人在表达自己的思想时,常常带有感情色彩,喜怒哀乐以及好恶等等。在汉译英时,注意词义的褒贬也是常常要注意的问题之一。例如:
1.学生应该从这里得出一条经验,就是不要被假象所迷惑。
[误译]Students should draw experience here: Don’t be misled by false appearances.
[正译]Students should draw a lesson here: Don’t be misled by false appearances.
[评析]这里的“经验”不是成功的经验,而是从错误或失败中得出的经验,所以用experience不太合适,而lesson表示教训、训诫、惩戒等义。所以用a lesson恰如其分。例如:a historical lesson written in blood 历史上血的教训。
2.你不要太急了,我比你还急。
[误译]Please don’t be too impatient.Actually,I’m more impatient than you are.
[正译]Please don’t be too anxious.Actually,I’m more anxious than you are.
[评析]“急”在这里如果用impatient,贬义就太重,impatient有“不耐烦的”意思。最好改译成anxious。
3.打得赢就打,打不赢就走。
[误译]Fight when we can win and run away when we cannot.
[正译]Fight when you can win,move away when you cannot.
[评析]汉语原文的“走”没有贬义,因而move away比run away更好的体现了原文的感情色彩。
4.恐怖分子的暴行激起了人民极大的愤怒。
[误译]The violence of the terrorists roused the people to great anger.
[正译]The atrocities of the terrorists roused the people to great indignation.
[评析]汉语原文的“暴行”和“愤怒”意义强烈,所以在英译文中选用了atrocities和indignation,而不用violence和anger。
5.孙中山先生是个好人。
[误译]Dr-Sun Yet-sen was a good man.
[正译]Dr-Sun Yet-sen was a man of integrity.
[评析]如果译作a good man,词义显得太年轻,与这位伟大的革命先行者的身份不相称,而a man of integrity用在这儿,词义轻重合适。
6.爱因斯坦是一个聪明人。
[误译] Einstain was a clever man.
[正译]Einstain was a wise man.
[评析]wise与clever都有“聪明的”意思。前者着重明智、智慧;后者指一般的伶俐、灵巧。如果描写一位著名的科学家,用wise较妥;描写一般人的聪明、灵巧,最好用clever,否则就有大词小用或小词大用之误。
7.这个产品只有六个月的历史,还有许多地方需要改进。
[误译]Product has only six-month’s history ,and leaves much to be desired.
[正译]Product has only six-month old,and leaves much to be desired.
[评析]译文里不能译出history,因为这里用history是大词小用了,况且六个月还够不上history。
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