英语专业八级翻译Lesson 10

英语专业八级翻译Lesson 10

原文呈现

用拆字先生的办法,望文生义,家最初显然和猪圈有关,而家的发展,当然是让它越来越不像猪圈。不过,我并不喜欢那些一尘不染的家庭。清洁过了头,家反而不像家。家是给人住的,因此,我想一切都应该以让人不感到别扭为度。过分用心了,人便变成了家的奴隶,整天替家当保姆,不值得。一个让人羡慕的家庭环境,所有的布置,都应该是以能促进家庭成员彼此之间的健康和谐为基本的前提。一个好的家居,要充满人情味,太干净,太讲究,人情味必打折扣。有的人的家庭,喜欢收拾得仅供外宾参观似的,结果,作为家庭的主人,自己也成了无所适从的客人。

参考译文

Like people who divine fortunes by analyzing the component parts of a Chinese character, I'd conclude that a home at its very initial was evidently associated with a pigsty(The Chinese equivalent of home is typically ideographic. The upper part of the character represents a roof while the lower part means pig). But with the gradual development of the human's residence, a home dissociates itself farther and farther away from that place. However, I don't like a home that is kept completely neat and clean. If overdone, a home ceases being a home. A home is a place for people to live in; therefore everything should be measured against the standard where people feel free at home. Excessive attention to one's dwelling turns one into a slave in bondage to the architecture, and a round-the-clock housekeeper. It's hardly worth the while. The layout and ambience of an enviable home should be designed to guarantee the health of each and every family member and promote domestic harmony. An ideal home should be pervaded by human feelings, if too clean and too dainty, the place will have its human touch abridged.

难点注释

1.画线部分第一句中的“家最初显然和猪圈有关”翻译时应注意采用注释法,否则英美读者接受起来难度较大。

2.画线部分第三句中的“家反而不像家”,翻译时应注意变通,如果生硬地使用on the contrary 或者 instead 表达“反而”之意,语篇衔接上会显得不顺畅,因此可酌情译为If overdone,a home ceases being a home。

3.画线部分第五句相对较长,本句中两次出现了“家”字,为避免重复,同时也为了传达出两者的不同含义,翻译时应避免频繁使用home一词,而分别采用dwelling和the architecture。前者指“居住地”,后者指“建筑物”,不带有感情色彩。另外,句尾的“不值得”在翻译时应予以突出强调,翻译时单独成句,译为It's hardly worth the while。

4.画线部分最后一句中的“一个好的家居”中的“家居”应理解为“家庭居所”,即译为An ideal home;“好”字如译为good,会让人觉得流于平淡,故此处译为ideal。