汉译英与英语阅读

第二节　汉译英与英语阅读

根据笔者有限的教学经历，似乎可以慎重而又坚决地指出：近年来，本书的目标学生中相当大的群体，其英语的实际应用能力与其拿到的文凭名实严重不符。本来这不在本书的议论范畴之内，但正是特意增加这一章的目的；与其他教科书相比这么说显得另类，初衷却是希冀目标学生有所改变，更好地实现全书的教学目标，自己也能有所得。

本书筛选的例句，其汉语原文扫一眼即可明白，而随后罗列的译文呈现出了那么多的问题，其主要表现是有词无句，而其根本原因在于本章各节概括的内容。

多数例句的大多数译文所代表的学生，大多数没有做好汉译英，根本原因与其学习英语阅读的方式关联密切。阅读时遇到生词，便会翻看电子词典、小型词典或课文所附词汇表。查到那个单词的汉语译文之后，便将英汉两个词联系起来。

为了学习阅读，这么做是对的。只是到了要做汉译英的时候，倘若不能及时调整学习策略，极有可能出现本书大多数例句中反映的典型问题。还是先看几个例子吧。

例5　亚洲国家的企业文化与西方截然不同。

C1. The enterprise culture of Asian countries is different from that of western countries at all.

C2. The culture of enterprises in Asian countries is absolutely different from that in western countries.

B1. Company culture in Asian countries is notably distinct from those in western countries.

B2. The business culture in the Asian countries is totally different from the culture in the Western countries.

上述译文似有两个问题。一是形式逻辑和常识，“企业文化”并非服装样式、特色食品那样具有相对固定的形态，“亚洲国家”和“西方（国家）”的企业文化未必都是一个模式，采用单数形式容易形成语意失误，某些读者还会因此而联想到“专制”上面去。

二是本节的主题：汉译英应当与阅读结合起来，所用的英语表达应当是我们在阅读中见过的。例3的“高速路通行费”也是一个很好的例证。在本句里，“企业文化”的英语表达源自西方，应当采用“回译”方法，不宜自行照词直译。经Google查询，“enterprise culture”找到了187 000个结果，“company culture”计有5 520 000个结果，而“corporate culture”高达286 000 000个结果。上述译文翻译的是词，不是概念；是在自行生产英语，未把阅读类课程中学过的用起来；尽管可以明白，但还是可以这么评判：不太好。下面两个译文仅供参考。

A1. The corporate culture in an Asian country is quite different from that in a Western economy.

A2. The corporate cultures in Asian economies are quite different from those in the West.

例6　出口包装差的问题，看来能够得到较好的解决。

D1. It seems that the problem of poor packaging exports can be well solved.

D2. The problem of poor export packing, it seems to be in a better solution.

D3. The low quality of the package of export can be improved a lot.

D4. It seems that the problem of poor export product packaging can be better solved.

D5. It seems that the problem of exports’ poor package can be solved in a better way.

D6. The bad packaging problem of exported goods seems to be able to receive sound settlement.

汉语原文的意思我们能够理解，但是以上译文却大多难以成立。假如我们以单词为单位并按照汉英——英汉的顺序来回翻译，极有可能看不出问题何在。比如说D4的黑体部分便是对“较好的解决”的字面直译，结果是“语意”失误，至少是走题了。“can be better solved”是说问题已在解决之中，但说话人不太满意，希望得到更好的解决。D6则是典型的见树不见林，译词未译句：只需单把黑体部分连起来念一遍即可发现，仍然是“得到好的解决”之字面直译，但在英语里这样的搭配难以成立：We can settle a dispute, and we can find a solution to a problem, but we do not settle a problem. 换句话说，它与D2的问题的性质是一样的。

C. It seems that the poor packaging of exporting will be resolved well.

在英语里，人们也不能resolve the packaging，且resolve well这个动作难度相当高——尽管汉语的确可以讲“解决好（某一问题）”。另请参看第十二章例21。

B1. It seems that the problem of bad package of exports can be well solved.

B2. The bad packaging problem in export, it seems, can be solved.

A1. The problem of bad packaging in export goods seems to have been solved satisfactorily.

在上下文不够明确的情况下，简短的汉语句子有可能产生歧义。译文A1是成立的，即把原句理解为说话人对已经发生的事情做出评论。其余A类译文则理解为对今后的建议。

A2. It seems that the problem of bad packaging in export goods can be solved satisfactorily.

A3. It seems that the bad problem of packaging in export can be solved satisfactorily.

A4. It seems that there may be satisfactory solutions to the bad packaging problem in export goods.

例7　全市乡村民俗户黄金周期间共接待游客23万人次。

D1. Rural tourist in this city has received 230 000 people during the seven-day holidays.

D2. During the golden week, 230 000 tourists were estimated to visit village houses of local favor.

D3. The folk households in the rural area of the city received totally 0.23 million tourists during the golden week.

D4. Country households boasting of folk customs | in the city received tourists for 230 000 times during the seven-day holidays.

D5. During the Golden Week, almost the whole 230 000 tourists have been fascinated by the folk custom shows which were served by the rural household in the city.

C. Overall in the city during the “Golden Week”, all the rural folk customs households received the 230 000 visitors.

B1. City-wide folk-custom tourist households served 230 000 visitors in the goldenweek.

B2. During the Golden Week holidays, nearly 230 000 visitors visited the rural households and experienced the folk custom there.

课堂上要求学生阅读国内英文报刊的相关文章，询问时大家都说“看懂没问题”、“看着很简单”，但同一题材的一个句子的翻译结果即可证明：汉译英与阅读英语大不一样。

A1. Rural households of the city catering to tourists on folk-custom themes received about 230 000 visitors during the golden week.

A2. The number of tourists who patronized rural “folk-custom” households during the week-long holiday totalled about 230 000.

例8　今年以来，欧美、日本等近40个国家或地区出台了新的玩具安全环保标准。

D1. From the beginning of this year, nearly 40 countries or regions like the U.S.A , have launched a new environmental protection Standard for toy safety.

D2. Since this year, nearly 40 countries including Japan and some occident have carried out new safety and environmental-friendly standard for their toy industry.

D3. Nearly 40 countries and regions, including the United States, Europe and Japan, have decided to make their | new toy safety and environmental standards enforced from this year on.

D4. From this year on, new toy safety and environmental standards have been made by nearly 40 countries. Down from the list we find countries and regions like the United States, Europe, and Japan, etc..

原文最后八个字可能有点不好对付，但把该例放在这里的考虑主要还是前面的其他部分。D1至D4未能译对原文的意思，这里暂且不谈。

D5. Nearly 40 countries or regions such as European, the United States and Japan have updated their toy safety standards in this year.

D6. Since the beginnig of this year, about 40 states or regions from America, Europe and Japan have carried out new security standard for toys.

D7. Since this year, Europe and America, Japan and so on, nearly 40 countries or regions have made the new standard of toys’ safety environmental protection come into existence.

D8. This year, the United States, Europe, Japan and nearly 40 other countries and regions have developed | new toy safety and environmental standards.

D9. In nearly 40 countries or regions such as Europe and the United States, Japan, etc., the new environmental standards on toy safety | has been carried out this year.

D10. A series of new toy safety and environmental standards, since this year, has been set up by nearly 40 countries and regions, among which are the United States, Europe and Japan.

C1. Since the New Year, nearly 40 countries and regions, such as Europe, US, Japan,have launched their new safety criteria for toys.

C2. The toys, exported to nearly 40 countries and regions, like Europe, US, Japan, have been facing new safety criteria since the New Year.

C3. From the beginning of this year, 40 countries or regions like the U.S.A, the European Countries and Japan have adopted a new Toy Safety Standard.

C4. Since the beginning of this year, nearly 40 countries or regions, including European, the United States and Japan, have set their new toy safety standards.

C5. Nearly 40 countries and regions, such as the United States, Europe and Japan have one by one enforced new toy safety and environmental standards from the year on.

B1. To tighten toy safety standards, nearly 40 countries including European, the United States and Japan have enacted new legislations.

B2. Nearly 40 countries and regions, like the United States, Europe and Japan started this year with a series of new toy safety and environmental standards enforced.

以上17个译文，未能正确表达“欧美、日本”四个汉字的就有15个，表现在国家名称的确切写法（包括是否需要定冠词）、国名和大洲名称并列的形式逻辑（formal logic）问题。“名”正才能“言顺”，关键词没有写对，其他也就谈不上了。但是这里最想强调的是本节的主题：翻译原文核心词所需要的英语单词都是我们学习过的，本书例句所需要的绝大多数还是学习了无数遍的，至少是阅读中遇到的时候不会理解错的，只是到了汉译英的时候并未正确使用。

A1. Nearly 40 countries and regions, including the USA, Japan, and some EU states, have introduced this year new safety and environmental standards on toys.

A2. New standards on safety and environmental requirements of toys have been introduced in nearly 40 countries and regions this year, including the United States, Japan, and some European countries.

本节的主题，亦即笔者希望提醒的正是：

一、汉译英不像阅读英语文章或别人的英语译文那么容易，即便翻译一个句子所需要的英语单词全都学过许多遍，仍然不能保证译文正确——在英语面前，我们毕竟是外国人。

二、阅读是学过了，但是并没有学会英语，结果现在要做汉译英的时候便一个词对一个字地翻译。阅读的时候单词对应这个方法够用，汉译英的时候继续沿用便会出错。

三、这样的翻译没有意义，因为最简单的电脑程序就可以做到。

四、以这种习惯来看别人译的句子，假如这些句子存在类似的问题的话，自然也不容易看出问题何在。

本书的例句中大量罗列错误的译文，根本目的便是希望以此证明问题本身的严重性和普遍性；发现问题是解决问题的开端。