英汉句子互译中的词序

第七章英汉句子互译中的词序

英语和汉语词序差别很大。下面我们先看看这两种语言在词序排列上各自的特点，然 后再针对这些特点讨论一下英汉互译中词序的处理方法。

7.1 英汉句子词序的差异

汉语是语义型语言，英语是形态型语言，这便决定了两者在词序安排上有着本质的区 别。汉语组词造句时，词序主要由语义的搭配决定，即语义团块的先后次序是由人的思维 逻辑来决定的。汉语是一种逻辑性很强的语言，其逻辑性主要表现在以下几个方面： 1 在时间上，英语句子的词序主要是根据语境的需要安排，而汉语通常按事情 发生或出现的先后顺序排列。例如：

1 He went to bed after he finished his homework. 他做完作业后便上床睡觉了。 2）They started as soon as he came . 他一到他们就开始干了起来。

3）Calmly Mother looked around before she turned back fearlessly, closing the door behind her and dashed to the window.

母亲镇定地环顾四周，然后毫不畏惧地转身回到屋子里，顺手关上门，一个箭步 奔到门口。

4）A loud applause exploded from the audience when the actress went on the stage. 当女演员登上舞台时，观众中爆发出一阵掌声。

5）The invaders will not surrender until they come to the end of their tether. 侵略者不到走投无路的时候是不会投降的。

6）He was given a chair and asked to wait a little as darkness came on, then suddenly the whole bridge was outlined in lights.

天快黑了，人家给了他一把椅子，请他坐下来等一会儿。忽然电灯全亮了，照出 了整个大桥的轮廓。

7）老栓正在专心走路，忽然吃了一惊，远远地看见一条丁字街，明明白白横着。他 便退了几步，寻找一家关着门的铺子，蹩进檐下，靠门立住了。（鲁迅，《药》） Absorbed in his walking, Old Shuan was startled when he saw the cross road lying distinctly ahead of him. He walked back a few steps to stand under the eaves of a shop in front of its closed door.（连淑能，p.72）

8）那只老狼从灌木丛里窜出来，惊魂未定地喘息，伸出舌头。它扭头望着那片灌木 林，声响渐渐消失了，慌乱中毫无目的地转了一阵。它累极了，便卧在地上。然后 它又坐起来，可是它突然像被咬了一下似地跳起来，那只猛禽的铁爪还留在它身 上。（周涛，《猛禽》）

The old wolf runs out of the bush, still badly shaken, panting with its tongue lolling. It turns its head to look back at the bush; the terrifying sound has all but died out. Still in panic, it limps aimlessly for a while, then, exhausted, it crouches down to rest, As it sits up, a biting pain hurts its back: the eagle’s iron-like claw is still attached to its body.

上面第1至第6例在时间上都采取“倒叙”的手法，其中after, as soon as, before, when，

until和as 引导的从句所表达的事件或动作都在主句动词表达的动作之前发生。但是翻译成 汉语时，句子完全是按照时间顺序排列的。第7例和第8例的汉语原文也是典型是“顺”序 句。句中虽然动词很多，但排列时显得有条不紊。

二、在事理上，英语的词序比较灵活，但通常开门见山，直奔主题，然后再作解释。

在表示因果关系时，一般先讲结果再说明原因；在表示假设时，往往先说结果再说条件； 而汉语的词序则比较固定，通常按照先原因后结果、先假设后可能、先条件后结果的顺序 来排列。这一点，当句中的关联词省略不用时尤其如此。

例如：

9）I can’t trust her, because she is not honest.（连淑能，p.54） 比较：Because she is not honest, I can’t trust her. 她不老实，我不能信任她。

10）I think we should have been told if there was anything up. 比较：I think if there was anything up, we should have been told. 我想要是真发生了什么事，他们应该通知我们的。

11）(His assignment in the interim was to choose and develop his own replacement.) He chose Larry, who had an excellent record in sales and had held a management position prior to joining the company.

（在这段过渡时期，他的任务是选择和培养他自己的接班人。）他选择了拉里， （因为）拉里有出色的销售业绩记录，并且在调入本公司之前就担任过管理职 务。

12）The moon is a moon still, whether it shines or not. <谚> 不管是明是暗，月亮总归是月亮。

13）抓住了主要矛盾，一切问题就可以迎刃而解。（先假设后可能）

Once the principal contradiction is grasped, all problems can be readily solved.（连 淑能，p.55）

14）这些斗争和探索，每一次都在一定的历史条件下推动了中国的进步，但又一次 一次地失败了。（江泽民，《在庆祝中国共产党成立八十周年大会上的讲 话》）

All the attempts ended in failure one after another, although they helped promote progress in China under given historical conditions.

从上面的例子可以看出，英语句子对因果关系等逻辑顺序比较灵活，而汉语的词序则 比较固定，通常按先——后，因——果，条件——结果的顺序排列。

当然，汉语句子语序的排列也有例外，那就是，当把原因、条件等看成是补充说明的 情况时，也可以把它们放到句子的后半部分，这时，往往需要使用各种形式标记，也就是 说，需要使用表示各种关系的关联词语。例如：

15）我觉得真扫兴，因为我一分神钓索颤动了，拉迟了落了空。（刘白羽，《海峡 风雷》）

In that moment as my concentration wavered, my line wobbled, I pulled back at the wrong moment and ended up with a tangled mess of line, hook and weed. 16）不，我昨天没有来，因为我的姐姐病了。

No, I didn’t come yesterday, because my sister was not very well.

三、在对某事发表评论时，英语通常先评论或表态，然后再说明有关情况。汉语则正 好相反，通常先叙述（即事实或描写）后表态（即判断或结论）。 例如：

17）I believe strongly that it is in the interests of my countrymen that Britain should remain an active and energetic member of the European Community.

我强烈地认为，英国应该继续是欧洲共同体中一个积极而充满活力的成员，这 是符合我国人民利益的。（连淑能，p.12）

18）It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. (From Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice) 凡有产业的单身汉，总要娶位太太，这已经成了一条举世公认的真理。 19）It is important that everyone does his duty. 每个人各司其责，这一点是很重要的。

20）It’s no use telling him that he’s wrong. He will realise it himself later. 告诉他他犯了错误，这是毫无用处的。他以后会明白的。__

从以上可以得知，英汉语在语序的排列上有相同之处，也有相异之处。翻译时，相同 之处可以照搬过来（即顺译）；相异之处则需要对语序进行调整，使之在整体上符合汉语 的表达习惯（即逆译）。

7.2 调整词序的方法

根据英汉两种语言的差异，我们在英汉对译时常常需要根据实际情况在语序上作一些 调整。以下是译者们经常采用的方法。

7.2.1 按照时间顺序进行调整

英汉语序虽然有很大差别，但也有很多相似或相同之处。语序相同便顺译，不同则逆 译，有时则顺译、逆译皆可。

一、顺译

顺译的情况很多，主要有以下几种：

（一）多个表示连贯动作的动词并列时，英语和汉语往往都可以按照动作发生的先后 顺序来安排词序。因此，英汉互译时通常可以采取顺译法。例如：

1）He would drive a rental truck loaded with his belongings and I would follow him in his sedan, then fly back.

到时他将开租来的卡车拉上全部家什，我跟在后面帮他把小车开过去，然后乘 飞机返回。

2）I follow the group to the fifth row and directly against a tree I place my ladder so its legs hit the dirt sturdily.

我跟随大家到第五行树，把梯子直接靠在一棵树上，梯子的两只脚牢固地插进 土里。（刘世同，p.84）

3）I closed my eyes and said a prayer of thanks before putting the car in gear and returning to the highway.

我合上双目，感谢上苍，然后挂挡上路。

4）Taking the train, the two friends arrived in Berlin in late October 1922, and went directly to the address of Chou En-lai. (from Agnes Smedley, The Great Road)

一九二二年十月下旬，这两位朋友坐火车来到柏林，一下车便径直去周恩来的 住处。

5）She had spent a sleepless night, and rising early, had stood, wrapped up, at her window, with the cool air blowing on her face, to watch the dawn.

她一宵无眠，早早起身，披上毯子，迎着拂面的凉风，凭窗眺望黎明。（方梦 之，pp. 301-2）

6）In the blue of the morning that fragile soldier and servant breathed his last, and when the other children awoke they cried bitterly, and begged Sissy to have another pretty baby.

(from Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’urbervilles)

在晨光熹微中，那位脆弱的兵士和仆人就喘了他最后一口气，别的孩子们醒过 之后，一个个哭得伤心极了，他们恳求苔丝姐姐再给他们生一个漂亮的娃娃。 （张若谷译,《德伯家的苔丝》）

7）（如今，台儿沟的姑娘们刚把晚饭端上桌就慌了神，她们心不在焉地胡乱吃几 口，扔下碗就开始梳妆打扮。）她们洗净蒙受了一天的黄土、风尘，露出粗 糙、红润的面色，把头发梳得乌亮，然后就比赛着穿出最好的衣服。（铁凝， 《哦，香雪》）

（But now, the girls of Terrace Gully served dinner in a flurry, absent-mindedly grabbed a quick bite and, soon as they put down their blows, went straight to their dressers.） They washed off the dust and stains of the day, revealing their rough and ruddy complexions, combed their hair, and then vied with one another in wearing their best outfits.

8）它先是离我较远，见我不去伤害它，便一点点挨近，然后蹦到我的杯子上，俯下 头来喝茶，再偏过脸瞧瞧我的反应。（冯骥才，《珍珠鸟》）

First it kept its distance from me, then hopped nearer, then stood upon my glass and eventually lowered its head to drink my tea.

（二）英语中表示时间的状语从句多位于句子的后半部分，但有时为了强调也可将其

提到句首，并用逗号与主句隔开，这时，可采用顺译法进行翻译。同样，汉语中有些按照 时间先后安排语序的复合句译成英语时也可采用顺译法。

例如：

9）Where there is a will, there is a way. <谚> 有志者，事竟成。

10）If anyone comes, tell him to wait a few minutes. (I won’t be long.) 如果有人来，请他等一会儿。（我很快就会回来的。）

11）As we crossed some high bridges near the Blue Ridge Mountains on the first leg of our trip, a kind of breathlessness gripped me, a sinking, rolling sensation in the pit of my stomach.

上路后的第一程，我们就碰上了蓝脊山脉附近高悬的大桥。我简直紧张得透不 过气来，心头发紧，有种人仰马翻的感觉。

12）After he went to bed that night, I quickly took his shoes and went out to the woodshed.

当天晚上，在他就寝之后，我马上把他的鞋子拿到柴棚里。

13) When the infant had taken its fill the young mother sat it upright in her lap, and dandled it.... (from Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’urbervilles)

小孩吃足了奶以后，那位年轻的母亲就把他放在腿上，叫他坐直了，逗弄他 ??（张若谷译）

14) When Tom stood face to face with his persecutor, and heard his threats, and thought in his very soul that his hour was come, his heart swelled bravely in him, and he

thought he could bear torture and fire, bear anything.... (from H.P.Sone, Uncle Tom’s Cabin)

汤姆站在他的迫害者对面，听着他威吓的话，心想自己的时刻已经到来。这 时，他反而觉得勇气百倍，觉得赴汤蹈火，在所不辞了?? （黄继忠译,《汤 姆叔叔的小屋》）

15）传说秦始皇来到泰山封禅的时候，遇上了暴风雨，他就躲在一棵很大的松树下 避雨。

It is said that when the First Emperor of Qin came to Mount Taishan to perform the rites of worshipping Heaven and Earth, he was caught in a storm, and found shelter under a giant pine tree.

16）当老狼嗅至这只小白狗的颈上时，突然小狗猛烈地抖动起来。（周涛，《猛 禽》）

When the wolf moves its nose to sniff the dog’s neck, the little creature suddenly begins to shiver violently.

（三）英语中有些介词短语、副词短语、分词短语或“介词+动名词”结构置于句首 表示时间，翻译时可采用顺译。

例如：

17）Pulling one of the leafy branches downward, I hang the bucket on it with the hook. 我拉下一根多页的树枝，用钩子把桶挂在上面。（刘世同，p.84）

18）Having finished the painting, he decided to sell it in order to buy a new piano for his daughter.

那幅画画完后，他决定把它卖掉，为女儿买架新钢琴。

19）A few minutes later, Zoe sat sipping coffee and watching the girl eagerly attacking a large omelet, stacks of buttered bread and a cup of milk.

几分钟后，左伊坐下来，一边啜饮着咖啡，一边看着女孩迫不及待地向一大 块煎蛋饼、好几块黄油面包和一杯牛奶发起进攻。 20）In four weeks I was my old self again. 四个星期后我就彻底康复了。

21）With what seemed my last hope frustrated, I slipped into a deep lethargy. 随着最后一线希望的破灭，我不知不觉地掉进一种懒怠冷漠，意气消沉的 状态。（陈定安，p. 243）

乔·奥斯本觉得感动，细细地端详着这两个姑娘。（杨必译）

54）American prisoners are permitted to receive Red Cross food parcels and write censored letters.

允许美国俘虏领取红十字会的包裹和写信，不过信要受到检查。

现代汉语中形容词和名词这样搭配的情况不多见，但是词与词之间的修饰关系也很复 杂，有时甚至捉摸不定，译成英语时必须先理清这种关系。例如：

55）那谈谈文学的通俗问题，这次我来北京就参加这问题的讨论的，请黄老谈谈。 （楼适夷，《夜间来客》）

Would you like to talk about literature going pop, then? This is the theme of the symposium this time. Could you air some view on that? (刘士聪译)

56）他有个女儿，在北京工作，已经打电话去了，听说明天就能回来。

He has a daughter, who works in Beijing. Someone has phoned her and it is said will be back tomorrow. （连淑能，p.37）

第55例中的“文学的通俗问题”指文学创作中的通俗化倾向，显然不能译为 the

popular problem of literature。这里译成literature going pop，符合说话者的原意。第56例中 “女儿”是“打电话”的逻辑宾语，而不是主语，所以这里必须变换结构。

上面的例子表明，翻译时必须先搞清楚句子各成分之间的逻辑关系并在译文中作相应 的调整。不然的话，就可能译出莫明奇妙的句子来。 练习

I. 试译下列各句，并按照时间顺序对译句语序进行调整：

1．For example, a young woman who had difficulty studying made dramatic strides when she got a better desk lamp and moved her desk away from her bed.

2．Lynx（山猫）used to prowl the forests along the Continental Divide, all the way into Canada, until trapping and poisoning put them into retreat.

3．A fresh cover of snow lightly blankets the tracks of yesterday, where my children have made snow angels and rolled down Grandpa’s back-yard hill, spreading winter’s magical frosting from head to toe.

4．When I heard that Eleanor Roosevelt（埃利诺·罗斯福）would be speaking on Friday evening in Providence（普罗维登斯）, R. I., I delighted Eleanor Dowling（埃利诺·道林）by managing to get the last two seats in the house. （提示：Eleanor Roosevelt埃利诺·罗斯福；Providence, R. I.罗德岛州普罗维登 斯市；Eleanor Dowling埃利诺·道林）

5．The music world and the world at large became poorer places on April 8, when Marian Anderson, the great alto from Philadelphia, died at 96.

6．Some researchers had also suggested that intense volcanic activity and geologic processes could play an important role in these tilt fluctuations by altering the planet’s mass distribution sufficiently to change its spin and cause large shifts in its tilt angle.

7. She published her first collection of short stories in 1963, two years after she had received her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and become an instructor of English at the University of Detroit.

8. It’s been nearly 45 years since a “little round-headed boy” named Charlie Brown first bared his soul.

9．Now, a British brewing company has acquired his name as the trademark for their new beverage which has taken British pubs, bars and supermarkets by storm since it was launched early in 1995.

10．In terms of human achievement, McMenamy’s duckboat ranks with Leonardo da Vinci’s helicopter which was designed four hundred years before the engine which could have made it fly. （提示：McMenamy麦克默纳米）

11．他不善谋生，但在艺术上却走出了自己的道路，虽然到死后很久，才为人们所承认。 12．父亲刚去世，我就迁往1,500里以外的兰州，成了自己的家并开始了自己的事业。 13．突尼卡县(Tunica)曾经是密西西比州最贫困的县，现在它却拥有八个赌场和一个大型 娱乐中心。

14. 警察发现那女人在商店偷衣服时，他欲擒故纵，并不马上捉住她。 15． 竞选运动后，他获得了一份薪水高的轻松工作。 II. 试译下列各句，并按照逻辑顺序对译句语序进行调整：

1．The family from whom she rented her room and bath ignored her activities so long as her rent was promptly paid.

2．There are countless summer fish stories about the big one that got away, but none can outdo the catch of Jose Rojas Mayarita, who was stabbed by a Pacific swordfish at the end of his line.（提示：Jose Rojas Mayarita乔斯· 罗贾斯·马亚里塔）

3．Blood does not always mean colon cancer, and colon cancer can occur without bleeding, he said, adding that whether a home test shows positive or

negative, it is wise to have an annual physical examination after age 50; earlier if there are risk factors such as polyps or a family history of the disease.

（提示：colon cancer结肠癌；polyps结肠息肉）

4．A reader’s perception of the loose, slangy, colloquial, shirt-sleeved quality of much modern prose will be sharpened if he has experienced the conscious elegance of eighteenth-century writers and the solemn lecturehall pronouncements of the Victorians（维多利亚女王时代人）.

5．If science would discover rather than apply—if, in other words, men were more interested in knowledge than in power—mankind would be in a far safer position, the stability statesmen talk about would be a possibility, there could be a new order based on vital harmony, and the earthly millennium might approach.

6．A photograph would give the unessential and the essential; an artist picks out important aspects; the portrait-painter’s work, though manifestly less exact, is incomparably finer because of its spirituality; though less

technically correct, it has acquired the imaginative sentiment of the mind of the artist.

7．Of course, he would wish to be remembered for the Declaration of

Independence, which not only gave birth to the new American nation but gave

it a democratic creed and gave a philosophy of human rights to the world.

8．This preface must necessarily be short and modest, for I cannot claim to be an expert in painting, merely an ardent lover of the art.

9．The new business group targets electronic commerce and aims to work with governments worldwide to police on-line commerce and avoid government intervention that could lead to “draconian” regulation of the industry. 10．Christine Varney, who headed the United states Federal Trade Commission

till August, 1998, and Ira Magaziner, who till recently coordinated the ecommerce strategy for the Clinton administration, have both warned the

industry to follow through with promises to protect consumer privacy. （提示：Christine Varney克里斯廷·瓦尼；the United states Federal Trade Commission美国联邦贸易委员会；Ira Magaziner艾拉·马格仁纳）

11．花园的建造始于1558年，但由于资金短缺，时建时停，二十年以后才建成。

12. 他那天身体不太好，加上街上不断地传来车子的喇叭声(honking)，他无法集中注意力 看书。

13. 东西越小，地心引力对它的引力就越小，重量也就越轻。

14.她刚刚毕业，虽然英语很糟糕，可是由于那时劳动力缺乏，她终于在当地图书馆里谋得 一份工作。

15.因为工作繁忙和三个年幼的孩子，除了家人聚会以及节假日之外，我从未花更多的时间 去探望她。

III. 试译下列各句，并根据信息重心对译句语序进行调整：

1．Human error is not the only concern. Even some professionally performed tests are not considered foolproof.

2．A quarter of century ago the General Assembly and the Security Council symbolized, especially for the small countries, the supreme guarantee of a new international order based on peace and justice.

3．Willy Loman（威利·劳曼）, the salesman, is struggling to hang on to his life, but his belief that it is very important not just to be liked, but to be well liked proves false.

4．Chinese scholars also make thorough studies and scientific investigations on the economic theories of American winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics such as Paul A. Samuelson, Lawerence R. Klein and James M. Buchanan.

（提示：Paul A. Samuelson保罗·萨缪尔森；Lawerence R. Klein劳伦斯·克莱茵； James M. Buchanan詹姆斯·布坎南）

5．Everywhere you look, in newspapers and on television, issues are presented using the terminology of war and conflict.

6. They went for lunch, and he would have felt awkward except that she knew completely how to take care of herself.

7．He felt a qualm in his stomach, and it was more in memory of his own loneliness than anticipation of hers.

8．She noted with a returning sense of helplessness how much he enjoyed being in control.

9. For a moment he was stunned into silence by this new learning.

10. China can take the experiences of western countries as a reference, but not copy them. This is common knowledge for the Chinese people, including economists.

11. 我打电话给她，建议同她一块出去吃晚饭并在饭后看电影，她既惊讶又怀疑，问我： “出什么事了？”

12．在姹紫嫣红的花卉世界里，牡丹自古以来就素有“花中之王”的美誉，深受中国人的 喜爱。

13．是的，对现在这场人人皆知、但其结果还难以预料的灾祸，我们是负有责任的。 14. 大概是那一年，有个小伙子在那儿摆了个货摊，卖些廉价首饰。 15．在这种国际秩序中要保持稳定只有两条途径：一是霸权，一是均衡。 IV. 试译下列各句，并根据搭配的需要对译句语序进行调整： 1．The word “gift” has got dangerously devalued of late.

2．Men leave cleaner hotel rooms—men were voted tidier travelers than women by staff and management at the international chain of hotels—but they make noisier guests, usually caused by watching the television with the sound turned up loudly.

3．This man fished alone in a small boat, just like the protagonist of Ernest Hemingway’s the Old Man and the Sea, and endured a struggle just as epic, but lost the battle and his life.

4. Based on national realities and taking reasonable aspects of foreign economies, Chinese economists are working to establish socialist market economy, which ensures economic activities follow the requirements of the law of value and the changing relationship between supply and demand.

5. The idea that my father had managed a Christmas present for me in spite of everything filled me with a sudden peace and lightness of heart I had not known in months.

6．那家旅行社正在筹划一条游览泰国的新的旅游线路。 7．中国必将实现现代化，这使西方某些人越来越不安。 8．1972年我在乡下务农的时候，根本想不到还有今天。

9．香格里拉（Shangri-la）美似仙境，不是亲历其境是无法想象的。

10. 公元前551年在今天的山东省曲阜诞生了中国古代著名的思想家和教育家孔子。__

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