北外翻译笔记 第10课 翻译技巧--归化(2)
时间：2018-12-12 作者：英语课 分类：北外翻译笔记
英语课
（8） It was, as Bill afterwards expressed it, "during a moment of temporary mental apparition 1", but we didn't find that out till later.
恰如后来比尔说的那样，那阵子简直是"一时鬼迷心窍".不过，我们直到后来才明白了这个意思。
（apparition在原文中是鬼魂或幽灵出现的意思。mental apparition直译是"心中有鬼"，这就很容易给人造成误解，因此需要多少将原形象适当地转换一下。）
（9） They will be ice-skating in hell the day, when I vote the aid for them.
要我投票赞成给他们援助，除非太阳从西边出来。
（ice-skating in hell如译成"在地狱里滑冰"就很难为中国读者所理解和接受。）
（10）. "Until her husband won the pools, she was the most commonplace, dowdy 2, illiterate 3 creature imaginable, but now that she dresses herself up like a society queen and nearly always remembers to sound her aitches, people are already beginning to forget what she was like before.
"Fine feathers make fine birds."
"过去没有比她更平平常常、无知无识而又邋邋遢遢的了，自从她男人赢得全部赌注以后，她打扮得象个社交皇后，总是记住发H的音，人们开始忘记她以前是什么样子了。"
"人靠衣裳马靠鞍嘛。"
（11） I'd much rather see her once or twice and not do anything about it——what could I do about it anyway? She's a bit out of my class, don't you think? If I did try to do anything, I'd only get sent off with a flea 4 in my ear.
我宁愿见她一两面就算了──我还能干什么呢？你没看到她和我不怎么相称吗？我要干点什么，也只会碰一鼻子灰。
（原文a flea in one's ear的字面意思是"耳朵上有个跳蚤"，用来比喻"讥讽的话，刺耳的话".send sb. off with a flea in one's ear意思是"用讥讽的话气走某人"，与汉语"碰一鼻子灰"意思相近，但如译为"用讥讽话气走某人"，则过于平淡，远不如"碰一鼻子灰"生动、俏皮。）
（12） He was so fond of talking that his comrades nicknamed him "magpie 5".
他如此唠叨,同伴们给他起了个 "麻雀"的外号.
（英语中 "喜鹊" 喻义 "唠叨、饶舌", 但在汉语中 "喜鹊" 却象征着 "喜事、吉祥", 而 "麻雀" 表示 "唠叨、饶舌", 所以用归化法.）
（13） There's a people's court waiting for him. His God-damned head is going to be separated from his God-damned neck.
人民法庭正等着他。狗头就要和狗脖子分家呢。
（原文God-damned意为"该死的"，但如译成"该死的头"、"该死的脖子"远不如"狗头"、"狗脖子"痛快。）
（14） I'm a diplomat 6, a linguist 7, altogether a bespectacled cream puff 8.
我是个外交官，一个语言学家，总而言之，是个戴眼镜的银样邋枪头。
（原文cream puff的字面意思是"奶油松饼"，比喻"中看不中用的人"，和汉语中的"银样邋枪头"意思相近。但如直译成"奶油松饼"，则不易为汉语读者所接受。归化后，既能保存原意，又能为汉语读者所接受。）
采用归化时,要避免走极端,不要用汉语民族文化色彩太浓的词（如:历史人物、地理名词等）来归化英语习语, 否则译文会让人感觉不伦不类。
（1） Beauty lies in lover's eyes.
情人眼里出美人.
（此处就不宜归化为具有浓厚汉语文化色彩的 "情人眼里出西施". 译者怎能把中国古代美女西施搬到西方作品中去呢?）
（2） Many heads are better than one.
一人不及众人计.
（此处就不宜归化为具有浓厚汉语文化色彩的 "三个臭皮匠,顶个诸葛亮".如把历史人物诸葛亮搬到西方作品中去,总让人感到不伦不类的.）
（3） Never offer to teach fish to swim.
不要教鱼儿游泳.
（此处也不宜归化为具有浓厚汉语文化色彩的 "不要班门弄斧"、 "不要关公面前耍大刀".）
1 apparition
n.幽灵，神奇的现象
- He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
- But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。
2 dowdy
adj.不整洁的；过旧的
- She was in a dowdy blue frock.她穿了件不大洁净的蓝上衣。
- She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通，衣也过时。
3 illiterate
adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲
- There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
- I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。
4 flea
n.跳蚤
- I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话，我就要对他不客气了。
- Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。
5 magpie
n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者
- Now and then a magpie would call.不时有喜鹊的叫声。
- This young man is really a magpie.这个年轻人真是饶舌。
6 diplomat
n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人
- The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
- He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。