英文重視形合,句子只要遵守文法規(guī)則,描述因果與時(shí)序時(shí)可以前后調(diào)動(dòng)次序而不妨礙語(yǔ)意。然而,中文重視意合,并不講究嚴(yán)格的語(yǔ)法,所以要注重時(shí)序和講究因果關(guān)係,免得語(yǔ)意錯(cuò)亂或模糊不清。整體而言,中文會(huì)依照邏輯或事件發(fā)生的先后順序來(lái)排列,先說(shuō)明情況或背景信息,最后來(lái)個(gè)簡(jiǎn)短的表態(tài)或評(píng)論;英文恰好相反,先要表態(tài)或評(píng)論,然后才說(shuō)明事情的來(lái)龍去脈。
以下舉兩個(gè)版主最近翻譯的文章,讀者可參考版主如何翻譯英文。翻譯的原則是:只要符合中文的行文習(xí)慣,一切問(wèn)題都可迎刃而解。
It is said that bananas and chocolate were the foods most missed by the English during World War II rationing.
──Penguins, Pineapples And Pangolins, by Claire Cock-Starkey, P. 116.
(譯文)第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間,英國(guó)實(shí)施食物配給制度,據(jù)說(shuō)當(dāng)時(shí)民眾最懷念香蕉與巧克力。
Nutmeg is native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia and the Dutch held a tight hold on its trade after gaining control of the tiny Indonesian island of Run, one of the few places where nutmeg was grown at that time.
(譯文)肉荳蔻原產(chǎn)于印尼班達(dá)群島(Banda Islands)。當(dāng)時(shí)“蘭島”(Run)是少數(shù)生產(chǎn)肉荳蔻的地區(qū),荷蘭人控制這座印尼小島之后,便嚴(yán)格控管肉荳蔻的貿(mào)易。