翻译经验:和"猪"一样蠢?

作者:秩名 2015-01-04 14:44

北京天译时代翻译培训公司整理了“翻译经验:和"猪"一样蠢?”,希望对口译考试备考有所帮助。......


  北京天译时代翻译培训公司整理了“翻译经验:和"猪"一样蠢?”,希望对口译考试备考有所帮助。
  刚才我在一个英语学习论坛上,看到有一篇“中翻英”的短文,译的很不错,只是其中的一句话有点问题。这句话是as stupid as a pig(像猪一样愚蠢),您看出问题了吗?在汉语中,我们确实经常说“蠢猪”这个词,来形容某个人很笨,因此在一般中国人的感觉中,猪就代表愚蠢。但在西方文化中,代表愚蠢的动物并不是猪,而是驴,因此这句话应当翻译成as stupid as an ass。写到这里,我想顺便再多说一句,在西方文化中,猪不仅不代表愚蠢,有时甚至还代表快乐,比如as happy as a pig(像猪一样快乐),因此我们有必要在这里为猪先生平反昭雪(笑)。
  通过这个小例子,我们可以看出,在翻译这种与动物有关的比喻性句子(metaphoric sentence)时,我们一定要考虑西方文化的因素,避免用中国人的习惯说法代替西方人的习惯说话。由于这个问题并不是一个很重要的问题,一般的英语教科书上很可能没有介绍,因此我特意收集了一些常用的形容词与动物的搭配,供初学者朋友们参考,请看:
  as blind as a bat (像蝙蝠一样盲目)
  as hungry as a bear (像熊一样饥饿)
  as busy as a beaver (像河狸一样忙碌)
  as busy as a bee (像蜜蜂一样忙碌)
  as songful as a bird (像鸟一样动听)
  as angry as a bull (像公牛一样愤怒)
  as changeful as a chameleon (像变色龙一样多变)
  as bald as an eagle (像鹰一样秃顶)
  as sly as a fox (像狐狸一样狡猾)
  as tall as a giraffe (像长颈鹿一样高)
  as silly as a goose (像鹅一样愚蠢)
  as fast as a hare (像野兔一样快)
  as playful as a kitten (像小猫一样喜欢嬉戏)
  as gentle as a lamb (像小羊一样温和)
  as brave as a lion (像狮子一样勇敢)
  as stubborn as a mule (像骡子一样顽固)
  as wise as an owl (像猫头鹰一样聪明)
  as quick as a rabbit (像兔子一样快)
  as slow as a snail (像蜗牛一样缓慢)
  as graceful as a swan (像天鹅一样优美)
  as slow as a turtle (像乌龟一样缓慢)
  as hungry as a wolf (像狼一样饥饿)
  最后我还想再补充一句:上面的搭配,并不是固定不变的,比如bull(公牛)这种动物,经常跟angry(愤怒)搭配,但它也可以跟mad(疯狂)、strong(强壮)等搭配,因此初学者朋友们千万不要搞教条,一定要灵活运用。

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