一.无主句的翻译
中文的文章中存在不少无主句,政论中不可避免地存在无主句。比如这里的第二句:要强调国际监管核心原则和标准的一致性,同时要充分考虑不同国家金融市场的差异性,提高金融监管的针对性和有效性。
对于无主句,我们有多种处理方式。首先可以考虑用被动语态。比如:要扩大出口:Export should be expanded.
其次可以增添主语,政论文章增添we是经常地对策。如:
要强调国际监管核心原则和标准的一致性,同时要充分考虑不同国家金融市场的差异性,提高金融监管的针对性和有效性。
We need to stress the consistency of core principles and standards of international supervision and regulation and, at the same time, take into full consideration the differences between financial markets of individual countries to make financial supervision and regulation more focused and effective.
无主句还可以对于动词短语进行被动处理。强调lay emphasis on可以转化为Emphasis should be laid on …考题中的这句话前半句也可以译成:
Emphasis should be laid on the consistency of core principles and standards of international supervision and regulation.
当然,特殊句型It is necessary / essential to...也是可以用的处理方式。考题中的第二句可以译成:
It is necessary to stress the consistency of core principles and standards of international supervision and regulation and, at the same time, take into full consideration the differences between financial markets of individual countries to make financial supervision and regulation more focused and effective.
二.断句原则
汉语中的逗号不一定等同于英语中的逗号,如果句子意思比较复杂,分句数量众多,我们必须当机立断,当断则断。我们来看翻译考题的第一个句子:
我们应该牢记国际金融危机的深刻教训,正本清源,对症下药,本着简单易行、便于问责的原则推进国际金融监管改革,建立有利于实体经济发展的国际金融体系。
We must learn the hard lessons of the international financial crisis, take effective measures to address the root causes of the crisis, and push forward reform to ensure that the future international financial supervisory and regulatory regime is easy to operate and highly accountable. It is important to establish an international financial system that is good for the growth of the real economy.
这句话中我们如果把最后的小分句“建立有利于实体经济发展的国际金融体系”作为不定式结构添加到前面的译文上去,势必产生句子的歧义,“to establish an international financial system that is good for the growth of the real economy”也有可能紧接在形容词短语“highly accountable”后面,和前面的不定式结构“to operate”遥相呼应,构成并列短语。这样的歧义偏离了我们准确翻译政论的目的,所以要谨慎加以处理,当断则断。
我们再来看翻译考题的最后一个句子:
实现世界经济强劲、可持续、平衡增长是一个长期复杂的过程,不可能一蹴而就,既要持之以恒、坚定推进,也要照顾到不同国家国情,尊重各国发展道路和发展模式的多样性。
我们可以适当的加以连接,比如将前面的两个句子用定语从句进行连接:
It will take a long and complex process to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy, which cannot be done overnight.
后面的两个小分句可以考虑为并列关系加以衔接:
We must make persistent efforts to push forward this process and also take into account specific circumstances of individual countries and respect their diverse development paths and models.
如果这两个部分还要强行衔接起来,在英语中就显得逻辑关系不够明确,倒不如切分以后意义来得明晰。
三.长句的意群分析
到了高级翻译的层面,我们会碰到大量的长句,尤其在严谨的法律文件中,长句更是司空见惯的现象。长句的翻译需要我们对于意群准确的分析和定位。我们用英译中部分的第一句话举一个简单的例子:
During the term of this Contract, all technical documentation, including but not limited to manufacturing technologies, procedures, methods, formulas, data, techniques and know-how, to be provided by one Party to the other shall be treated by the recipient as "Confidential Information".
要确定句子的意义并且合理地进行翻译,我们首先需要辨析意群的数量以及各个意群之间的关系:
1 During the term of this Contract, all technical documentation,
2 including but not limited to manufacturing technologies, procedures, methods, formulas, data, techniques and know-how,
3 to be provided by one Party to the other
4 shall be treated by the recipient as "Confidential Information".
我们把第一个句子分成了四个意群,第二个和第三个意群都是第一个意群中名词的修饰语,第四个意群是句子的谓语部分。修饰成分如果都叠加在名词之前会显得过于累赘,我们可以考虑一个放置在名词前方进行修饰,一个保留在名词后方的位置进行补充说明。
译文:合同执行期间,所有一方向另一方提供的技术文件,包括但不限于加工技术、工艺流程、加工方法、配方、数据、技术、技能,须由接收人认定为保密信息。