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减译法
（
Omission
）
?
?
Objectives:
To learn and
practice the translation skill of omission.
Main Contents:
I.
Definition; II. Principle; III. Grammatical
Omission; IV
. Rhetorical
Omission; V. Exercise.
?
Exercises:
Exercises in the
textbook; Supplementary translation.
I.
Definition
：
It means omitting the useless,
superfluous words and even the words that will be
a stumbling
block
in
the
target
language
in
translation
to
make
your
version
to
make
the
translated
version
brief, concise and clear.
Omission
is
based
on
the
differences
between
English
and
Chinese.
For
example,
Chinese
has no articles or infinitive markers.
And pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions are
not used as
frequently as those of
English. So when we translate English sentences
with articles and infinitive
markers
into Chinese, we often omit these articles or
infinitive markers.
II.
Principle
：
Do not delete and change the original
meaning.
Keep in mind
Huxley’s dictum:
the maximum of thought
in the minimum of words;
and
Shakespeare’s maxim:
Brevity
is the soul of wit.
III.
Grammatical
Omission
1.
Omission of Pronouns
(
省略代词
)
为了使译文前后的句子意思紧凑，避免重复用词，汉语习惯采用无主句。
1.1
省略作主语的代词：
1
）
He was thin and
haggard and he looked miserable.
他消瘦而憔悴，看上去痛苦不堪的样子（一副可怜相）
2) He was well-favoured, bright, a good
dancer, a fair shot and a fine tennis player. He
was an
asset at any party. He was
lavish with flowers and expensive boxes of
chocolate, and though he
entertained
little, when he did it was with an originality
that pleased.
他很聪明，舞跳得不错，枪打得也可以，网球也打得挺好
，深得（女孩子）喜爱。他是宴会
中的宝贝儿，任意购买鲜花和高价巧克力送人。尽管他
不大请客，请起来也别有一番创意，
让人开心不已。
1
以下是泛指人称代词作主语，常常可以省略，翻译成无主句：
3) As you come into the
room
, you’ll notice a piano.
一进房间门，就会看见一台钢琴。
4
）
One can never
be too careful in one’s work.
工作越仔细越好。
5
）
Fight when you
can win; move away when you cannot win.
打得赢就打，打不赢就走。
6
）
We have 7 days
a week and 24 hours a day.
一周有七天，一天有
24
小时。
7)
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。
8
）
Knowledge is a
comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for
us in an advanced age; and if
we do not
plant it while young, it will give us no shade
when we grow old.
知识是人到老年舒适而又必须的归宿。
如果年轻时不种下知识之树，
老年时就得不到树阴的
遮蔽。
9
）
Even as the doctor was recommending
rest, he knew that this in itself was not enough,
that one
could never get real rest
without a peaceful mind.
尽管医生建议休息，他也知道休
息本身是不够的，如果心情不平静，是休息不好的。
1.2
省略作宾语的代词：
10
）
He has
distinguished himself in cost accounting.
他在成本核算业务方面是很出众的。
11
）
Insects hide
themselves in winter.
12
）
Please take
off the old picture and throw it away.
请把那张旧画摘下来扔掉。
13
）
Gathering
facts, confirming them, suggesting theories,
testing them, and organizing
findings
–
this is
all work of science.
2
收集事实并加以论证，
提出理论并加以检验，
以
及归纳整理研究成果
——
这全都是科学工作
的内容。
1.3
省略物主代词
14
）
We assure you
of our prompt attention to this matter.
我方保证立即处理此事。
15
）
He shrugged
his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes,
but said nothing.
16
）
So the train
came, he pinched his little sister lovingly, and
put his great arms about his
mother’s
neck and then was away.
火车来了
，他爱抚地捏了一下小妹妹，用两条巨大的胳膊搂了一下母亲的脖子，然后走了。
17
）
Halliday put
his pipe down, crossed his hands behind his neck,
and turned his face towards the
window.
哈利德放下烟斗，两手交叉放在脖子后面，转过头去看窗户。
18
）
Her dark hair
waved untidy across her broad forehead, her face
was short, her upper lip short ,
showing a glint of teeth, her brows
were straight and dark, her lashes long and dark,
her nose
straight.
她的黑发蓬松地飘拂
在宽宽的前额，
脸是短短的，
上唇也是短短的，露出亮亮的牙齿
；
眉毛
又直又黑，睫毛又长又黑，鼻子笔直。
< br>
19) She covered her face with her
hand as if to protect her eyes.
她用手蒙脸，好像去保护眼睛。
1.4
省略关系代词
英语中用来连接定语从句的关系代词一般可用三种方法来处理
：①重复其指代的先行名词；
②替换；③省略。在定语从句译作汉语前置修饰语或分译为
并列子句时，关系代词常省略。
20
）
Day light come
from the sun, which is a mass of hot, glowing gas.
日光来自太阳，
太阳是一
团炽热，发光
的气体。
（分译，重复）
21
）
The activities
are postponed, which was exactly what we wanted. <
/p>
那项活动延期了，这正是
我们所希望的。
（替代那件事）
22
）
Good people
relationship between partners are the rudders
which steer joint ventures through
trouble waters.
合资伙伴之间的和谐关系犹
如船舵，
（
…
）能引导合资企业穿过惊
涛骇浪。
1.5
“It”
也常常可以省略。
这里主要是讲它的两种特殊用法，即非人称用和强调用。上述两种情况下，汉译时往往可
以省略不译。
<
/p>
a.
非人称用代词（
impersona
l pronoun
）
23
）
It is not
entirely right to say that if there is food, let
everyone share it.
3
说有饭大家吃并不完全正确。
24
）
Outside it was
pitch dark and it was raining cats and dogs.
外面漆黑一团，下着瓢泼大雨。
25
）
Be a place
what it may, one gets to like it, if one lives
long in it.
无论怎样的地方，要是住得久了，总会渐渐喜欢起那地方的。
26) It requires patience to do the
job.
做这件工作需要有耐性。
27) He took it upon himself to pay off
the debt.
他自愿负责还清债务。
28
）
It
was just growing dark, as she shut the garden
gate.
她关上园门时，已是暮色苍茫了。
b.
强调句型用
it
（
emphatic
pronoun
）
29
）
It is only
shallow people who judge by appearances.
只有浅薄的人才会以貌取人。
30
）
It was only
then I began to have doubts whether my story would
ever be told.
只是那时我才开始怀疑我的经历究竟能不能公之于众。
31
）
It was with
some difficulty that he found the way to his own
home.
他费了不少劲才找到家。
2.
Omission of conjunctions
英语重
形合，词与词，短语之间，句子之间的关系，主要通过连词表达；而汉语重意合，词
与词
之间靠顺序体现，
句子之间的关系也往往通过句序体现。
翻译时
，
可以根据实际情况省
略连词。
2.1 Omission of the coordinating
conjunctions
省略并列连词
1
）
The
door was opened, and they came
in.
门开了，他们走了进来。
2
）
Your parents
or
your wife
or
your son
or
your best friends might
be expecting you back home
safe and
sound.
4
也许你的父母，
妻儿，或者你最好的朋友都在盼望你平安回家呢。
2.2
Omission of the subordinate conjunction
省略从属连词
a.
省略表示原因的连接词
英语因果句中一般用连接词表示原因，而汉语则往往通过词
序先后来表示
因果关系，
“
因
”
在前，
“
果
”
在后。因此，英译汉时往往可以把原文中这种连
接词省掉不译。
3)
I knew the
train was coming
as
I had
seen the passengers swarm into the platform.
我看到乘客们涌上站台，知道火车就要进站了。
4)
Because
the
departure was not easy, we’d better make
i
t brief.
离别不是件容易的事（离别真叫人难受），我们还是简短些吧。
5)
As it is late,
let us go to bed.
不早啦，睡吧！
b.
省略表示条件的连接词
表示条件的连接词
if
，
一般译为
“
假如
”“
如果
”
等，
但在日常
口语体系结构中，往往可以省略不译。
6)
If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
冬天来了，春天还会远吗？（雪莱《西风颂》）
7)
I would not
have said it
if
I had known
it.
早知如此我就不说了。
c.
省略表示时间的连接词
表示时间关系的
when
和
as
等连接词，汉译时一般用
“
当
……
时
”
，<
/p>
或仅用
“
时
”<
/p>
。
但如果汉语时间先后次序明显，
为了简
略起见，
“
当
……
时
”
或
“
时
”
往往可以省略。
8) When the board was spinning slowly,
you could see all the different colors.
纸板慢慢旋转，你就能看出各种不同的颜色。
9) As the temperature increases, the
volume of water becomes greater.
温度增高，水的体积就增大。
10)
When at last
he stood upon the bluff, he turned to his little
sister and looked upon her
sorrowfully.
最后他站在了悬崖上，转过身来，忧郁地看着他的妹妹。
11)
Sunday is the
day when I am least
busy.
周日我最闲
5
12)
At long last, on June 6, 1944,
after
the European war was
basically decided and Hitler licked,
the allies launched their long-delayed
western front.1944
年
6
< br>月
6
日，
欧洲战局基本已见分<
/p>
晓，希特勒败局已定，盟军终于在这一天开辟了延迟了很久的西线战场。
< br>
13)It was a keen disappointment
when I had to postpone the visit which I had
intended to pay to
China in May. I was
delighted when, as a result of the effort of your
company, it proved possible
to
reinstate the visit so quickly.
原打算五月份访
华，
后不得不推迟，
深感失望。由于贵公司的努力，访问这么快
得以重新安
排，非常高兴。
3.
Omission of
the Articles
冠词是汉语所没有的词类。汉译时往往要斟酌，是否把冠词
的意思译出来。一般说来，除
了带有明显指示意义的定冠词和含有明显的
“
一个
”
或
< br>“
每一个
”
意思的不定冠词不能
省略
外，其它情况一般可以不译。
1
）
The article is
the hallmark of English. However, we do not have
the articles in Chinese. The
moon was
slowly rising above the sea.
月亮从海边慢慢升起。
2
）
Winter
is
the
best
time
to
study
the
growth
of
trees.
Although
the
leaves
are
gone
and
the
branches are bare, the trees themselves
are beautiful.
冬天是研究树木生长的最好季节，虽然树叶落了，树枝
光了，但树本身却是美丽的。
3
）
Any substance
is made of atoms whether it is a solid, a liquid,
or a gas.
任何物质，无论是固体、液体还是气体，都由原子组成。
4
）
A teacher
should have patience in his work.
当老师的应当有耐心。
5
）
Things of a
kind come together; people of a mind fall into the
same group.
物以类聚，人以群分。
6
）
The horse is a
useful animal.
7) The pen is mightier
than the sword.
6
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