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名词性从句的翻译技巧

时间:2022-03-31 理论教育 版权反馈
【摘要】:第四节 名词性从句的翻译技巧英语名词性从句可分为主语从句、宾语从句、表语从句、同位语从句四类。有时候,如果主语从句仍然按照英语原来的顺序翻译的话,it一般不需要译出来。

第四节 名词性从句的翻译技巧

英语名词性从句可分为主语从句、宾语从句、表语从句、同位语从句四类。这些从句的翻译一般按原句的语序处理即可,相对比较容易,但有时也可以译为并列分句、定语从句或其他形式的句子。

一、主语从句

(一)主语从句引导词

主语从句是指在复合句中作主语成分的从句。一般来说,引导主语从句的引导词主要分为三种:一是that引导的主语从句;二是whether引导的主语从句;三是疑问词引导的主语从句,如what、who、whoever、which、when、where、how、why等。在翻译由引导词的引导的主语从句时,一般可以按照英语原文顺序来翻译。例如:

What she told me was nothing but a lie.

她对我说的只不过是谎言而已。

Where the vapour has gone can be easily found.

水蒸气到哪里去了,这很容易就能发现。

Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.

任何值得做的事情都应该把它做好。

When human language was first created is not known for sure.

人类语言最初是什么时候形成的尚不能确定。

Whatever I saw and heard on my trip left me a very deep impression.

这一路上的所见所闻让我印象深刻。

Whoever has made a trip to South Africa will never forget the savannas and forests.

凡是去过南非的人都不会忘记那里的大草原和森林。

Why metals can conduct electricity is an interesting problem.

金属为什么能导电是一个有趣的问题。

That those who had learned from us now excelled us was a real challenge.

向我们学习过的人反而超越了我们,这对我们的确是一个促进。

(二)it作形式主语

形式主语it+谓语+that/whether引导的从句,汉译时一般先译从句再译主句。为了强调起见,it一般可以译出来;如果不需要强调,it也可以不译出来。例如:

It doesn’t make much difference whether they have signed an agreement or not.

他们之间签没签过协议没有多大关系。

It is a matter of common experience that bodies are lighter in water than they are in air.

众所周知,物体在水中比在空气中轻。

It is now no longer a question whether or not another Crisis is coming;instead,it’s a question of which Crisis and when.

危机是否即将到来,现在已不再是什么问题了。问题是这未知危机何时爆发。

有时候,如果主语从句仍然按照英语原来的顺序翻译的话,it一般不需要译出来。在汉语译文的开始,一般可以用“……的是,……”这样的结构来翻译。例如:

It is strange that she should have failed to see her own shortcomings.

奇怪的是,她竟然没有看出自己的缺点。

It is certain that we shall produce this kind of engine.

毫无疑问的是,我们将生产这种发动机。

二、宾语从句

(一)宾语从句引导词

由that、what、how、when、which、why、whether、if等引导的宾语从句,在译成汉语时,一般按照英文原句的顺序进行翻译即可。例如:

Did you understand what she meant?

你明白她是什么意思吗?

Mrs Anderson replied that she felt ashamed and upset.

安德森夫人回答说她感到羞愧和不安。

The mother didn’t know that her son had swam in that river that morning.

这位母亲不知道她的儿子早上在那条河里游泳。

I told them how serious I was with our relation.

我告诉他们我对我们之间的关系是十分认真的。

They have informed me when they are to discuss my promotion.

他们已经通知我他们将在什么时候谈论我的晋升。

有时可加“说”字,再接下去翻译英语原文宾语从句的内容。例如:

He reminded his students again whether they could pass it or nor was decided not only by himself but by lots of other professors.

他一再提醒学生们说,决定他们能不能通过的不只是他一个人,还有其他许多教授。

(二)it作形式宾语

用it作形式宾语的句子,在翻译的时候,that所引导的宾语从句一般可按英语原文顺序翻译;it有时候可以不用翻译。例如:

I take it for granted that you will come and talk the matter over with him.

我想当然地认为,你会来和他谈这件事的。

I made it clear to them that they must make a decision before 12 o’clock.

我向他们讲清楚了的,他们必须在12点之前作出决定。

Nutritional experiments have made it evident that vitamins and minerals are indispensable for one’s health.

营养实验证明,维生素和矿物质对人体健康是必不可缺的。

另外,当主句部分表示“感到……,认为……”时,也可以在译文中将that引导的宾语从句提前到句子最前面进行翻译。例如:

I regard it as a shame that I was declined by that company twice.

两次遭到那家公司的拒绝,我感到十分羞愧。

I regard it as an honor that I am chosen to attend the NPPCC.

我被选参加全国人民政协会议,感到十分光荣。

We consider it absolutely necessary that we should open our door to the outside world.

打开国门,实行开放,我们认为这是绝对必要的。

We consider it absolutely right that we should try our best to achieve a greater success.

我们应该努力去获得更大的成功,这样做是十分正确的。

三、表语从句

表语从句位于主句的连系动词之后,在句中充当表语,引导表语从句的从属连词和引导主语从句的从属连词相同。汉译时,一般可以按照英语原句的顺序直接进行翻译。例如:

This is how the equation was solved.

这就是此方程式求解的方法。

It seems that it is going to rain.

看起来要下雨了。

That is why Peter got fired.

这就是彼得被解雇的原因。

That’s why the far side of the moon is a better place for this research.

这就是月球背面更适合这项研究的原因。

His view of the world politics was that the relation between nations was either friendly or hostile.

他对国际政治的看法是,国与国之间不是朋友,就是敌人。

The question remains whether we can win votes from the majority of the people.

问题是我们能否赢得大多数人民的选票。

What she said most was that no matter how long it might take,she would keep waiting for him.

她讲得最多的是,不管要多久,她都会一直等着他。

One difficulty is that almost all of what is called behavioral science continues to trace behavior to states of mind,feelings,traits of character,human nature,and so on.

难题之一在于,所谓的行为科学还都是从心态、情感、性格特征、人性等方面去寻找行为的根源。

四、同位语从句

英语中的同位语从句用来解释说明它前面的某个名词的具体内容,它与其所修饰的名词在地位上是等同的。能接同位语从句的名词通常为抽象名词,主要有:belief(相信)、fact(事实)、hope(希望)、idea(想法、观点)、doubt(怀疑)、news(新闻、消息)、rumor(传闻)、conclusion(结论)、evidence(证据)、suggestion(建议)、problem(问题)、order(命令)、answer(回答)、decision(决定)、discovery(发现)、explanation(解释)、information(消息)、knowledge(知识)、law(法律)、opinion(意见、观点)、truth(真理、事实)、promise(承诺)、report(报告)、thought(思想)、statement(声明)、rule(规定)、possibility(可能)等。

同位语从句常用that、whether或if来引导,它们在从句中不充当任何句子成分。同位语从句的翻译比较复杂,汉译时可灵活处理,根据具体情况可采用下面多种方法。

(一)直接译在主句后

一般来说,同位语从句的翻译可以保持原来的语序,同位语从句可以直接翻译在主句后面。例如:

There is a possibility that he has passed it.

有可能他已经通过了。

They expressed the wish that they would return to their mountain village to teach after graduation.

他们表示希望毕业后会回到家乡的山村教书。

Einstein came to the conclusion that the maximum speed possible in the universe is that of light.

爱因斯坦得出的结论是,宇宙中的最大速度可能是光速

As a soldier,he must accept the general’s decision that he was to be taken to the field hospital,though he wanted to keep fighting in the battle field.

作为一名士兵,他必须接受将军的决定,被送往医院救治,虽然他希望继续坚守阵地战斗下去。

(二)译在所修饰的名词前

有时候在翻译同位语从句时可以将其置于所修饰的名词前面翻译,相当于前置的修饰语,构成类似定语的结构或者独立成句,但不一定使用定语的标志词“的”。例如:

It does not deny the truth that the earth is not the centre of the solar system.

地球不是太阳系的中心,这个真理是不可否认的。

The rumor that they have divorced is unfounded.

关于他们已经离婚的传闻是没有根据的。

We all know the fact that light travels faster than sound.

我们都知道光传播的速度要大于声音的传播速度这一事实。

But I knew I couldn’t trust him.There was every possibility that he could betray me just next minute.

但我知道不能轻信他。他随时都会背叛我的可能性是很大的。

(三)译在所修饰的名词后

有些同位语从句在翻译时可以采取顺译法,放在所修饰名词的后面,用冒号、破折号直接分开主句和同位语从句,或可以增加“即”、“这样”、“这一”、“以为”等这样的词来与主句连接。例如:

We have reached the conclusion that practice is the criterion for testing truth.

我们已经得出这样的结论:实践是检验真理的标准。

Two days ago,the researchers of this laboratory made an exciting announcement that this kind of new material could be used into producing long service life batteries with a low cost.

两天前,这个实验室的研究员发布了一个令人振奋的声明——这种新材料可以应用于生产低成本、长寿命的电池。

But considering realistically,we had to face the fact that our natural resources were going to be depleted.

但是从现实考量,我们不得不正视这样一个事实:我们的自然资源行将耗尽。

But this does not in any way alter the fact that they are,even now,still very irrational.

但这却丝毫改变不了这样一个事实:即使到现在,他们还是非常不理性的。

(四)用汉语的无主句翻译

在主语为被动语态或非生命体作主语时,可以改变原文的同位语结构,以汉语的无主句结构译出。例如:

An order has been given that the researchers who are now in the skylab should be sent back.

已下命令将目前在航天实验室里的研究人员送回来。

Even the most precisely conducted experiments offer no hope that the result can be obtained without any error.

即使是进行最精确的实验,也无望获取无任何误差的实验结果。

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