5502英语翻译教案 (8)

2021年1月22日发(作者：长生不老)
2.3.3 Omission




Great disparities exist between English and Chinese
in
vocabulary
,
grammar and
rhetoric,
so
if
the
words
or
some
elements
of
the
sentence
that
are
indispensable
in
English
are
translated
directly
into
Chinese
without
any
adjustment,
the
translation
may turn out
to be redundant, and the translation
may be
found
to
lack
smoothness.
Such
case
calls
for
the
omission
of
the
redundant
words
or
phrases.
However,
omission does
not
mean to omit
some content of the original text;
instead
it aims to

avoid
unnecessary
repetition or
redundancy so as
to
make the
translation conform to
the idiomatic expression of Chinese.


2.3.3.1 Omitting Conjunctions

汉语 倾向于注重意合（
paratactic
）
，以意统形，词句之间往往以意联结，没有 一定的连
接词，比较灵活；英语则倾向于注重形合（
hypotactic
）
，以形统意，词句之间有一定的联
结关系，比较呆板。
English
is characterized by
hypotaxis, so a
lot of conjunctions are
used
to
make
the
logical
relationship
between
sentences
clear.
However,
Chinese
emphasizes
parataxis.
It
does
not
care
much
about
the
completeness
of
the
form;
as
long as
the
meaning
is clearly expressed, some elements
in
the
form
can be omitted.
Thus some conjunctions are omitted in E-C translation.
(39) The soft can overcome the hard, and the weak can defeat the strong.
柔能克钢，弱能制强。

(40)
If
my
thin smile
didn
’
t
match father
’
s
full-fledged
grin,
it
was
because
I
had
prayed
for
a
guitar or a piano.
我淡淡一笑，
满不像爸爸那么喜笑颜开，
因为我一直巴望着有一把吉他
或一架钢琴。

2.3.3.2 Omitting Pronouns
One of
the devices to achieve cohesion
in English
is
to
use pronouns to
refer to
the nouns previously mentioned, but the use of pronouns is not as common in Chinese
as in English. Therefore, so long as the meaning is clearly expressed, the pronouns are
always omitted in E-C translation.

(41) I wrote a letter to him last week, but
I
wonder if
he
has received
it
.
我上周给他写了一封
信，不知收到没有。


(42) The significance of a man is not in what

he

attains but rather in what
he

longs to attain.


人生的意义不在于已获取的，而在于渴望获得什么样的东西。

2.3.3.3 Omitting Articles








Articles
are
a
special
English
word
class.
There
are
no
articles
in
Chinese,
so
when translated into Chinese, they are always omitted. For example:

(43)
Any
home
appliance
must
be
handled
with
care
whether
it
is

a
TV
set,
a

VCR

or

a

microwave oven.
家电都需要轻拿轻放，不论是电视机、录像机、还是微波炉。

(44)
Autumn
is
the

truth.
It
had
to
be
autumn
(unless
the
fabled
apple
fell
unseasonably)
that
inspired Newton to discover
the
law of gravity.
秋天就是真理。只有秋天才能激发牛顿发
现万有引力定律的灵感，

除非那只传说中的苹果落得不合季节。





But
it
should
be
pointed
out
that
when
the
indefinite
articles
“
a
”

and
“
an
”

are
used
to
express
the
meaning
of
“
one
”
,
it
shouldn
’
t
be
omitted.
Similarly
,
when
“
the
”
is specially used to indicate something or somebody
, it should not be omitted.
For example:

2.3.3.4 Omitting Prepositions
2.3.3.5 Omitting
“it”

2.3.3.6 Omitting Link V
erb “be”

2.3.4 Repetition

Brevity
is
highly
valued
in both
writing
and translation
in
English and Chinese.
However, sometimes the author or the translator
may repeat some
words or sentences
purposefully
for
emphasis
or
enhancement
of
the
artistic
appeal.
Repetition
is
different
from
redundancy;
it
is
a
kind
of
rhetorical
device.
In
addition
to
repeating
what
is repeated
in the source text
for rhetorical effect,
the
translator
needs
to repeat
what
’
s omitted in the source text to make the translation clear.
2.3.4.1 Repetition to Reproduce the Rhetorical Effect

Repetition
is an
important rhetorical device
in English and Chinese. It
is used to
lend
emphasis
to
the
things
described
or
appeal
to
the
readers
’

feelings,
so
what
is
repeated in the source text should be repeated in the translation too. For example:
(1) When I go into a bank I get rattled. The clerks
rattle

me; the wickets

rattle

me; the sight of the
money

rattles
me; everything

rattles

me.

我走进银行就心里发慌。办事员使我< br>心慌
；柜台窗口使我
心慌
；我看到钱也
心慌
；一切
都 使我
心慌
。

(2) A

housewife

is a

housewife
. That
’
s all.

家庭主妇
终归是
家庭主妇
，就是这么回事。

2.3.4.2 Repetition for Semantic Completeness





Some
words
that
should
be
repeated
semantically
are
often
omitted
syntactically
in
English,
yet the
whole sentence or text remains natural
in
expression and complete
in
meaning, but
it won
’
t be the case
if
it
is translated
into Chinese directly
for
it does
not conform to the idiomatic usage in Chinese. Thus, the translator should repeat what
is omitted to make the translation achieve semantic completeness.
A. Repetition of Nouns







Nouns are repeated in the following cases: first, when a noun is modified by two
or more modifiers, then it is usually repeated in the version (such as sentences (1) and
(2)); second, when the noun used before a repeated preposition is omitted for syntactic
brevity
in
the
source
text,
it
is
repeated
in
the
translation
(such
as
sentence
(3)).
Sometimes it
’
s necessary to convert the noun into the verb or other parts of speech.

(1) The chief effects of electric currents are the magnetic, heating and chemical
effects.

电流的主要效应是磁
效应
、热
效应< br>、和化学
效应
。

(2) I had experienced oxygen and / or engine
trouble.