高频错误1:弄不清it, do, be, as的指代

你需要了解——

各种名词性动词性指代

用替代的形式(pro-form)来代替上下文或句中已经出现过的词语或内容(shared words and content),以避免重复并连接上下文,是英语说话或写作的一项重要原则,这些替代形式主要有:

名词性替代(nominal substitution)

用代词或者某些名词来取代名词(短语)这类词如:第三(非)人称代词(he, she, it, they)、指示代词(this, that, these, those)、关系代词(who, whom, whose, that, which)、连接代词(who, whom, whose, that, which)、不定代词(all, each, every, both, either, neither, few, several, many, some, any, another, little等)以及名词(the former, the latter, enough, half)等。

Eg 1) He hated failure; he had conquered it all his life, risen above it, and despised it in others.

他讨厌失败,一生中曾战胜失败,超越失败并且藐视别人的失败。

2) Electrical charges of a similar kind repel each other and those that are dissimilar attract.

同性电荷相斥,异性电荷相吸。

英语常用代词,汉语少用代词,因而常重复,这在汉译英时也可以看出来:

1)我们的民族再也不是一个被人侮辱的民族了。

Ours is no longer a nation subject to insult and humiliation.

2)一定的文化(当作观念形态的文化)是一定社会政治和经济的反映,又给予一定社会政治和经济的巨大作用和影响。

高频错误3:总感觉英文句子没写完整……

你需要了解——

省略(Ellipsis)

在并列结构中,英语常常省略前面已出现过的词语,而汉语则往往重复这些词语。

1) Thales thought water was the beginning of everything; Anaximander, air; Heraclitus, fire.

泰利斯认为水是万物之始,阿那克西曼德认为空气是万物之始;赫拉克利特则认为火是万物之始。

2) Work with and not against, nature.

要顺应自然工作,不要违反自然工作。

英语常承前省略相同的谓语动词或谓语动词词组的一部分;汉语则较常省略相同的主语,而重复相同的动作,如:

1) I belong to you and you (belong) to me.

我属于你,你也属于我。

2) 白求恩大夫一到前线(他)就立刻开始工作。

Dr. Bethune set to work as soon as he came to the front.

汉语习惯于重复词语,有时是为了保持语法的正确,有时是为了促成结构的整齐、匀称;有时既是语法的要求也是修辞的需要。

1)近朱者赤,近墨者黑。

Association with the good can only produce good, with the wicked, evil.

2)一个和尚挑水吃,两个和尚抬水吃,三个和尚没水吃。

One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy.

英汉词汇风格意义对比(英汉双语特点对比)(1)

高频错误4:不知道新出现的名词具体所指?上文从未提及啊……

你需要了解——

变换(Variation)

英语的同义词和近义词极为丰富,数量也比汉语多,常用同义词、近义词替换,或用上义词替代下义词等方法来寻求变换以避免同词重复。

Eg He selected and arranged one hundred sayings popular at home and abroad on the subject of friendship. Its popularity needs no explanation, for a brief perusal of the quotations shows that they embody the notions of civilized friendship. The maxims stress selflessness.

他选编了一百条友谊方面的国内外名言。无需解释人们为什么这么喜爱这本书,因为只要稍加细读,就可以看到这些名言体现了文明友谊的观念。这些名言强调的是无私。

汉语缺乏形态变化,同义词和近义词不如英语多,词化和抽象化程度也不如英语高;另外,汉人注重语句音节匀称,如果选用同义词或近义词难以实现均衡美和节奏美,往往宁可重复词语,尤其喜欢“拿相同的字眼起头或收尾”。

英语同义词替代的现象还常见于用不同的名称来表示同一人或事物,所谓“同名异称法”。例如,在一篇英文评论里,为了避免重复,作者用了六个称呼来提及撒切尔夫人:Mrs. Thatcher,she,the Prime Minister,the Iron Lady,the leader of the Conservative Party,the first woman Prime Minister。

另外,用上义词(superordinate)代替下义词(hyponym)也可有效避免重复。上义词有广泛意义,下义词具有专指意义。

Eg The monkey’s most extraordinary accomplishment was learning to operate a tractor. By the age of nine, the monkey had learned to solo on the vehicle.

这只猴子最了不起的技能就是学会驾驶拖拉机。到了九岁的时候,这只猴子已经学会单独表演驾驶拖拉机了。

英语还用概括、笼统的抽象名词指代具体、复杂的名词,例如:

Red-light running has often been regarded as a minor wrong, and so it has never been taken seriously. When the violation becomes habitual, however, a great deal more than a traffic problem is involved.

人们常把闯红灯看成小错,不当一回事,然而闯红灯一旦形成习惯,远非是违反交通规则。

变换要适度,替代也要明确,不应引起语义的含混。如果为了追求“优雅的变换”而不顾表达的清晰和准确,那就达不到语言交际的目的了,例如:

Shakespeare’s plays are notable for their neutrality. For example, in Julius Caesar, the playwright is not wholly sympathetic to Caesar. The great bard does not sympathize with Brutus, Antony, or Octavius. Caesar is killed in the play. Then the “swan of Avon” directs the audience’s attention to the other main characters. As a result, the master of dramatic poetry gives Julius Caesar no single hero.

作者为了讲究措辞多变,故意使用the great bard,the swan of Avon和the master of dramatic poetry这些优雅而含糊的名称来替代莎士比亚,未免会让人感到矫揉造作。

相比之下,汉语的重复无论在使用范围、出现频率或表现方式的多样性等方面都远远超过英语。

英汉词汇风格意义对比(英汉双语特点对比)(2)

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