四字短语英译汉
四字短语英译汉本文简介:无论是用汉语写作的作品,还是用汉语翻译的作品,目前都有这么一种趋势,那就是四字格的运用越来越频繁,越来越广泛。?四字格有两大类,一类是汉语成语的四字格,另一类是普通词语四字格。?总起来说,四字格有三大优点:从内容上讲,它言简意赅;从形式上讲,它整齐匀称;从语音上讲,它顺口悦耳。?汉语成语有百分之九十
四字短语英译汉本文内容:
无论是用汉语写作的作品,还是用汉语翻译的作品,目前都有这么一种趋势,那就是四字格的运用越来越频繁,越来越广泛。
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四字格有两大类,一类是汉语成语的四字格,另一类是普通词语四字格。
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总起来说,四字格有三大优点:从内容上讲,它言简意赅;从形式上讲,它整齐匀称;从语音上讲,它顺口悦耳。
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汉语成语有百分之九十七采用四字格,这完全是从四字格的优点出发的。
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有不少成语原先并未采用四字格,但在其历史的发展过程中,通过由繁化简或由简化繁的途径,都朝四字格这一形式靠拢。
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由繁化简的汉语成语有:
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“人言可畏”(由
“人之多言,亦可畏也”发展而来),
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“集思广益”(由
“集众思,广忠益”发展而来),
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“青出于蓝”(由
“青,取之于蓝而胜于蓝”发展而来)。
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由简化繁的汉语成语有:
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“披荆斩棘”(由
“披荆棘”发展而来),
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“赴汤蹈火”(由
“赴汤火”发展而来),
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“短兵相接”(由
“短兵接”发展而来)。
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普通的五字词语和三字词语,在不影响意义表达的情况下,也经常用四字格取而代之:
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“振笔疾书”(说
“振起笔疾书”的效果就差),
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“满脸堆笑”(“满脸堆着笑”就不好),
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“洗劫一空”(“洗劫空”没力量),
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“趁人之危”(“趁人危”缺乏音乐美感)。
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四字格的运用可使文章增添不少生花之笔。一篇译文恰到好处地用一些四字格,可让人读起来抑扬顿挫,起落跌宕,可以享受到语音上的和谐美感。这种通过增强音感给人留下深刻印象的效果,是普通的二字词组、三字词组或五字词组、六字词组所不能做到的。在忠实于原文的基础上,发挥译文语言优势,运用四字格是应该加以提倡的。
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1)Eisenhower
later
recalled,when
MacArthur
felt
slighted
he
was
capable
of
expressing
himself
in
“an
explosive
denunciation
of
politics,bad
manners,
bad
judgment,broken
promise,arrogance,unconstitutionality,insensitivity,and
the
way
the
world
had
gone
to
hell.”
(W.
Manchester:The
Glory
and
the
Dream)
?
艾森豪威尔后来回忆往事时说,只要麦克阿瑟感到有人对他不够尊重,就“发起脾气来,破口大骂人家好耍权术,不懂礼貌,乱出主意,出尔反尔,狂妄自大,违反宪法,神经迟钝,麻木不仁,如今世道真是见鬼,等等。”
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2)
Wartime
Marseilles
was
such
a
bubbling
stew
of
political
double-dealing,financial
corruption,racial
and
nationalist
crisscrossings,
refugee
agonies,and
tragedies,and
Mediterranean
finagling
dating
back
to
Phoenician
times,that
compared
to
Gaither’s
daily
grind,melodramas
and
spy
yarns
paled.
(Herman
Wouk:War
and
Remembrance)
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战争年头的马赛本来就已成一锅上下翻腾的大杂烩:政治上狗苟蝇营,钱财上的巧取豪夺,种族和国籍的混淆纠缠,离乡背井的难民们的苦难和悲剧,以及从腓尼基人时代以来就已盛行在地中海沿岸的尔虞我诈、勾心斗角,所以和盖瑟的例行公事相比起来,什么离奇曲折的剧情和阴险诡谲的故事都要黯然失色。
?
The
mayor
of
Toledo
said
in
1932:
“I
have
seen
thousands
of
these
defeated,discouraged,hopeless
men
and
women,
cringing
and
fawning
as
they
come
to
ask
for
public
aid.
It
is
a
spectacle
of
national
degradation.”
(
W.
Manchester:
The
Glory
and
the
Dream)
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托莱多市长在一九三二年说过:“我见到数千万遭受了挫折的、
失去了信心和希望的男人和女人又奉承又乞怜地
前来请求救济。这么一个情景
给国家丢了脸。”
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托莱多市长在一九三二年说过:“我见到成千上万
的山穷水尽
、
灰心绝望
的男男女女
前来请求救济。他们低声下气
,苦苦哀求。此情此景
,真是丢尽了美国的脸。”
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To
Henry
Kissinger,for
whose
wise
counsel
and
dedicated
services
far
beyond
the
call
of
duty
I
shall
always
remain
grateful.
From
his
friend,Richard
Nixon
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赠给亨利·基辛格:
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你总能献出英明的计策,用全部心血进行忘我的工作,积极承担份外的事务,我为此将永远感激你。
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你的朋友:理查德·尼克松
?
赠言亨利·基辛格
?
善进良策
献身尔职
?
逾于所司
永志不渝
?
你的朋友:理查德·尼克松
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The
girls
were
all
smiles
on
hearing
the
good
news.
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姑娘们听到这个好消息都满脸堆笑。
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听到这个好消息,姑娘们个个笑逐颜开
。
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Louisa
(a
peasant
girl
):As
you
have
come
to
my
home,I
feel
greatly
honoured.
?
路易莎(一位农家姑娘):大驾光临,不胜荣幸
!
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您来我家,我真是太高兴了
!
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In
the
savage
fighting,Germany
itself
was
laid
waste,the
towns
and
countryside
were
devastated
and
ravished,the
people
decimated.
(W.
Manchester:The
Glory
and
the
Dream)
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德国全境
受到了野蛮战争
的洗劫,市廛萧条
,田野荒芜
,生灵涂炭
,十室九空
。(廛chan2
)
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Drew
Pearson,a
thirty-four-year-old
reporter,
described
them
as
“ragged,weary,and
apathetic,”
with
“no
hope
on
their
faces.”(Ibid.)
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有一位三十四岁的记者,名叫德鲁·皮尔逊,他描写那些退伍军人,说是
“衣衫褴褛,筋疲力尽,神情木然,满脸愁容。”
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One
of
Major
Eisenhower’s
friends
was
Brigadier
George
Moseley,whom
Eisenhower
later
described
as
“a
brilliant”
and
“dynamic”
officer
“always
delving
into
new
ideas.”(Ibid.)
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陆军准将乔治·莫斯利是艾森豪威尔少校的朋友。艾森豪威尔后来说他是个
“才气横溢”、“生气勃勃”、“富于创见”的人。
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He
was
canny,openhanded,brisk,candid,and
modest.
(Ibid.)
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他为人聪明大方
,生气勃勃
,忠厚耿直
,谦虚谨慎
。
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The
Presidency
has
survived
hard
times
and
ordinary
men
before.
(Newsweek,Jan.
26,1981)
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总统其职,真是历尽艰难时代,淘汰尽平庸之辈。
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I
repair
to
the
enchanted
house,where
there
are
lights,chattering,music,
flowers,
officers
and
the
eldest
Miss
Larkins,a
blaze
of
beauty.
(Charles
Dickens:David
Copperfield)
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我现在朝着那家仙宫神宇走去,那儿灯火辉煌、人语嘈杂、乐音悠扬、花草缤纷、军官纷来,还有拉钦斯大小姐,真是仪态万千。
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There
were
a
few
middle-aged
and
even
elderly
women
in
the
train,their
silver-wiry
hair
and
wrinkled
faces,scourged
by
time
and
trouble,having
almost
a
grotesque,certainly
a
pathetic,appearance
in
such
a
jaunty
situation.
(Thomas
Hardy:Tess
of
the
D’Urbervilles)
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游行队伍里的妇女,有几位中年的,甚至还有几位上了年纪的;她们都饱经风霜,受尽磨难,一头白发,满脸皱纹,却也夹在这种轻快活泼的队伍里,让人觉得几乎不伦不类,毫无疑问十分可怜可叹。
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Dairyman
Crick’s
household
of
maids
and
men
lived
on
comfortably,placidly,even
merrily.
(Ibid.)
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克里克老板牛奶厂里的男男女女,都过得舒舒服服、平平静静,甚至于还嬉嬉笑笑、闹闹嚷嚷。
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On
this
battle
rests
the
fate
of
our
nation.
Let
every
man
do
his
utmost.
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民族存亡在此一战。凡我士兵务必全力奋战。
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They
bluntly
told
him
that
their
governments
intended
to
break
their
covenants.
In
spite
of
their
pledged
word,they
would
not
march;
either
the
Czechs
would
capitulate
to
the
Nazi
dictator
or
they
would
be
left
to
fight
alone.
(Ibid.)
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他们直截了当地告诉他,英法两国要弃盟背约了。虽然有约在先,可是现在他们决不出兵,捷克要么向德国独裁者屈膝投降,要么孤军抗战。
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A
Czech
communiqué
explained
to
the
world:
“We
had
no
choice,because
we
were
left
alone.”
Benes
said,“we
have
been
basely
betrayed.”
(Ibid.)
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捷克发表公报对全世界说:“我们别无出路,因为孤立无援。”
贝奈斯说,“有人卑鄙无耻,把我们出卖了。”
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His
face
was
neither
bright
nor
dark,neither
alive
nor
dead,neither
ready
nor
resigned.
(Ray
Bradbury:The
Vacation)
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(不能译作“不阴不阳、不死不活、不卑不亢”)
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他的模样,既非精神焕发,亦非忧郁不堪;既非生气勃勃,亦非死气沉沉;既非敢想敢做,亦非逆来顺受。
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Men
and
women
hurried
by
in
long,shifting
lines.
(Theodore
Dreiser:Sister
Carrie)
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男男女女,熙熙攘攘,络绎不绝。
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我们可以经常做这样的练习,把自己随意看到或想到的一些英语单词和词组设法翻译成汉语四字格。大量的练习可以使我们熟能生巧,使我们在以后的翻译实践中对四字格的运用能做到得心应手。
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我们不妨用四字格来口译以下的英语单词和词组。
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pregnant
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有孕在身;身怀六甲(×珠胎暗结)
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sweet
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娇柔妩媚;温婉可人;楚楚动人
?
slumbering
?
沉沉欲睡
?
bluntly
?
直截了当;直言不讳;开门见山
?
capitulate
?
屈膝投降;缴械投降
?
base
(adj)
?
卑鄙无耻
?
hurriedly
?
匆匆忙忙;心急火燎;风风火火
?
someday
?
有朝一日;总有一天(×猴年马月)
?
dreary
?
枯燥无味;精疲力尽
?
repulsive
?
令人反感;令人作呕
?
bargain
?
讨价还价;斤斤计较
?
mischievous
?
调皮捣蛋
?
cynical
?
玩世不恭;愤世嫉俗;冷嘲热讽
?
careless
?
粗心大意;马马虎虎
?
platitude
?
老生常谈;陈词滥调
?
senile
?
老态龙钟(×人老珠黄)
?
appropriate
?
恰如其分;恰到好处
?
boundless
?
漫无边际;无边无际
?
listless
?
没精打采;无精打采
?
furious
?
怒气冲天;怒不可遏
?
have
never
met
?
素不相识;萍水相逢;素未谋面;未曾谋面
?
extend
in
all
directions
?
四通八达
?
talk
and
laugh
cheerfully
?
谈笑风生;欢声笑语(×有说有笑)
?
a
world
of
difference
?
天壤之别;截然不同;天差地别
?
take
a
risk
in
desperation
?
铤而走险;孤注一掷
?
disciples
and
followers
?
徒子徒孙;门生弟子
?
decline
with
all
sorts
of
excuses
?
推三阻四;百般推辞(×婉言谢绝)
?
await
with
great
anxiety
?
望穿秋水;望眼欲穿;翘首以待
?
remarkably
true
to
life
?
惟妙惟肖;栩栩如生
?
be
shamed
into
anger
?
恼羞成怒;老羞成怒
?
hate
to
see
sb
go
?
恋恋不舍;依依不舍;难舍难分
?
again
and
again
?
屡次三番
?
try
to
look
happy
when
actually
sad
?
强颜装欢
?
as
if
awakening
from
a
dream
?
如梦初醒
?
walk
off
with
sth
?
顺手牵羊
?
get
instant
results
?
立竿见影
?
achieve
what
one
wishes
?
如愿以偿
?
broad
daylight
?
光天化日
?
take
on
an
entirely
new
look
?
焕然一新
?
face
danger
fearlessly
?
临危不惧
?
翻译中的四字格运用要从多方面加以注意。原文语言正规、行文流畅,尤其是在使用对偶、排比和平行结构等情况下,我们可用四字格来传达原文的语言效果。原文中像赠言、题词、感想、简洁的歌词和诗句等语言形式,可以采用符合汉语特点的四字格加以表达。在译文中运用四字格时,我们还必须充分考虑到感情色彩、语言特征、人物塑造等方面的问题。