中级高级口译翻译技巧(八)
否定的翻译技巧
1) 可以译成肯定的否定句型
*not a few ,not a little.相当于many 或 much 的意思,也可译为肯定
There are not a few good sentences in his composition.
他的作文里有许多佳句
There is not a little water in the jar.
罐子里有很多水
*某些含有cannot的结构,也可译成肯定
You can't be too careful when you do your homework.
你做作业时,越仔细越好
*含有双重否定的结构可以译为肯定
We can't live without air and water.
有了空气和水,我们才能生存
2) 否定转移时的翻译技巧
注:在动词think ,believe ,expect ,suppose ,trust, hope ,imagine ,fancy以及be afraid 短语后,如有从句时,原文否定主语动词,翻译时一般进行否定转换,否定从句
Our teacher did not believe this was possible but he agreed he would study the matter.
我们老师认为这是不可能的,但他同意研究这一现象
3) no…..unless译成双重否定 "没…没.."
There are no sound waves unless there is sound.
如果没有声音,也就没有声波
4) In the absence of 与 not , no , nothing 连用时,译成"没有…, 不…"
In the absence of gravity , we could do nothing.
要是没有地心引力的话, 我们就什么也不能做
5)"never…without"译成汉语的肯定语气:"每当……总是"
Heat can never be converted into a certain energy without some thing lost.
热能每当转换成某种能量时,总是有些损耗
5) but for 与其他否定词no, not , nothing 连用时,译成"要不是……就没有"
But for substances, there would be nothing in the world.
要是没有物质的话,世界上就什么东西也不存在了
要不是有物质的话,世界上就没有什么东西了
以上两种翻法都可以
6) nothing but 仅仅,只不过
anything but 决非
He is nothing but modest. 他只不过是谦虚
He is anything but modest. 他一点也不谦虚
<补充练习>
At no time and under no circumstances will
China be the first to use nuclear weapons.
中国在任何时候和任何情况下,都不首先使用核武器
At the time when capacitor voltage is equal to the source voltage , no more current flows.
当电容电压等于电源电压时,就不再有电流流动
In the case of two solids , friction does not vary much with the velocity of the sliding motion ; but as regards fluids, friction resistance varies much more rapidly with speed.
就两个固体来说,摩擦力不会随滑动速度发生显著变化,但对液体来说,摩擦阻力会随速度而发生急剧的变化
* On August 6,1997, when 55,000 people gathered in Hiroshima to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the devastating bombing that killed an estimated 140,000 people and brought World War II to a sudden halt , the city's newly elected mayor broke with tradition by adding a few uncustomary lines to the annual Peace Declaration . It should also be recalled , he declared , that " Japan inflicted great suffering and despair on
the peoples of Asia and the Pacific during its reign of colonial domination and war . For this we are truly sorry." Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Japanese assault on the U,S., he added, "Remembering all too well the horror of this war , starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor and ending with the atom-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are determined anew to work for world peace." Usually , in Japan , when people discuss the war at all, they speak of victimization by the militarists who led the country into battle and by the Americans who bombed their cities. The suffering inflicted by the imperial army on the people of Asia is ignored , as is Japan's aggression in China and at Pearl Harbor . The appealing image of Japan the victim has no room for the underside of Japan the aggressor.
1997年8月6日,55,000人在广岛集会,纪念原子弹事件46周年.毁灭性的原子弹致使约14万人丧命,扼止了二次大战的战火.广岛市新当选的市长打破传统,在年度<<和平宣言>>中增加了不寻常内容. 他宣称人们应该牢记"日本在对亚洲和太平洋地区实行侵略和殖民统治期间,给这些地区的人民带来了苦难和绝望,为此我们深感内疚."谈及50年前日本袭击美国事件,他补充到:"对可怕的二次大战, 我们仍记忆忧新,从日本偷袭珍珠港开始,到广岛,长崎原子弹爆炸告终.我们决心为世界和平继续奋斗." 在日本,只要提到战争,就会讲到受害,讲他们是军国主义的受害者,军国主义把国家引入战争;他们是美国的受害者,美国向他们的城市投掷了原子弹.然而他们闭口不谈皇军给亚洲人民带来的灾难,也不谈对华侵略,偷袭珍珠港.日本作为战争的受害者,形象很感人,从而掩盖了其侵略者的一面.