北京新航道学校 李传伟
第十天:拆分组合 翻译快乐---逻辑组合
对句子进行拆分、并确定了各意群的意义以后,需要按照中文的逻辑将意思组合起来,即按照中文表达习惯和逻辑关系重新安排句子顺序,如将定语和状语前置等。下面仍然以前面的三个例子说明如何进行逻辑组合。
例一,
72. “In short”, a leader of the new school contends, “the scientific revolution, as we call it, was largely the improvement and invention and use of a series of instruments that expanded the reach of science in innumerable directions.” (1994-72)
新学派的一位领袖人物坚持说:“简言之,我们所谓的科学革命,主要是指一系列器具的改进、发明和使用,这些改进、发明和使用使科学发展的范围无所不及。”
逻辑组合:
由于定语从句that expanded the reach of science in innumerable directions较长,可以单独成句;同时,先行词the improvement and invention and use of a series of instruments是定语从句的主语(由that代替),翻译时重复先行词。
例二,
72. How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount, reliability, and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted. (1995-72)
这些预测在多大程度上为后来的表现所证实,这取决于所用信息的数量、可靠性和适宜性,以及解释这些信息的技能和才智。
逻辑组合:
主语较长,可以在主谓相接之处断句。句末的定语从句前置,修饰先行词the skill and wisdom。
例三,
62. Social science is that branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena.
社会科学是知识探索的一个分支,它力图像自然科学家研究自然现象那样,用理性的、有序的、系统的和冷静的方式研究人类及其行为。
逻辑组合:
定语从句which seeks to study humans and their endeavors…较长,可以与前面的主句分开翻译;in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner做状语,修饰study,翻译时可以放在study前面;定语从句that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena可以前置修饰manner。
由此可见,要做好英译汉部分,必须学习理解原文与汉语表达两个方面,二者缺一不可。