lecture02增译法_stud.doc

Lecture #2 Amplification in Translation（增译法） Introduction Before we come to the first technique of translation, let’s have a study of the following examples of translation and try to find out the necessity of adding words in translation. A book，tight shut，is but a block of paper． 译文一：一本书，紧紧合上，只是一叠纸。 译文二：一本书，如果紧紧合上不读，只是一叠纸。 译文三：一本书，如果紧紧合上不读，只是一叠废纸。 译文四：闲置之书只是一叠废纸。 Four levels of translation are presented in the four versions of the same sentence. The first version makes an almost word-for-word correspondence to the original, however, the Chinese doesn’t seem to make any sense. The second sentence with an addition of “如……不读” makes sense to some extent, however, the implied meaning seems to need further manifestation. With a wonderful addition of the word “废” in the third version, the Chinese can be said “smooth”. What’s more, the added “废” doesn’t go against the principle of “faithfulness” in translation. The addition makes no alteration of the original meaning, but makes the implied meaning clear and the sentence more sound in logic. The only flaw is its being too redundant. The fourth version helps to make a completion. (上面同一个句子的四个译文，可以体现翻译的不同层次。译文一，与原文似乎丝丝入扣，但却显得支离破碎、关系不清、语意不足；译文二，增加了“如……不读”，意思明白无误，只是觉得“言犹未尽”；译文三，又增加了一个“废”字，这可是点睛之举。能否译出这个“废”字，是翻译这个句子的关键，也是判断这个译文优劣的一个重要标准。不读的书，不仅是—叠纸，而且是叠废纸。因为如果是叠白纸，还可画出必威体育精装版最美的图画，只有废纸才是无价值的东西。一个“废”字，说话者的语意才得以充分表达。译文三的不足之处，就是行文拖沓累赘；而译文四则简明扼要，笔酣墨浓了。) Success is often just an idea away． 译文一：成功往往只是一个念头的距离。 译文二：成功往往只是一念之差。 译文三：成功与否往往只是—念之差。 It is very clear that the first version makes no sense. The meaning of the second Chinese seems rather elusive to the audience. The addition of“与否”in the third version not only makes the intended meaning in the original fully expressed, but also makes really idiomatic Chinese. (译文一让人看后莫名其妙；译文二改变说法，但仍让人似懂非懂，而译文三只是简简单单增加了一个“与否”，但却使人豁然开朗!原句的意思表达得淋漓尽致。) Nothing happened in the night． 译文一：夜间什么事也没发生。 译文二：夜间倒是风平浪静，什么事也没发生。 The original English is not difficult to understand, but a good translation demands m