原文:“方先生人聰明,一切逢場作戲,可是我們這種笨蛋,把你開的玩笑都得認真——”唐小姐聽方鴻漸嗓子哽了,心軟下來,可是她這時候愈是心疼,愈心恨,愈要責罰他個痛快——(錢鐘書 - 《圍城》)
翻譯關鍵詞:逢場作戲,哽(咽),愈……愈……
譯文:"You're an intelligent person. You have a little fun now and then, but dunces like us take all your jokes seriously." When Miss T'ang heard Fang Hung-chien choke back a sob, her heart softened. But at that moment the greater the pity she felt in her heart, the more resentful she became and the more she felt like really attacking him. (美 Jeanne Kelly, Nathan K.Mao: Fortress Besieged)
翻譯筆記:
逢場作戲
印象最深刻的是在課堂上,每當遇到成語或俗語的時候,老師通常不會立即翻譯,而是先問我們:“這是什么意思?”你還別說,我們通常被問倒一大片。這些詞平時常用,但要確切的解釋,就突然不知如何開口了。而我們要實現(xiàn)的譯文也不是一個字一個字的譯出來,理解才是最重要的,只有在充分理解原文的基礎上,才能譯出精彩的譯文。所以我們先來理解“逢場作戲”的中文釋義:原指賣藝人遇到合適的演出場地,就開場表演。后用作隨俗應酬,湊熱鬧的意思。于是就有了譯文中的a little fun now and then。成語或四字結構短語的漢譯英其實也是口筆譯很??嫉膬热荩錾洗祟惽闆r,我們不必拘泥于原文,只要用英文中的形容詞、名詞或一些特殊結構處理即可。再來看看“逢場作戲”的其他常用譯法:join in the fun on occasion; act according to circumstances(又“隨機應變”); take part in merely accidental amusement等,又如:
他抽煙只是逢場作戲。
He smokes occasionally, and just for fun.
咱們搞這一行的只不過是逢場作戲嘛。
We of this trade know too well that we are only playing a game.
哽(咽)
“哽”亦有兩層含義,1. 聲氣阻塞:哽咽;哽塞。2. 食物阻塞在喉不能下咽:哽阻;哽噎。這兩種表達方法均可以用choke來表達。如:
他心里一酸,喉嚨哽得說不出話來。
He felt a pang of sadness, and got so choked up he couldn't speak.
吃飯哽著了 be choked by food
詞組choke sth. back或choke back sth.則指“強忍?。☉嵟?、悲傷等)不讓自己表現(xiàn)出來”。如:
He choked back tears as he described what had happened.
She choked back a sob.
I choked back my anger.
注意:a sob是“一個嗚咽的動作”或“一聲嗚咽”,a sobbing是“一陣嗚咽”。
愈……愈……
這次我們借原文的“愈是心疼,愈心恨,愈要責罰他個痛快”來說說the做關系副詞(“到某個程度地”)和指示副詞(“到那個程度地”)的用法。我們先看譯文:the greater the pity she felt in her heart, the more resentful she became and the more she felt like really attacking him.
下面幾點該注意:
(1) 一般說來,句子里有了關系副詞the (greater),必須也有指示副詞the (more)。
(2)通常關系副詞the在前,指示副詞the在后。偶爾指示副詞the在前,關系副詞the在后,如:
She sang the worse, the more she practiced. 她練習得越多,唱得越不好。
(3)關系副詞the用在從句的開首,不可用在從句的主語的后面,如上面這句話不可說成:
She sang the worse, she practiced the more.
在看以下幾個例句鞏固記憶吧:
The sooner the better.
愈早愈好。
The more learned a man is, the more modest he is.
一個人學問越好,越是謙虛。
The more he tried to sleep, the more he could not.
他越想要睡著,越睡不著。
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(來源:滬江英語 編輯:崔旭燕)