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散文时间即生命英译赏析

时间:2018-03-16 19:57:50 英语笔译 我要投稿

散文时间即生命英译赏析

  看看墙上挂着的可以一张张撕下的日历,每天撕下一张就是表示我们寿命又缩短了一天.因为时间即生命。下面是小编分享的英译散文《时间即生命》赏析,欢迎欣赏!

散文时间即生命英译赏析

  时间即生命

  Time Is Life

  梁实秋

  Liang Shiqiu

  最令人怵目惊心的一件事,是看着钟表上的秒针一下一下的移动,每移动一下就是表示我们的寿命已经缩短了一部分。再看看墙上挂着的可以一张张撕下的日历,每天撕下一张就是表示我们寿命又缩短了一天.因为时间即生命。

  It is most startling to hear a watch or clock clicking away the seconds, each click indicating the shortening of one’s life by a little bit. Likewise, with each page torn off the wall calendar, one’s life is shortened by another day. Time, therefore, is life.

  要点:

  1,“每移动一下”此处的“移动”专指钟表指针的走动,因此译为click

  2,” 再看看墙上挂着的可以一张张撕下的日历”因为前文与此句意思相近的表述,所以译为likewise

  3,“我们寿命又缩短了一天”译为one’s life is shortened by another day,由于中西方思维上的差异,汉语多以人称做主语,代词也比较少,采用主动结构;英语多以物称做主语,多代词~此处无实际意义的“我们”多译为one.

  4,be shorten by意为“减少了…”在政经类翻译中也常见

  没有人不爱惜他的生命,但很少人珍视他时间。如果想在有生之年做一点什么事,学一点什么学问,充实自己,帮助别人,使生命成为有意义,不虚此生,那么就不可浪费光阴。这道理人人都懂,可是很少人真能积极不懈的善为利用他的时间。

  Nevertheless, few people treasure their time as much as their life. Time must not be wasted if you want to do your bit in your remaining years or acquire some useful knowledge to improve yourself and help others, so that your life may turn out to be significant and fruitful. All that is foolproof, yet few people really strive to make the best use of their time.

  要点:

  1,“没有人不爱惜他的生命,但很少人珍视他时间。”译为Nevertheless, few people treasure their time as much as their life.此处“没有人不爱惜”和“很少有人珍视”意思相近,所以两句合译为一句,以as much as连接,整句都采用了意译法,简洁紧凑~

  2,“如果想在有生之年做一点什么事,学一点什么学问,充实自己,帮助别人,使生命成为有意义,不虚此生,那么就不可浪费光阴。”译为Time must not be wasted if you want to do your bit in your remaining years or acquire some useful knowledge to improve yourself and help others, so that your life may turn out to be significant and fruitful.

  ① 译者将“不可浪费光阴”提前,表强调,突出原文作者的意图

  ② do your bit意为“做出自己的贡献,尽自己所能“,较contribute to 更贴近原作语言风格,我之前提到过,散文翻译中很少会出现像政经类文章中常使用的大词,而是一些小词的灵活运用~

  ③ “不虚此生”译为fruitful,为了和前面“有意义“可以并列而译,采用反话正说~

  3,“这道理人人都懂”译为All that is foolproof,其中foolproof作very simple to understand解,意同“不言而喻”或“简单明了”。此句也可译为All that is self-evident。

  我自己就是浪费了很多时间的一个人。我不打麻将,我不经常的听戏看电影,几年中难得一次,我不长时间看电视,通常只看半个小时,我也不串门子闲聊天。有人问我:“那么你大部分时间都做了些什么呢?”

  Personally, I am also a fritterer. I don’t play mahjong. I seldom go to the theatre or cinema—I go there maybe only once every few years. I seldom spend long hours watching TV—usually I watch TV for no more than 30 minutes at a sitting. Nor do I go visiting and gossiping from door to door. Some people asked me, “Then what do you do with most of your time?”

  要点:

  1,“我自己就是浪费了很多时间的一个人”译为personally, I am also a fritterer,其中fritterer一词在用法上既可泛指“时间、金钱等等的浪费者”,又可专指“不爱惜时间的人”(a person who wastes time)。

  2,“我不经常的听戏看电影,几年中难得一次“译为I seldom go to the theatre or cinema—I go there maybe only once every few years.其中”听戏看电影“转译为go to the theatre or cinema。另,后一分句”几年中难得一次“为前一分句的解释说明,用破折号连接使得译文的结构更加清晰。下一句”我不长时间看电视,通常只看半个小时“的翻译也同此句是一个道理。

  3,no more than表示“仅仅,只“在张的译文很常见,比only更能表现作者情绪

  我痛自反省,我发现,除了职务上的必须及人情上所不能免的活动外,我的时间大部分都浪费了。我应该集中精力,读我所未读过的书,我应该利用所有时间,写我所要写的东西。但是我没能这样做。我的好多时间都糊里糊涂的混过去了,“少壮不努力,老大徒伤悲。”

  Introspecting with remorse, I found that apart from the time earmarked for my job and unavoidable social activities, most of my time had been wasted. I should have concentrated my energies on reading whatever books I have not yet read. I should have utilized all my time in writing anything I want to write. But I’ve failed to do so. Very much of my times has been frittered away aimlessly. As the saying goes, “One who does not work hard in youth will grieve in vain in old age.”