典型地道的英语及其翻译:无灵主语句

英语里主语常用人称和非人称两种形式来表达。用非人称主语表达时,往往注重“什么事发生在什么人身上”。而汉语则较常用人称主语表达,侧重“什么人怎么样了”。
  如1. A terrible thought suddenly struck me—had I locked the door?
  我突然产生了一个可怕的想法——我锁门了吗?
  例2.A strange peace came over her when she was alone.
  她独处时感到一种特别的安宁。
  英语中非人称作主语的句子主要有两种类型:
       a非人称主语句采用“无灵主语”(inanimate subject),表示抽象概念、心理感觉、事物名称或时间地点等,但谓语却常常使用“有灵动词”(animate verb)表示人或社会团体的动作和行为,如:see,desert,find,bring,witness,give,escape,surround,kill,deprive,serve,send,know,tell,permit,invite,take,drive,prevent…from等,这类句子往往带有拟人化(personification)的修辞色彩(如上面两个例句)。
       b用非人称代词“it”作主语
  例如:It never occurred to me that she was so dishonest.
  译文:我从没有想到她会这样的不诚实。
  英语中的这类句子具备着含蓄幽默、生动活泼、客观公正、简洁凝练、句型多样等特点,所以使用广泛。但是由于汉、英两种语言属于不同的语系,所以在翻译这种无灵主语句时,要考虑到英语的思维方法,然后转换为汉语的思维方法,把句子的内在意义用汉语表达出来。下面就将非人称(impersonal)主语句英译汉的基本方法略作探讨。
  1. 如果主语暗含着条件、因果、时间、地点、方式等意义时,用人作主语,把原来的主语翻译成各种形式的状语。
  例如:The forty years, 1840-1880, brought almost ten million migrants to America.
  译文:从1840至1880这四十年中,近一千万移民移居美国。
  2. 当谓语动词是情感型使动词时,如:surprise,disappoint,excite,disturb,inspire,puzzle,annoy,trouble,irritate,shock等;或得失型动词,如:lost,get,gain,take,fail,save,win,leave等,翻译时可保留主语,把谓语动词转译成“使……”结构。
例如
1) The beautiful scenery gained the place quite a reputation.
译文:美景使这个地方颇有名气。
  2). Her habit of biting her nails irritates me.
  译文:她咬指甲的习惯使我生气。
  3. 把原句中表示生命概念的词变成主语,引申谓语动词的词义,并采用逆行翻译法。
  例如:1) When he had to speak ,his confidence suddenly deserted him.
  译文:当他不得不说话时,他突然失去了信心。
  2) It seems that a very difficult decision now faces him.
  译文:他好象面临着困难的抉择。
  4. 当有灵动词是某些感官动词,如:see,witness,speak,tell等时,保留无灵主语,引申动词词义。比如,有时可把谓语动词引申为含有“显示”,“表明”,“产生”等意义的词。
  例如:The blood-stained glove told of the bandit's crime.
  译文:血迹斑斑的手套就是匪徒的罪证。
  5. 重新确定主语,引申动词词义。
  例如:It is generally felt that his appointment was a grave mistake.
  译文:现在许多人觉得,当时对他的任命是个严重的错误。  
  6. 译成汉语的无主句。
  例如:Rumors had already spread along the street.
  译文:大街小巷早就传遍了各种流言蜚语。
  7. 由于汉语“无灵主语”与“有灵动词”搭配通常被用作一种修辞手段----拟人化,所以有些句子我们不妨也采用“拟人化”的汉语句型来表达。
  例如:Don't talk to me about no opportunity any more, opportunity's knocking down every door in the country, trying to get in.
  译文:别说什么机会难逢,机会正在国内挨家挨户敲门,想要进去呢。
  此外,英语的“there be”句式及用不定代词“one”作主语的句子也具有非人称倾向,汉译时仍可采用上面提到的技巧。
  例如:In 1955, there was a strike participated by six thousand workers.
  译文:1955年,六千名工人举行了一次罢工。
 
  再看几个例子:
  1. I am very sorry that the pressure of other occupations has prevented me from sending an earlier reply to your letter.
  2. The smallest excuse would have served.
  3. Paying his son's debts left him almost penniless.
  4. That night sleep eluded me.
  5. The old house has seen better days.
  6. Everything at the party spoke of careful planning.
  7. The year 1949 witness the founding of the People's Republic of China.
  8. The universe is not rich enough to buy the vote of an honest man.
  9. The light from the stars started on its journey long time ago.
    10.One must be a servant before one can be a master.
 
    有读者问起笔者所译“大江东去,浪淘尽千古风流人物”(Chinese history sees Yangtze run;with rolling waves thousands years and myriad heroes are gone)中前一句如何理解。这一句型在英语中比汉语中常见,其特征是以无生命事物作为主语,语言学家Holliday把它称为“无灵主语句”。例如“The world history has seen more tears than laughter”(在世界历史上泪水比欢笑多),“The new century will see a significant and far-reaching change in China”(中国在新世纪将发生重大而深远的变化),“The year 2003 witnessed a unprecedented disastrous flood in Huai river basin”(2003年淮河流域发生了史无前例的洪灾)和“September finds agreeable weather in Shanghai”(九月的上海天气宜人)都属于这种句型。
  英语中使用这一句型一方面是为了表达生动、有力,另一方面也和西方的思维方式有关。英美更重视客观性,因此表达倾向于更多地使用客观事物做主语。例如,表达“他总是很机智”,我们也许会说“He is always quick-witted”,但“Quick-wit never deserts him”的说法更地道、有力。表达“我突然有了一个好主意”中国学生倾向于说“Suddenly I have a good idea”,而英美的人会说“As plen did idea suddenly occurs to me”或“A good idea suddenly strikes/hits me”。使用无灵主语句可以使句子更加紧凑简洁。如“她做事效率高,又不会发火,简直是个天使”可以翻译成“High efficiency without anger make she ran angel”,把三句压缩成一句。

  学术文章中这一句型可以使语句显得更加庄重、客观。如“We carried out more experiments and found some exciting results”和“Further experiments gave us some exciting results”相比,后一句不仅简洁,而且像是出自研究人员之手。不过,在口语中也有这一句型,如“His name slips my mind”(我忘了他的名字),“Words fail me!My favorite team lost.”(我无话可说。我最喜欢的队输了)。由于这一类句型涉及英汉语言和思维的差异,所以考试中多次出现。如1998年6月四级考试第40题“The last half of the nineteenth century __ the steady improvement in the means of travel”(正确答案为haswitnessed);1996年考研英语阅读理解Passage5的开头一句“Rumor has it that more than 20 books on creationism/evolution are in the publisher'spipelines”(据传有20多本关于神造论和进化论的书即将出版)难倒了众多考生。1999年6月四级阅读PassageFour第38题中也出现了“the toy industry has witnessed great leaps in technology inrecent years”的选项。类似句子在作文题中也大有用武之地。

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