中英翻譯

談第五種語言技能--翻譯

A Talk on the Fifth Language Skill

(outline)

金陵

February 21, 2000

翻譯：將一種語言表達的意義用另一種語言表達出來，就叫翻譯。

1.     Translation and Interpretation
Translation (translator)
Interpretation (interpreter) 　sight translation (ST) (視譯)
　　　　　　　　　　　   consecutive interpretation (CI) (連續傳譯/逐步傳譯/口譯)
　　　　　　　　　　   　simultaneous interpretation(SI) (同步傳譯/口譯)
　　　　　　　　　　   　whispering interpretation(WI) (耳語傳譯/口譯)

2. Literal /Verbal Translation(直譯) and Free Translation(意譯)

(1) A contented mind is a perpetual feast.
(直譯)知足的心是永恆的享受。
(意譯)事能知足心常愜，人到無求品自高。

(2) Who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl.
與狼為伍將學會狼嗥。近朱者赤，近墨者黑。

(3) . . .that government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
這個民有、民治、民享的國家，將不會從地球上消失。
使民有、民治、民享的政府，能長存於世。

(4) The love of money is the root of all evil.
愛財是萬惡之源。勸人不必苦貪財，貪得財來天降災。

(5) The mills of God grind slowly.
上帝的磨磨得慢。善惡到頭終有報，只爭來早與來遲。

(6) One swallow does not make a summer.
一隻燕子不能造成夏季。一燕不成夏。偏不概全。

(7) He is between the devil and the deep sea.
他在魔鬼與深海之間。他進退兩難、進退維谷、進退不得。

(8) The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts.
舌頭不是鋼，但能切割。良言一句三春暖，惡語傷人六月寒。

(9) To err is human; to forgive, divine.
犯錯是人之常情，寬恕是超凡的。錯為人之事，恕為神之業。

(10) Every human life is insignificant unless you make it great.
每個人的一生都是平凡的，除非你使它偉大。
將相本無種，男兒當自強.

3. Transliteration(音譯)
carnation / boycott / AIDS / hysteria / hysterics / ultimatum / aspirin / gene
sonnet / George Bush(布希,布什) / Margaret Thatcher(柴契爾，撒切爾)

4. Chinglish Translation(中式英文翻譯)

(1) 余小子，不知天高地厚，請指教。(astronomy, geology)

(2) 華陀再見(古文=再現)

(3) 交通規則： Left (左) is right (對，右) 。 Right (右，對) is wrong (錯)。

(4) 郭沫若幽默回應外籍人士稱讚其為文學家，藝術家，政治家等時說：

「處處為家，無家可歸。」

5. Principles of Translation：hsin, ta, and ya 信、達、雅
嚴復：譯事三難：「信，達，雅.」
. . . that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
這個民有，民治，民享的國家，將不會從地球上消失。(信、達)
使民有，民治，民享的政府,能長存於世。(達、雅)
". . . that government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall be able to exist in the world forever.”
Translation is the third language. English(1)—Chinese—English(2)
English(2) ≠ English(1)

(1) 余英時：faithfulness, comprehensibility, and elegance.

(2) 趙元任：fidelity，fluency，and elegance.

(3) Ronald A. Knox： accurate, intelligible, and readable.

(4) Alexander Fraser Tytler：

a. The translation should be a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work.

b. The style and manner of the writing should be of the same character with that of the original.

c. The translation should have all the ease of the original composition.

6. Prerequisites for Being a Translator

(1) Mastery of both source language(原語) and target language(譯語).

Source language

a. Familiarity breeds contempt. (proverb)

(a) 熟悉而生輕視之心。親暱生狎侮。(牛津高級英英英漢雙解辭三版)

(b) 親暱生狎侮。近廟欺神。(文馨當代英漢辭典)

(d) 親暱生狎侮。親不敬、熟生蔑。(建宏多功能英漢辭典)

(e) 虎生猶可近，人熟不堪親。(本人譯增廣昔時賢文中句)

b. " But this life is half made up of partings...."
　　　　　　　　　－Charles Dickens

c. "Never the time, never the place." －Robert Browning

d. a piece of chalk/ bread/ cake/ coin/ advice/ furniture/ linen/
music/ news/ painting/ poetry/ prose/ paper/ string, etc.

Target language

"I want to spend a penny, papa."
"O.K. I'll wait for you."
Then the boy went to a public convenience.

Grammar & Rhetoric

a. 他加重語氣地說：「我從未見過這樣好的女孩。」

b. 他沒有對我說一句話。
他一句話都沒有對我說。

(2) Understanding of cultural background, national character and customs.
Charles Lamb (1775-1834, English essayist )
theater / quiet room / (bus) stop (bus) request / double decker / bus riding / sea watching /
Kruger National Park ( in the Republic of South Africa)

(3) Practice makes perfect.

a. 天蒼蒼，野茫茫，風吹草低見牛羊。
( vast, cattle, oxen, stroll, walk)
The sky is very, very blue;
The land is very, very vast.
Over the grass that the wind has blown low,
One sees oxen and sheep stroll.
春眠不覺曉，處處聞啼鳥。 (無主詞)
舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉。 (無主詞)
落花人獨立，微雨燕雙飛。 (有主詞)
破戶生蛛網，空梁落燕泥。 (有主詞)
紅豆啄餘鸚鵡粒，碧桐棲老鳳凰枝。 (有主詞，但不明顯)

b. 雲破月來花弄影。

c. 一夕之間風雲變色。

d. 慢走！(送客時客套語)

7. Tips for Translators

(1) 字酌句斟：兩(二)句三年得，一吟雙淚垂－賈島。為求一字妥，捋斷數根鬚。
鳥宿池邊樹，僧敲月下門(推)－賈島。

(2) 一詞多義

a. 佳、良、好（人）

b. A student of mine cut me dead on the campus yesterday.

(3) 詞無定譯
National Day / national holiday / Mother’s Day / party chairman
chemical process / learning process / psychological process
sunset industry / service industry / sex industry / traditional industry
drug lord / war lord / land lord / international trade / drug trade / sex trade

a. Iranian gunboat attacked an oil tanker, but no one was hurt or killed.
b. Our planes opened fire at the enemy planes, but missed them.
(以上兩句中but之不同中譯：所幸，可惜，不過)

(4)        Dictionaries
        cloze test—a reading-comprehension test requiring the supply of deleted
        　　　　   words missing from the text.

a. A Dictionary of New English (10,000)

b. The Morrow Book of New Words (8500 Terms Not Yet in Standard Dictionaries)

(5)        It is the most famous scenic spot in the county (country).
     “Temples and statue decay, but books survive (statute) . . . .
     　　　　　　　　　　　　　－Companionship of Books

a. seesaw / The Milky Way

b. eat one’s words 食言？失言？

c. go jump in the lake / (go and) jump in the lake
"You can go and jump in the river."
George was tired of Tom’s advice and told him to go jump in the lake.
(meaning go away and quit being a bother)

d. I am not in a position to do so.
(該書所舉誤譯之例：我沒有這個地位…….) －p.36翻譯漫談
(上海現代外國語文出版社，1947/1/1出版)

e. "I am not in a position to judge whether this impression is correct, what I can do, though, is try in this letter to reinforce what Secretary Baker　told your Foreign Minister and eliminate any uncertainty or ambiguity that might exist in your mind about where we stand and what we are prepared to do.”
波灣戰爭時，國內某一報之未譯，及另一報之誤譯：
(我並不是在論斷這種印象是對是錯)—1991/1/13
(我現在並非站在評斷此項後果對錯的立場)—1991/1/14
－Bush's Letter That Iraq Rejected

波灣戰爭時，國內某報之誤譯：

f. "Iraq must release immediately all coalition prisoners of war, third country nationals and the remains of all who have fallen.
(伊拉克必須立即釋放所有盟軍戰俘，第三國人民和淪於其掌中的其他所有的人。)—1991/2/28
　　　　　　　　　　　　－Bush's Cease-fire Statement

(6) Translation obviously is not a simple two-way street between two languages. Rather, it is a busy intersection at which at least five thoroughfares meet -- the two languages with all their eccentricities, the cultures of the two speech communities, and the speech situation in which the statement was uttered.

a. university / college
college student, college life
College of Foreign Languages and Literature
School of Foreign Languages and Literature
Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature
My watch is five minutes slow. (五分鐘慢 / 慢五分鐘)
at sixes and sevens (亂六七糟 / 亂七八糟)
more than nine years (九年多)
more than ten years (十多年)
to drink like a fish (魚飲/牛飲)
I know it like the back of my hand. (瞭如手背 / 瞭如指掌)
There is no smoke without fire. (無火不生煙 / 無風不起浪)

b. red light district / green light district

c. Wuchang Uprising / this woman (這位女士、婦人，這個女人)
知書達理，秀外慧中；行為放蕩，朝秦暮楚
junior high school / cut class
He passed away last summer.
It’ time to go aboard. (place: railway station, airport)
It’s located on the first floor / the ground floor.

8. Six Steps Towards Good Translation

(1) 查生字及片語

(2) 找相等詞句或相當詞句
The onlooker sees most of the game.
There is no smoke without fire.

(3) 初譯

(4) 重組

a. 因果律

(a) The evenings were getting chilly because it was late September.

(b) Because it was late September, the evenings were getting chilly. 　　　　　
　　　　　－p.34, 中國翻譯No.2, 1994

b. 時序律
(A good book may be among the best of friends.) It is the same today
that/as it always was, and it will never change.
　　　　　　－p.35, 同上

c. 詞序律
Yesterday he died of cancer
He died of cancer Yesterday.

d. 句序律
When he saw her, he was pleased.
He was pleased when he saw her.

(5) 修改

(6) 潤飾

9. Ways to Become a Self-taught Translator

※以上為本人演講大綱。近年來已在政治大學外語學院，政治大學英語系、台北市教師研習中心，台中市中正文化中心，經濟部本部，新竹經濟部專業人員究研中心，師範大學翻譯研究所，台北商專，金陵女中，科見美語台北分校，科見美語台中分校，科見美語高雄分校，美加留學中心，學習出版社開辨之「英語教學專題研習班」四場，高雄市補教恊會，台北大學應用外語系，台大校友會及趙麗蓮教授文教基金會，開南大學應用英語系及中國大陸等地演講四十餘場。

※.「第五種語言技能－翻譯」的推動者

※ 回譯與英語教學

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