英语论文网

汉译英句子劣译举例（23）

1. Tom像猪一样笨。

原译：Tom is as silly as a pig.

点评：汉语说人笨常用猪做喻体，但在英美人眼中猪可能只是好吃，并不笨。英语形容“笨”所用的喻体代写英语论文是ass或goose，翻译时应遵循英语的习惯。

改译：Tom is as silly as an ass.

Or:Tom is as silly as a goose.

2. 创造绿色饭店，倡导绿色消费。

原译：Establishing Green Hotel.Initiating Green Consumption.

点评：这则倡导绿色环保的标语摘自福建莆田东方国际大酒店，看了叫人亲切，只是英译略嫌累赘。

改译：Green Hotel.Green Consumption.

3. 这就是我在这里的大概情况。

原译：Such is the general position with me here.

点评：这是一句笨拙直译的句子。

改译：On the whole that’s how things are with me here.

4. 你回北京了吗？还是仍在上海或是其他地方？

原译：Have you gone back to Beijing or are you still in Shanghai or some other places?

点评：由于汉语缺乏形态标记，“其他地方”既可指单数，也可指复数，所以学生很容易误写成other places，尤其是受some误导时更是如此。

改译：Have you gone back to Beijing or are you still in Shanghai or some other place?

5. 她善良、美丽、勤劳。

原译：She is kind,beautiful,and works hard.

点评：原译句子成分不平行，突然冒出一个动词works，这在英语中不妥。

改译：She is kind,beautiful,and hard-working.

6. 我希望能不断得到您的帮助。

原译：I hope that I can get your help continuously.

点评：continuously意为“不断”，但这种“不断”指的是事情或行为连续进行而无间断。改用continually也同样不妥。因为continually多指不好的事情持续不断。请看下例：

The wind blew continuously for three days.

大风不停地刮了三天。

We never have any peace because the baby is continually screaming.

我们得不到片刻安宁，因为那婴儿总是不停地哭叫。

改译：I hope that I can get your help constantly.

7. 我奶奶今天上错了车。

原译：My grandma got on a wrong bus today.

点评：不管是否特指，wrong bus前面都应有定冠词the。

改译：My grandma got on the wrong bus today.

8. 很抱歉就此止笔，再次谢谢您对我的鼓励。

原译：I’m sorry to stop here.Thank you again for your encouragement.

点评：这里“抱歉”直译为sorry不妥，用I’m afraid能更好地表达出这句话的“语味”。

改译：I’m afraid I’ll have to stop here.

Thank you again for your encouragement.

9. 如果你能前来，我将十分感激。

原译：I would appreciate very much if you could come.

点评：appreciate（感激、感谢）是及物动词，没有宾语也得借一个“形式宾语”。

改译：I would appreciate it very much if you could come.

10．  你在衣服上每年支出多少？

原译：How much do you pay on clothing every year?

点评：“在……上支出”的汉语说法，很容易让学生认定介词应该选on，

因为on多被译成“在……上，在……方面”。

改译：How much do you pay for clothing every year?

11. 我没有空，即便是放假。

原译：I don’t have any time,even in holidays.

点评：“即便是放假”是省略说法，补齐了则为“即便是在放假，也没空”。

译成英语时否定应该补上，否则语焉不详。

改译：I don’t have any time,not even in holidays.

12. 他不只一次地对我说到那事。

原译：Not once had he said to me about it.

点评：“不只一次”的英文表达是more than once,once and again。原译中的not once则是“一次也没有、一次也不”。

改译：He said to me about it more than once.

13. 我悄悄靠近那个扒手。

原译：I approached to the shoplifter slowly.

点评：approach表示“靠近某人、某物”时为及物动词，勿需再加介词to。

改译：I approached the shoplifter slowly.

14. 我发现你的工作信心不够。

原译：I found that your working confidence was not enough.

点评：“工作信心”即confidence in one’s work，所谓working confidence乃“中国式英语”。

改译：I found that you didn’t have enough confidence in your work.

15. 现在我在学生面https://www.51lunwen.org/englishpaper.html前不再发抖了。

原译：Now,I no longer tremble before the students.

点评：“原译”是汉语说法的字面英译，语意略嫌含混。

改译：Now,I no longer tremble when I face the students.