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張明權? |
參考譯文:
What makes it so difficult to hire a taxi in Beijing?
Residents are having more and more complaints about the trouble of hiring a taxi in Beijing. But no one is expected to put blame on the number of cabs, for there are more than enough in the capital city to go about carrying the passengers. By the end of 2008, the taxis in business in Beijing added up to 66,646 according to Beijing Bureau of Statistics. An informed taxi driver fixes the number at more than 70,000. In contrast, the taxis in Shanghai are no more than 50,000 though it has more inhabitants than Beijing. Then with so many taxis in Beijing, where lies the problem of hiring a taxi? A few days ago, I carried out an investigation into the issue myself.
談論翻譯始終離不開“對等”一類的術語,雖然世界上沒有兩片完全相同的葉子,但“對等”本身強調的并不是完全相同,所以我們又可以說“部分對等”。所謂“異曲同工”,也是一種對等,成語詞典對此的解釋是:不同的曲調,卻同樣的美妙。比喻事物的內容或形式雖然不一樣,但卻是同樣的出色。兩種語言之間的對譯,恰似用不同的形式表達相同的內容。在譯題一中,首先“打車”的翻譯就有點困難,問題在于漢語的“打車”有兩個意思,一個強調“租下一輛車”,一個強調“乘坐一輛車”,前者最好翻譯成hire (call) a taxi,而后者才翻譯成take a taxi。在所有網友的譯文,只有“角落的拼圖”在標題的翻譯中用了一個call字。“反映越來越強烈”中,漢語的“反映”一詞到底是什么意思?Complain(t). 在這個詞的選擇上,各位網友作的比較好,不過在詞性和句型的匹配上錯誤仍然有。例如:People in Beijing are making more and more complaints about taxi-taking。原文所要表達的“打車”難,在譯文中沒有完全交待清楚。“比較而言”是一個轉折語,把上海和北京作一比較,意圖揭示北京的打車難不是由人多車少造成的,所以可以翻譯成in(by) contrast或in(by) comparison。個別網友漏譯了,這樣前后對照的意思可能會不明顯。最后說一下“常住人口”的翻譯,我沒有看到上下文,但感覺這里原文作者的理解是不是有些問題,乘坐出租車的人肯定不只是常住人口,而應該是整個城市的人口,包括常住和流動的人口。如果我們喜歡代原文作者思考的話,這里可以泛化翻譯成population。如果我們按原文翻譯,那就是permanent residents或inhabitants。
參考譯文:
“Air napping” is trendy relaxation for exercisers
The gyms are now offering their clients “air napping” to relax and unwind. Hammocks are available for them to take a siesta in at noon for more efficient afternoon work. There are a couple of cocoon-like blue hammocks for customers to lie in for a rest in a special classroom, where they close their eyes and fall asleep to the strains of calming music. Each session lasts 25 minutes before the trainees are awakened by the trainer gently. It is quite similar to the Antigravity Yoga popular among the Americans. Yogis have use for hammocks as well to package themselves and accomplish a variety of movements on top of their heads for the so-called spiritual tranquility.
漢譯英一種比較有效的方法就是模仿英美人寫作的類似主題的文章,這種模仿稱為“互文學習”,它不僅可以提供諸多新詞的翻譯,也可以提供一個廣義的互文語境供譯者參考。比如我們找到了一篇和譯題二類似的報道,其中的部分內容摘錄如下: 'Air napping' in suspended cocoons is latest craze in bid to relax and unwind A gym in Charlotte, NC, is offering frazzled clients a class in the ultimate relaxation technique: sleeping. Air napping, the latest craze at the Flex-and-Fit gym, sees customers climbing into silken hammocks and hanging in sweet repose for 25 minutes. In what may be the least arduous gym class ever, the nappers are simply required to make themselves comfortable and fall asleep to the strains of calming music. 有了上述內容作參考,“空中小睡”就可以翻譯成air napping,值得注意的是air napping從構詞法的角度看是一個新的復合詞,在BNC語料庫中沒有找到,在google找到的網頁幾乎都與上述新聞為同一來源。再者nap in the air也沒有錯,與air napping的差別在于一個是短語,一個是復合詞。“安神”網友的翻譯包括:tranquilization, easing nerves, nerve-calming, quiet one’s mind, mental relaxation, relaxation, restful, mind-setting,同一個詞出現如此多的翻譯方法,足見翻譯標準制定有多困難。根據詞典的解釋,“安神”作動詞可以對應英語sedate和tranquilize這兩個詞,作形容詞可以翻譯成soothing, calming等詞,作名詞一般可翻譯成relaxation。在這里我傾向使用relax及其派生詞。“另類”一詞的翻譯也頗費腦筋,金山詞霸的翻譯是a different, special, completely new or fashionable type or trend,從本文對air napping的報道來看,標題中的另類翻譯成trendy即可,但“另類教室”應該翻譯成special比較合適。最后說一下“異曲同工之妙”的翻譯,中華成語詞典翻譯成play the same tune on different instruments,但在本文語境中,應該變通翻譯。這里強調的是采用不同的健身方法,“反重力瑜伽”和“空中小睡”,達到相同的安神的效果。很多網友翻譯的時候注意到了這一點,使用了similar一詞。
參考譯文:
Is “electronic homework” more avant-garde than convenient?
The “electronic homework” catches on in primary and middle schools with the widespread use of computer and internet. Some teachers begin to publish the daily homework on their school websites for parents to keep track of their children’s studies; some post the homework on the class blog or QQ group for parents to download; some “fads” even tweet the homework in their twitter-like “microblogs”. However, a netizen in the name of “wei yin di fan chen” complains that the electronic homework is impracticable though it appears to be handy, efficient and fashionable and has been intended to free teachers and students of the burden of transcribing the homework. According to him, students are often seen to print the downloaded homework in the copy shop nearby his home. “It takes money to finish homework”. The homework in the electronic format at least at present brings both students and parents more trouble than convenience.
首先,標題中的二元選擇如果簡單地以or銜接,意思不一定能夠表達的十分清楚,所以我覺得用more…than…翻譯更好。“…化”字在翻譯的時候是一個令人生厭的字眼,“電子化”簡單的翻譯成electronization是不行的,英語后綴-ation的能產性沒有那么高,或者這樣造出的詞并不能被廣泛接受,所以這里最好翻譯成electronic homework或其省略形式e-homework。“將作業織進了‘圍脖’”是“將作業發布在‘微博’上”的意思,“圍脖”與“微博”諧音雙關,殊難翻譯。網友yaoyayao力求保持原文的諧音,翻譯成 some “new-fashioned” teachers waved their assignments into their “weibo”, the Chinese twitter,waved應該是wove之誤,雖然weave與weibo押頭韻很好,但英語讀者很難把編織和寫微博聯系到一起。考慮到weibo相當于國外的twitter,而且tweet可以作動詞用,表示更新twitter,所以我在翻譯的時候,在tweet和twitter上作了一點文章,造成一個諧音,也算部分彌補了原文諧音的損失吧。最后一句體現的是漢語的互文照應的修辭法,意思是“讓家長和孩子都受苦受累了”,所以翻譯的時候可以合并處理成brings both students and parents more trouble than convenience。
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專家簡介:
張明權,安徽省固鎮縣人,江蘇大學外國語學院副教授,英語語言文學碩士,上外博士課程班進修。主要從事英語語言學和翻譯學研究,在國內外學術期刊發表論文10余篇,出版譯著兩部,發表其他文章20余篇,有大量翻譯實踐經驗,翻譯總字數接近200萬。Email: mqzhang@ujs.edu.cn。
(作者:張明權 中國日報網英語點津 編輯:Julie)