汉语四字格的英译文档格式.docx

1、Chin Jung had to swallow his anger and hold his tongue , and very soon he turned in.（Tr.Yang Xianyi and Glagys Yang）（4） 但世人一见了功名，便舍得性命去求它，乃至到手之后，味同嚼蜡。（儒林外史）Men will risk their lives in search for rank and frame ,yet once they have them within their grasp ,the taste is no better than chewed tallow.（5

2、） 他这一去如石沉大海，再无消息。He left like a stone dropped into the sea and has never been heard of.金石印章 metal and stone seals字画卷轴 scroll of calligraphy and painting文房四宝 a four stationery treasures of the Chinese study including a writing brush, an ink stick ,an ink stone and paper保存完好 well-preserved工艺精湛 exquisi

3、te workmanship独具匠心 original / ingenious design湖光山色 landscape of lakes and hills景色如画 picturesque views诱人景色 inviting views湖石假山 lakeside rocks and rockeries青山绿水 green hills and clear waters园林建筑 garden architecture佛教名山 famous Buddhist mountain典雅古朴 elegant with classic simplicity求同存异 seeking common groun

4、d while putting aside difference教学相长 to teach is to learn浑水摸鱼 fish in troubled waters公事公办 business is business文如其人 the style is the man祸不单行 misfortunes never come alone时不待我/岁月无情 time and tide wait for no man祸从口出/言多必失 the tongue cuts the throat蓬头垢面 with disheveled hair and dirty face扑朔迷离 complicated

5、and confusing朴实无华 simple and unadorned遣词造句 choice of words and building of sentences能者多劳 the abler a man , the busier he gets自力更生 regeneration through ones own efforts画饼充饥 draw cakes to allay hunger顺水推舟 push the boat with current欺软怕硬 bully the weak and fear the strong扭亏增盈 make up deficits and increa

6、se surpluses（二）借用法汉英语言与文化的共通之处，使得汉语翻译成英语时，借用同义英语习语成为可能。借用同义习语有以下几种情况：1. 汉英习语含义相同，形象一致时，汉译英时可借用英语习语。如：（1） 只有大胆地破釜沉舟地跟他们拼，还许有翻身的一天。All you can do is to burn your boats and fight them in the hope that one day youll come out on top.“破釜沉舟”与to burn ones boat 不仅形象一致，含义相同，而且历史背景也极其相似（2） 你该趁热打铁，把刚学会的几首试背过。Yo

7、u should strike while the iron is hot , just try to memorize the poems that have been newly taught to you .血浓于水 blood is thicker than water静水流深 still water runs deep隔墙有耳 walls have ears火上浇油 pour oil on the fire一帆风顺 plain sailing袖手旁观 look on with folded arms晴天霹雳 a bolt from the blue22.汉英习语形象不一致但内涵相同时

8、，也可借用不具浓厚民族色彩的同义英语习语。例如：突飞猛进 by leaps and bounds彻头彻尾 pure and simple（out and out）公平合理 fair and square活蹦乱跳 alive and kicking患难与共 to share weal and woe空洞无物 null and void少年老成 to have an old head on young shoulders无稽之谈 cock-and-bull story物以类聚 birds of a feather flock together软硬兼施 to use both stick and c

9、arrot近墨者黑 he that lies down with dogs must rise with fleas臭味相投 two of the same kind守口如瓶 dumb as an oyster蠢得像猪 as stupid as a goose对牛弹琴 to cast pearls before a swine杀鸡儆猴 beat the dog before the lion班门弄斧 teach fish to swim胸有成竹 have a card up ones sleeve本末倒置 put the card before the horse得陇望蜀/得寸进尺much w

10、ill have more喧宾夺主 the sauce is better than the fish滴水石穿/只要工夫深，铁杵磨成针little strokes fell great oaks殊途同归 all roads lead to Rome/All rivers run into the sea口蜜腹剑 peace on the forehead and war in the mind2. 有些汉语习语直译后冗长拖沓。辞不达意或因辞害义。为避免这些弊病，可借用比喻形象与之大相径庭的同义英语习语来翻译。（1） 你不能因噎废食，从此出门只靠步行了啊！You could not cut of

11、f your nose to spite your face and forever travel on foot hereafter.“因噎废食”可直译成 to stop eating for fear of choking .但cut off your nose to spite your face一目了然。（2） 那家合资企业由于经营不善，已经到了山穷水尽的地步。Due to poor management , the joint venture is now at the end of its tether.（3） 凤姐笑道：“你倒会拉长线儿！”“You do look ahead ,

12、dont you?” she chuckled“拉长线儿”是谚语“放长线，钓大鱼”的变体，若按字面翻译成throw along line to catch a big fish ，一则读者不能一眼看出其寓意，二则与原文的口语体不相符合。树大招风 names are debts入乡随俗 do in Rome as the Romans do木已成舟/覆水难收 things done can not be undone做贼心虚 a bad conscience is a snake in ones heart事与愿违 all your swans are geese大器晚成late fruit k

13、eeps well因小失大 penny wise and pound foolish大智若愚He knows most who speaks least./still water runs deep.自食其果 as you make the bed ,so you must lie in it盲目乐观Count ones chickens before they are hatched.3. 由于生活习惯或思维方式等不同，许多汉英习语虽有相同或相似的年形象或比喻。但含义却不同。翻译时，不能简单对应，必须多加推敲和区别。例如。“同舟共济”和to be in the same boat 比喻相同，

14、含义也相近。但色彩不同，前者含积极意义，后者含消极意义。“亡羊补牢”和to lock the stable door after the horse is stolen,比喻相同，字面义相同，但喻义却相反，前者是“尤未为晚”。后者是“为时已晚”此外可以用借用法翻译的词语还有：挥金如土spend money like water水中捞月 fish in the air一贫如洗 as poor as a church mouse随波逐流 to swim with the tide挑三拣四 to sow discord一箭之遥 at a stones throw翠得像牛 as stubborn as

15、 a mule抛砖引玉 to throw a sprat to catch a whale画蛇添足 to gild the lily半斤八两 six of one and half a dozen of the other脱胎换骨 to turn a new leaf小题大作fish begins to stink at the head/make a fuss指鹿为马 to talk black into white金蝉脱壳 to throw somebody off the scent爱屋及屋love me ,love my dog（三）意译当直译或借用法行不通时，可采用意译法。1.成语的

16、意译成语意译的情况有：某些成语源出历史事件或寓言故事，但沿用已久，失去了原来的故事性：某些成语的形象变得不再新鲜生动，在使用时人们很少想起它们的形象而只有其喻义：默写成语是约定俗成的，其字面意义或不合逻辑或无法解释，不能按字面直译；某些成语直译后冗长晦涩或不合英语规范。（1） 我的公司要自负盈亏。你不好好工作，我就不能让你在这儿滥竽充数！My company must be solely responsible for its profits and losses .If you are slack in your work ,I cannot have you here just to ma

17、ke up the number.（2） 今年高考他又名落孙山了。This year he failed again in the entrance examinations for college students.讲话人只是借用“名落孙山”一语，并非介绍孙山及其邻人之子考举人的故事，所以照直译成英文无益译文读者，还是意译为好。（3） 后又助着薛蟠图些银钱酒肉，一任薛蟠横行霸道，他不但不去管约，反“助纣为虐”讨好儿。（红楼梦）In return for money and good meals from Hsueh pan ,he had not checked his disgracefu

18、l behaviour but actually abetted him in order to curry favour.（4） 这两个队旗鼓相当，比赛中比分交替上升。The two team are well-matched ,and the score seesawed all the time.成语“旗鼓相当”中的“旗”、“鼓”的形象已极淡薄，英译时无需保留。（5） 宝玉一发拿刀弄枪，寻死觅活。闹的天翻地覆。By now Pao-yuhad turned the whole place upside down in search of a sword or stick to kill

19、himself with.“天翻地覆”中“天”、“地”的形象意在夸张，译者结合上下文将其意译为turned the whole place upside down，就够了。（6） 姜三胖子一辈子是作威作福，花天酒地All his life Fatty Jiang lived high, guzzling and carousing to his hearts content.（7） 不要胡思乱想。一切都会好起来的。Dont labour yourself with groundless anxieties. Everything will be all right.（8） 赵老师大喝-满操场的

20、同学都满不在乎。Miss Zhao shouted at her highest pitch-But all the students on the playground turned a deaf ears to it（9） 据说还当得十分称职，一时有口皆碑，俨然成了东南亚一大硕儒I heard that he filled the post with great credit and for a time was widely acclaimed as one of the most celebrated scholars in Southeast Asia.三教九流 people in

21、various trades攀龙附凤 play up to people of power and influence毛遂自荐 volunteer ones service一诺千金 a promise that will be kept两袖清风 remain uncorrupted门庭如市a much visited house马革裹尸ie on the battlefield毛手毛脚 careless守株待兔rust to chance and windfalls恶贯满盈 face retribution for a life of crime尔虞我诈 mutual mistrust wit

22、h both parties playing tricks（四）直译兼意译在很多情况下，汉语四字词组只能部分直译，部分意译，这叫直意参半法。这样做既可保留原文形象又能使译文畅达。（1） 张飞大叫：“此必董卓！追吕布有甚强处，不如先拿董贼，便是斩草除根！“certainly there is Tung cho,” cried Chang Fei. “What is the use of pursuing LU Pu ? Far better seize the chief rebel and so pluck up the evil by the roots”“斩草”译为pluck up the

23、 evil为意译, “除根”译为by the roots为直译。（2） 王冕一路上风餐露宿，九十里大站，七十里小站。一径来到山东济南府地方。Braving the wind and dew ,Wang Mien traveled day after day past posting stations large ad small till he came to the city of Tsinan“风餐露宿”译为braving the wind and dew , 其中,wind and dew 为直译，brave为意译，既保留了原文的形象，又符合英语习惯。杀人如麻 kill people l

24、ike flies山盟海誓 make a solemn pledge of love神出鬼没 appear and disappear mysteriously顺藤摸瓜 track down somebody or something by following clues天罗地网 nets above and snares below桑榆暮景 the evening of ones life如雷贯耳 reverberate like thunder（五）省略法汉语四字词组英译需要省略的情况主要有如下几种：1. 汉语四字词组中存在着很大数量的并列结构式的四字词语，其中一种叫四字对偶词组，一种叫四

25、字重叠词组。四字对偶词组的前后两部分意义相同或相近。英译时往往只需翻译出一部分或翻译其意义即可。例如；（1） 薛蟠连忙打躬作揖赔不是Hsueh Pan bowed in apology-“打躬作揖”只翻译出“打躬”。省略“作揖”（2） -若有善男信女虔心供奉者，可以永保儿孙康宁If faithful believers worship him devoutly ,their descendents are assured of peace and health-“善男信女”以faithful believers笼统译出，简单明确（3） 我厂生产的鞋子款式新颖，规格齐全，以工艺精良、经久耐用深受

26、广大消费者的好评。Apart from being fashionable in style and rich in variety ,shoes produced by our factory also find favour in consumers eyes for the exquisite workmanship and extraordinary durability需要指出的是，有些并列结构的前后两部分意义并不完全相同，此时，译者应将两部分全部翻译出来，以求意义精确。如“违法乱纪”中。“法”和“纪”的概念并不完全相同，所以应翻译为offence against law and d

27、iscipline. 有时为取得一定的修辞效果，也需将两部分全部译出，”如冷嘲热讽“burning satire and freezing irony , “和风细雨”like a gentle breeze and a mild rain.2. 四字重叠词组是一中追求音韵美的重叠结构，例如“鬼鬼祟祟”（snake around）“慌里慌张”（be flustered）等。英语中没有类似的形式，汉译英时，可以考虑重叠的部分。（1） 那宝玉才合上眼，便恍恍惚惚的睡去，犹似秦氏在前，悠悠荡荡，跟着秦氏到了一处。但见朱栏玉砌，绿树清溪，真是人迹不逢，飞尘罕到。Pao-yu fell asleep a

28、s soon as he closed his eyes and dreamed that Ko-ching was before him.Absent-minded he followed her along way to some crimson balustrades and white marble steps among green trees and clear streams ,in a place seldom trodden by the foot of man .unreached by swirling dust.“恍恍惚惚”融于了上下文中，“悠悠荡荡”只翻译出了“悠荡”

29、之意（2）“我本来要-来投-”阿Q胡里胡涂地想了一想，这才断断续续地说。“The fact is that I want -to come“muttered AH Q disjointedly, after a moments confused thinking.“胡里胡涂和”断断续续按“胡涂、断续译为confused和disjointedly3. 有时出于上下文或行文上的考虑，也须省略。（1）-一日倘或“乐极生悲“。若应了”树倒猢狲散“的俗话If one day it happens that at the height of good fortune the “tree falls and the monkeys scatter “as the old saying has it -“树倒猢狲散“即”生悲“，”乐极生悲“只译为at the height of good fortune 乐极，从二使得译文流畅自然。（3） 九溪十涧则以“曲曲环环路，叮叮咚咚泉