英汉翻译知识第一篇:什么是翻译(二)

II. 课堂练习(分别用词语和形式对应译法和语义表达译法试译下列句子,并比较翻译中的感觉和译文的效果):
It’s more a poem than a picture.
He drank himself out of the best lines.
He pretends to be as modest as anything.
Fire goes wherever it can, but it prefers to follow a draft.
The room was easily traced by the noise that was coming from it.
Taking care to pitch my voice to politeness, I asked about the next bus to Hattiesburg.
If you feel depressed at a social gathering, keep it a secret.
The bacteria pneumonia may complicate influenza at both extremes of age.

III. 课堂练习参考译文:
与其说那是一幅画,不如说那是一首诗。
他借酒写得好诗句。
他装得极为谦虚。
火是无孔不入的,可是它更爱窜入通风的地方。
循声而去,便轻而易举地找到了那间屋子。
我陪着小心,用温和的口吻询问开往哈蒂斯堡下一斑车的情况。
在社交场合,你就是感到情绪压抑,也不要表露出来。
患有流感的幼儿和老人可能并发细菌性肺炎。

IV. 课外练习(分别用词语和形式对应译法和语义表达译法试译下列句子,并比较翻译中的感觉和译文的效果):
1.He wants a lawyer who understands his case, who sympathizes with him and who has been there himself.
2.World-famous for his works he was never personally well known, for throughout his life he avoided publicity.
3.While you are in the act of summoning your energies, focus on a plan. Don’t exhaust yourself with fruitless excursions into any and all possibilities.
4.A book may be compared to your neighbor: if it is good, it can not last too long; if bad you can not get rid of it too early.
5.Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check — a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds”.
6.A friend is someone who draws out your own best qualities, with whom you sparkle and become more of whatever the friendship draws upon.
7.To petrol we owe the existence of the motor-car, which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. To petrol we owe the possibility of flying.
8.Because of limited insurance coverage, many people will have to look to their own resources — both emotional and financial — to care for an infirm or recovering relative at home.
9.During the last six years, 44 of 60 scholarship winners have been the children of foreigners. the talent search, certainly in this decade, is a tribute as much to immigration as to education.
10.The new architectural styles have become powerful image makers overseas. Two stunning arrivals now gracing Hong Kong’s crowded skyline — the privately-owned Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank building and Bank of China’s headquarters — stand as monuments to the rival economic interests, cultures and ideologies that define the city.

英汉翻译知识第一篇:什么是翻译(一)

The history of a tree from the time it starts in the forest until the boards which it yields are used, would form an interesting and, in many instances, an exciting story.
(“×”号表示译文有问题,下同)
×树的历史开始于森林中,直到生产为木板后被使用为止,成为一个有趣且有许多事例的激动人心的故事。

上面这句话的原文实际上主要说了两点内容:
1、树的历史的起迄时间
2、树的历史是怎样一回事
一棵树,从它在森林中生长起直到被制成木板使用为止,这段历史会构成一个饶有趣味的故事,在很多情况下这个故事十分激动人心。

There are two regulatory systems which interact. One timing system comes from the evidence of our senses and stomachs, and the periodicity we experience when living in a particular time zone.
×有两个调节系统相互作用。一个定时系统来自于我们的感官和胃的证明,就是当我们生活在一个特定的时区所经历的周期性。
人体有两个相互作用的时间调节系统。一个时间调节系统依据感官和胃发出的信息,依据我们生活在某个时区所体验的周期性规律。

寻找对等词语和结构然后将其串接成句的翻译方法,常表现如下:
1、简单语句的译文虽然生硬,但基本可读。如:
I can see three different types of composers in musical history, each of whom creates music in a somewhat different fashion.
×我能看到音乐史上有三种不同的作曲家,他们中每一个人以某种不同的方式创作音乐。
我发现音乐史上有三类作曲家,他们各自的音乐创作方式有所不同。

2、较复杂语句的译文似通非通,甚至不知所云。如:
The traditionalist type of composer begins with a pattern rather than with a theme. The creative act with Palestrina is not the thematic conception so much as the personal treatment of a well-established pattern.
×传统主义型作曲家始于某种格调而非某种主题。帕莱斯特里纳的创作行为不太像对固定格调进行个性化处理的主题概念。
传统型作曲家是从形式出发而不是从主题出发进行创作的。帕莱斯特里纳的创作不是主题的构思,而是对固定形式的个性化处理。

3、典型的英语表达形式在汉语无法找到对等形式,翻译无从着手。如:
Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come — with the people who respect you for who you are.
发现自我,如实地表现自我,你自然会为人们所喜欢--为那些尊重你的真正个性的人们所喜欢。

Where do you expect Shanghai to be in five years?
你预计今后五年上海的发展目标如何?

翻译不是一种语言中的词语和语句结构到另一种语言的词语和语句结构的简单转换,也不是在另一种语言中寻找与一种语言中对等的词语和语句结构然后将其串接成句的过程。在英汉翻译中,如果把眼光盯着原文的词语和语句结构这些属于语言层次的东西,结果翻译出来的只是一种文字层次的转换,徒具其形,原文的内容和意义不可能得到很好的表达。

翻译究竟是什么呢?
翻译的过程就好比交通工具的换乘过程,两者之间有诸多相似之处。

  交通工具换乘过程:
 
内容 (人员)
载体(运输工具1)  内容(人员)
载体(运输工具2) 

翻译过程:
 
内容 (信息)
 载体(源语)  内容(信息)
    载体(译语) 

比较两者,其共同点有:
(1) 两者带有相似的目的:
两种转换过程都是为了实现内容通过载体的变换从一端到另一端的传递。
(2) 两者含有相似的基本要素:
第一要素内容,在交通工具换乘过程中是人员,而在翻译过程中则是信息。
第二要素载体,在交通工具换乘过程中是车辆、船舶、飞机等,转换前是一种运输工具,转换后改为另一种运输工具;而在翻译过程中则是语言,转换前是源语(source language),转换后是译语(target language)。
(3) 两者具有相似的操作要求:
第一,两者都要求内容不变。
第二,两者都要求过程顺畅

德国译学教授Wolfram Wilss 在The Science of Translation:Problems & Methods一书中说:
Translation is not simply a matter of seeking other words with similar meaning, but of finding appropriate ways of saying things in another language. Translating is always meaning-based, i.e. it is the transfer of meaning instead of form from the source language to the target language.(翻译不只是在另一种语言中寻找意义相似的其他词语,而是寻找表达事物的适当方式。翻译始终立足于语义,也就是说,是语义从源语到译语的转换,而不是形式。)
这说明了翻译是语义的翻译,不是语言形式的翻译,是运用另一种语言的适当方式来表达一种语言所表达的内容,而不是在另一种语言中寻找与一种语言中含义相似的某些词语或结构。翻译必须跳出原文语言层面的束缚,必须着眼于传达原文的内容和意义。
换句话说,翻译的基本单位应该是语篇,而不是词语结构。根据系统功能语言学家的观点,语言的实际使用单位是语篇这样的言语单位,而不是词语结构这样的语法单位。实际使用的语篇有可能是一个句子、一个句段、一个句群,也有可能是一个词语。翻译作为语言交际的一种形式,其实质是用一种语言的语篇材料代替另一种语言与其意义对等的语篇材料。

8 crazy fashion facts that’ll make you say OMG

英国伊丽莎白女王确立了帽子传统,而丁字裤的故乡其实是在纽约……认为自己是时尚达人吗?看看这些令人咂舌的时尚趣闻,你都听说过吗?

Think you know everything there is to know about fashion? We’re betting that even the most hard-core fashionistas won’t know some of this style trivia. Prepare to be amazed (and a little shocked).

Queen Elizabeth I is responsible for the whole British hat thing.

If you’re wondering why our stylish friends across the pond seem to top off every event with a hat, you can stop wondering. The British tradition of wearing hats to most formal occasions is often credited to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1571, during her rule, a law was created that mandated that anyone over the age of seven must wear a hat on Sundays. And while the law is long gone, there are some events that still seem to have an unofficial hat dress code, including horse races, garden parties and weddings—like Kate Middleton and Prince William’s, if and when they ever decide to get hitched.

New York City: birthplace of Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and…the thong.

While the loincloth has popped up in history everywhere from medieval times to ancient Egypt, the modern G-string is rumored to have been born in New York City, near the end of the Depression. In 1939, New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia ordered the city’s exotic dancers to be more covered up in honor of the World’s Fair. And, voila, the thong—as well as the unfortunate whale tail—was born.

 

Your shoe addiction is nothing compared with Imelda Marcos’.

When the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos and her husband were kicked out of their palace and exiled in 1986, she had to say goodbye to 2,700 pairs of pumps, stilettos and slingbacks. That’s 5,400 shoes. But before you get too jealous, remember: This was a time before all the designer booties and sky-high wedges we’ve been drooling over recently.

Marilyn Monroe had a pricey birthday suit.

Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but rhinestones aren’t so bad either. Especially when 6,000 of them adorn a flesh-color gown worn by Marilyn Monroe. The dress that the original blond bombshell wore while delivering JFK’s birthday serenade at Madison Square Garden in 1962 fetched more than $1.26 million at a Christie’s auction in 1999.

Witch of the West wasn’t the only one who had a thing for Dorothy’s shoes.

In 2005, someone swiped one of the original pairs of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz from a Minnesota museum. The pricey shoes—with an estimated value of somewhere between $660,000 and $1 million—have yet to be recovered, though it’s doubtful anyone could get away with wearing them without attracting attention. (Unless of course she planned to debut the stolen shoes at Wicked.)

 

Marie Antoinette wasn’t into showing skin.

While Kirsten Dunst played a flirty Marie Antoinette—complete with bedroom eyes and low-cut necklines—the real teen queen was so modest that she always wore a flannel gown buttoned up to her neck while bathing! To be fair, though, if you had a slew of staff huddled around the tub, you’d probably want to stay under wraps too.

The wedding dress that keeps on going, and going and going…

No runaway bride here: A Chinese woman recently broke the record for the longest wedding train. The 1.2-mile-long train took 200 guests a whopping three hours to unroll. And in case the thing wasn’t obvious enough on its own, it was adorned with 9,999 silk red roses.

Fashion shows can be squeezed into one day.

As many of you style-ophiles know, New York Fashion Week boasts more than 75 shows in a span of just eight days. And while there’s one (sometimes two) scheduled to take place every hour from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M., the fashion show itself lasts only about 15 minutes max. That means that Fashion Week’s total models-on-the-catwalk time tallies up to about 19 hours. Now, if only that fashion marathon were on pay-per-view.

求婚三大经典语句

1. 单刀直入法

  此法适合有勇气、不喜欢拐弯抹角的男士。

  Will you marry me?

  你愿意嫁给(娶)我吗?

  Would you be my wife/husband?

  你愿意当我的妻子/丈夫吗?

  2. 迂回暗示法

  不确定她是不是想现在结婚?可以旁敲侧击一下。

  I think it’s time we took some vows。

  我想是我们该许下誓言的时候了。

  I think it’s time we settled down。

  我想是我们该稳定下来的时候了。

  I want to spend the rest of my life with you。

  我想与你共度余生。

  I want to be with you forever。

  我要永远与你相守。

  3. 咬文嚼字法

  此法适合喜欢舞文弄墨的男士,求婚的时候也顺便显示一下文采。

  Let’s get hitched!

  我们成为比翼鸟吧!

  Let’s tie the knot!

  我们结为连理枝吧!

我初到外国时闹的笑话

这些笑话都很搞的,但是有一些作者并没有明确说出准确的英文,不知道你是不是愿意补上去呢?

   1、我住进宿舍的第一天,发现房间里有冷水热水两个水龙头,因为别人告诉我英国的冷水可以直接喝,我以为热水也是,于是很兴奋的用热水冲了一杯咖啡……

  2、第一次去家庭医生那里做体检,我跟人家说:i wanna make an appointment for the annual check in~~~~~医生愣了一下,反应过来说:oh anual check up?sure……

  3、刚来英国的时候跟一个女生去银行开户,一个银行职员很亲切地走上前来,还没开口说话,就听那女生说:“May i help you?”职员当时就石化,我就在后面拉她衣服,她侧头跟我说,别捣乱别捣乱!然后又对人家说了一次:“MAY I HELP YOU?”

  4、刚来的时候我们三人行,好朋友,两女一男。有天合伙去市场,那个男生想买茄子,上来就问:“how much for one kilometer?”我和另一个女生觉得太丢脸,默默的闪开装不认识他……

  5、某某老公刚来的时候英语很不好,坐天车的时候不小心踩了一个白人女的的脚,结果他想躲开的时候不小心又踩了那女的另一只脚……然后那女的就瞪着他,他想说:“I AM SORRY”结果一着急就特别大声的说成了:“IT’S OK!”然后那女的就也特别大声的回他一句:“IT’S NOT OK!!”全车人都疯了……

  6、一个朋友, 才来英国不都是要去警察局注册嘛,我那个朋友当时英文不是一般的差,他连警察局怎么说都不知道。但是他还是很有勇气,一个人打算去警察局注册。走在路上,他随便抓了一个老爷爷,想问说警察局在哪里。但是他发音不标准,把police说成please,那个老爷爷挣扎了半天,听不懂~

  于是他着急了:“please啊,wear hat, use gun!”一边说一边还比划动作。终于那个老爷爷听懂了,然后回答他:“you want to find police? they are everywhere!”他更着急了,于是大声说:“no no no, i want a group of please, they stand together….”那个老爷爷这次真的听懂了,原来他是要找 police station!于是老爷爷把他带去了,还对police说这个从中国来的小伙子英文不好,他需要帮助……

  7、朋友的男朋友好猛,他刚来的时候去超市,人家问他要不要cash back,他还以为买东西还有钱收,就说要!人家问他要多少,他就跟人家说:as much as possible!

  8、刚来的时候,大家都很节省,想说这可不是rmb,多贵啊,一瓶可乐都得换算的来买……一天5个男人去买麦当劳,啥都看不懂……想说那就买个便宜点的吧,5个人还都买一样的…..结果付钱的时候人家问了句“sure?”朋友还很郁闷,干吗啊,不能吗?结果拿到手一看,happy meal!暴汗,5个大男人,就在那坐着吃happy meal还带着玩具的呢……

  9、第一天到学校报到,一个很漂亮的白人女生微笑的对我说,What’s up?我抬起头看了看天花板……回答道:Nothing Up…..

  10、朋友去SHOPPERS买掏耳朵的棉棒,一边做掏耳朵的动作一边问:“DO U HAVE CONDOM STICK?”店员巨迷茫的2手一摊:“WHAT?”我朋友立马使劲掏耳朵:“CONDOM啊,CONDOM STICK啊…”演了半天,店员恍然大悟:“DO U MEAN COTTON Q TIPS?”

  11、老师问我有Glauben(信仰)吗?我说我没Gewissen(良心),其实是想说信仰的。

  12、说个我朋友的、他叫李硕、刚来英国第2天有个老外问他说:Are you sure?他想都没想还笑嘻嘻的跟人说:yes,i am shuo le!

  13、刚来的时候,住一个寄宿家庭的男生非要请我吃饭,结果就去了麦当劳。他问我你要什么,我帮你点。我说我就要第一个的那个meal就行。他说行,我跟你吃一样的。结果老哥上去就跟人家说“Number one two.”点餐的白人听不懂,他跟人家大声地重复了三遍,他自己还特生气。

  14、以前学英文的时候,老师教了一个词,shabby。班里有几个男同学就恶搞。一听到老师说这个词,他们就跟着读,读。还一直笑个不停。后来老师也知道他们笑什么了。(原来是傻B的谐音)

  15、来的第二年了,我去商店买鞋,然后拿着就去问营业员:is this made of beef or pork (俺的意思就是猪皮还是牛皮的),那个营业员的表情到现在都记得。

  16、我有一朋友刚来,长的不错,遇一阿×搭讪,那哥们特直接,张口就问我朋友:R u married?我朋友楞了下,来了句:I am not Merry,I am Fairy。她以为人家问她你是Merry吗?

  17、我想起来我一同学第一次来英国正好遇上入关检查特严,她妈妈让她给这边的一个朋友带了个金华火腿结果被狗狗闻出来了就被领取office 了……然后officer就要她解释用报纸包起来的东西是什么……我那同学说leg……然后那officer一脸被吓到的表情,问了句:“Pardon?”……然后我那朋友很大声重复说:“leg!”她说我当时想那officer怎么连火腿都不懂,还特地在腿上比划了半天:“leg啊,leg就是leg啊……”要不是后来有个中国人帮她我估计她在英国第一站是警察局……

  18、刚来的时候和朋友打电话去必胜客……他菜单上面是super supreme,我就很激动的对着电话喊:“我要一个super super me!!!”对方茫然,我还激动的大喊了好几声:“super super me!”对方继续茫然啊……拼出来以后,对方才说:“哦哦哦,super supreme……”一年都没有再定必胜客的东西……

最容易被搞错的词汇

 看看下面的词汇,你能猜对几个?

    1.bank holiday 不是银行节,是公共假期

  有一次我看电视剧,里面两位男士边走边谈,一位提到明天是bank holiday,中文字幕赫然出现“明天是银行节”。在英国国定假日叫bank holiday,也许银行与英国人关系太密切了,是生活中不可或缺的,所以国定假日银行不开门,就称之为bank holiday

  2.bookmaker 不一定是图书业者,有可能是接受赌注的庄家

  3.coming of age 不是时代来临,而是成年

  4.crow’s feet 不是乌鸦脚,而是鱼尾纹

  5.drawing room 不是画室,而是客厅

  6.living room 就是客厅,在英国又称之为sitting room,主要是普罗阶层的说法。豪门贵族的客厅则称之为drawing room,但这里和画画没关系。从前贵族客厅乃男士高谈阔论的地方,女性和小孩通常都会回避。所以drawing room其实是withdrawing room的简称。

  7.flat-footed 不是扁平足,有可能是手足无措

  扁平足引文叫做flatfoot。扁平足的人脚弓instep arch直接触地,不利于行,因此flat-footed 常用来指笨手笨脚,手足失措。如:

  A recent drought caught the government flat-footed.

  8.fourth estate 不是第四笔地产,是指记者或新闻界

  estate 有地产、遗产、地位的意思。欧洲传统上认为社会由贵族、教会、平民三大基层构成。大家是否还记得高中历史书上的法国大革命的图片。这些就是所谓的estate of the realm;

  近代新闻记者自成一个势力,则是传统三大阶层以外的第四阶层,称为fourth estate,有人把它译为第四权。

  9.full of beans 不是到处都是豆子,是精力充沛

  bean 通常指四季豆,大概是豆子营养丰富的原因,所以full of beans 意为精力充沛。不过在美国俚语中另有“错误连篇”的意思。

  10.gray matter 不是灰色的东西

  是大脑皮层表面的灰质……

  大脑里面的白质也就是 white matter

  11.green bean 不是绿豆,是四季豆

  12.hard shoulder 不是硬肩膀, 是路肩

  hard shoulder则确实是指路肩是铺的硬石子,与此对应还有soft shoulder,都是在美国公路上可以看见的路标,意在告诉司机路肩的状况,帮助司机了解在那里可以临时停车。

  13.headhunt 不再是从前食人族的猎头陋习,而是当前流行的“挖角”行为

  14.heavy duty 不是责任重大,是耐用

  15.hobby horse 不是爱马,是别人早就听腻、自己却乐此不彼的话题

  hobby一般译为嗜好,但其实跟中文的嗜好有些不同。hobby必须是正面的,花时闲去培养的休闲活动,看电视、逛街都不算。骑马 horseback riding 可算是一种hobby,但hobby horse 与马无关,是别人早就听腻了的,自己却乐此不彼、老爱谈起的话题。

  16.industrial action 不是工业行动, 是罢工之类的手段

  17.labour of love 不是为情所困,是为了兴趣嗜好而无怨无悔做的事

  18.milk run 不是牛奶用光了,是旅行搭的飞机或火车停很多站,非直达或者直飞

  有别于直飞或直达,停靠好几站载客的飞机或火车,就像milkman一天要跑好多地方一样,所以叫做milk run。另外,英国有所谓的milk round。是指大公司每年到各大学征才的活动。大概就是招聘会。

  19.moonshine 不一定是月光,也指私酒,或馊主意

  20.mug shot 不是被马克杯击中,而是拍照存档

  mug现在被译为马克杯。18世纪初英国流行怪异面孔装饰造型的马克杯,因此mug遂有“面孔”的意思。歹徒被捕后到警察局 get a mug shot,指拍照存档。

  21.on the couch 不一定是坐在沙发上,是看心理医师

  couch就是sofa,看心理医师的时候,病人躺下来谈话的长椅也叫couch,所以 on the couch也就有看心理医师的意思。Spending months on the couch delving into childhood traumas.

  是“花几个月看心理医师,探索童年的心灵创伤”的意思。

  22.free shipping 不是免费“偷渡”,而是免费邮寄