谈结婚A Chat about Marriage

郁达夫Yu Dafu

| 译文摘自张培基《英译中国散文选一》

前些日子,林语堂先生似乎曾说过女子的唯一事业,是在结婚。现在一位法国大文豪来沪,对去访问他的新闻记者的谈话之中,又似乎说,男子欲成事业,应该不要结婚。
The other day, Mr. Lin Yutang said something to the effect that women’s only career lies in matrimony. Now, an eminent French writer declared at a press interview after arriving in Shanghai that men should stay bachelors if they want to achieve success in life.

要点:
1,“似乎曾说过”意即“说过一些话,大意是…”译为said something to the effect that,其中,to the effect意为”大意是…“如:To his inquiry if she were hurt, she made some incoherent reply to the effect that she did not know.
他问她是否受了伤,她语无伦次地回答说,她也不知道
2,“现在一位法国大文豪来沪,对去访问他的新闻记者的谈话之中“译为an eminent French writer declared at a press interview after arriving in Shanghai,又是一个多动词的句子,译者将”谈话“作为主要动词,”来沪“译为状语~而且省去了译“去访问他的新闻记者”的繁琐,直接以press interview代替,简洁~
3,“男子欲成事业,应该不要结婚。”运用反话正译的手法,译为men should stay bachelors if they want to achieve success in life.这样一来,不仅行文简洁,也保证了原文的语气~

综述:注意本段这个多动句(就是这个多动词句)的译法以及反话正说

华盛顿-欧文是一个独身的男子,但《见闻短记》里的一篇歌颂妻子的文章,却写得那么的优美可爱。同样查而斯-兰姆也是个独身的男子,而爱丽娅《独身者的不平》一篇,又冷嘲热讽,将结婚的男女和婚后必然的果子—小孩们—等,俏皮到了那一步田地。
Washington Irving was a confirmed bachelor, but in his Sketch Book there is an article extolling the wife as a graceful and lovely life-long partner. Charles Lamb, also a single man, in A Bachelor’s Complaint of the Behavior of Married People, one of his essays signed “Elia”, speaks mockingly of married people with their inevitable postnuptial fruits-the children.

要点:
1,“华盛顿-欧文是一个独身的男子,但《见闻短记》里的一篇歌颂妻子的文章,却写得那么的优美可爱”译为Washington Irving was a confirmed bachelor, but in his Sketch Book there is an article extolling the wife as a graceful and lovely life-long partner.合译方法一:分句主语不同要统一主语(不要问我没有主语怎么办,找啊~,之后合并为一句
2,“同样查而斯-兰姆也是个独身的男子…”注意译者翻译这句话时对于同位语的运用~在表明”事物内容和人物身份“的成分过多时,可以用同位语,但要注意不要太多,不然会晕~
3,《独身者的不平》为《爱丽亚散文集》中的一篇

综述: 注意本段的合译技巧以及同位语的使用

究竟是结婚的好呢,还是不结婚的好?这问题似乎同先有鸡呢还是先有鸡蛋一样,常常有人提起,而也常常没有人解决过的问题。照大体看来,想租房子的时候,是无眷莫问的,想做官的时候,又是朝里无裙莫做官的,想写文章的时候,是独身者不能写我的妻的,凡此种种似乎都是结婚的好。
Marriage or no marriage, which is more desirable? The sounds like the chicken-and egg question, which, though often discussed, remains a perpetual puzzle. Generally speaking, one who has no family dependants is not supposed to rent a house, one who has no petticoat influence in the government should refrain from becoming an official, an unmarried male writer is in no position to write about “my wife”. All these seem to hint at the advantages of marriage.

要点:
1,“究竟是结婚的好呢,还是不结婚的好?“是个如假包换的选择疑问句,用which~
2, “这问题似乎同先有鸡呢还是先有鸡蛋一样”译为The sounds like the chicken-and- egg question, 其中chicken-and –question,意为“鸡与蛋孰先难定“或”因果难定“,了解一些俗语成语,可以大大减少译文所用字数,提高简洁度•
3,“常常没有人解决过的问题“译为remains a perpetual puzzle.反话正说再次出现~童鞋们可以总结起来
4,“想租房子的时候,是无眷莫问的 “意为”没有家属就不能租房“译为he who has no family dependants is not supposed to rent a house,合译方法二:看看意思能不能合并或者用关联词串起来,根据意思顺成一句话。
5,“想做官的时候,又是朝里无裙莫做官的“译为one who has no petticoat influence in the government should refrain from becoming an official,“朝里无裙”是指在官场上没有靠山,没有裙带关系。“裙“指裙带关系,译为petticoat influence
6,“想写文章的时候,是独身者不能写我的妻的”中的“独身者”指“独身男作家”,译为unmarried male writer
7,“凡此种种似乎都是结婚的好”意即“这一切似乎都暗示了结婚的好处”

综述:本段出现了三个关于“不能做某事”的表述,refrain from我们在《话说短文》中也有见到哦~积累积累积累~

可是要想结婚,第一要有钱,第二要有闲,第三要有职,这潘驴…的五个条件,却也很不容易办到。更何况结婚之后,“儿子自己要来”,在这世界人口过剩,经济恐慌,教育破产,世风不古的时候,万一不慎,同兰姆所说的一样,儿子们去上了断头台,那真是连祖宗三代的楣都要倒尽,那里还有什么“官人请!娘子请!”的唱随之乐可说呢?
But , to get married, you need to have five prerequisites, namely, money, leisure, employment, good looks and patentees, of which all are not always available. What’s more, after your marriage, your offspring will come to this world of themselves. And in a world with overpopulation, economic crisis, educational bankruptcy and deteriorating public morals, they may, just as Charles Lamb says, through their own acts of indiscretion, be sent to the gallows. With such a terrible misfortune befalling your family, how could you still have wedded bliss to speak of?

要点:
1,“潘驴”源自《金瓶梅》第三回,指“潘安的貌”和“驴大行货”,也就是说要有姣好的相貌和有实力。专属中国古典文化词,有些读者根本不知道潘安是何许人。而关于中国文化的翻译,有三种译法,一是在西方文化语境中找一个能与之相对的典故;二是音译“潘驴”一词,并在最后加注解释(即之前讲到的释义法);三是转为译出关键意思。译文采取第三种译法,“good looks and potentness”。避免了使用释义法,保证文章流畅性~
2,“却也很不容易办到”意即“却也不易都具备”,译为of which all are not always available
3,“儿子自己要来”译为your offspring will come to this world of themselves,of theme=automatically,此外,“儿子”指的就是“后代”的意思~
4,世风=public moral之前在《我坐了木船中》也粗线过~
5,“万一不慎”译为through their own acts of indiscretion意为“由于他们自己的不检点/鲁莽”~
6,“倒祖宗三代的楣”算是中国的俗语了,一种夸张的说法,表示特别倒霉。这里的“三”只是一个虚数。中国文化中,往往在骂人时候喜欢把祖宗加在里面,加强语气强度。这里张爷爷用family一词,既满足了中文的“达意”,又符合西方人的价值观~
7,“’官人请!娘子请!’的唱随之乐“译为wedded bliss(闺房之乐),看古装的小伙伴都知道“官人”、“娘子”,是中国古代夫妻之间相互称谓的词,这也是中国独有的,不宜直译~

综述:有关中国传统文化的表述,也是考试中比较常见的,本段介绍了三中译法,童鞋们在平时练习时可以用啦~

左思右想,总觉得结婚也不好的,不结婚也是不好的。
Thinking the matter over and over again, I cannot but come to the conclusion that neither matrimony nor bachelorship has anything to recommend itself.

要点:
1,“左思右想“=”思考再三“,”再三”这个词之前也见过很多遍,可以译为repeatedly ,over and over again, again and again, time and again, time after time~
2,” 总觉得”意即“我的结论是”“我得出了一个结论”~
3,“结婚也不好的,不结婚也是不好的”句中多个否定,用“否定词+ nor”~

综述:本段相较前面几段而言,比较容易~根据要点回顾下以前的知识即可~

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