引申和褒贬

第一节　词义的选择、引申和褒贬

一、词义的选择

在翻译过程中，首先碰到的问题是词义。英语中一词多义，汉语中一字多义，这是常见的语言现象。英国伦敦语言学派创始人弗思指出:“Each word when used in a new context is a new word．”这充分体现了英语词汇的灵活性。因此，正确选择词义成为翻译过程中极其重要的一步。

请看英语词汇“run”在下列词组中的含义:

由此可见，“run”一词的含义极其丰富，除了本义“跑步”，还有许多意思。

再请看“way”在下列句子中的含义:

Which way do you usually go to town?

你进城一般走哪条路线?

The arrow is pointing the wrong way．

这个箭头指错了方向。

She showed me the way to do it．

她向我示范做这件事的方法。

I don’t like the way he looks at me．

我不喜欢他那种样子看着我。

Success is still a long way off．

离成功还远着呢。

We must not give way to their demands．

我们决不能对他们的要求让步。

汉语词汇也是如此，下面请看“上”的例子:

再请看“轻”在下列句子中的含义:

这件大衣很轻，但非常暖和。

This coat is light but very warm．

易碎品———小心轻放。

Fragile———handle with care．

他年纪虽轻，但做事非常负责。

He is young at age but very responsible in work．

不要轻看自己。

Don’t belittle yourself．

不要轻易做出选择。

Don’t make choices so easily．

今天我有些轻微的头疼。

I’ve got a slight headache today．

不难看出，翻译中选义的难易程度有多方面的因素在起作用。除了语言工具书可以帮助翻译，更重要的是，要借助具体的语境。以下几个方面都直接影响到词义的选择。

(一)名词的数

英语中的大部分名词具有单复数形式之分，而有些名词数的变化会直接影响到我们对于释义的选择。

(二)词的类别

英语中，同一个词，词类也相同，在不同场合往往具有不同含义。如:

(1)He is the last man to come．

他是最后来的。

(2)He is the last man to do it．

他决不会干那件事。

(3)He is the last person to do such a job．

他最不配干这个工作。

(4)He should be the last man to blame．

怎么也不该怪他。

(5)He is the last man to consult．

根本不宜找他商量。

(6)This is the last place where I expect to meet you．

我怎么也没料到会在这个地方见到你。

同一个词，词类不同时，词义更要仔细斟酌，如:

1．like

(1)He likes mathematics more than physics．

他喜欢数学甚于喜欢物理。(动词)

(2)In the sunbeam passing through the window there are fine grains of dust

shining like gold．

在射入窗帘的阳光里，细微的尘埃像金子一般在闪闪发亮。(介词)

(3)Like knows like．

英雄识英雄。(名词)

2．firm

(1)That boy needs a firm hand to help him grow up．

那个男孩需要严加管教才能有所长进。(形容词)

(2)He hold firm to his beliefs in his life．

他一生都坚守他的信仰。(副词)

(3)Our firm has made 200 workers redundant．

我们的公司已裁减200多名雇员。(名词)

(4)The parties firmed up the contract in the end．

双方最终使合同达成最后形式。(动词)

(三)词的搭配

根据搭配不同，翻译时各句词义也有所区别。下面以英语词汇“take”及汉语词汇“让”为例。

1．take

(1)I was taken aback by his rudeness．

他那样粗鲁无理使我大吃一惊。

(2)Your daughter takes after you very much．

你女儿长得很像你。

(3)Let’s take the radio apart and see what’s wrong with it．

咱们把收音机拆开看看有什么毛病。

(4)The scandal took away greatly from his public image．

那丑闻极大地损害了他的形象。

(5)The smell of seaweed took him back to his childhood．

海草的气味使他回想起童年时代。

(6)Sales of home computers have taken off in recent years．

家庭电脑的销售量近年来上升很快。

2．让

(1)请让一让。

Excuse me．

(2)让我试一下。

Let me try．

(3)大夫让我卧床。

The doctor advised me to stay in bed．

(4)他把客人让进来。

He invited the guest in．

(5)她让我在雨里等了两个钟头。

She kept me waiting in the rain as long as two hours．

(6)店主让我父亲一天干16个小时活。

The shop-owner made my father work 16 hours a day．

(四)对上下文或句子的理解

词汇总是在具体的上下文中才显得五彩斑斓，请看以下例子的不同选义:

1．business

(1)How was business today?

今天生意怎样?

(2)It’s none of your business．

不关你的事。

(3)He set up his own business soon after graduating from the college．

大学毕业后不久，他建立了自己的企业。

(4)She is the best designer in the business．

她是该行业最好的设计师。

(5)Regarding the usage of the land，the business and the government disagreed

with each other．

政府和商界对这块地的用途意见不一。

(6)She took her business to a trustworthy salesperson．

将她的主顾交给一个可靠的推销员。

2．头

(1)这娃娃头真大。

The baby has got a big head．

(2)让我从头说起吧。

Let me tell the story from the very beginning．

(3)事情不能只顾一头。

We mustn’t pay attention to only one aspect of the matter．

(4)这还是我头一回来杭州。

This is the first time I have been in Hangzhou．

(5)他头天上午就来了。

He came here on the previous morning．

(6)吉米把铅笔头给扔了。

Jimmy has thrown away the pencil stub．

二、词义的引申

所谓词义的引申，指的是在一个词所具有的基本词义的基础上，进一步加以引申，选择比较恰当的汉语词来表达，使原文的思想表现得更加准确，译文更加流畅。词义引申主要使用词义转译、词义抽象化、词义具体化等方法实现。

(一)词义转译

有些词照搬辞典翻译会使译文晦涩、含混，甚至造成误解。这时就应根据句、文逻辑关系引申转译。如:

(1)heavy的基本词义是重，heavy crop引申为大丰收，heavy current引申为

强电流，heavy traffic引申为交通拥挤等。

(2)sharp的基本词义是锋利的、尖的，sharp eyes引申为敏锐的目光，sharp image引申为清晰的形象，sharp voice引申为刺耳的声音，sharp temper引申为易怒的脾气等。

又如以下例句中:

(3)Optics technology is one of the most sensational developments in recent years．

光学技术是近年来轰动一时的科学成就之一。(developments不译为发展，引申为“科学成就”)

(4)The beauty of living California is that the whether is so good．

在加利福尼亚居住的妙处就在于气候宜人。(beauty不译为美丽，引申为“妙处”)

(5)The prisoner studied ways to escape．

犯人策划了各种逃跑的方法。(study不译为学习，引申为“策划”)

(6)The elevator girl reads novels between passengers．

这个看电梯的姑娘在没有乘客坐电梯的时候抓紧时间看小说。(between不译为在……之间，引申为“没有乘客坐电梯的时候”)

(二)词义抽象化

英语中常常用一个表示具体形象的词来表示一种属性、一个事物或一种概念。翻译这类词时，一般可将其词义作抽象化的引申，译文才能流畅、自然。如:

(1)Every life has its roses and thorns．

每个人的生活都有甜有苦。(roses和thorns抽象化后引申为“甜”和“苦”)

(2)We have to cut through all of the red tape to expand to the French market．

我们必须克服所有的繁文缛节，开拓法国市场。

(3)Mary stands head and shoulder above her classmates in playing tennis．

玛丽打网球的水平在班里可以说是“鹤立鸡群”。(head and shoulder抽象化后引申为“鹤立鸡群”)

(4)They left the hall in ones and twos．

他们三三两两地离开了会场。(ones and twos抽象化后引申为“三三两两”)

(5)We have gone through the dog days．

我们已经熬过了苦日子。(dog抽象化后引申为“苦”)

(6)How do we account for this split between the critics and the readers，the head and the heart?

评论家和读者之间，也就是理智和情感之间的这种分歧应如何解释呢?(the head and the heart抽象化后引申为“理智和情感”)

(三)词义具体化

英语中许多词意义较笼统、抽象，根据汉语表达习惯，引申为意义较明确、具体的词。这样，译文表达清晰、流畅、更加形象生动。如:

(1)The car in front of me stalled and I miss the green．

我前头的那辆车停住了，我错过了绿灯。(green具体化后引申为“绿灯”)

(2)The big house on the hill is my ambition．

山上的那间大屋是我渴望得到的东西。(ambition具体化后引申为“渴望得到的东西”)

(3)It’s a crime you didn’t finish school．

你上学没毕业真是件遗憾的事。(crime具体化后引申为“遗憾的事”)

(4)This survey is the work of a real professional．

这份调查是真正内行人做的。(professional具体化后引申为“内行人”)

(5)Wait a minute．Let me put on my things．

等一等，让我把衣服穿上。(things具体化后引申为“衣服”)

(6)The specific demands that a government wants to make of its scientific establishment cannot generally be foreseen in detail．

一般来说，一国政府对其科研机构提出的具体要求是无法详细预测的。(establishment具体化后引申为“机构”)

三、词义的褒贬

为了忠实于原文，仅查看词典是不够的。译者还必须正确理解原文背景，了解其思想内容乃至其政治观点等，然后选用适当的语言手段来加以表达。原文中有些词本身就含有褒义和贬义，译者在翻译时要相应的将其表达出来，但有些词孤立起来看是中性的，而放在上下文中揣摩则可增添其褒贬色彩，译者在翻译时也应恰如其分地将其表达出来。

(一)褒义词

(二)贬义词

(三)中性词

英语中有些词不具有褒贬色彩，但根据语言表达的需要，翻译时要译出褒义或贬义达到更加忠实原文的目的。

(1)reputation

a．I’m very lucky to attend this college with an excellent reputation．

录取到这所享有盛誉的学校，我很幸运。(褒义)

b．He was a man of integrity，but unfortunately he had a certain reputation．

他是一个正直真实的人，但不幸有某种坏名声。(贬义)

(2)ambition

a．My sister worked so hard that she achieved her great ambitions．

我姐姐如此努力工作，最终实现自己的抱负。(褒义)

b．Ambition dominated their lives．

他们的生活受野心驱使。(贬义)

(3)demanding

a．This old professor has been persisting in his demanding research job．

这位老教授一直都不懈努力地追求着他的研究课题。(褒义)

b．As a demanding boss，he expected total loyalty and dedication from his employees．

他是个苛刻的老板，要求手下的人对他忠心耿耿，鞠躬尽瘁。(贬义)

(4)clever

a．Lucy is a clever and industrious student．

露西是一个既聪明又勤奋的学生。(褒义)

b．She is clever and always gets what she wants by playing office politics．

她诡计多端，总能靠耍手段达到她的目的。(贬义)

(5)aggressive

a．My wife is an aggressive white-collar worker，who does her job quite well．我妻子是个积极肯干的脑力劳动者，她工作非常出色。(褒义)

b．U．S．business today is challenged by aggressive overseas competitors．今天的美国商业受到咄咄逼人的外国竞争者的挑战。(贬义)

(6)incite

a．They incited him to go into further investigation．

他们鼓励他再做进一步的调查。(褒义)

b．The manager was fired for inciting his colleagues to leak the classified documents to other companies．

那个经理因煽动同事将机密文件泄露给其他公司而被开除了。(贬义)由此可见，词义的研究颇有意义。只有在词义选择、引申和褒贬方面经过仔细推敲，才能翻出更漂亮的译文。

Exercises

一、翻译下列词组，注意词义的选择

二、翻译下列英语词组，注意词义的选择

三、翻译下列各汉语词组，注意词义的选择

四、翻译下列英语句子，注意斜体词在句中的含义

1．matter

1)It’s an important matter．

2)The article is full of matter．

3)It is a matter of no laughing．

4)I’ll be back in a matter of hours．

5)Of course this must have priority———it’s a matter of life and death．

6)Don’t trust him，no matter what he says．

2．lot

1)That’the lot．

2)A lot of people were queuing for the film．

3)I play tennis quite a lot in the summer．

4)Her lot has been a hard one．

5)A school is going to be build in this vacant lot．

6)If the quality of the first lot turns out to the satisfaction，we will place a repeat order with you in large qualities．

3．charge

1)The air is charged with odors．

2)The troops charged at the enemy lines．

3)How much do you charge for mending shoes?

4)An experienced worker is in charge of the project．

5)The court brings a charge of dishonesty against the prisoner．

6)Electrons are negatively charged with electricity;protons are positively charged．

4．change

1)Where shall we change for Liaoning?

2)I must change before I go to the party．

3)The witch changed the prince into a frog．

4)It was the hard work that had changed her．

5)In autumn the leaves change from green to yellow．

6)I have no change about me．Can you change me a ten-Yuan note?

五、翻译下列汉语句子，注意斜体词在句中的含义

1)做

a．你今天一天都在做什么?

b．毕业后她终于做了一名老师。

c．妈妈正在厨房做饭。

d．我已经做完的家庭作业。

e．这个课题已做了充分的研究。

f．他做出要打她的架势。

2)吃

a．他总是吃苦在前。

b．好汉不吃眼前亏。

c．你最好不要自讨苦吃。

d．那是吃力不讨好的事。

e．走这么长的路恐怕你吃不消。

f．你要先考虑清楚，免得吃后悔药。

六、翻译下列英语句子，注意斜体词的引申含义

1)The key won’t go in the lock．

2)Victory always goes to the strong．

3)I am of one mind with you on this．

4)We’re not going to let him bring shame on our corporation．

5)In two years，he was a national phenomenon．

6)I am busy packing my things for the long journey．

7)I marveled at the relentless determination of the rain．

8)The oil provides some cooling effects．

9)Its roots go back to many different countries and many different kinds of music and musicians．

10)The message might be carried by word of mouth or it might be translated into signs cut on a stick or knots on a string according to a prearranged scheme or code．

七、翻译下列句子，注意斜体词的褒贬

1)His notoriety as a rake did not come until his death．

2)Henry keeps boasting that he has talked to the President．

3)His new house was the envy of all his friends．

4)He had lied to me and made me the tool of his wicked deeds．

5)Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it．

6)That so-called sale is a scheme to swindle the consumer．

7)He was a man of high renown．

8)London is a city invaded by tourists．

9)He is doing famously at his new job．

10)We were shocked by his course manners．