第三讲 增词译法和减词译法

Adding Words (Amplification 增词译法) 英汉两种语言，由于表达方式不尽相同，翻译时既可能将词类转换，有时候也可能将词量增减。 增词法就是在翻译时按意义上、修辞上或句法上的需要增加一些词来更忠实、通顺地表达原文思想内容。这当然不是无中生有地随意乱加，而是增加原文中虽无其词却有其义的一些词。

Adding verbs （一）英译汉常用的增译法 e.g. There were no speeches, no foreign diplomats, no “ordinary Chinese” with paper flags and flowers. — 没有发表讲话，没有各国外交官到场，也没有“中国群众”挥舞纸旗和花束的场面。 e.g. After the banquets, the concerts, and the table tennis exhibitions, he would work on the drafting of the final communiqué. — 参加完宴会，出席过音乐会，观看了乒乓球表演赛之后，他还得起草最后公报。 e.g. I’m really busy this morning: 2 classes, a meeting, and an interview. — 我今天上午的确很忙，要上两节课，开一个会，还要接受一个采访。

Adding adjectives e.g. With what enthusiasm the Beijingers are studying foreign languages! — 北京的人们正以多么高的热情学习外语啊！ e.g. What a day/life! — 多么热（ 冷/难熬/幸福/悲惨 ）的一天/生活啊！

Adding adverbs e.g. How the little girl looked after her old mother! — 那个小女孩照顾她的年迈的母亲是多么地细心周到啊！ e.g. The crowd melted away. — 人群渐渐地散去了。 e.g. As he began talking, words poured out. — 他一开讲，就滔滔不绝地讲个没完。

Adding nouns After the intransitive verb e.g. Be sure to wash before meal. — 饭前一定要洗手。 e.g. Doesn’t she wash after getting up? — 起床后她难道不洗漱（洗脸刷牙）吗？ e.g. He sometimes forgets to wash before going to bed. — 他有时忘记洗脚就上床睡觉。 e.g. Day after day she does the same: washing, sweeping, and cooking. — 她日复一日地做着同样的家务：洗衣服，拖地板，做饭。

e.g. The radio is indeed cheap and fine. — 这台收音机真是物美价廉。 Before the adjective e.g. The radio is indeed cheap and fine. — 这台收音机真是物美价廉。 e.g. She is a complicated girl – moody, sensitive and skeptical. — 她是个性格复杂的人：喜怒无常，多愁善感，疑神疑鬼。

e.g. After all preparations were made, the sports meet began. After the abstract noun e.g. After all preparations were made, the sports meet began. — 一切准备工作就绪后，运动会开始了。 e.g. In the summer of 1969, the government publicly urged an easing of tensions with China. — 一九六九年夏天，政府公开主张缓和与中国的紧张关系。

After the concrete noun e.g. He felt the patriot rise within his breast. — 他感到胸中涌起了一股爱国热情。 e.g. He allowed the father to be overruled by the judge, and declared his own son guilty. — 法官的职责战胜了父子之情，他最终判决自己的儿子有罪。

Adding words which indicate the plural form 汉语中名词的复数没有词型变化，很多情况下不必表达出来，但要表达指多数人的名词时，可用“们”，如“老师们，同学们”，或在名词前加“各位／诸位” 或独立使用“大家”；表达事物的复数时可用“若干”等。此外，英语名词复数汉译时还可根据情况，增加重叠词、数词或其他一些词来表达，以提高修辞效果。 增加重叠词表示复数 e.g. Flowers bloom in the fields. — 朵朵鲜花开满原野。 e.g. Every summer, tourists go to the coastal cities. — 一到夏季，旅游者纷纷涌到海滨城市。 e.g. Rows of new houses have been set up. — 一排排的新房建成了。

e.g. The lion is the king of animals. — 狮子是百兽之王。 增加数词或其它词表示复数 汉语中有些数字词汇在文中并不表示具体的数字，只是表示“多，众多”的意思，如百（百花齐放，百家争鸣，百鸟朝凤，百感交集）、千（千篇一律，千人一面，千方百计）、万（万众一心，万紫千红，万水千山，千难万险）等；还有些词，如: 群、众、历、丛等也表示数量的多： e.g. The lion is the king of animals. — 狮子是百兽之王。 e.g. The mountains were covered with snow. — 群山白雪皑皑。 e.g. The crowd made a way for him. — 众人给他闪开了一条道。

Adding unit words e.g. I bought a new bike yesterday. — 我昨天买了一辆新自行车。 英语中的名词，特别是可数名词，一般直接与数词或冠词连用；而汉语几乎总是要用量词。 e.g. I bought a new bike yesterday. — 我昨天买了一辆新自行车。 e.g. A red sun rose slowly from the calm sea. — 一轮红日在平静的海面上冉冉升起。 quantifier SPECIALIZED a word or phrase which is used before a noun to show the amount of it that is being considered: 'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.

e.g. Once they quarreled bitterly. — 有次他们大吵了一架。 英语中有些动词或动作名词，译成汉语时常需增加一些表示行为、动作的动量词。 e.g. Shall we have a rest? — 我们休息一下好吗？ e.g. Once they quarreled bitterly. — 有次他们大吵了一架。 e.g. I had a look at the photo and recognized her at once. — 我看了一眼照片，马上就认出了她。

Adding words which indicate the tense 英语动词的时态是靠动词词型变化和加 动词来表达的。汉语动词没有时态变化，表 达时态时除用具体表示时间的词或词组，如 昨天、此时此刻、下周、２０年前等，还要 借助于时态助词“曾、已经、过、了／正在、 着、／将、就、要、会、便”被用来表示过去 ／现在／将来发生的动作或存在的状态。

e.g. I had heard about him before I met him. — 我在见到他之前就听说过他了。 对时间概念作强调时，往往加词翻译。 e.g. I had heard about him before I met him. — 我在见到他之前就听说过他了。 e.g. Once I was his boss ,but now he is mine. — 我曾一度是他的上司；不过现在是他领导我。 强调时间的对比时，要加词翻译。 e.g. They say his father was a fisherman. He used to be as poor as we are. — 听人说，从前他爸爸是个打鱼的。他过去也跟我们现在一样穷。

Adding auxiliary words which indicate the tone 汉语中有许多语气助词，如：的、吧、呢、 呀、吗、嘛、啦、了、罢了、而已等。在英译 汉时，要细心体味原文，使用汉语语气助词，更 好地表达原文的修辞色彩。 e.g. Don’t take it so seriously. I just make fun of you. — 不要当真嘛！我不过是跟你开玩笑罢了。 e.g. As for me, I have nothing to say. — 我呢，也没有什么可说的了。

Adding words which are syntactically omitted in the source text 问答句 e.g. — Is this your book? — Yes, it is. — 这是你的书吗？ — 是我的。 e.g. — what? Don’t you love him? — Yes, of course I do. — 什么？难道你不爱他？— 我当然爱他！ 排比句 e.g. “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man…” — “读书使人充实，讨论使人机智，笔记使人准确。”（培根:《论读书》王佐良译）

e.g. Better to be wise by the defeat of others than by your own. 比较句 e.g. Better to be wise by the defeat of others than by your own. — 从别人的失败中吸取教训比从自己的失败中吸取教训更好。 e.g. The villagers are as ready to look after her as they were their own daughter. — 村民们愿意照顾她，正如他们愿意照顾自己的女儿一样。

— 肯尼迪遇刺时，人们认为，假如他再任一届总统的话，大概不是功高盖世，就是祸国殃民。 隐含条件句 e.g. At the time of Kennedy’s assassination, people thought that a second term would have led either to greatness or to disaster. — 肯尼迪遇刺时，人们认为，假如他再任一届总统的话，大概不是功高盖世，就是祸国殃民。 e.g. But without Adolf Hitler, there almost certainly would never have been a Third Reich. — 然而如果没有希特勒，那就几乎可以肯定没有第三帝国。

A human being transported from the year 1900 to our time would recognize much of what goes on in today’s classrooms—the prevalent lecturing, the emphasis on drill, and the materials and activities ranging from the basic reader to the weekly spelling tests.

如果让生活在1900年的人来到我们这个时代，他会辨认出我们当前课堂里发生的许多事情——那盛行的讲座、对操练的强调、从基础读本到每周的拼写测试在内的教学材料和教学活动。

But in 2010 a government advisory group estimated that removing man-made fine particulate matter from the atmosphere would increase life expectancy for those born in 2008 by an average of six months. 但2010年，一个政府顾问组估算如果将大气中人为造成的微粒物质除去的话，2008年的出生人口人均寿命将增加六个月。

Adding words which indicate the textual / social context e.g. In April, there was the “ping” heard around the world. In July, the ping “ponged”. 如只照原文译出“四月份，全世界听到乒的一声；七月里，这乒声乓了一下。”读者肯定不知所云。根据中美建交的背景知识，把这段外交史话译为： — 四月里，全世界听到中国乒的一声把球打了出去；到了七月，美国乓的一声把球打了回来。 e.g. Mao and Zhou learned that Nixon had the desire for a visit. — 毛泽东和周恩来获悉尼克松有访华的念头。

Adding summarizing words 英汉语中都有概括词。对应译成“总之”“等等”即可。但有时英语句子中并无概括词，而翻译时往往要加上一些词，而省掉英语中的连接词： e.g. The foreign ministers of China, Russia, Japan and the U.S. met in Tokyo. — 中、俄、日、美四国外长在东京会晤。 e.g. China is willing to exchange views with any countries, politically, culturally and economically. —中国愿意同任何国家在政治、文化、经济等各个方面进行交流。

Adding linking words e.g. Yes, he likes football. Lots of people do these days. Sort of the fashion, maybe. —不错，他喜欢足球。现今很多人喜欢足球。这似乎是种时髦。 e.g. You have made a mistake, and a serious one. —你犯了一个错误，而且还是个严重错误。

（二）汉译英常用的增译法 A．增词明确原意 1. 我早晨起床后的第一件事是收拾房间。 The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is to tidy up the room. 2. 意大利著名旅行家马可·波罗曾这样叙述他印象中的杭州：…… A famous ancient Italian traveler, Marco Polo, once described his impressions of Hangzhou like this: …… 3. 台湾是中国的领土。 Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.

4. 饭店现有三个餐厅和一个贵宾间，240个座位。 The restaurant now has three dining rooms and a VIP room with a total of 240 seats. 5. 狠抓管理，安全生产。 We should improve management and ensure safe production. 6. 月亮升得高高的，明亮犹如银盘。 The moon rose high, shining as brightly as a silver plate. 7. 突然电话铃响了。母亲让我回去送弟弟去医院看病。 Suddenly the telephone rang. It was my mother calling me. She wanted me to go home and take my brother to hospital.

8. 对确有困难的中西部地区和老工业基地，中央财政将继续给予支持。 In the case of the enterprises of western and central China and old industrial bases that are in real financial difficulties, the central government will continue to offer financial help. 9. 有条件的地方要率先实现现代化。 The areas with suitable conditions must take the lead in achieving modernization. 10. 该公司的主要经营范围包括：… … The business scope of the company covers the following areas: … …

B．增词使结构完整 1. 收效可能来得慢，但是有把握，而且是巨大的。 The rewards may come slowly, but they are sure and tremendous. 2. 我们应当逐步消灭城乡差别。 We should gradually eliminate the difference between city and country. 3. 我吃得不多，睡得不好。 I am unable to eat much or sleep soundly. 4. 他生来富于同情心，总是乐于帮助别人。 She is sympathetic by nature and is always ready to help others.

5. 新婚夫妇有数十位宾客陪同，坐着汽车到新房去了。 The newly wedded couple, accompanied by dozens of guests, went to their chamber by car. 6. 全国人民总体上实现了由温饱向小康的跨越。 The Chinese people nationwide have developed from the stage of having enough to eat and wear to that of living a better-off life. 7. 明朝的时候，这座城市成了一个繁荣的港口。 In the Ming Dynasty the city became a flourishing port. 8. 沿着南京路向东走，走到尽头，是靠黄浦江江岸的一个很美的地区。 Walking eastward along Nanjing Road, one finally comes to a very beautiful area bordering the bank of the Huangpu River.

C. 增加代词 1. 小不忍则乱大谋。 If one is not patient in small thing, one will never be able to control great ventures. 2. 交出翻译之前，必须读几遍，看看有没有要修改的地方，这样你才能把工作做好。 Before handing in your translation, you have to read it over and over again and see if there is anything in it to be corrected or improved. Only thus can you do your work well. 3. 没有调查就没有发言权。 He who makes no investigation and study has no right to speak. 又如：“又要马儿跑得快, 又要马儿不吃草, 简直可笑。” You want the horse to run fast and yet you don’t let it graze. Isn’t it ridiculous!

4. 别把手搁在口袋里。 Don’t put your hands in your pockets. 5. 一天天冷起来了。 It is getting colder day by day. 6 尝试而失败还是比不尝试好。 It is better to try and fail than never try at all. 7. 你三星期完成这项设计不容易。 It was not easy for you to finish this design in three weeks. 8. 把钟拆开比把它装起来容易。 It is easier to take a clock apart than to put it together again.

Cutting words ( Omission 省略法) Opposite to the principle of amplification, omission is however not contradictory to it. On contrary, omission supplementary to amplification, omits what is considered necessary and indispensable in English may be deemed useless, superfluous and even encumbrance. This principle makes the version brief, concise and clear.

省略词语决不是随意删节原文的词语，而是省略在译文看来可有可无的、多余的、或是意义隐含在上下文里的词语，目的是为了使原文的意义能够得到正确地理解，在译文中准确再现原文。

（一）英译汉时常用的省略 From the Grammatical Aspect Cutting pronoun Cutting the pronoun as subject 1. 根据汉语习惯，后句主语若与前句相同，不必重复出现。 e.g. But it’s the way I am, and try as I might, I haven’t been able to change it. 不过我就是这个脾气，虽然竭力想改，终究还是改不了。

2. 泛指人称代词作主语时，即便是第一个主语， 也往往省略掉。 e.g. You can never tell. — 不知道/谁也没把握/永远也说不清。 e.g. We eat to live, but not live to eat. — 吃饭是为了活着，可活着不是为了吃饭。 e.g. Anyone who does not recognize this fact is not a materialist. — 不承认这个事实，就不是唯物主义者。

e.g. This formula makes it easy to determine the wavelength of sounds. Cutting the pronoun as object e.g. This formula makes it easy to determine the wavelength of sounds. — 这一公式使得测定声音的波长十分简单。 e.g. Before handing in your translation, you have to read it over and over again and see if there is anything in it to be corrected or improved. — 交出翻译之前必须多读几遍，看看里面有没有要修改的地方。

— 连着两星期他都在观察房子的情况，检查各个房间，查看线路、通道和花园的布局。 Cutting the possessive pronoun e.g. For two weeks, he had been studying the house, looking at its rooms, its electric wiring, its path and its garden. — 连着两星期他都在观察房子的情况，检查各个房间，查看线路、通道和花园的布局。 e.g. The train came. He pinched his little sister lovingly, and put his great arms about his mother’s neck and then was away. — 火车来了。他疼爱地捏了捏小妹妹，粗壮的胳膊搂了一下母亲的脖子，然后就走了。

Cutting “it” as impersonal pronoun Cutting the pronoun in comparative sentence e.g. The climate in Switzerland is absolutely different from that in Somalia. — 瑞士的气候与索马里截然不同。 Cutting “it” Cutting “it” as impersonal pronoun e.g. Outside it was raining cats and dogs as she shut the door. — 她关门时外面正下着滂沱大雨。 Cutting “it” as emphatic pronoun e.g. It was only then that I began to have doubts whether my story would ever be told. — 直到那时我才开始怀疑，我的经历究竟能不能公诸于众。

— 他认为国家安全委员会机构过于庞大臃肿，人多嘴杂，容易泄密。 Cutting conjunctions Cutting the coordinating conjunction e.g. He considered the National Security Council too large and bulky and thus too leaky, too many people who talked too much. — 他认为国家安全委员会机构过于庞大臃肿，人多嘴杂，容易泄密。 e.g. Your parents or your wife or your son or your best friends might be expecting you back home safe and sound. — 也许你的父母，妻儿，或者你最好的朋友都在盼望你平安回家呢。

e.g. We knew that summer was coming, as we could see a swallow. Cutting the subordinate conjunction 省略表示原因的连接词 e.g. We knew that summer was coming, as we could see a swallow. — 我们看见一只燕子，知道夏天就要来临了。 e.g. Because the departure was not easy, we’d better make it brief. — 离别不是件容易的事（离别真叫人难受），我们还是简短些吧。 省略表示条件的连接词 e.g. If winter comes, can spring be far behind? — 冬天来了，春天还会远吗？（雪莱《西风颂》） e.g. I would not have said it if I had known it. — 早知如此我就不说了。

省略表示时间的连接词 e.g. When at last he stood upon the bluff, he turned to his little sister and looked upon her sorrowfully. — 最后他站到了悬崖上，转过身来，悲哀地看着他的小妹妹。 e.g. At long last, on June 6, 1944, after the European war was basically decided and Hitler licked, the allies launched their long-delayed western front. — 1944年6月6日，欧洲战局基本已见分晓，希特勒败局已定，盟军终于在这一天开辟了延迟了很久的西线战场。

Cutting articles e.g. Any substance is made of atoms whether it is a solid, a liquid, or a gas. — 任何物质，不论是固体、液体或气体，都由原子构成。（类别） e.g. The moon was slowly rising above the sea. — 月亮从海上冉冉升起。（独一无二的事物） e.g. When I got to the cinema, the film had already begun. — 我到电影院时，电影已经开始了。（特指）

但在下列情况中冠词不能省略： 不定冠词 “a(n)” 强调数目“一”或“每一”、“同一”时： e.g. twice a week; birds of a feather —每周二次； 一丘之貉（物以类聚） e.g. He left without saying a word. — 他一句话不说就走了。 定冠词 “the” 强调“这”、“那”时： e.g. This is the boy who broke our window five minutes ago, sir!

Cutting prepositions e.g. The difference between the two machines consists in power. — 这两台机器的差别在于功率不同。 e.g. Hydrogen is the lightest element with an atomic weight of 1.0008. — 氢是最轻的元素，原子量为1.0008。 **一般说来，表示时间和地点的介词短语放在译文句首时大都可省。 e.g. The battle began at 11:00 p.m. — 夜晚11点，战役打响了。（比较：战役在夜晚11点打响。） e.g. An ancient castle stood on the edge of the cliff. — 悬崖边矗立着一座古堡。（比较：一座古堡矗立在悬崖边。）

Cutting verbs e.g. When the pressure gets low, the boiling point becomes low. — 气压低，沸点就低。 e.g. Solids expand and contract as liquids and gases do. — 如同液体和气体一样，固体也会膨胀和收缩。

From the Rhetorical Aspect Cutting the repeated phrase e.g. Instead of one old woman knocking me about and starving me, everybody of all ages knocked me about and starved me. — 那时打我、让我挨饿的不只是一个老太婆，而是老老少少各式各样的人。

Cutting words which are not necessary e.g. His younger sister is an actress. —他妹妹是个（女）演员。 e.g. As scheduled, Chinese and American diplomats met on January 20 at the Chinese Embassy in Poland. It was their first get-together in more than two years. —中美两国外交官按照预定计划于一月二十日在波兰的中国 大使馆会晤。这是两年多来的第一次。 e.g. University applicants who had worked at a job would receive preference over those who had not. —报考大学的人，有工作经验的将优先录取。

（二）汉译英时常用的省略 A. 省略汉语中的重复词 1．我们说，长征是历史记录上的第一次，长征是宣言书，长征是宣传队，长征是播种机。 We declare that, the Long March is the first of its kind in the annals of history, that it is a manifesto, a propaganda force, a seeding machine. 2. 科学技术突飞猛进，给亚洲的发展带来新的机遇，也带来新的挑战。 The rapid advance of science and technology has presented both new opportunities and challenges to the development of Asia. 3. 新形势、新趋势、新技术，促进了生产力的发展。 The new development, trends and technologies have helped expand productive forces. 4. 他们为国家作的贡献比我们所作的贡献要大的多。 They have done much more contributions for the state than we have.

B. 省略汉语的范畴词 1. 中东有些地区仍未结束社会动荡和纷扰不安的局面。 The social unrest and upheaval has not been put an end to in some regions in the Mid-East. 2. 师生关系愈好，就愈有利于教学水平的提高。 The better/ closer relations between teachers and students, the more chances for improving teaching. 3. 迅速改变我国贫穷落后的面貌，是我国各族人民的强烈愿望。 It is the burning desire of all the people to end our country’s poverty and backwardness quickly. 4. 世界各地举行了许多盛大的庆祝活动。 Many grand new-year celebrations are held in the world. 5) 没有和平，没有稳定的政治局面，就谈不上经济发展。 Without peace or political stability, there would be no economic growth.

C. 汉语中动词的使用频率远高于英语，所以在翻译成英语时，根据情况省略某些动词不译。 1）在出席会议前，我有些急事要处理。 I have some urgent business on hand before (attending) the meeting. . 2）他没有致闭幕词就宣布会议结束了。 He dismissed the meeting without a closing speech. 3) 她连续讲了两个小时的法语，没有出现任何错误。 She has been talking in French for two hours without any mistakes. 4）十万元以下的轿车的出现，激起了更多人购买私家车的热情。 The appearance of cars priced at less than 100,000 yuan aroused the enthusiasm of more people for private cars.

D. 汉语意义重复时，应减词英译。 1) 中国人民为此进行了长期不懈的努力。 The Chinese people have made unremitting efforts to that end. 2) 为了保卫国家安全，维护祖国统一，我们必须不断增强国防实力。 We must build up our defense capability with a view to safeguarding our State security and national unity. 3) 科学技术在一些领域取得重大突破。 Breakthroughs were made in some areas of science and technology.

4) 各项社会事业全面进步。 All social undertakings developed. /The social undertakings developed in an all-round way. 5) 我们要进一步开创外交工作的新局面。 We shall open up new vista in diplomatic work. 6)我们要加强与世界各国在经济、文化等领域的交往。 We must enhance our economic and cultural exchange with other countries. 7) 市场商品供应丰富多彩。 The market had an adequate supply of commodities.

Science and technology are advancing /developing rapidly. 1) 科学技术日新月异。 Science and technology are advancing /developing rapidly. 2) 大学校园文化包罗万象，其主流是“青春、浪漫、激扬”的。 The campus culture in universities are all-inclusive, with the main stream of “youth, romance and enthusiasm”. 3) 各级党组织和领导干部都要旗帜鲜明地反对腐败。 Party organizations and leading cadres at all levels must take a clear stand to oppose corruption. 4) 我们满怀信心、昂首阔步迈向21世纪。 We are advancing confidently forwards to the 21st century. ？