人事部初级笔译第八讲汉英思维转化讲义.doc

汉译英的直译与意译
由于东西方文化背景不同，思维方式各异，因此汉语的某些说法，必须意译。
1. 说来话长。It is a long story(如加上to tell, 就成为chinglish了)
2. 他把事情一五一十地都给总经理讲了。He told the general manager the whole story exactly as it had happened.
3. 精炼就是使语言表示作者的思想感情到了恰到好处的地步。多一段太多，少一段则太少，多一句不成，少一句也不成；多一个字不好，少一个字也不好。A writer achieves brevity in lanuage by expressing his thoughts and feelings with such propriety and precision that it would not be possible to add or detract a single paragraph, line or word.
4. 最惨的是午餐时间，豆豆这也不能吃，脂肪太高，那也不能吃，热量太高。She was most bitterly tormented at lunchtime. She could not eat a variety of wonderful foods because she though they were rich in fat or supplied too many calories.
5. 行军这一路，你看吧，你争我的枪，我争你的包，每个人都累，每个人又都在最累的时候帮助别人。All the way on the march, just take a look, each tries to carry the rifle or the knapsack for the other, everybody is tired out but every body tries hard to help others and keeps on doing so even when he is exhausted.
6. 他言行一丝不苟He is very particular about every detail in his remarks and behaviors.
7. 我是半路出家，可能干不好这项工作。I have not received regular training for the job, so I may not do it well.
8. 我刚坐定，他就老和尚吩咐小和尚般地给我交待了一大堆工作。No sooner had I took my seat, he briefed be on my duties in the same way an old monk ordered his disciple.
9. 人们你一嘴我一嘴的议论起来。They had a lively discussion about the robbery with everybody trying to get a word in.
10. 那个巴掌大的小屋子，经我们装扮一番，也像模象样起来。And the room, which seemed to be not bigger than a man’s palm, turned out to be not bad.
11. 老人已全然没了主意，一脸惶然地被众人搀扶上了车。Assisted by others, she got in, still panic-stricken, feeling completely at loss to know what do do.
有些汉语的说法或文学作品中的背景和典故，虽然可以直译，但意译的效果更好。
1. 我们要重视政治，也要重视专业，不能把政治和专业对立起来，而要把两者结合起来。For us, the study of politics is important, so too is our pursuit of specialized knowledge. The two must complete, and not to exclude each other.(请注意此处对立，结合两词的翻译)
2. 刚上演的“离开雷锋的日子”是一部好电影，看的人一定很多，票恐怕不好搞，除非你下了班早点去。 The newly-released “Days after Lei Feng Left Us” is a good film. It will certainly draw a large audience. I’m afraid there won’t be much chance of getting a ticket unless you go early after your work hour.
3. 一向没主意的我，只觉得心又提到了嗓子眼。I， a man of poor judgment, awfully feared for her safety. 我刚会跑的时候，就已经疯得没影了。（疯得没影了：到处去玩）The minute I am able to run, I played everywhere.
4. 可我偏偏怕冷，说等天气暖和了，再搬进去。Unable to bear the chilly air in the room, I told her I could not live her room until it got warmer.
5. 梅说不喜欢自己的名字，我说挺好的。（挺好的：很适合她。）She told me she was not pleased with her name. But I said it reasonably fit her.
6. 水开后，梅把方便面和切好的菜统统放进锅里，还打了鸡蛋，但是盛到碗里的时候，汤和面却完全分不清了。(完全分不清了：成浆糊了。)She would put noodle, vegetable and egg into the boiling water in a pot and the noodle so cooked was reduced to paste.
7. 两匹马，咱们是不算什么的，穷人，这两匹马就是命根子。(命根子：一切/维生之道。)Zhang: The two horses mean nothing to us, but everything to the poor.
8. Zhen: the two horses are nothing to us but the poor man needs them to keep the whole family alive.
9. 我们在70年代人的眼中过于保守，我们在80年代人的眼里已经过早地衰老，我们只能是我们，尽管有些不服老的60年代的人也染头发，也泡吧，也偷偷摸摸地在聊天室里搞网恋，也写些小资情调的美文，可是他们骨子里的烙印是抹不去的，你可以大着胆子去诱惑生于60年代的人，不过放心，出不了大事，因为他们早就给自己画好了圈，他们保守，最多有贼心没贼胆儿。
10. 香港坐落在中国南端的一个弹丸小岛上。在日趋全球化的经济中，香港正起着一个非常重要的作用。由于香港的战略位置，面向国际的商业氛围和优越的通讯条件上，使她成为世界贸易活动中心和亚太地区的神经中枢。香港已和世界上170个国家和地区的公司有商业往来。与亚洲其他国家和地区的贸易大速度增长。香港的集装箱港口是世界上最繁忙的，而且还在进一步扩建。虽然香港开始成为世界金融中心还是最近二十年的事，但现在海外贷款已经占到香港银行提供的总贷款的一半以上。当这颗东方明珠重新回到中国的掌上时，中国人民眼中的香港未来比过去任何时候都更加光明灿烂。
11. Hong Kong, located in a tiny island on the tip of Southern China, plays a vital role in an increasingly globalize economy. Given its strategic location, internationally-oriented business culture and excellent communications, it has become a center of world trade and of the Asia-Pacific region. It has commercial links reaching out to corporations in over 170 countries and regions, and its trade with the rest of asia has increased substantially. Hong Kong has the busiest container port in the world, which is still undergoing further expansion. Although its emergence as a world financial center came in recent twenty years, Hongkong’s offshore loans account for more than half of the total loan provided by its banks. As the “Pearl of the Orient” returns once again to China, Hong Kong, in the eyes of Chinese people, will have a future brighter than ever.