散文时间即生命英译赏析

时间：2024-10-11 20:44:12 英语笔译我要投稿

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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.”

　　要点：

　　1，“我痛自反省，我发现“汉语流水账式语言又粗线了，结合下文，主要动词为”发现“，因此将”反省“译为非谓语。另外“痛自反省“意即”彻底反省“，此处译为Introspecting with remorse，体现了作者的悔过之心

　　2，earmarked for意为“指定给“，earmark=指定用途，预先安排，拨款，政经类比较常见，如：President Obama Calls for Earmark Reform(总统呼吁进行专项拨款改革)

　　3，“但是我没能这样做。“译为But I’ve failed to do so.fail to do 表”未能做某事“也是正说反译的一种

　　4，“‘少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。’”译为, “One who does not work hard in youth will grieve in vain in old age.”注意，引语要加As the saying goes，(即使原文不说也要加~)，此处的两句诗使用从句连为一句，符合英语行文习惯，也保留了汉语的原意

　　例如我翻译莎士比亚，本来计划于课余之暇每年翻译两部，二十年即可完成，但是我用了三十年，主要的原因是懒。翻译之所以完成，主要的是因为活得相当长久，十分惊险。翻译完成之后，虽然仍有工作计划，但体力渐衰，有力不从心之感。假使年轻的时候鞭策自己，如今当有较好或较多的表现。然而悔之晚矣。

　　Take the translation of Shakespeare for example. I had initially planned to spend 20 years of my spare time in doing the translation, finishing two plays a year. But I spent 30 years instead, due primarily to my slothfulness. The whole project would probably have fallen through had it not been for my fairly long life. After that I had other plans for work, but, because of my approaching senility, somehow I failed to do what I had wished to. Had I spurred myself on in my youth, I would have done more and better work. Alas, it is too late to repent.

　　要点：

　　1，“翻译之所以完成，主要的是因为活得相当长久，十分惊险”的意思是“幸亏自己命长，否则可能完成不了莎士比亚的翻译”。其中“十分惊险”的意思是“险些完成不了”。现全句译为The whole project would probably have fallen through had it not been for my fairly long life。注意本句的虚拟语气哦

　　2，“但体力渐衰，有力不从心之感”译为because of my approaching senility, somehow I failed to do what I had wished to，其中senility指因年迈而导致身心两个方面的衰退.”力不从心“意译为fail to do what one had wished to，较直译更能让读者领会~

　　再例如，作为一个中国人，经书不可不读。我年三十才知道读书自修的重要(5)。我披阅，我圈点。但是恒心不足，时作时辍。

　　Another example. The reading of Chinese classics is a must for all Chinese. But it was not until I was over 30 that I came to realize the importance of self-study in the matter of classics. I did read carefully though, marking words and phrases for special attention with small circles and dots. But my efforts at self-study were off and on.

　　要点：

　　1，“经书不可不读”意即“(读)经书是必须的(事)”，转译为a must,三笔也有相同的例子“除夕的年夜饭是必不可少的程序…”译为Feast dinner is a must for the whole family on the New Year’s eve…

　　2, “我年三十才知道读书自修的重要”中的中的“读书”，根据上下文应指“读经书”，故此句译为came to realize the importance of self-study in the matter of classics，其中in the matter of作in relation to或in regard to(就……而论)解。

　　3，“批阅”“圈点”均采用意译法译为read carefully through(=read through carefully), marking words and phrases for special attention with small circles and dots

　　4, “时作时辍”译为off and on

　　五十以学易，可以无大过矣，我如今年过八十，还没有接触过《易经》，说来惭愧。史书也很重要。我出国留学的时候，我父亲买了一套同文石印的前四史，塞满了我的行箧的一半空间，我在外国混了几年之后又把前四史原封带回来了。直到四十年后才鼓起勇气读了《通鉴》一遍。现在我要读的书太多，深感时间有限。

　　Confucius says, “I shall be free of great faults if I can live long enough to begin the study of Yi at the age of 50.” I feel ashamed to admit that I haven’t even touched Yi though I’m now over 80. Chinese history book are equally important. When I was leaving China to study abroad, father bought a set of the Tong Wenlithographic edition of the First Four Books of History, and crammed them into my travelling box, taking up half of its space. Several years later, however, after drifting along abroad, I returned home carrying with me the same books all unread. It was not until 40 years later that I plucked up enough courage to read through Dong Jian. So many books still remain to be read, and I much regret not having enough time to do it.

　　要点：

　　1，“五十心学易，可以无大过矣”出自《论语述而》中的“子曰，加我数年，五十以学易，可以无大过矣。”其意为“让我再多活几年，到五十岁时去学习《易经》，就可以没有多大的过错了。”现按此意用加字法译Confucius says, “I shall be free of great faults if I can live long enough to begin the study of Yi at the age of 50.”同样，引用古语前要加出处~

　　2，“我如今年过八十，还没有接触过《易经》，说来惭愧“译为 I feel ashamed to admit that I haven’t even touched Yi though I’m now over 80.翻译这种句子时，可以将句子的前半部分“我如今年过八十，还没有接触过《易经》”视为“事实”，将后半句“说来惭愧”视为表明作者态度的“评论”，中文的习惯是“先事实后评论”，而英文则是“先评论后事实”，如”我对总统的来访表示热烈欢迎”译为I warmly welcome Obama’s visit.

　　3, “前四史”指《史记》、《汉书》、《后汉书》以及《三国志》。即The Historical Record, The Book of Han,The Book of Later Han and The Annals of the Three Kingdoms.《通鉴》是指《资治通鉴》即the 294-volume chronicle by Sima Guang.

　　4,”原封不动地带回来“意即”打都没打开过，从没读过“译为returned home carrying with me the same books all unread

　　5，“鼓起勇气“=pluck up one’s courage

　　无论做什么事，健康的身体是基本条件。我在学校读书的时候，有所谓“强迫运动”，我踢破过几双球鞋，打断过几只球拍。因此侥幸维持下来最低限度的体力。老来打过几年太极拳，目前则以散步活动筋骨而已。寄语年轻朋友，千万要持之以恒的从事运动，这不是嬉戏，不是浪费时间。健康的身体是作人做事的真正的本钱。

　　Whatever you do, you need a sound body first of all. In my school days, in response to the so-called “compulsory physical exercises”, I went in for many sports at the expense of many pairs of sneakers and rackets, thus luckily building up a minimum of good physique. When I was approaching old age, I did Tai ji quan (shadow boxing) for several years. Now I only do some walking exercises. Dear young friends, my advice to you is: Do physical exercises perseveringly. That has nothing to do with merry-making or time- wasting. Good health is the wherewithal for a successful life and career.

　　要点：

　　1，“我在学校读书的时候，有所谓“强迫运动”，我踢破过几双球鞋，打断过几只球拍。因此侥幸维持下来最低限度的体力“.又是流水账式的散句，需要合译~译者将其意思做了转译，将“‘强迫运动’”看成原因，“踢破几双球鞋”看做结果，故译为In my school days, in response to the so-called “compulsory physical exercises”, I went in for many sports at the expense of many pairs of sneakers and rackets, thus luckily building up a minimum of good physique.其中 in response to和 at the expense of是为了连句的需要而产生的增译

　　2,”寄语“即”忠告“，译为advice

　　3, “健康的身体是作人做事的真正的本钱”译为Good health is the wherewithal for a successful life and career，其中the wherewithal意同the necessary means(必要的资金、手段等)。又“作人做事”指“生活”与“事业”两方面，故参照上下文译为a successful life and career

　　作者简介

　　梁实秋，原名治华，字实秋，1903年1月6日出生于北京，浙江杭县（今杭州）人。笔名子佳、秋郎、程淑等。中国著名的散文家、学者、文学批评家、翻译家，国内第一个研究莎士比亚的权威，曾与鲁迅等左翼作家笔战不断。一生给中国文坛留下了两千多万字的著作，其散文集创造了中国现代散文著作出版的最高纪录。代表作《莎士比亚全集》（译作）等。

　　1923年8月赴美留学，取得哈佛大学文学硕士学位。1926年回国后，先后任教于国立东南大学（东南大学前身）、国立青岛大学（中国海洋大学前身）并任外文系主任。1949年到台湾，任台湾师范学院英语系教授。1987年11月3日病逝于台北，享年84岁。

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