華 慧考博:天津師范大學(xué)2018中翻英段落分析
在考博英語考試中,大多數(shù)院校都考到了翻譯和寫作。但是這兩部分對大多數(shù)短期備考和基礎(chǔ)薄弱的考生而言是一個弱項。申請-審核這一改革形式中,更加強(qiáng)調(diào)專業(yè)英語段落的翻譯能力,翻譯的重要性越來越明顯。接下來,華 慧考博老師會定期選取院?疾┱骖}里面的翻譯段落,通過精選句子分析,來帶領(lǐng)大家進(jìn)行翻譯技巧的日常練習(xí)和學(xué)習(xí)。
文學(xué)性段落的翻譯向來是考博英語翻譯中的難點,除了一般政策性的說明文和議論文,具有一定文學(xué)和背景知識的篇章節(jié)選段落也是很多院校的考察重點。一部分以英文段落的形式出現(xiàn),除了考察考生的詞匯量和對于長難句的劃分和轉(zhuǎn)化翻譯能力以外,還要求考生根據(jù)文章的主旨大意和自身的中英文文學(xué)背景常識來優(yōu)化語言的表達(dá),下面我們以天津師范大學(xué)2018年英譯漢(English-Chinese)真題段落為例,具體分析翻譯過程中,使用的翻譯技巧和方法。
原文:
It was surprising to find so vast a city in a spot that seemed to me so remote. From its gate towards sunset you could see the snowy mountains of Tibet. It was so populous that you could walk at ease only on the walls(城墻)and it took a rapid walker three hours to complete their circuit. There was no railway within a thousand miles and the river on which it stood was so shallow that only junks (小船)of light burden could safely navigate it. Five days in a sampan were needed to reach the Upper Yangtze. For an uneasy moment you asked yourself whether trains and steamships were as necessary to the conduct of life as we who use them every day consider; for here, a million persons throve, married, produced, and died; here a million persons were busily occupied with commerce, art, and thought.
And here lived a philosopher. He was the greatest authority in China on the Confucian learning. He was said to speak English and German. He had been for many years secretary to one of the Empress, but he lived now in retirement. From all I heard of him I concluded that he was a man of character.
【參考譯文】
如此偏遠(yuǎn)的一隅之地竟然還可以找到偌大的一座城市,我覺得這真是不可思議啊。夕陽西下時分,登上城門遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)望去,您便可以看到西藏那白雪皚皚的群山。城市人口十分稠密,只有在城墻上才可以悠閑自得地散步?觳叫凶叨嫉没ㄙM三個小時才能順著城墻走完一圈。方圓一千英里之內(nèi)都不通鐵路。流經(jīng)城市的那條河,水很淺,只有載重量很輕的船只才能安全航行。乘坐舢板船需要五天才能抵達(dá)揚子江上游。處在如此不方便的時刻,您會問一問自己,我們這些每天都乘坐火車和汽船的人,是否會覺得這些交通工具是人生進(jìn)程中必不可少的?而正是在此,數(shù)以百萬計的人們出生成長,結(jié)婚成家,繁衍后代,最后離開人世。正是在此,數(shù)以百萬計的人們忙忙碌碌,經(jīng)商掙錢,創(chuàng)造藝術(shù),思索問題。
在這樣一座城市里,還生活著一位著名的哲學(xué)家。他是中國儒學(xué)最了不起的權(quán)威。據(jù)說,他精通英語和德語。他曾多年擔(dān)任皇太后的一位重臣的秘書,但現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)退休賦閑在家了。根據(jù)我所聽到的有關(guān)他的情況,我斷定,他是一位很有個性的人。
【難點分析】
本文是一篇散文節(jié)選段,由威廉·薩默塞特·毛姆撰寫的《哲學(xué)家》(philosopher)。文中提到的哲學(xué)家是辜鴻銘(湯生)。原文句式簡短,但寫景敘事,句子相對松散。翻譯過程中,注意對個別句子使用意譯。
“It was surprising to find so vast a city in a spot that seemed to me so remote.”這句話是以it為形式主語開頭的句子,直譯成中文是“在如此偏遠(yuǎn)的地方找到偌大的一座城市是很讓人驚訝的”。我們可以將主語切分出來,將“it was surprising......”,翻譯成“我覺得這真是不可思議啊”!vast”有“廣闊的;巨大的;巨額的”,在這里結(jié)合根據(jù)上下文語境意思調(diào)整成“偌大的”。“It was so populous that you could walk at ease only on the walls(城墻)and it took a rapid walker three hours to complete their circuit.”句中“so...... that......”可以翻譯成“如此……以致于……”,但在翻譯時省略了,同時把only翻譯成“只有”,銜接主句譯文“城市人口十分稠密”和從句譯文“在城墻上才可以悠閑自得地散步”。
“For an uneasy moment you asked yourself whether trains and steamships were as necessary to the conduct of life as we who use them every day consider”,這句話的主干是“you asked yourself whether......”,whether引導(dǎo)賓語從句;其中as we who use them everyday consider是比較狀語從句,直接翻譯“如同我們每天使用他們(這些交通工具)時考慮的一樣”,譯文除了把as引導(dǎo)的句子提前翻譯,還將trains and steamships略譯成“這些交通工具”,而把them擴(kuò)充翻譯成“火車和汽船”;整句話經(jīng)過潤色翻譯成疑問句:“處在如此不方便的時刻,您會問一問自己,我們這些每天都乘坐火車和汽船的人,是否會覺得這些交通工具是人生進(jìn)程中必不可少的?”