否定句式等的英语句子

第四节　肯定与否定

汉语句子中不同的成分（即不仅是谓语）的肯定与否定，在译成英语的时候必然体现在词语选择上，但也经常会引起句型上的变化，故此安排在这里。先看几个例句：

例21　只要发现不合格的奶粉就要立即下架。

D1. As soon as any milk powder to be founded | disqulificate, it must be taken away from the store | at once.

D2. The unqualified milk powder was withdrawn as soon as found.

D3. The milk power shall be off the shelf when it is found to be contaminated.

D4. Unqualified milk powders should be recalled as soon as they are found.

D5. Once any unqualified milk powder has been found, it should | be off the shelf immediately.

D6. As long as milk powder is found to be unqualified, it will be off | shell immediately.

D类译文问题较多，却与否定的译法关系不大，应当说还是态度问题和基础英语问题。比如说从“语意”上来讲，D4和D5所讲都是不切实际（impractical）的，也就是无法做到的。再比如译文D6，其第一个黑体部分（As long as）是某种静止的状态，而不是动态。

D3、D5和D6的“be off shelf immediately”给人以“自动化”处理的误导。此外，D6的shell是严重的拼写错误，且电脑也查不出来。

A1. Milk powders shall be removed from retail outlets as soon as they are found unacceptable.

A2. Milk powder products shall be taken off the shelf when they are found to be below the standards.

至于本节的主题反倒相对简单。汉语“不合格”可以指人也可指物，甚至还可以指事情办得不好，但英语的unqualified多用于修饰人的某种资格或资历——只需查一下词典即可自行发现。译文A1意译为形容词，A2则采取了形式上肯定的表达，此所谓“反译”。

例22　不能说露面多的企业家都是为了炒作自己的。

D1. We can say the businessman who show up more attained this all by selling themselves.

D2. Can’t we say businessman make their names by repetitively coming out on media, can we?

D3. Can we say that businessman with more appearances before the media are the result of self showing-up?

C1. I don’t believe that businessman with much publicity are | selling themselves.

C2. Not every businessman, who often appears in the media, intends to publicize themselves.

A. I won’t say that businesspersons /enterpreneurs appearing frequently in the media are doing so just for making a name for themselves.

关于“炒作”的译法请见第十八章，这里主要讨论否定词的译法。

可以看出，否定词的位置（词序或语序）在汉语和英语中并不一致；英语的表达方式似乎要多样化一些；上述译文的译者做得都很好，否定词本身的翻译不成其为问题，也就不是反译问题。目标学生汉译英中的最大问题仍然是前面各章反复提及的“态度”和基础英语两大问题（全书三条主线中的两条）。再看三个例证，期盼目标学生自行对比：

例23　在最近这次洪水中损失的财产数量还没有统计出来。

D1. Statistic about loss caused by about loss caused by the flood are not yet available.

D2. The property loss were incurred as a result of the recent flood is not yet available.

D3. Statistics | about how much loss caused by the latest flood are not yet available.

C1. The value of loss caused by this flood hasn’t been counted.

C2. The property loss caused by the recent flood has not come out.

C3. The amount of essets lost in this flood has not been calculated.

C4. The toll report of the quantity of property lost in the recent flood has yet to come.

B. The statistics of property loss in the latest flood is still not available.

A1. Exact figures /data on property damage caused by the flood are not yet available.

A2. Accurate information on property lost to the flood is not yet available.

例24　近来，有关房价是否下降的话题引起了各界的持续关注。

D. In recently, every kind of persons pay attention on the topic about house price down or not.

C1. Recently, the continuing concern is focused in the topic, whether the housing price will decline.

C2. The topic whether the housing price will be decline causes a continuing concern from all walks of life recently.

A1. Recently, the decline in housing prices will cause a topic of continuing concern from all walks of life.

A2. Recently, the topic of whether or not the price of real estate would be falling / decreasing has kept catching eyes from all circles of society.

例25　在五千年的历史中，中国人的财富从来没有像最近几年这样迅速地增长。

D1. The wealth of the Chinese people has never been growing so rapidly in the past five thousand years.

D2. In the history for 5 000 years, Chinese’s wealth does not increase as the past fewyears.

D3. With 5 000 years old history ,Chinese treasure | never like in these years of quickly increasing

D4. In the five thousands year history, the Chinese wealth never increase so rapid as recent these years.

D5. In five thousand history of china, the wealth of Chinese never has been like this so rapidly rise in recent years.

D6. In five thousand years of history, the wealth of the Chinese people has never been so rapidly in recent years growth.

D7. The fortune of Chinese has grown very quickly recent years, a growth rate unmatched at any time in 5 000 years history.

译文D1漏译了重要的信息，致使出现了较大的“语意”错误。原文的“五千年”本就是虚指，所以数词写法不算个大问题，但像D2至D7那样表现各异的粗糙写法仍属错误。

D8. The increase of Chinese’s growth has never been grown in the past five thousand years as rapidly as the recent years.

C1. During the history of 5 000 years, the fortune of Chinese has never grown so fast in recent years.

C2. In the history of five thousand years, the Wealth of Chinese people increased so rapidly in recent years.

C3. In the five thousands years history, the wealth of Chinese people have never increased as fast as these years.

C4. In her five thousand years history, the wealth of Chinese people had never increased so rapidly as it did in recent years.

C5. In the past 5 000 years of Chinese history, the fortune of Chinese people never increased so fast as in the recent a few years.

B1. During the past 5 000 years of history, Chinese people’s wealth never increased as fast as latest years.

B2. During the 5 000 years of history, the wealth of Chinese people has never grown so rapidly as it is in the recent years.

B3. In their history of 5 thousands years, Chinese people have never seen such a rapid growth in wealth appeared in recent years.

A. In the 5 000-year history, the wealth of the Chinese people has never increased as fast as in recent years.

本章的主题是否定词的位置与句型密切相关；别看共有16个英语专业的学生为这个例句贡献的译文达17个之多，但与这一主题相关的只需指出一点：没有一个采用倒装句型的，尽管倒装句在中学里学了许多遍——这便是第一章就专门举证过的重大问题。

回到本节的主题来讲，所谓“反译”既包括汉语的肯定转换为英语的否定，也包括否定转换为肯定，共同的特征是表达方式与原文恰恰相反。这不是文字游戏，而是汉译英过程中的一个重要的考虑因素，反译也是这一过程中比较常用的方法。例如：

例26　旅客只有在定妥座位以后，才能凭该定妥座位的客票乘机。

D1. When a passenger has determined a seat, he check-in with the seat ticket.

D2. Passenger can only take air plane according to the booked seat after the seat booked properly.

C1. Only passengers who booked airline tickets first can check in.

C2. Passengers holding the ticket with ordered | seat can go on board.

译文C1漏译了重要的乘机条件，且check in并不等于“乘机”，C2的第二处黑体部分属于选词不当，其他两处则是名词单复数失误。就本节主题而言，仅仅是为了说明有些句子可以由肯定转换为否定，比如说A2。此外，A2还可作为“解释性加词”的例证。

B. Reservation passengers having reserved their seats shall board the plane by their tickets in accord with the reserved seats.

A1. Passengers who have booked airline tickets can get on board (the airplane) if /when / after they show their tickets /check-in boarding pass.

A2. A passenger will not be allowed to get on board (a plane) unless he /she shows his / her air ticket /boarding pass for the flight with a seat already reserved.

如果原文并不涉及肯定或否定，那与本节所讲没有关系；如果出现了肯定或否定，那么这里所讲便十分关键。词序变化具有语法意义，在汉语里也是一样，比如说“可不能”与“可能不”以及“不可能”，其“语意”显然大相径庭；如果处于谓语的位置，便会影响到全句的正误表达，比如例25的译文D3至D6。再如：

例27　产品介绍的目标读者是潜在的顾客，也可能不是。

D1. This product introduction is probably aimed at attracting customers.

D2. The potential customers may become the target readers for product introduction.

D3. The targeted reader of product introduction is potential customers, also are not.

D4. The target of product introduction | may be or not be the potential custmers.

译文D1混淆了“一般”与“具体”，D2的“语意”搞反了。与上一段课文论述相关的是D3和D4，即简单的否定词未能用对，全句也就会令人莫名其妙。

此外，原文的“产品介绍”，八个译文（这里收录的仅四个）一律译成了product introduction，将在第十八章解释，这里将introduction加以标记是为了备用。

A1. The target readers of the product information are not necessarily potential customers.

A2. The target readers of a product description may, or may not, become prospective end-users /purchasers /customers.

A3. The target readers of the description of a product may, or may not, turn out to be (its) prospective end-users /purchasers /customers.

例28　使用手机不当会造成泄密，因此打手机时应严格遵守保密守则。

D1. Misusing mobile phone | contributes to | secrets out, so the principle of keeping secrets should be abided by strictly when you use it.

D2. The uncorrect use of mobile phone will cause the spread of privacy. So we should obey the discipline of keeping secrets strictly when using it.

D3. The misuse of cellphone can lead to get | the important information off, so it is necessary to obey the rule of keeping secrets while making phonecalls.

这是一个否定转换为肯定的例句，但上列译文的问题不在否定，而在于基础英语。

B. Since the misuse of cell phones can lead to exposure of secret, we should strictly follow the secret-keeping principles when using the cell phone.

A1. Please follow /You are to follow /Follow security codes when using your mobile phone. Improper of mobile communication may lead to secret leaks.

A2. We should follow security regulations when using our mobile phone. Improper of mobile communication may lead to leakage of secrets.

有关本节主题，尚有三点值得提及。一是如果汉语原文是否定的，译文“能直译”，也就是循词直译后语意正确、语法正确，那就用不着使用反译法，例如练习三中的几个句子。二是汉英两种语言都会用到双重否定形式，汉译英的时候既可直译，也可译意。

例29　不管什么事，只有你提出来才能得到别人的帮助。

D. When you speak it out can you get help from others, no matter what things.

C. No matter what, if you ask for it, some assistance from others will be offered.

B. When you speak it out you can get help from others, no matter what it is.

只是追随原文的表层形式，有可能形成 “语意”失误。上述三个译文仿佛是说“只要你提出，就能得到帮助”，即便是语法正确的B也是这样，似乎有违生活常识。

就此处主题而言，主句是肯定的形式（“不管”二字并非否定），译法既“能直译”，如A1和A2，也可采取双重否定，如A3，两种形式均可体现语意重心。

A1. You may get help (from others) only when you ask for it.

A2. You can get help from others only if you raise the problem.

A3. You won’t get any help from others if you do not ask for it.

例30　就算找你们老总直接谈，他也不会不给这个面子的。

D1. Even though you bring your boss here, He | won’t never | give this face.

D2. Even if I talked with your boss directly, he wouldn’t make a conception to give a favour to me.

D2的译者未查词典，现有黑体部分容易令人偷笑。汉语原文包含了一个双重否定，译法既“能直译”即“负负得正”，如B类译文和A1，也可采取肯定的形式，如A2。

B1. Even though I talked with your boss face-to-face, he wouldn’t reject me.

B2. Even if I talked with your boss directly, he wouldn’t refuse to make some concession.

A1. Your boss won’t refuse /let us down if I had an opportunity to talk to him about it.

A2. Your boss would agree with me /agree with us /agree to this proposal if I talked to him about it.

三是不可滥用反译手法。比如说某大都市有一条夏天“防蝇最低指标”里讲：“每个旅馆房间不得超过2个苍蝇”，有人采用肯定句式译成了“At least 2 flies in every room”，结果就变成了一个“mission impossible（不可能完成的任务）”。还是直译作no more than two flies per room较好，或者套用英文的习惯写作maximum fly density。与此同时，还需加上on average、on average among the rooms to be surveyed或类似短语。

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