翻译公司告诉你汉译英的翻译小技巧

一、分清主从 (Subordination)

  汉语句中各分句关系比较松散，所以在动笔前应认真分析句子要旨所在。句中重点往往在后。英译时，要突出重点或主句，其他部分可分别用介词短语，非谓语动词形式或各种从句表示。

  1、 没有农业，人们就不能生存，社会生产就不能继续下去。

  Without agriculture, people cannot exist, neither can social production

  proceed.

  2、 他们一听到“反霸”就火冒三丈,这充分暴露了他们那霸权主义的蛮横嘴脸。

  The fact that they fly into a rage at a mere mention of the expression“anti-

  hegemony”is enough to reveal their true colours as a domineering hegemonists.

  3、 有人以为社会主义就了不起，一点缺点也没有，哪有这个事?

  Some believe that socialism is just perfect, without a single flaw. How can

  that be true?

  4、 但是，象我们常说的那样，道路总是曲折的，前途总是光明的。

  But as we have often said, while the road ahead is tortuous, the future is

  bright.

  二、 选词用字 (Diction)

  在汉译英时应特别注意选找与原文中在意义上和风味上尽可能都类似的词语。

  1、每个民族都有它的长处，不然它为什么能存在?为什么能发展?

  Every nation has its own strong points. If not, how can it survive? How can it progress?

  2、树雄心，立壮志，向科学技术现代化进军。

  Foster lofty ideals, set high goals and march forward for the revolution

  of modernization of science and technology.

  3、 我国的社会主义建设，需要一个和平的国际环境，需要一个国内安定团结，

  天下大治的局面。

  For its socialist construction, China needs an international environment

  of peace and a domestic situation of stability, unity and great order.

  4、论技术，她那时还不如我，但思想却比我高得多。

  Professionally she was then not yet my equal, but ideologically she was

  head and shoulders above me.

  三、增益 (Ampification)

  汉译英时的“增益”技巧的运用,有时是为了使英美人理解原文的精确含义,有时是为了遵循英语的行文习惯。

  1、交出翻译之前，必须读几遍，看看有没有要修改的地方。这样才能把工作做好。

  Before handing in your translation, you have to read it over and over again

  and see if there anything in it to be corrected or improved. Only then can

  you do your work well.

  (英语行文时人称代词，物主代词用得较多)

  2、她挑水，生炉子，洗东西，忙个不停。

  Fetching water, building the fire, washing --- she had her hands full every

  minute. (增益为了意译)

  3、他们一听说有新任务，就坐不往了。

  When they learnt that they’d been given a new task, they just couldn’t sit still any longer. (增加not… any longer 表示“不再”.)

  4、会用就了不得,不会用就一文不值.

  It works wonders when you know how to use it, but when you don’t it is not

  worth a single penny. (增加连词与代词)

  三、 省略法.(Omission)

  汉语不怕重复,英语中有相同的词语常可省略,行文较简练。汉语中出于行文需要而没有实意的一些词语在英译时也要省略。

  1、我们要培养分析问题，解决问题的能力。

  We must cultivate the ability to analyse and solve problems.

  (只用一个problems)

  2、我已提前完成了任务，他也提前完成了。

  I’ve fulfilled my assigned work ahead of schedule, so has he.

  3、中国人民历来是勇于探索，勇于创造，勇于革命的。

  The people of China have always been courageous enough to probe into

  things, to make inventions and to make revolution.

  (只用一个courageous enough )

  4、质子带阳电，电子带阴电，而中子既不带阳电，也不带阴电。

  A proton has a positive charge and an electron a negative charge, but a

  neutron has neither.

  五、转换 (Conversion)

  汉语中的某些词类在英译时常常要根据英语的句式转换成英语的另一类词，更符合英语的惯用法。不仅如此，有时整个句式也要转换。

  1、一定要少说空话，多做工作。

  There must be less empty talk and more hard work.

  (汉语中的动词转换成英语中的名词)

  2、警察把那个孩子的胳臂抓得更紧了，叫嚷道：“学规矩点!”

  Tightening his hold on the boy’s arm, the policeman yelled,“Learn some respect!”(句子的前部分转换成分词结构)

  3、口试时问了她十个问题,她一一答对了。

  She was asked ten questions in the oral exam and answered every one correctly.

  (主动式转换为被动式句型)

  4、语言这个东西不是随便可以学好的，非下苦功不可。

  The mastery of language is not easy and requires painstaking effort.

  (句式不同但意思完全相同)

  六、词序调整。(Inversion)

  每种语言都有自己的自然语序，翻译时要注意入乡随俗。特别要注意英译时强调句式的词序。

  1、 这个茶会是由伦敦《泰晤士报》的高级记者约翰先生举行的。

  The tea-party was given by Mr John, senior correspondent of The

  Times, London.(英译时姓名在前，职务在后)

  2、 我们上星期天在她家尽情地吃了一顿。

  We ate to our hearts’ content at her home last Sunday.

  (汉语的状语排列：时间―――地点―――方式

  英语的排列是： 方式―――地点―――时间)

  3、我们从来没有看见过这样光明的前途。

  Never have we seen so bright a future before us.

  (英语中Never开头的句子词序要倒装)

  4、荷花虽好，也要绿叶扶持。

  With all its beauty the lotus needs the green of its leaves to set it off.

  ( With 的特殊用法，表示让步，用在句首)

  七、正说反译，反说正译。(Negation)

  英汉两种语言都有自己的约定俗成的正反说法，这在英译时要时刻注意到。英语中有些词汇本身就有否定的意思，要善于利用，如 fail, without, beyond, until, unless, instead of 等;

  1、我认为他不对。他昨天没有露面。

  I don’t think he is correct. he failed to turn up yesterday.

  (正说反译，反说正译)

  2、证据确凿，毋庸置疑。

  The evidence is conclusive, excluding all possibilities of doubt.(反说正译)

  3、那件事没有减弱我们的决心，反倒增强了我们的决心。

  That served to strengthen instead of weaken our determination.

  ( or: That strengthened, rather than weakened, our determination.)

  4、 会议开得冷冷清清，有时甚至开不下去了。

  The meetings were marked by such an absence of lively discussions that

  at times they were almost on the point of breaking up.(正说反译，反说正译)

  八、长句拆译。 (Division)

  翻译时随意断句是不足取的，但为了忠实并通顺地转达原意，仔细分析后，在保持原文风格特点的前提下，适当地断句倒显得更自然有力。长句拆译时往往要综合使用学到的种种技巧。

  1、我们的一般企业很少注意经济效果，广泛存在着劳动无定员，生产无定额，质量无检查，成本无核算的现象，在人力、物力、财力上造成很多浪费。

  Our enterprises in general pay little attention to economic results, since usually the number of workers needed for a job is not fixed, production quota is not fixed, the quality of products is not checked and cost accounting is not earnestly practised. All this has incurred a big waste of manpower, material resources and money.

  (因为原长句结尾处是表判断带有总结性的分句，所以在这里断句译较好)

  2、人民的觉悟是不容易的，要去掉人民头脑中的错误思想，需要我们做很多切切实实的工作。

  The political awakening of the people is not easy. It requires much earnest effort on our part to rid their minds of wrong ideas.

  (原句中包含着从一般到细节的过渡，断句分译才使译文更有条理)

  3、一定要言行一致，理论与实践密切结合，反对华而不实和任何虚夸，少说空话，多做工作，扎扎实实，埋头苦干。

  Deed and word must match and theory and practice must be closely integrated.

  We must reject flashiness without substance and every sort of boasting. There must be less empty talk and more hard work. We must be steadfast and dedicated.

  长句拆译方面对初学者来说有些偏深，故不多举例了。作为有心人认真探索是大有好处的。

  以上我们探讨了如何在汉译英时把“英译汉”的翻译技巧加以利用,以求得英语行文正确与合理.现在我们要从另一个角度来分析汉译英.也就是从语法上着手，纵横结合。通过这样学习，对提高实际运用英语的能力有极其重要的作用。因为汉语的句子我们可以一目十行，怎么样地道地用英语表达才是我们“翻译法”的终极目标。