变换语法角色

3.10　变换语法角色

所谓语法角色变换法，即灵活处理各种语法成分，例如主语不一定就译成主语，可以译成谓语、状语，等等。定语不一定译成定语，可以译成谓语动词、分句等。

【译例分析】

【例1】Vandalism used to be a rare occurence here．

［译文］过去这里很少发生故意破坏公物的现象。

［分析］状语“here”译成了主语;主语“vandalism”译成了宾语。

【例2】After his boring speech，the fatuous speaker waited for applause．

［译文］那演说者好不识相，他的演说本来令人十分厌倦，而他还在那儿傻等着人家鼓掌哩。

［分析］译文对原文的一些语法角色进行了大胆调整，例如把介词短语“After...”译成了主句，把“the fatuous speaker”译成了独立的句子，使译文自然朴实，不留英文的句法痕迹。

【例3】The greatness of her beauty enslaved the hearts of all that looked upon her．

［译文］她的容貌美艳绝伦，所有的人见了都为之倾倒。

［分析］这里“greatness”由主语的角色被调换成谓语，“that looked upon her”这个定语从句也译成了谓语。

【例4】Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle．

［译文］好几个星期以来，我一直十分愤怒和痛苦，在这种折磨中激烈地挣扎过后备感疲惫。

［分析］主语“anger”和“bitterness”被译成了谓语动词，后面的一个主语“languor”也译成了谓语动词，这样处理使译文很通顺。如果不变换语法角色，硬要把原文的主语放在译文主语的位置，很可能使译文很蹩脚。试比较:“好几个星期以来，愤怒和痛苦一直在折磨着我，深深的疲倦跟随激烈的挣扎而来。”

【译例欣赏】

【例1】What is done by night appears by day．

［译文］若要人不知，除非己莫为。

【例2】She usually walks when she might ride．

［译文］虽然有车可坐，她通常还是以步代车。

【例3】Water is the only drink for a wise man．

［译文］聪明的人只以水作饮料，滴酒不沾。

【例4】It wasn't my intention to stop him from going there．

［译文］我并没有打算阻止他去那里。

【例5】He saved the pupils from the fire at the cost of his own life．

［译文］为了把小学生从烈火中救出来，他牺牲了自己的生命。

【例6】We find the fullness of life，not only in options，but in commitments．

［译文］人生的完美不仅是通过某些选择，而且是通过我们的承诺来实现的。

【例7】Helen was confident，graceful，made the most of her personal appearance，and showed considerable polish and ease in social relationships．

［译文］海伦充满自信，举止优雅。她充分利用自己的美貌周旋于社交活动中，显得轻松自如、很有修养。

【译文改进】

1.Business took me to town．

［原译］公务把我带到了城里。

2.This is an “egg and hen”question．

［原译］这是一个“鸡蛋和鸡”的问题。

3.His words are worth taking with a grain of salt．

［原译］他的话值得持保留看法。

4.“The people...are all poor.Most of them can't afford to pay the haircuts I give them.There's no excuse for this town at all，but the sea is here，and so are the hills.”

［原译］“……人们都很穷，他们大部分都付不起我给他们理发的钱。对于这个镇来说根本没有什么借口，但是海在这里，山也在这里。”

5.This text makes no attempt to touch on all the problems which translators must face in translating from English to Chinese or from Chinese to English—such an attempt would be hopelessly impossible．

［原译］此书并不打算涉及翻译人员在英译汉或汉译英中所遇到的所有问题——这样一种打算将根本是不可能的。

【译技提高】

(一)运用本节学到的技巧翻译下列各句，每句都有一些提示。

1.Rarely did his sense of humor desert this noble man．

［提示］这里有双重否定“Rarely...desert...”，可译为肯定。“desert”需要意译。

2.Pressure was brought to bear on us to finish the work on time．

［提示］“压力——完成任务”，这是信息主线。

3.Immodest words admit of no defense，for want of decency is want of sense．

［提示］前半句可译为“如果……就……”结构。

4.Science absorbed me most，though I had excelled in all subjects at high school．

［提示］可把后置的“though...”从句译到前面。“absorb”在这里如何译好，应动动脑筋。

5.Every country is the best judge of what is required to safeguard its national security．

［提示］这里的“judge”宜译为动词。

(二)翻译下列句子。

1.I hate to say good- bye．

2.You can't be too careful．

3.I am not insincere about it．

4.I hope I get your name right．

5.The specification lacks detail．

6.Such mistakes couldn't long escape notice．

7.My father will kill me when he finds me out．

8.I have fallen behind with my correspondence．

9.But for your help，we will never get out of the trouble．

10.We must never stop taking an optimistic view of life．

11.Do you know why she is always trying to avoid you?

12.Don't make the conclusion before the end of the year．

13.This was a view which seems to have escaped the dean．

14.Some people don't approve of the construction of the highway because it is destroying an important historical valley.But some others argue that the highway is a necessary evil because there are four times as many cars as there were ten years ago，on the same number of roads．

(三)翻译以下篇章。

Yale's roots can be traced back to the 1640s，when colonial clergymen led an effort to establish a college in New Haven to preserve the tradition of European liberal education in the New World.This vision was fulfilled in 1701，when the charter was granted for a school“wherein Youth may be instructed in the Arts and Sciences(and)through the blessing of Almighty God may be fitted for Public employment both in Church and Civil State”.In 1718 the school was renamed“Yale College”in gratitude to the Welsh merchant Elihu Yale，who had donated the proceeds from the sale of nine bales of goods together with 417 books and a portrait of King George I．

Yale College survived the American Revolutionary War(1775- 1783)intact and，by the end of its first hundred years，had grown rapidly.The nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought the establishment of the graduate and professional schools that would make Yale a true university.The Yale School of Medicine was chartered in 1810，followed by the Divinity School in 1822，the Law School in 1824，and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1847(which，in 1861，awarded the first Ph.D.in the United States)，followed by the schools of Art in 1869，Music in 1894，Forestry ＆Environmental Studies in 1900，Nursing in 1923，Drama in 1955，Architecture in 1972，and Management in 1974．

International students have made their way to Yale since the 1830s，when the first Latin American student enrolled.The first Chinese citizen to earn a degree at a Western college or university came to Yale in 1850.Today，international students make up nearly 9 percent of the undergraduate student body，and 16 percent of all students at the University.Yale's distinguished faculty includes many who have been trained or educated abroad and many whose fields of research have a global emphasis;and international studies and exchanges play an increasingly important role in the Yale College curriculum.The University began admitting women students at the graduate level in 1869，and as undergraduates in 1969．

Yale College was transformed，beginning in the early 1930s，by the establishment of residential colleges.Taking medieval English universities such as Oxford and Cambridge as its model，this distinctive system divides the undergraduate population into twelve separate communities of approximately 450 members each，thereby enabling Yale to offer its students both the intimacy of a small college environment and the vast resources of a major research university.Each college surrounds a courtyard and occupies up to a full city block，providing a congenial community where residents live，eat，socialize，and pursue a variety of academic and extracurricular activities.Each college has a master and dean，as well as a number of resident faculty members known as fellows，and each has its own dining hall，library，seminar rooms，recreation lounges，and other facilities．

Today，Yale has matured into one of the world's great universities.Its 11，000 students come from all fifty American states and from 108 countries.The 3，200-member faculty is a richly diverse group of men and women who are leaders in their respective fields.The central campus now covers 310 acres(125 hectares)stretching from the School of Nursing in downtown New Haven to tree- shaded residential neighborhoods around the Divinity School.Yale's 260 buildings include contributions from distinguished architects of every period in its history.Styles range from New England Colonial to High Victorian Gothic，from Moorish Revival to contemporary.Yale's buildings，towers，lawns，courtyards，walkways，gates，and arches comprise what one architecture critic has called“the most beautiful urban campus in America”.Yale's West Campus，located 7 miles west of downtown New Haven on 136 acres，was acquired in 2007 and includes 1.6 million square feet of research，office，and warehouse space that provides opportunities to enhance the University's medical and scientific research and other academic programs.The University also maintains over 600 acres(243 hectares)of athletic fields and natural preserves just a short bus ride from the center of town．

(http://www.yale.edu/about/history.html)