famousbrand
Chapter 9
The Translation of the
Attributive Clau
Teaching aims: master the translation of the attributive claus
Teaching emphasis: combination & adverbial claus
Teaching references:
Teaching methods: Practice
Teaching arrangements: 2periods
A comparative study of English and Chine attributive structures helps us to bring this disparity to light. As some linguists have pointed out, an English ntence may be followed by an unlimited number of attributive claus following the word being modified, while a Chi
ne ntence allows only a limited amount of words preceding the word being modified. And eventually, there is no correspondence between their ntence structures.
Here is a typical example:
非主流男生昵称
This is the cat.
这就是那只猫。
This is the cat that killed the rat.
这就是那只捕杀了老鼠的猫。
This is the cat that killed the rat that ate the cake.
这就是那只捕杀了偷吃了蛋糕的老鼠的猫。
This is the cat that killed the rat that ate the cake that lay in the hou.
六级考试具体时间这就是那只捕杀了偷吃了放在屋内的蛋糕的老鼠的猫。
This is the cat that killed the rat that ate the cake that lay in the hou that Jack built.
这就是那只捕杀了偷吃了放在杰克造的房屋内的蛋糕的老鼠的猫。
Apparently, it is impossible for a translator to put all the information into one Chine ntence in the quence as in English. Therefore, a readable Chine version of the last ntence should be like this:
This is the cat that killed the rat that ate the cake that lay in the hou that Jack built.
这就是那只捕杀了老鼠的猫。老鼠偷吃了放在屋里的蛋糕。那屋是杰克盖的。
Conquently, some efficient ways have been suggested to tackle the problem that occurs in the translation of English attributive claus.
1. Restrictive Attributive Claus
1. Combination---As an attributive modifier(前置法)
We actually convert the English ntence into a simple Chine ntence or part of a Chine clau , in which an English restrictive attributive clau is embedded(嵌入) in the Chine ntence , and is placed before the words being modified ( the antecedents). We may call it a method of combination.
1. Pollution is a pressing problem which we must deal with.
污染是从句讲解我们必须解决的competent一个迫切问题。
2. In the room where the electronic computer is kept, there must be no dust at all.
存放电子计算机的房间里, 不能有一点灰尘。
3. Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors and generals and soldiers, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all.
历史书上出现得最经常和最为显耀的人物大多是伟大的征服著、将军和士兵, 而那些真正推动文明前进的人却往往名不见经传。
2. Division(分句后置法)
Sometimes, an English ntence with a restrictive attributive clau is too long or too complicated for the translator to take as a whole. In this ca, we may divide the ntence into two, placing the attributive clau after the principal clau to conform to the Chine usage, repeating (or sometimes even not repeating) the antecedent being modified.
1. They are striving for the ideal which is clo to the heart of every Chine and for which, in the past, many Chine have laid down their lives.
他们正在为实现一个理想而努力, 这个理想是每个中国人所珍爱的英语四级总分多少, 在过去, 许多中国人为了这个理想而牺牲了自己的生命。
2. A fuel is a material which will burn at a reasonable temperature and produce heat.
燃料是一种物质，在适当温度下能够燃烧并释放出热量。
3. Mixture(混合重组法)
By mixture here we mean combining the principal clau and the attributive clau into a single Chine ntence without any demarcation.
glass的复数1. “We are a nation that must beg to stay alive,” said a foreign economist.
一个外国经济学家说道, “我们这个国家 不讨饭就活不下去。”
2. Fortunately, there are some chemical fuels that are clean and smokeless.
pul是什么意思幸好有些化学燃料是洁净无烟的。
2.Non-restrictive Attributive Claus
Non-restrictive attributive claus are characterized by a comma between the principal and the attributive clau. In comparison with restrictive attributive claus, non-restrictive attributive claus hold a loo relationship with the antecedents, functioning as a supplementary part in the ntence.
In terms of translation techniques, there is no significant difference between the two kin
ds of attributive claus. However, the method of division is adopted more frequently in translating non-restrictive attributive claus than in translating restrictive attributive claus, while the method of combination is just the other way around.
ascii1.Division (拆分法)
1) Translating Into Compound Sentences by Repeating the Antecedents.
Fine grains of dust can reflect blue light , which coar grains of dust cannot.
微粒灰尘能反射蓝光, 但粗粒灰尘却不能(反射蓝光)。
shots是什么意思This is a college of science and technology, the students of which are trained to be engineers or scientists.
这是一所科技大学，该校学生将被培养成工程师或科学工作者。
2) Translating Into Compound Sentences by Omitting the Antecedents.
After dinner, the four key negotiators resumed their talks, which continued into the night.
