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2018/8/15 16:57:00

看新乡翻译公司从词义、句法和语篇三方面分析英译汉的错误

新乡翻译公司从词义、句法和语篇三方面分析英译汉的错误

本文试图从词义、句法结构和语篇中代词指称这三方面,分 析英美文学的汉语译本出现的一些讹误,指出很多错误是由于译 者对原文的词义、句法结构和语篇指称的误解引起的。希望本文 能引起翻译界、英语教学界和汉语教学界对翻译的重视。本文偏 重于指出和分析英译汉的错误,提出建议,一般并没有重新翻译 
例句。① 
     一、词义的误解 
     第一类错误翻译来源于对原文词义的误解。具体原因有下面 五种:1、不同词语的意思相关引起误解;2、不同词语的意思 接近引起误解;3、错选多义词的义项;4、对短语、惯用语的 误解;5、对文化的误解。 
     1.1 不同词语的意思相关引起误解 
     下面三个例句的翻译错误,均由于译者误解了某些词汇的意 思: 
     (1)Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another ; good sense is not conscience, refinement is not humility, nor  is largeness and justness of view faith. (John Henry Newman: Knowledge and Virtue) 
          知识是一回事,美德是另一回事。好意并非良心,优雅 并非谦让,广博与公正的观点也并非信仰。 (《英》116-117页) 
     (2)"It means what it says, Mensa, a table. Mensa is a  noun of the First Declension. There are five declensions. You have learnt the singular of the First Declension." ..."Mensa, O table, is the vocative case," he replied.  (Winston Churchill: My First Introduction to the Classics) 
        “就是它表达的那个意思,Mensa, a table。Mensa 是属 于第一格的名词。拉丁文里一共有五格。你学的4是第 一格单数。”……“Mensa,O table 是呼唤格,”他回 答道。(《英》170-171页) 
     (3)The farmers complained that they were unable to  raise any pigs -- the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. (Rachel Carson: A Fable for Tomorrow) 
          农夫们抱怨他们无法养猪 — 猪崽都很小,幼崽又只能 存活几天。(《美》72-73页) 
例(1)的 good sense 是指“良好的判断力”或者“明智”, 而不是“好意”。例(2)的declension是“变格类型”,不应 译为“格”。同一例句提到的 case 才是“格”。例(3)的 litters were small,翻译为“猪崽都很小”,好象对了,其实不 然。文中的 litter 指的是一窝小猪,即母猪一次下的猪崽,也许 是一个,也许更多。所以,litters were small 就是“每窝下的猪 崽都很少”。  有的错误,也属于意思相关造成的一类,如例(4): 
    (4)It was the cold weather which follows the shortest day that we first came to England. (Charlotte Bronte: 《Childhood》) 
          在最短的白昼即将来临的寒冷的天气里,我们初次来 到了英格兰。(《英》110-112页) 
例(4),表示顺序的 follows 很容易使人糊涂。果然,译文的 前后顺序正好与原文相反。这类错误是由于译者不小心造成的。 
      1.2 词语的意思接近引起误解 
      如果因为词汇的意思接近,也会引起误解,造成错译。请 看下面的例子: 
     (5)Tired from long hours on her feet, Mrs. Parks sat down in the first seat behind the section reserved for whites. (M. L. King: A Momentous Arrest) 
          由于长时间站立工作已使她十分疲劳,帕克斯夫人就在  专为白人设置的车厢后面第一排的座位坐下。 (《美》80-81页) 
     (6)William, another teenage neighbor, took a shotgun blast to the shoulder in some urban drama and displayed his bandages proudly.  (B. Staples: A Brother's Murder) 
         另一位年轻邻居--威廉,在一场城市戏剧中把炸药放 在肩上,并且得意地展示他身上的绷带。 (《美》136-137页) 
     (7)Perhaps we should not have been so startled by an  incident at the height of the gasoline crisis a few years ago, when one motorist shot and killed another who had cut in front of him in a filling station line. (P. Shields: Why Do People Own Handguns?) 
          也许几年前汽油危机高峰时的一个事件不会令我们如此  震惊,一个摩托车手开枪击毙另一个摩托车手,仅仅因 为那人排队加油时插在他的前面。 (《美》156-157页) 
例(5)把 section 译为“车厢”,让读者以为白人跟黑人在公 共汽车上分别坐在两个车厢。例(6)把 blast 译成“炸药”, 让读者以为黑人是用炸药跟人打架。而例(7)将 motorist 译 为“摩托车手”,也不对,应该是“驾车人”。 
      1.3 错选多义词的义项 
      一个词语会发展出多种意思,也会引起误解误译。例(8) 和例(9)可以说明这一点。 
     (8)...for being of a very tempting breadth, a sergeant made use of me to inveigle country fellows, and list them  in the service of the parliament. As soon as he had made  one man sure, his way was to oblige him to take a shillingof a more homely figure, and then practise the same trick upon another. (Joseph Addison: 《Adventures of a Shilling》) 
          由于我的气息很诱人,一位中士拿我来诱骗招募农村小 伙子为议会服役。当这位中士召到士兵后,就强迫那小 伙子拿出一枚普通的先令,对别的小伙子他也耍了相同 的花招。(《英》 52-53页) 
     (9)the headmaster invited me to hand over any money that I had in my possession. I produced my three halfcrowns which were duly entered in a book,...  (Winston Churchill: My First Introduction to the Classics) 
          校长让我交出我所拥有所有财产中的每一分钱。我交出 了刚巧夹在书本里的6个半先令。 (《英》168-169页) 
例(8),除了 breadth的翻译有误以外,更微妙的是动词 take 的翻译。译文的“拿出”会让人以为是应征的小伙子拿出自己的 钱。其实是征兵的中士用特殊的一先令硬币诱惑人们参军,当应 征者答应后,就变卦,用别的硬币作为报酬付给应征者。然后再 用那枚特殊硬币诱惑下一个人参军。例(9)的entered,应该是 入帐”的意思,即说校长将“我”交的钱“记入一本帐册”。 而译文则成了“我”事先把钱夹在书里。如果那样,原文就会用 which had been placed in a book。况且,entered in a book 也不 是“放在书里”的意思。 
     1.4 对短语、惯用语的误解 
     除了单个词语以外,由两个或更多单词作成的短语,意思会 更复杂,也会给翻译带来问题。下面两例,都有短语错译的问 题。 
     (10)In fact, trying to use a handgun to ward off someone bent on aggravated assault makes the risk of death quite a bit higher. (P. Shields: Why Do People Own  Handguns?) 
          实际上,想用手枪来阻止某人因被激怒后的攻击只会 使死亡的危险加剧。(《美》156-157页) 
     (11)In other words, once we pass a certain critical  point, the computers take over and there is a "complexity explosion." In a very short time thereafter, computers may  exist that not only duplicate the human brain -- but far surpass it. (Isaac Asimov: The Difference between a Brain and a Computer) 
          换句话说,一旦我们突破某一极点,电脑盛行起来并产 生“复杂爆炸”。接下去不久,电脑不仅复制了人脑而且 超越了人脑。(《美》92-93页) 
例(10)aggravated assault 是法律术语,意思是“加重恐吓行 为”,或者“加重攻击行为”。但译文却是“被激怒后的攻击”, 好象是受害者“激怒”了攻击者。还有例(11)的take over,的 确有“盛行”的意思,但是在该例中,是“夺权”的意思,就是 电脑可能会取代人,继续管理社会。译成“盛行”不妥。 有时,原文作者采用短语的引申义,而翻译者很容易按本义 翻译,结果同样会扭曲了原文意思。比如,例(12)的ticking bomb 和 behaving like a fool,以及例(13)的 morning service: 
     (12)One evening I had an encounter with a ticking  bomb, and contemplated behaving like a fool, but rejected the impulse because we weren't married. (Russel Baker: Back to the Dump) 
          一天晚上,我与一位棉布炸弹见面,期望在她面前装 得傻一点,但最后还是放弃了这念头。毕竟我们还没有 结婚。(《美》96-97页) 
     (13)The dog charges the rabbit, watches it jump the  fence, shakes himself in a self-satisfied way, then trots dutifully into the thicket for his morning service, stopping to sniff everything on the way back. (John Ciardi: Dawn Watch) 
          狗冲向野兔,看着它蹦过篱笆,便自鸣得意地摇摇身, 然后小步跑向灌木丛去吃早饭了。回来的路上还不时停 下来对任何东西都用鼻子嗅一嗅。 (《美》126-127页) 
例(12),ticking bomb 应该是“定时炸弹”,不是“棉布炸 弹”。同句的 behaving like a fool,在原文的意思是“糊涂一 次”,即“放荡一次”的意思。翻译成“装得傻”,显然没有 把“我”的这个意思表示出来。例(13)的 morning service 照字面讲,就是“早晨的功课、工作、服务”等,但是原文是说 狗每天早晨的例行公事--大小便。译成“吃早饭”,不就大错 特错了吗?这里就涉及到文化知识在翻译中的重要性了。 
      1.5 对文化的误解 
      如上文例(12)和(13)所示,词语的意思,跟英美 国家的社会、文化、历史等密切相关,如果不了解有关文化背 景,就会翻译错。下边例(14)的 rice paddies 和例(15) 的 the new upwardly mobile 可以进一步说明这点。 
     (14)They jumped into the rice paddies with “their  manhood on their sleeves,”I believe he said. (B. Staples: A Brother's Murder) 
          因为他们为了显示“男子气概”而抢着去稻田干活。 (《美》136-137页) 
     (15)Everywhere it seems that men and women who care  the most about their private lives are living them that way, while the single people have become the new upwardly mobile. (E. Goodman: The Family/Career Priority  Problem) 
          那些以家庭为重的好男佳女们一心一意地照顾家庭,而  单身汉的数量则有逐步上升的趋势。 (《美》180-181页) 
例(14),rice paddies 是“稻田”,没错,但是那段文章是讲 越南战争,翻译成“抢着去稻田干活”就让人丈二和尚,摸不着 头脑。其实,原文是说士兵在战斗时奋勇“冲入稻田”。例 
(15)的upwardly mobile,不是说空间的向上移动,但也不是 数量的增加,而是人在社会中地位的提高。该句是说单身者更容 易在工作中升迁。 
     二、句法结构的误解 
     有时,错误源于翻译者对词语相互关系的错误理解。下面选 了五个方面的例句:1、英语特有的结构;2、并列结构;3、 定语结构;4、状语结构;5、否定结构。 
     2.1 英语特有的结构 
     有些错误是由于译者误解了英语的某些不同于汉语的结构。 比如,较旧的英文,个位数可以放在十位之前,这种数字表示形 式会引起翻译者的误解。请看例(16)和例(17): 
     (16)I continued here as a close prisoner for many months, till at last I was exchanged for eight and forty farthings. (Joseph Addison: 《Adventures of a Shilling》) 
          我于是又当了好几个月的囚徒,直至有一天我被换了 18便士。(《英》52-53页) 
     (17)I wish I had known them better at your age; I have paid the price of three and fifty years for them, and shall not grudge it if you reap the advantages. (F. D. Stanhope:《Letter to His Son》) 
          我真希望我在你这个年纪时就能对这些道理略知一二。 为了懂这些道理,我付出了3~50年的光阴。如若你  能从中获益,我将感到万分高兴。 (《英》70-71页) 
例(16)的 eight and forty farthings,翻译者以为前边的8表 示8便士,加上后边的40法寻,也就是10 便士,得出18 便士的结果。但实际上,eight and forty farthings 应该是8+ 40法寻,也就是48法寻,等于12便士。而文章的主人公 “我”是一枚先令硬币,正好也是12便士,也证明12便士的 翻译是对的。例(17)的 three and fifty years 也不是3~50 年,而是53年。 
     2.2 并列结构 
     例(18-20)三句的并列结构都翻译错了: 
     (18)I did not see why the lyceum should not present its taxbill, and have the State to back its demand, as well as the church. (Henry D. Thoreau: Resistance to Civil Government) 
          我不明白为什么学府不拿出税单,而是要求州政府与  教会来撑腰。(《美》12-13页) 
     (19)and modern philosophy has conceived the idea of  humanity as wrought upon by, and summing up in itself, all modes of thought and life. (W. Pater: The Mona Lisa) 
          而现代哲学业已构想出人性这一理念,这是多样的思维 与生活所造就,同时也是其本身内涵的概括归纳。 (《英》122-123页) 
     (20)Tufts of the bearded lichen or old man's beard hang from the branches like bits of sea mist tangled there. (Rachel Carson: Walking to the Seacoast) 
          一簇簇须毛丛生的地衣如老人的胡须从树枝上挂下,  就像一缕缕海雾萦绕于斯。(《美》76-77页) 
例(18)有了逗号,译者以为 not present 跟 have the State.... 是并列关系,故有了“不拿出,而是”的翻译。其实,“不”应 该既否定“拿出”,也否定“要求”,即“我不明白为什么学府 不能像教会那样,拿出税单,并要求州政府支持自己的诉求”。 另外 as well as the church也没有译对。②例(19),并列的 两个分词短语,wrought upon by 和 summing up in itself,有一 个共同的宾语 all modes of thought and life。但译文却将“其自 身内涵”仅仅视为第二个分词“概括归纳”的宾语。例(20) 的 old man's beard 是一种铁线莲,跟前边的地衣并列,但译者 却误以为是地衣的修饰语,译为“如老人的胡须”。 
     2.3 定语结构 
     下面谈名词的修饰语的翻译。 
     (21)...or in watching the dace that darted to and fro in the fishpond, at the bottom of the garden, with here and there a great sulky pike hanging midway down the water in silent state, as if it mocked at their impertinent  friskings,... (Charles Lamb: Dream Children) 
          或者看着池里的鲦鱼迅疾地穿梭,在池子底部,随处可 见郁闷的梭子鱼无声息地悬浮在水中,似乎在嘲笑鲦鱼的 鲁莽和浮躁,…… (《英》86-87页) 
     (22)I was going on to relish more features of this unique scene: such as the advertisement posters on the walls - here a text from the Bible, there a half-naked girl,  here a woman wearing a hat consisting of a hen sitting on a nest full of eggs, and there a pair of girl's legs walking up the keys of a cash register - all scribbled over with unknown names and well-known obscenities in black crayon and red lipstick;...  (G. Highet: The Subway Station) 
          我准备继续津津有味地欣赏这独特场景里的更多的特色:  譬如墙上的广告画--一些粗制滥造的陌生广告名字,用 黑色蜡笔和红色唇膏画出来的众所周知的猥亵画面--  这边是圣经的经文,那边是半裸体的女孩;这边是戴一顶 母鸡孵蛋状帽子的女人,那边是走上现金出纳机的女孩的 双腿。(《美》146-147页) 
     (23)To stay thin, you should have a permanent diet in mind, for use after the initial weight reduction.  (J. Adams: Think Thin and Get Thin) 
          为保持你的体形,在第一次减肥以后你应当在头脑中 有一个长久的减肥概念。(《美》172-173页) 
例(21)的 at the bottom of the garden 是“花园后边”,说 明鱼池的位置,而译文却翻译成“池子底部”,显然不对。例 
(22)的 all scribbled over 是修饰前四行所说的各种广告画的, 就是说,广告上被人用蜡笔和唇膏涂抹了陌生的姓名和熟悉的 脏话,而不是用蜡笔和唇膏涂抹了广告画。例(23),after the initial weight reduction (第一次减肥以后)是修饰 use (使 用)的定语,不是说明 should have (应该有)的状语。全文应 该是:“为保持体形,应该有长期的节食计划,以便在第一次减 肥以后使用。” 
     2.4 状语结构 
     例(24-26)的三句都涉及到状语结构的理解。 
    (24)Why do they insist on shaking their heads when they find me still up for breakfast, after having scribbled  through the dark hours? They always do. (John Ciardi: Dawn Watch) 
          他们为什么看到我起来吃早饭就要摇头,他们总是那 样。(《美》132-133页) 
    (25)To suppose anything else is to suppose that there is  more to the human brain than the matter that composes  it. (Isaac Asimov: The Difference between a Brain and a Computer) 
          要设想什么的话就去设想大脑的组成吧。 (《美》90-91页) 
    (26)I am no cosmopolite. Were I to think that I should 
        die away from England, the thought would be dreadful to me.  (George Gissing: The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft) 
          我不是世界主义者,一想到我会从英格兰消失,我就会 很害怕。(《英》130-131页) 
例(24)中,副词 still 使 up 有了持续义,意思是还没有睡 觉。但是译文却成了“起来吃早饭”。例(25),there is more to the human brain 没有翻译出来。原文的意思是:“如果 有别的设想,就是认为大脑除了构成材料以外,还有别的东西。” 例(26),away from 是“不在”的意思,不是“从”的意思。 译文的错误不言自明。 
      对状语的连接词语的误解,也会造成误译。例(27)的 until 是“直到……之前”的意思,全句应译为:“在撒上沙和 盐以前,四号公路都是安静的。” 
     (27)Until sand and salt redeem the highway, route 4 is quiet;... (D. Hall: Winter) 
         在公路上铺了沙和盐后,第四路段才会静下来。 (《美》114-115页) 
     有时,译者也会将状语误解为定语。如例(28-30)三 个例子: 
     (28)The second adventure, which I must not omit,  happened to me in the year 1703, when I was given away  in charity to a blind man; but indeed this was by a  mistake, the person who gave me having heedlessly thrown me into the hat among a pennyworth of  farthings. (Joseph Addison:《Adventures of a Shilling》) 
          第二次历险发生在1703年,这事我不想略过不提, 当时我被人施舍给了一位盲人,但其实那是一个误会,  把我送出去的那家伙漫不经心地把我扔进了一顶不值一 便士的草帽里。(《英》58-59页) 
     (29)I never see that man without feeling that he is one  to become personally attach'd to, for his combination  of purest, heartiest tenderness, and native western form of  manliness. (Walter Whitman: Abraham Lincoln) 
          我从来没有见到过总统和一个没有感情的人有过私人 方面的来往,因为在他身上既具有最纯真的温情,又具有 西方男子汉的个性。(《美》36-37页) 
     (30)"I am glad," answered the bee, "to hear you grant at  least that I am come honestly by my wings and my voice,  for then, it seems, I am obliged to Heaven alone for my  flights and my music;..."(J. Swift:《A Modest Proposal》) 
         “我很荣幸,”蜜蜂回答道,“听到你至少承认我是正 正派派地扇动我的双翅嗡嗡唱着歌飞来的。似乎只有我 独自一人要为我的飞行和乐曲感谢上苍了。......” (《英》44-45页) 
例(28)的原文是说“在帽子里,跟几个小钱(法寻)做伴”, 不是说“帽子不值一便士”。例(29),without 引导的短语 是“I never see that man”的状语,意思是“我一见到那个人 就……”,可是译者却理解为 that man 的定语,译为“一个没 有感情的人”。全句应该是:“我每次看到那个人,都会感到, 因为他既有纯真的温柔,又有西部男子汉的气概,所以别人很容 易跟他产生私人友谊。”例(30)的 alone,不是“只有我”, 是“我只感谢上帝”。 
     2.5 否定结构 
     例(31-33)都带有表示否定的词语: 
     (31)Yet such is the charm of simplicity - and did he  not say, also truthfully, that "bores are the salt of the  earth"? - that the bores seldom went, or, if they did, forgave him and came again. (Virginia Woolf: My Father: Leslie Stephen) 
余话自明:惹人厌的人难道是在增添人生的滋味?奇妙 之处在于,这些令人生厌的人很少当即告辞,而即便离  去,也会原谅父亲,再来造访。 (《英》184-185页) 
     (32)Someday I might have to learn that I wasn't really  afraid of nuclear war at all, but only under the sway of  Moscow Svengalis. (Russel Baker: Back to the Dump) 
          有朝一日,我也许会学会不怕核战争,除非受莫斯科  的控制。(《美》100-101页) 
     (33)The idea is to stop eating while you still experience a faint edge of hunger. (J. Adams: Think Thin and Get Thin) 
          这种观点的目的在于当你处在饥饿边缘时不进食。 (《美》172-173页) 
例(31)的 did he not say 是反问句,意思是“他说过”,那 么所说的话“惹人烦的人是在增加人生的滋味”就是“他”同意 的话。可是译文用“难道”,就把意思全弄反了。例(32)把 but only 译成“除非”,也弄反了原文意思。应该是“我也许有 一天得明白,我其实一点儿也不害怕核战争,我只是受到莫斯科 的影响。”③例(33)将stop eating 译成“处在饥饿边缘时不 进食”,也不对,整个句子的意思是“在还感到饥饿时就停止进 食”。 
     三、语篇中代词指称的误解 
     这里,语篇中代词指称是说一个代词或者代词性词语跟上下 文的哪个词语的指称相同。下边主要考虑跨短句的同指(具有相 同的指称)所引起的误解和误译。分为三种情况:1、人称代词 的指称;2、指示代词的指称;3、关系代词的指称;4、空位 的指称。 
     3.1 人称代词的指称 
     代词造成的问题很多。我们先看例(34-36)的人称代 词: 
     (34)Moths that fly by day are not properly to be  called moths; they do not excite that pleasant sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom which the commonest yellow-underwing asleep in the shadow of the curtain never fails to rouse in us. They are hybrid  creatures, neither gay like butterflies nor sombre like their own species. (Virginia Woolf: The Death of the Moth) 
          把白天的飞蛾叫做蛾子是不甚恰当的,他们并不给秋季  的暗夜和长春藤花那宜人的感受增色。而最寻常可见的昼 伏幕帷阴影中的黄翅飞蛾才总是招惹起我们的那种感觉,  他们是种杂合的生灵,既不像蝴蝶那样色彩斑斓,也不像  同类那样晦涩暗淡。(《英》194-195页) 
     (35)"I defy (says he) any of these active persons to  produce half the adventures that this twelvepenny piece  has been engaged in, were it possible for him to give us an  account of hislife." (Joseph Addison: 《Adventures of a Shilling》) 
          他又说道:“即便是他们当中有人能写出自传,我看也 未必能描述桌上这12便士一生的历险。” (《英》48-49页) 
     (36)Perhaps the priest's urgent ministrations betrayed his  doubts that the prisoner could hold himself together. (Robert Johnson: This Man Has Expired) 
          也许牧师的祈祷反而使他要支撑不住了。 (《美》122-123页) 
例(34)第二句的 they 是指第一句提到的 moths,但译者却 以为是 yellow-underwing,所以译错了。例(35),同一句里 用了 him 和 his 两个代词,很容易让译者以为它们指的是同一 人物,如后边的译文所示。其实,只有 him 指“任何可以…… 的人”,而 his life 则是指一先令硬币的生活。所以,were it possible for him to give us an account of his life 一句应该翻译成 “即便有人能讲一下那枚硬币的生平”。例(36)和例(35) 的错误类似,his doubts 是牧师感到犯人支撑不住了。但所附译 文却把 betrayed his doubts 当作“使他(囚犯自己)要支撑不住 了”。 
     有时候,代词可以帮助译者理解原文。请看例(37): 
     (37)Thomas Hardy, years later, looked at the "spare and desolate figure" of the Schreckhorn and thought of him,  Who scaled its horn with ventured life and limb Drawn on by vague imaginings, maybe,  Of semblance to his personality In its quaint glooms, keen lights, and rugged trim.  (Virginia Woolf: My Father: Leslie Stephen) 
          汤马斯·哈代多年后凝视着峭然孑立的斯雷克峰想到父 亲,说他 —  用冒险的一生将犄角磨砺,  这发自于模糊的企盼, 抑或这原是他的个性:  离奇的朦胧、敏锐的见地和边幅的不修。 (《英》192-193页) 
例(37),如果孤立地看,scaled its horn译成“将犄角磨 砺”,无可非议。动词 to scale的确有“磨砺”的意思,horn 也 常表示“犄角”。但是,to scale 还可表示“攀登”,horn 还可 表示“山峰”,所以把 scaled its horn 翻译成“攀登它的山峰” 也对。如果再考虑上下文,特别是后边的 limb “肢体”一词, “攀登”的意思更清楚。另外,引文第一句用him,诗歌第一行 用 its,显然所指不同,也证明its horn 是 “山峰”,而不是被 歌颂者(V. Woolf的父亲)的“犄角”。 
     3.2 指示代词的指称 
     指示代词 this 和 that 也会给翻译者带来麻烦。请注意例 (38)的 this: 
     (38)It is often seen that bad husbands have very good wives; whether it be that it raiseth the price of their  husbands' kindness when it comes, or that the wives take  a pride in their patience. But this never fails, if the bad  husbands were of their own choosing, against their friends' consent; for then they will be sure to make good their folly. (Francis Bacon:《Of Marriage and Single Life》) 
          人们看到,坏丈夫常常有一个好妻子;这种结合使丈夫 的仁慈显得更珍贵,或者使做妻子的只能以忍耐为荣。只  要这坏丈夫是她们自己选择的,并没有得到亲友的同意, 这婚姻就永远不会失败;因为她们必然要以此来证明自 己的愚蠢。(《英》,24-27页) 
例(38)的 this never fails 是说“这种结合总会发生”,还是 说“这种婚姻永远不败”?这就要看代词 this 是指“结婚”, 还是指“婚姻”。我觉得应该理解为前者。最后一句的“证明自 己的愚蠢”也可证明,这一段是说婚姻的建立,即结婚,而不是 说婚姻的结局。 
     3.3 关系代词的指称 
     引导定语从句的关系代词,如 who、which 等也会有指称的 问题。 
    (39)I think something like my bafflement has been felt  by other boys (and by girls as well) who grew up in dirt-poor farm country, in mining country, in black ghettos,  in Hispanic barrios, in the shadows of factories, in Third  World nations -- any place where the fate of men is as  grim and bleak as the fate of women. (S. R. Sanders: Women and Men) 
         我想其他男生(和女生一样)也感到与我差不多的困  惑。那生在穷困的乡村、矿区、黑人居住区、西班牙移  民居住区、在工厂的阴影中、在第三世界国家--任何 一个地方的男人们,他们的命运和女人的命运一样暗淡 和凄凉。(《美》84-85页) 
例(39),who 引导的限定性定语从句,将“感到与我差不 多的困惑”的人,限制在生活在穷困地区的男人(以及女人)。 可是译文却让人以为“其他男生(和女生一样)”都与“我”有 同感,把意思弄错了。另外,Hispanic 指“拉丁裔”,不一定是 “西班牙移民”。④ 
     关系代词 which 用得多,也错译得多,下面有四例: 
    (40)She must be flattered upon her understanding;  which, though she may possibly not doubt of herself, yet she suspects that men may distrust. (F. D. Stanhope: 《Letter to His Son》) 
          对她理解力的称颂才是令她欣喜的东西,尽管她可能对 自己深信不疑,但会猜疑男人们也许对此并不置信。 (《英》68-69页) 
    (41)I hope it is no very cynical asperity, not to confess  obligations where no benefit has been received, or to be  unwilling that the Public should consider me as owing  that to a Patron, which Providence has enabled me to do for myself.  (Samuel Johnson: 《Letter to Lord Chesterfield》) 
          未得恩惠,难以表情。苍天在上,吾实不应使世人误以  为大人您施恩于余,谅此话不为苛刻。 (《英》74-75页) 
    (42)It is one of her best bonds, both of chastity and obedience, in the wife if she think her husband wise, which she will never do if she find him jealous. (Francis Bacon:《Of Marriage and Single Life》) 
          一个女子如果觉得自己的丈夫是聪明的,贞洁和温顺就 是她最好的约束;如果她发现丈夫是妒忌的,就不会把 贞洁和温顺放在心上。(《英》24-25页) 
     (43)Sometimes with one word - but his one word was  accompanied by a gesture of the hand - he would dispose of the tissue of exaggerations which his own sobriety seemed to provoke.  (Virginia Woolf: My Father: Leslie Stephen) 
          有时只吐一个字,伴着手势。似乎自制力使得他摒弃一 切张势的话语。(《英》182-183页) 
例(40)的 which 是说“理解力”,而不是“(她)自己”。 
例(41)的 which 究竟是指什么?译文略过不提,把整个非 限定性定语从句which Providence has enabled me to do for myself 译为“苍天在上”。其实,作者的意思是“上帝助我,得 以完成这项事业”,which 回指前边的 that(即编纂词典一事)。 例(42)英文例句的中文译者将 which 理解为前面提到的“it is one of her best bonds, both of chastity and obedience”,所以 把 which she will never do 译成“就不会把贞洁和温顺放在心 上”,似乎说得通。可是看看原文,it is 句怎么可以是 do 的宾 语呢?语法上不通。如果把 she think her husband wise 看作 do 的宾语,就说得过去了。应该译为“如果发现丈夫妒忌,就会觉 得丈夫不明智”。例(43)的 which 是指 exaggerations(夸 张),不是译文所理解的 would dispose of the tissue of exaggerations。就是说,因为“他”的容忍,客人才得以“夸张” (比如说“伦敦有4千万未婚女性”)。例句的后半部分应该是 “他挥去由他自己的容忍所引起的夸张之词”。 
     3.4 空位的指称 
     英语的主语如果在上文提到过,下文里有时会省去不表。这 样的省略姑且用“空位”表示。下面两个句子的空位都被误解 了: 
     (44)when I shall need peace because there is none but thou, O Lord, that should stand for me, and then shall find that all the wounds that I have come from thy hand,  all the arrows that stick in me from thy quiver; (John Donne: 《Let Me Wither》) 
          我需要安宁,哦,主啊,唯有您才能助我,您知晓我的 全部的伤皆自于您的双手,穿于我的身躯之箭皆发于您的  箭桶。(《英》14-15页) 
     (45)One windy night, I hoisted up the cherished  teaching that every American had a duty to drive a  two-ton, eight-cylinder automobile with room enough  inside for a steamer trunk and the whole family, and staggered off to the dump. (Russel Baker: Back to the Dump) 
          一天晚上,风很大,我扯起一句备受拥护的教导:每个 美国人都有义务开辆2吨重、有8只汽缸的汽车,载着 皮箱和全家人,摇摇晃晃地开到垃圾场。 (《美》98-99页) 
例(44)的第二个 shall find 的主语还是“我”,不是上帝。 一个普通人怎么可以请上帝发现这,发现那呢?可能是因为有了 thou 的同位语和修饰语 O Lord, that should stand for me,使译 者以为 shall find 的主语是上帝。例(45)中,动词 staggered off 的主语虽然还是“我”,但不是“我开着汽车去”,而是 “我拖着教导去”。 
      四、结语 
      英译汉是一个涉及很多因素的复杂过程。翻译者对原文的词 义、结构和语篇的理解,对翻译的成败至关重要。任何一个环节 出了纰漏,都会给译文带来负面影响。本文只是从“信”的要求 对两本书的英语译文进行了一些评论,并没有企图在翻译的其他 方面,如“达”和“雅”等提出见解。不过,仅仅是“信”这一 个要求,已经让我们殚精竭虑了。而“信”的要求是翻译的至关 重要的、第一位要求。如果没有“信”,其他要求也就无从谈 起。
注释: 
     ①翻译者为陈才宇等。 
     ②原译文 as well as the church 的错译,是由网络《汉 英论坛》的“大头”和“laoliu”两位网友指出的。 
     ③有关例(32)but only 的理解,请教了康州学院 Amy Dooling 教授。 
     ④例(39)Hispanic 译成“西班牙移民”的错误,也是康 州学院 Amy Dooling 教授指出的。
 

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