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常見中文俗語(yǔ)諺語(yǔ)英譯技巧
1. 人山人海:在詩(shī)詞用語(yǔ)(poetic expression)里,英美人也有使用:“a (the) sea of faces”,頗有咱的“人山人!钡奈兜。例如:Looking out upon the sea of faces, Mr. A delivered a touching speech.(望著一片人山人海的聽眾,A先生發(fā)表一篇?jiǎng)尤说难菡f(shuō)。)Standing at his podium, President Clinton saw a sea of faces waving at him.(克林頓總統(tǒng)站在講臺(tái)上看到人山人海的人群揮手向他致意。)?梢姡f(shuō)話者通常要在臺(tái)上或高處,才有“人!钡母杏X。因此,可以說(shuō):“I saw a sea of faces from the top of the building. ”但在平地的人群中,就不說(shuō):“I saw the sea of faces.” 也不說(shuō):“There is a sea of faces.”只說(shuō):“I saw a large crowd of people.”
2、家家有本難念的經(jīng):有人譯成:“Every family cooking-pot has a black spot.”(意思是:每個(gè)家庭的鍋?zhàn)佣加泻谏奈埸c(diǎn)。)這樣說(shuō)法,英美人恐怕不能充分了解。不過(guò)英美人最常見的說(shuō)法是:“Many families have skeletons in the closet.(許多家庭的衣柜里都有骨骸,骨骸就是指家丑。)”;或者說(shuō):“Every family has its own source of shame.(每個(gè)家庭都有自己的丑事)”;說(shuō)白些,就是:“Every family has its own problem.”
3、天下無(wú)不散的宴席:有人直譯為:“There are no feasts in the world which do not break up at last.” 英美人聽后,也許很難體會(huì)其中意義。如果按照美語(yǔ)說(shuō)法,也許更易理解:“All good things come to an end.(意思是:所有好的事情,總有結(jié)束的一天。)”;假如是指好友最后也有分別的一天,那么可以說(shuō):“Eventually, all bosom friends will drift apart.(bosom friend是指知心的好友)”
4、平時(shí)不燒香,臨時(shí)抱佛腳:有人照字面意思直譯為:“When times are easy, we do not burn the incense, but when the trouble comes, we embrace the feet of the Buddha.”這種說(shuō)法,英美人也會(huì)一知半解。美語(yǔ)里一般說(shuō)法是:“Worship God every day; not just in times of adversity.(要每天敬拜神,不是只在困難時(shí)。)”;對(duì)學(xué)生也可以說(shuō):“If you study hard every day, exams will not seem overwhelming.(如果你每天用功,考試就不會(huì)形成壓力。)”
5、掛羊頭,賣狗肉:有人照字直譯為:“He advertises mutton, but sells dog’s flesh.”或“He hangs up a sheep’s head at the shop front and sells dog meat.”這兩種譯法,恐怕英美人都難理解,尤其談到“狗肉”,他們更會(huì)反感,因?yàn)楣肥撬麄冏類鄣膶櫸,不過(guò)英美人倒有相近的說(shuō)法:“He applied bait-and-switch tactics in business.(他經(jīng)商的策略是先引誘顧客來(lái),再改變貨物的品質(zhì)。
)”,“Bait-and-switch&rdq
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