英語(yǔ)定語(yǔ)從句的翻譯技巧[1]

1、英語(yǔ)定語(yǔ)從句的翻譯技巧定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞分隔及其翻譯通常，定語(yǔ)從句緊跟在先行詞之后，但在具體的運(yùn)用中，往往也出現(xiàn)有定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞被分隔的現(xiàn)象。本文就定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞分隔的種種情況、分隔的原因及其漢譯進(jìn)行探討。一、定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞分隔的形式1 被謂語(yǔ)分隔，例如：Many forms of apparatus have been devised by which a more ac- curate knowledge of blood pressure can be obtained人們已經(jīng)設(shè)計(jì)出許多醫(yī)療器械，通過(guò)這些醫(yī)療器械，可以對(duì)血壓有一個(gè)更為精確的了解。Hardly a man came t

2、o the exhibition but was deeply impressed by the originality of his works來(lái)參觀的人幾乎無(wú)一不對(duì)他的作品的創(chuàng)造性留下深刻印象。2 被非從句定語(yǔ)分隔，例如：Singapore is at the start of a long road ，already well trodden in the west ，that leads to such solutions as shelter and rest homes 新加坡眼下正踏上一條西方國(guó)家早已走了很遠(yuǎn)的漫長(zhǎng)道路，即最終建立收容所和休養(yǎng)院來(lái)解決問(wèn)題。Does this me

3、an that in time fish might learn to leave alone all food on hooks that they have seen before ？這難道不就意味著，魚(yú)兒很快就可能學(xué)會(huì)避開(kāi)那些它們常見(jiàn)的魚(yú)鉤上的食物嗎？3 被狀語(yǔ)分隔，例如：Never say anything behind a person's back that you wouldn't say to his face當(dāng)面不愿說(shuō)的話(huà)，千萬(wàn)不要在背后說(shuō)。I remember viewing a half dozen men in a chair factory whose

4、 job was to bend several pieces of steel and attach them so that a folding chair would result我記得曾在一家椅子廠(chǎng)見(jiàn)過(guò)六個(gè)工人，他們的工作是將幾根鋼管彎曲并組成一把折椅。Tem perature plays the same part in the flow of heat that pres- sure does in the flow of fluids溫度在熱的傳導(dǎo)中所起的作用和壓力在液體的流動(dòng)中所起的作用相同。4 被補(bǔ)語(yǔ)分隔，例如：The cook turned pale，and asked t

5、he housem aid to shut the door，who asked Brittles，who asked the tinker，who pretended not to hear廚子的臉色變得蒼白，要女仆把門(mén)關(guān)上，女仆叫布立特爾關(guān)，布立特爾又叫補(bǔ)鍋匠關(guān)，而補(bǔ)鍋匠裝著沒(méi)聽(tīng)見(jiàn)。5 被同位語(yǔ)分隔，例如：One was a violent thunderstorm ，the worst I had ever seen，which obscured my objective有一次是暴風(fēng)驟雨，猛烈的程度實(shí)為我平生所僅見(jiàn)。這陣暴風(fēng)雨遮住了我的目標(biāo)。6 被插入語(yǔ)分隔，例如：Is there an

6、yone you can think of who may know which hospital he was sent to？你能不能想到有誰(shuí)可能知道他被送往哪一家醫(yī)院了？二、定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞分隔的原因1 為了保持句子結(jié)構(gòu)平衡，避免“頭重腳輕”，將定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞分隔，例如：Mr Leon said in the future，computer would be developed which would be small enough to carry in the pocket利昂先生說(shuō)，將來(lái)會(huì)生產(chǎn)出小得可以放在口袋里的計(jì)算機(jī)。2 為了突出或強(qiáng)調(diào)主句中的主謂結(jié)構(gòu)所表達(dá)的意義，將定語(yǔ)從句

7、與先行詞分隔，例如：Chinese trade delegationns have been sent to African countries，who will negotiate trade agreem ents with the respective govern-ments 中國(guó)已派出貿(mào)易代表團(tuán)前往非洲各國(guó)，以便與這些國(guó)家的政府商談貿(mào)易協(xié)定。The day is not far off when a lot of housework can be done by machine大量家務(wù)活由機(jī)器來(lái)干的日子不遠(yuǎn)了。3 先行詞所帶的非從句定語(yǔ)常需置于定語(yǔ)從句之前而造成先行詞與定語(yǔ)從句分隔，

8、例如：There was som ething original，independent and heroic about the plan that pleased all of them 這個(gè)方案有創(chuàng)造性，而且別出心裁，又有魅力，所以深得他們的喜歡。No doubt there are questions of princi- ple involved which can not be ignored and underestimated 無(wú)疑，這里涉及人們不能忽視或低估的原則問(wèn)題。三、與先行詞分隔的定語(yǔ)從句的漢譯1 將定語(yǔ)從句譯為漢語(yǔ)“的”字結(jié)構(gòu)，置于先行詞之前，例如：Y et ther

9、e exist com plex computations in science and engineer-ing which people are unable to make 到目前為止，在科學(xué)和工程方面還存在許多人們無(wú)能為力的復(fù)雜計(jì)算。He merely swallows this theory because there is something about it that appeals to the twentieth-century m entality 他全盤(pán)接受這一理論，只是因?yàn)檫@一理論中有一種迎合二十世紀(jì)心理的東西。I think it is clear that each

10、 side entertainssuspicions of the other which are unjust我認(rèn)為雙方顯然相互懷著沒(méi)有正當(dāng)理由的猜疑。2 將定語(yǔ)從句單獨(dú)譯為一個(gè)分句，例如：There is som ebody waiting for you who I think might be one of your friends from your native town 有個(gè)人在外面等你，我想這個(gè)人可能就是你家鄉(xiāng)的一位朋友。The molecules exert forces upon each other，which depend upon the distance betwe

11、en them 分子相互之間存在著力的作用，該力的大小取決于它們的距離。The result of this is the retention of too much air in the respiratory tract at each expiration which prevents the fresh air from being taken in at the next inhalation from reaching the lung alveoli其結(jié)果就是在每次呼氣時(shí)呼吸道里保留過(guò)多的空氣，這樣就在下次吸氣時(shí)妨礙吸入的新鮮空氣抵達(dá)肺泡里。3 將定語(yǔ)從句與先行詞溶合譯出，例如：

12、He is a wise man who speaks little智者言少。No method is known by which it is possible to create energy out of nothing大家知道，根本沒(méi)有什么方法能夠憑空創(chuàng)造能量。定語(yǔ)從句是由一些關(guān)系代詞或者關(guān)系副詞引導(dǎo)的從句組成，用來(lái)修飾名詞中心詞。Person has pieced togethter the workd of hundereds of researcher around theworld to produce a unique millennium technology calend

13、ar that gives the latest date when we can expect hundreds of key breakthrough and discoveries to take place.皮而森 匯集了. 生產(chǎn)出獨(dú)特的千年歷，這種千年歷（它）能夠.定語(yǔ)的翻譯要特別注意位子上的變化，即：如果是單詞修飾名詞就放在中心詞的前面，這和漢語(yǔ)的詞序是一樣的；如果定語(yǔ)太長(zhǎng)，定語(yǔ)就要放在中心詞的后面，這時(shí)就要注意斷句，重復(fù)先行詞，例如：1.I have the same problem as you concerning the learning of English在學(xué)英語(yǔ)的問(wèn)題

14、上，我和你有同樣的問(wèn)題。2.She has a perfect figure.她身材不錯(cuò)。3.This is indeed a most pressing problem.這的確是一個(gè)非常棘手的問(wèn)題。4.The only other people who knew the secret were his father and mother.別的知道這個(gè)秘密的人就是他的父母。5.The effective work of maintaining discipline is usually performed by students who advise the academic authorit

15、ies有效的維持紀(jì)律通常是由一些學(xué)生來(lái)做的，而這些學(xué)生則負(fù)責(zé)給學(xué)校的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)提建議。6.The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting a d fishing during the last Ice Age which began about 35,00 B.C. and ended about 10,000B.C.作出這些刻記的游牧人，依靠狩獵和捕魚(yú)生活在冰河時(shí)代的晚期。這段時(shí)期大約始于公元前35，000年而結(jié)束于公元前10，000年。7. For several hundred years, cases have been reporte

16、d of children who have been reared in thewild by animals kept isolated from all social contact. 在過(guò)去的幾百年中，已經(jīng)有記載說(shuō)，確實(shí)有被動(dòng)物養(yǎng)大的與世隔絕的狼孩的存在。另外，翻譯成漢語(yǔ)時(shí)還要注意未省略關(guān)系代詞和關(guān)系副詞的定語(yǔ)從句, 翻譯時(shí)所遵守的原則和上述的一樣：關(guān)系代詞引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句：8.He is the very person (whom Im looking for.他正是我要找的人。9.This is the flexible policy that our government has

17、pursued consistently.這就是我們政府一直追求的靈活政策。10.Those whose families cannot afford board and expenses can be allowed to receive scholarship.那些家里提供不起食宿的學(xué)生可以得到獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金。11.There are forms that occasionally occur which should not be taught to students.有些形式是不能告訴給學(xué)生的。關(guān)系副詞引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句：12.I took Mr. John to the village, whe

18、re I had spent my carefree childhood.我把約翰先生帶到我度過(guò)無(wú)憂(yōu)無(wú)慮童年的鄉(xiāng)村。13.I still remember the time when we studied in the same university.我還記得我們一起上大學(xué)的日子。具體翻譯來(lái)說(shuō)，定語(yǔ)從句的翻譯可分為限制性和非限制性定語(yǔ)從句兩種，翻譯成漢語(yǔ)時(shí)不論是在語(yǔ)序方面還是重復(fù)先行詞方面都有一定的講究：限制性定語(yǔ)從句的翻譯可分為以下幾方面：1前置：這種定語(yǔ)從句一般比較短，翻譯起來(lái)比較方便，和漢語(yǔ)的詞序完全一樣，例如：a.This is the finest weather that I ha

19、ve ever seen this month.這是這個(gè)月我所看到的最好的天氣。b.Our two countries are neighbors whose friendship is of long standing.我們兩國(guó)是友誼長(zhǎng)存的友好鄰邦。c.T eachers generally like the students who achieve high scores in tests.老師通常喜歡考試中成績(jī)好的學(xué)生。d. 他不是一個(gè)輕易服輸?shù)娜薍e is not the one who will give up easily.以上的這些例子告訴我們，如果定語(yǔ)很短的話(huà)，我們可以把他象漢

20、語(yǔ)一樣放在中心詞的前面。但是，有的時(shí)候，如果定語(yǔ)太長(zhǎng)，讀起來(lái)就不符和漢語(yǔ)的習(xí)慣，因此，往往要后置，重復(fù)先行詞, 這就是下面要提到的定語(yǔ)從句的 “后置” 問(wèn)題，例如：2后置：a. Misers are often lonely and obscure men whose wealth is revealed only after their death.吝嗇鬼經(jīng)常是看起來(lái)年很孤單、不為人所主意，可他們的財(cái)富只有等到他們死了以后才 暴露出來(lái)。3“綜合性”的翻譯法。綜合性”的翻譯就是，翻譯時(shí)不需要關(guān)系詞，其中的關(guān)系完全靠上下文的意思來(lái)表現(xiàn)出來(lái)，例如：a.This is the place where

21、 the accident occurred.這就是發(fā)生交通事故的地方。b.The person who delivered the letter to him is his neighbor.他的鄰居把信交給了他。c.There is a big oak tree that stands just in front of the village.村子前面有棵大象樹(shù)d.Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about th

22、eir trouble. 大多數(shù)病人想找人坦率、誠(chéng)實(shí)地傾訴他們的苦衷。非限制性定語(yǔ)從句：這里，也可以分為以下幾種：1. 前置：a. We need a chairman, in whom everyone has confidence我們需要一個(gè)人人都信賴(lài)的主席。b.The worldly well-known actor , who had been ill for two years, meet thunderstorm applause when reappeared on the stage. 那個(gè)病了很多年的著名演員，一上臺(tái)觀眾就報(bào)以雷鳴般的掌聲。c. Piccaso, whose

23、works inspired many artists, lived until he was a ripe old age.畢加索的作品曾鼓勵(lì)了很多人，后來(lái)年紀(jì)很大時(shí)，作品也日趨成熟。2. 后置:這里包括： 重復(fù)先行詞, 譯成并列分句。這是比較常見(jiàn)的翻譯方法：a.He deposits a little sum of money in the bank, by which means he hopes to deal with any potential emergency easily. 我們每個(gè)月都在銀行里存一些錢(qián)，這樣，碰到有任何危機(jī)時(shí)，我們就可以應(yīng)付了。b. A table has

24、four legs, one of which is broken.桌子有四條腿，其中的一條腿是壞的。c. Living in the central Australian desert has its problems, of which obtaining water is not the least.生活在澳大利亞中部有很多問(wèn)題，其中取水還不算最艱苦的。d.He decided to resign, which is the best thing he could do under the circumstances.他決定辭職，而這是他目前所能做的最好的事。e.He is late f

25、or class today, as is often the case.他今天遲到了，而這是經(jīng)常的事。以上的句子在翻譯成漢語(yǔ)后，要重復(fù)先行詞。其中的“which ”可以是指前面的整個(gè)句子，也可以單指某個(gè)先行詞。3. 省略先行詞這種句行就象前面講的“綜和性”翻譯一樣，直接把整個(gè)句子的意思講出來(lái)，例如：a.The two universities signed an agreement, under which they would exchange students and scholars.這兩個(gè)大學(xué)，簽定了協(xié)議，決定交換學(xué)生和學(xué)者。 b.He caught a young soldier

26、coming to the farmhouse , whose face turned pale for too much loss of blood. 他看見(jiàn)一個(gè)士兵走進(jìn)農(nóng)舍，臉色因失血過(guò)多而蒼白。 c. He passed the exam, which can be read from his the light on his face. 我從他臉上就可以看出他已通過(guò)了考試。 d. He arrived at the railway station in time , which is expected . 他果然準(zhǔn)時(shí)到了火車(chē)站。 4.譯成狀語(yǔ)從句 有些作定語(yǔ)的句子聽(tīng)起來(lái)卻有點(diǎn)象狀語(yǔ)從句

27、，因此翻譯時(shí)可以將其譯成狀語(yǔ)似的從句： a.You should take advantage of the opportunity to learn English well, which is very valuable.(原因 你應(yīng)該利用這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)好好學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)，這太重要了。 b.We examine the quality of our products, which is why they are so reliable.(原因 我們檢驗(yàn)產(chǎn)品很仔細(xì)，因此產(chǎn)品都很可靠。 c.I never believe the stories, which is appealing.(讓步 我從不相信他

28、所說(shuō)的故事，即使它很動(dòng)聽(tīng)。 5. “as”引導(dǎo)的句子： 除了以上這些例子以外，還有一些特殊的由 “as”引導(dǎo)的句子, 翻譯時(shí)可參考“as”的比 較結(jié)構(gòu)從句： a. He is not such as fool as he looks 他并不象看上去的那么傻。 b.They were not such questions as could easily be disposed of. 這些問(wèn)題可不是那么容易就能處理好的。 c.It wasnt such a good dinner as she had promised us. 這頓飯可沒(méi)有她向我們說(shuō)的那么好。 215 I worry，parti

29、cularly，about the effects on our children of our own society，a society that is less safe and less hospitable than the one I experienced as a child growing up during the1950s and1960s. 結(jié)構(gòu)分析： 句子的框架是 I worry about the effects on， society that is lessthan the one I experienced as。 society a a that is是 o

30、ur own society 的同位語(yǔ)，關(guān)系代詞 that 引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句修飾 a society.在這個(gè)從句中又包含另一個(gè)定語(yǔ)從句 I experienced，關(guān)系代詞 that 被省略，the one 是先行詞，指代 the society.現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ) growing up作 child 的后置定語(yǔ)。句中 還要注意比較級(jí) lessthan 的翻譯。 參考譯文我特別擔(dān)心對(duì)于我們這個(gè)社會(huì)的孩子們所產(chǎn)生的影響，同我孩提時(shí)代所生活的五、六十年代相比，如今的社會(huì)缺少安全感， 也顯得冷漠。 經(jīng)典例題 216 Smart cards，which can carry as much as80times m

31、ore information on them than conventional cards with a magnetic stripe，are already widely used in European countries where centralized banks can roll out new services on a nationwide basis. 結(jié)構(gòu)分析：句子的框架是 smart cards，which，are already widely used in European countries where。關(guān)系代詞 which 引 導(dǎo) 非 限 制 性 定 語(yǔ) 從

32、 句 ， 修 飾 主 語(yǔ) smart cards.謂 語(yǔ) 是 are already widely used。 關(guān) 系 副 詞 where 引 導(dǎo) 定 語(yǔ) 從 句 修 飾 countries.morethan，在此表示比較級(jí)。on a nationwide basis 即意為 nationwide。magnetic stripe 在句中譯為磁條。 參考譯文智能卡能載有的信息量是磁帶普通卡信息量的 80 倍， 已在歐洲各國(guó)廣泛應(yīng)用。 歐洲各國(guó)實(shí)現(xiàn)中央化的銀行在全國(guó)范圍展開(kāi) 新型的服務(wù)。 經(jīng)典例題 217 In the Greek heritage of the west，myth has alw

33、ays been in tension with reason，which signified the rational and analytic mode of arriving at a true account of reality. 結(jié)構(gòu)分析：句子的框架是 In the Greek heritage，myth has always been，which signified。關(guān)系代詞 which 引導(dǎo)非限 制性定語(yǔ)從句，修飾 reason.在這個(gè)句子中，which 引導(dǎo)的非限制性定語(yǔ)從句兼有狀語(yǔ)從句的功能，翻譯時(shí)可視作原因狀語(yǔ)從句翻譯。 reason 在此句中不譯為原因，理由，應(yīng)譯為理性。 參考譯文在西方希臘遺產(chǎn)中，神話(huà)與理性始終處于緊張沖突狀態(tài)，因?yàn)槔硇砸馕吨鴮?duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)進(jìn)行合情合理、符合實(shí)際的分析描述。 經(jīng)典例題 218 Medicine，like