Question

定语从句的英语翻译方法

Answer 1

定语从句的英语翻译方法

英语和汉语分属两种不同语系，其差别很大，翻译起来有诸多困难，英语定语从句汉译便是困难之一。由于定语从句在英语中应用十分广泛，因此，我们必须想办法、找方法、寻规律，从而很好地解决它。

　　一、限制性定语从句
　　限制性定语从句对所修饰先行项起限制作用，在意义上与先行项密切不可分。如被省去，主句意思就含糊不清，甚至变得毫无意义。关系词和先行项之间一般不用逗号分隔。

　　(一)定语词组
　　①I have but one lamp by which my feed are guided. 我只有一盏指路明灯。
　　②It was so with the vast railroad yards with the crowded array of vessels she saw in the river. 火车站广大场地，河里鳞次梯比船只，她也同样不能理解。
　　③Before following her in her round of seeking, let us look at the sphare in which her future was to lie. 我们暂且把她找寻工作事搁下来不谈，先看一看她前途所寄托这个世界。
　　④...and the thread which bound her so lightly to girlhood and home were irretrievably broken ……而那些把她和少女时代以及故乡轻轻系住柔丝，不得不就此断绝了。

　　(二)并列从句
　　1）省略英语先行项
　　①The lungs are subjecd to several diseases which are treatable by surgery. 肺易受几种疾病侵袭，但均可经手术治疗。
　　②A little way on she saw a great door which, for some reason, attracted her attention. 又走了一些路，她看见一个大门，不知怎，引起了她注意。
　　③As a result, a hum of gossip was set going which moved about the house in that secret manner common to gossip. 结果就造成一阵闲话，暗中在公寓里流传，闲话一般都是如此。
　　④A will had been made which divide the small tax –eaten property equally among the remaining four, so that it was really of no interest to any of them. 遗嘱已立好，把这片快要给税吃光薄产平分给四个孩子，但谁都对此不感兴趣。
　　上述定语从句例句比（一）里定语从句例句长些，因此，就不宜译成定语词组成形式。否则，译句就会显得太长且不符合汉语表达习惯。如④就不宜译成“把这片快要给税吃光薄产平分给四个孩子中遗嘱早已立好，谁都对此不感兴趣。”这类从句不是长、难复杂定语从句，一般就按原文顺序位置译。上面译句第二分句，有承前省略了主语，如③④，有借用第一分句不定语作逻辑主语，如①②

　　2）重复英语先行项
　　①At dimmer I found myself placed between Mrs. Bradly, and a shy drab girl who seemed even younger than the other. 席间，我发现自己坐在布拉得雷太太和一腼腆乏味女孩子中间；她看上去比其余人都年轻。
　　②A writer--in fact every one of us in life--needs that loving-mother force from which all creation flows... 一个作家——实际上生活中每个人——都需要慈母力量，它是创造一切源泉。
　　③Man possesses an expressive faculty that goes far beyond gestures, that allows and even compels him to express his thoughts, feedings, dreams, and inituitions. 人类具有远远超过于手势表达官能，这种官能不仅使人能够，而且使他要把思想、感情、幻梦、直觉表达出来。
　　这些先行项重复，有时用是代词如①②，有时用是限定词如③。汉译时，需重复先行项地方，就要重复。否则会影响意思连贯和清楚。我们一般采用分述法将带定语从句英语复合句译成并列分词。分述法就将主句和从句分开翻译方法。此方法除了将定语从句译为并列分句外，还译为状语从句。

　　(三)状语从句
　　让我们来看看下例该怎么译：
　　He insisted on building another house which he had no use for.
　　上例能译成“他坚持再建一座他不用房子”或“他坚持再建一座房，这房他不用”吗？显然不能，因为这样译文令读者莫名其妙。这两种译文是套用定语词组和并列分句形式而译，然而错了。
　　正确译文是：他虽自己不用，但仍坚持再建一座房。此句之所以这样译，是因为它含有状语从句意思。英语定语从句——尤其是非限制性定语从句——有时兼有状语从句职能，可以表示时间、条件、原因、让步、目、结果等等关系。
兹再举几例说明限制性定语从句所表示状语意思：
　　①I think it will grow even on non-irrlgated land where there is a forest belt. 我想即使在没有灌溉土地上，只要有一条树林带，苜蓿还是会生长。（表条件）
　　②In a personed sense, I think of my eldest daughter, whose birthday is today. 就个人来讲，我想到我大女儿，因为今天是她生日。（表原因）

　　(四)独立句
　　①He paid that peculiar deferente to women which every member of the sex appreciates. 他对女性殷勤令每个女人所赏识。
　　②What were the hopes and dreams that had made of them the incredibly stubborn warriors?是什么希望，什么目标，什么理想使他们成为顽强到令人难以置信战士呢？
　　翻译英语There be 句型和带定语从句复合句时，常用溶合法。溶合法就是把原主句主语同定语从句溶合在一起而译成独立句方法。溶合法要求改变句子构造形式。具体作法是，将原主句词或词组用作独立句主语，再将定语从句用作谓语，这样便译成独立句，如①将He paid that peculiar deference to women 压缩译为“他对女性殷勤”而定语从句“which every member of the sex appreciates”译为谓“令每个女人所常识”。

　　(五)复合宾语
　　①I also found on the ground near the tracks of the lamed groups of ants which were rulling grains of corn. 我还看见骆驼脚印边有许多蚂蚁在拖玉米粒。
　　②He did not find any one in the house who particularly cared to see. 他认为家里没有人特别想知道。
　　当主句谓语动词是表示“感观”或“心理活动”等意义时，修饰宾语定语从句多译为复合宾语。

　　二、非限制性定语从句
　　非限制性定语从句同其先行项之间联系是松散。它不是先行项必不可少组成部分，而仅是对先行项作些描写或补充说明。非限制性定语从句前常有逗号将它与主语分开。非限制性定语从句也主要是采用前面已说过分译法和溶合法来译。它常驻被译为并列分句、独立和状语从句，偶尔还可译为定语词组等。
　　(一)译成并列分句
　　1、译成并列分句，省略先行项
　　①Wait a minute, said the boss, and he opened the load and took out a ham, which he started to bone and string up. “等一会儿！”老板说道，说罢便打开火腿包，拿出一只，开始剔骨头，并用绳子缚起来。（省主语）
　　②Carrie reached home in high good spirits，which she could scarely conceal. 嘉莉兴高采烈地回到家，想掩饰也掩饰不住。（省主语）

　　2、译成并列分句，重复英语先行项
　　①...from his vest dangled a real gold watch chain, from which was suspended the secret insignia of the Order of Elks……背心上荡着一根精致金表链，链上系着“共进会”徽章。
　　②He came within the meaning of a still newer term, which had sprung into general use among Americans in 1880... 他其实适合于一个更新名词，那个名词1880年在美国人中突然流行起来……

　　(二)译成独立句
　　①It has long been my wish to encounter one of the oldest civilizations in earth. I have come amidst you from Egypt, On the banks of the Nile, which also has a most ancient civilization. 我一直向往着要同世界最古老文明会晤。尼罗河畔埃及也有着最古老文明，我正是从那里来到你们中间。
　　②You've given Feldstyn, who dislikes me any how, the chance he was waiting for. 费尔德丁反正讨厌我，你给他机会正是他求之不得。

　　(三)译成状语从句
　　①These actions, which have aroused universal and unreserved disapproval, must nevertheless give us a pause. 这些行动，虽已激起普遍而毫不掩饰反对，却也使我们举棋不定。（表让步）
　　②In a dispute between two states with which one is friendly, try not to get involved. 在两国发生争端时，如与该两国皆友好，则应避免卷入。（表条件）。
　　③Copper, which is used so widely for carrying electricity, offers very little resistance. 铜电阻很小，因此被广泛用于输电。（表结果）

　　(四)译成定语词组
　　As I came in, Gus Meyer, who owned the taxicad that used to stand at the corner of our street, waved to me from a table. 我进去时，那个开出租汽车古司．买耶坐在一张桌子那里向我招手，他车子经常就停在我们街角上。非限制性定语从句主要是译成并列分句、独立句和状语从句这几种形式，这与它作用——仅是对先行项提供一些补充说明——有关。难怪《新编英语语法》（修定本）指出：在意义上，非限制性定语从句相当于一个并列分句，可以完全脱离主句而独立出现。
　　综上举例可以看出，定语从句可用“分述法”和“溶合法”进行翻译，形式有定语词组，并列分句、状语从句、复合宾语等。这些形式是英译汉主要“框架结构”，并非全部“标准答案”。在具体和翻译实践中，我们应该视其不同情况，选用不同形式或作灵活变通处理。