspace vehicle , or the creation of a nuclear weapon. Suchgigantic efforts ,involving an entire nation’s economic andtechnological resources and utilizing the skills of thousands of scientists and engineers , are widely publicizedand become identified as the real purpose of scientific investigation.
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