The weakness of domestication is that the original cultural flavors are not communicated to our readers and the translation becomes a \
It should be emphasized that many English and Chinese expressions may seem similar in form, but they are actually different in meaning or in shades of implication. Translators should guard against these \friends\the resulting mistakes (see the \
Examples:
1). Give him an inch and he will take a mile. 2). like a cat on hot bricks
3). spring (shoot) up like mushrooms
4). The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 5). have one foot in the grave 6). carry coals to Newcastle
7). lion in the way (来自《圣经》) 拦路虎 8). Seeing is believing.
9). What's done is done. (Shakespeare)
10). When Greek meets Greek then comes the tug of war. (谚语) 两雄相遇，其斗必烈。
12. Semantic Translation
Semantic translation means reproducing the precise contextual meaning of the English culture-loaded expression within the syntactic and semantic constraints of the Chinese language. Wemay employ the method of concretization\(具体法) or \(抽象法) to paraphrase the expression. Semantic translation is employed often after the failure of \translation\\translation\In many cases we find it difficult to translate them unless we refer to contexts or consult dictionaries. Examples:
1). apple of discord
(来自希腊神话) 不和的种子；争吵的根源 2). escape by (with) the skin of one's teeth (来自《圣经》) 死里逃生；幸免于难 3). hole-and-corner
(来自《圣经》) 偷偷摸摸；鬼鬼祟祟 4). as poor as Job
(来自《圣经》) 一贫如洗（穷得象约伯一样） 5). By George!
天啊！好家伙！糟糕！(used as an exclamation of surprise or approval.)
e.g. It couldn't be, by George, that she was deceiving him. (Th. Dreiser: Sister Carrie) 6). Mickey Mouse (= small and unimportant; not to be taken seriously, LDCE 1998: 952)
e.g. ·A \Mickey Mouse course\
· He calls himself the managing director but his company is just a Mickey Mouse operation that he runs from his own home. (LDCE 1998: 952) 7). in for a penny, in for a pound
(= if something has been started it should be finished, whatever the cost may be,
LDCE 1998: 1108) e.g. Now gentlemen, I am not a man who does things by halves, being in for a penny,
I am ready, as the saying is, in for a pound. (The Curiosity Shop) 8). bite off more than one can chew
(= attempt more than one can deal with or succeed in finishing, LDCE 1998: 130) e.g. I told him he would be biting off more than he could chew if he tried to rebuild the house himself, (ibid) 9). be in good company
(= be able to take comfort from the fact that many other [skilled or clever] people are the same as yourself, esp. in not being able to do something, Longman Dictionary of English Idioms, 1979)
e.g. —\
—\ in good company— neither can I!\10). a square peg in a round hole
(= someone who is not suited to the job they hold, the group they belong to, LDCE 1998: 1489)
e.g. Horace hated his work in the office as he had always worked out of doors; he was
a square peg in a round hole.
13. Affixation
Affixation is an important means of coining new English words and technical terms, with prefix and suffix as inseparable elements, of the words being coined. The advantage of affixation is evident: it is the most flexible means of forming new words and its potential of creation is almost boundless, therefore it is extensively used in the formation of technical terms. Besides prefix and suffix of English origin, there are some foreign borrowings, noticeably the Latin ones, e.g. bio-(生命、生物), thermo-（热）, electro-(电), aero-(空气) carbo-(碳), hydro-(水), -ite(矿物), -mania(热，狂), etc. If we are familiar with these prefixes and suffixes, many technical terms of such formation can be translated appropriately. The following are some typical examples. · miniultrasonicprober = mini + ultra +sonic +prober 微型超声波金属探测仪 · macrospacetransship = macro +space + trans + ship 巨型空间转运飞船 · teletypesetter = tele + type + setter 电传排字机
· bathythermograph = bathy +thermo + graph 海水测温仪 · barothermograph = baro + thermo + graph 气压温度记录器 · deoxyribonucleic = de + oxy + ribo + nucleic 脱氧核糖核 · photomorphogenesis = photo +morpho + genesis 光形态发生
14. Compounding
Two or more words combined to form a new word is called compounding. English technical terms formed by compounding generally take three forms: combining with a hyphen (e. g. salt-former 卤素, dew-point 露点, pulse-scaler 脉冲定标器) or without it (e.g. fallout 放射性尘埃, waterlock 水闸, thunderstorm 雷暴) or two or more separate words forming a word combination (e. g. verbal translator 逐字翻译机, hover craft 气垫船, satellite antimissile observation system 卫星反导弹观察系统).
Most of such compound words may be translated literally, i.e. put the Chinese equivalents of the separate elements together and we get the Chinese equivalents of the compound words. Sometimes, however, there are exceptions. For example, bull's eye, cat-and-mouse, dog house etc.—literal translation in tackling such terms may lead astray. Therefore whenever we are confronted with unfamiliar terms and are not sure of their meaning, we should frequently consult dictionaries of relevant specialties. In many cases some additional explanations are needed to make the original meaning clear and accurate.
15. Blending
This is a variant of compounding, omitting the latter part of the first word and clipping off the first part of the second word. Sometimes, however, either the first part or the second part of the overlapped word may be a full word. Generally speaking, this blending of words possesses the combined meaning of both, therefore, literal translation is used in translating such terms, with one element modifying the other. ·smog = smoke + fog
·telex = teleprinter + exchange ·gravisphere = gravity + sphere ·medicare = medical + care ·biorhythm == biological +rhythm ·copytron == copy + electron
16. Acronym
An acronym is a word made up from the first letters of the name of something. Since it is very convenient to use this brief form, acronym is widely adopted in English technical terms. With the rapid development of science and technology, more and
more acronyms are extensively used in various fields, therefore, it is up to the translator to discern their actual meaning in different context. · ADP automatic data processing
· AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome · EDPM electronic data processing machine · GSV guided space vehicle
· Laser light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation · RAM random access memory
Sometimes, an acronym happens to be a significant English word, or it may possess more than one meaning. In this case, special attention is necessary to pick out the proper one.
MOUSE minimum orbital unmanned satellite of the earth SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Talks SNAP subsystem for nuclear auxiliary power space nuclear auxiliary power
systems for nuclear auxiliary power AS air scoop air seasoned air speed air station American Standard atmosphere and space automatic sprinkler automatic synchronizer
第二部分 常用翻译技巧
英汉两种语言在句法、词汇、修辞等方面均存在着很大的差异，因此在进行英汉互译时必然会遇到很多困难，需要有一定的翻译技巧作指导。常用的翻译技巧有增译法、省译法、转换法、拆句法、合并法、正译法、反译法、倒置法、包孕法、插入法、重组法和综合法等。
1增译法：指根据英汉两种语言不同的思维方式、语言习惯和表达方式，在翻译时增添一
些词、短句或句子，以便更准确地表达出原文所包含的意义。这种方式多半用在汉译英里。汉语无主句较多，而英语句子一般都要有主语，所以在翻译汉语无主句的时候，除了少数可用英语无主句、被动语态或\be…\结构来翻译以外，一般都要根据语境补出主语，使句子完整。英汉两种语言在名词、代词、连词、介词和冠词的使用方法上也存在很大差别。英语中代词使用频率较高，凡说到人的器官和归某人所有的或与某人有关的事物时，必须在前面加上物主代词。因此，在汉译英时需要增补物主代词，而在英译汉时又需要根据情况适当地删减。英语词与词、词组与词组以及句子与句子的逻辑关系一般用连词来表示，而汉语则往往通过上下文和语序来表示这种关系。因此，在汉译英时常常需要增补连词。英语句子
离不开介词和冠词。另外，在汉译英时还要注意增补一些原文中暗含而没有明言的词语和一些概括性、注释性的词语，以确保译文意思的完整。总之，通过增译，一是保证译文语法结构的完整，二是保证译文意思的明确。如： （1）What about calling him right away?
马上给他打个电话，你觉得如何？ （增译主语和谓语） （2）If only I could see the realization of the four modernizations. 要是我能看到四个现代化实现该有多好啊！（增译主句） (3) Indeed, the reverse is true 实际情况恰好相反。（增译名词）
(4) 就是法西斯国家本国的人民也被剥夺了人权。
Even the people in the fascist countries were stripped of their human rights.（增译物主代词） （5）只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯。
While the magistrates were free to burn down house, the common people were forbidden to
light lamps. （增译连词）
（6）这是我们两国人民的又一个共同点。
This is yet another common point between the people of our two countries.（增译介词） （7）在人权领域，中国反对以大欺小、以强凌弱。
In the field of human rights, China opposes the practice of the big oppressing the small and the strong bullying the weak.（增译暗含词语）
（8）三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮。
Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang the mastermind.（增译注释性词语）
2. 省译法：这是与增译法相对应的一种翻译方法，即删去不符合目标语思维习惯、语言习
惯和表达方式的词，以避免译文累赘。增译法的例句反之即可。又如： （1）You will be staying in this hotel during your visit in Beijing. 你在北京访问期间就住在这家饭店里。（省译物主代词） (2) I hope you will enjoy your stay here. 希望您在这儿过得愉快。（省译物主代词） （3）中国政府历来重视环境保护工作。
The Chinese government has always attached great importance to environmental protection. (省译名词)
3转换法：指翻译过程中为了使译文符合目标语的表述方式、方法和习惯而对原句中的词
类、句型和语态等进行转换。具体的说，就是在词性方面，把名词转换为代词、形容词、动词；把动词转换成名词、形容词、副词、介词；把形容词转换成副词和短语。在句子成分方面，把主语变成状语、定语、宾语、表语；把谓语变成主语、定语、表语；把定语变成状语、主语；把宾语变成主语。在句型方面，把并列句变成复合句，把复合句变成并列句，把状语从句变成定语从句。在语态方面，可以把主动语态变为被动语态。如： (1) 我们学院受教委和市政府的双重领导。
Our institute is co-administrated by the States Education Commission and the municipal government. (名词转动词)
（2）Too much exposure to TV programs will do great harm to the eyesight of children. 孩子们看电视过多会大大地损坏视力。(名词转动词)