汉语文言与现代英语句法结构的主要差异及其翻译 (1)

汉语文言与现代英语句法结构的主要差异及其翻译

Syntactic Differences of Classical Chinese and Modern English

一、意合与形合（parataxis vs. hypotaxis）

意合法（parataxis）是指词与句、句子与句子之间的组合往往在外部形态上没有明显的标记，而主要依靠意义上的关联来“粘合”；

形合法（hypotaxis）是指句子与词组合在外部形态上有明显的标记，当形态标记不充分的时候，还可用其他语法手段来显示词组、句子、句群中各成分之间的相互关系。

由于汉英两种语言在句法结构上面的差别，因此，在汉语文言和现代汉语互译时，可根据实际情况分别采用意合法或形合法。

（一）采用形合法

由于汉语句式重意合，英语句式重形合，所以汉译英时许多具有意合特点的汉语句式有必要转换成具有形合特点的英语句式。翻译时不能像原文那样表述，否则就会显得支离破碎，句子结构不完备或出现串句（run-on sentence）。

（二）采用意合法

形合法是英语的主要特征，但这并不意味着汉语的意合译成英语时统统都得用形合法。事实上，现代英语也具有某些形合的体征，只是这一特征不及汉语意合法那么显著而已。英语中的意合形式主要通过标点符号、省略的形式来达到。

儒有不金宝玉，而忠信以为宝；不祈土地，立义以为土地；不祈多积，多文以为富；难得而易禄也，易禄而难畜也。非时不见，不亦难得乎？非义不合，不亦难畜乎？先劳而后禄，不亦易禄乎？其近人而有如此者。

——《礼记·儒行》

The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be treasures,but leal-heartedness and good faith;he does not desire lands and territory, but considers the establishment of righteousness as his domain; he does not desire a great accumulation of wealth, but looks on many accomplishments as his riches; it is difficult to win him, but easy to pay him; it is easy to pay him, but difficult to retain him. As he will not show himself when the time is not proper for him to do so, is it not difficult to win him? As he will have no fellowship with what is not righteous, is it not difficult to retain him? As he must first do the work, and then take the pay, is it not easy to pay him? -–such are the conditions of his close association with others.

--trans. by James Legge leal:忠实的，真实的

riches：财富，财产

生乎吾前，其闻道也固先乎吾，吾从而师之；生乎吾后，其闻道也，亦先乎吾，吾从而师之。

——韩愈《师说》

The men born before me surely know the truth before me, so I respect them as teachers, whereas those born after me may also know the truth before me, I likewise respect them as teachers.

--谢百魁译

孟子曰：“民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻。”

——《孟子》

Mencius said, “The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain (state) are the next; the sovereign is the lightest.”

It’s the people that should always come first, the state second, and the ruler, last.

二、动词优势与名词、介词、分词优势（verbs prominence vs. nouns, prepositions

and participles prominence）

汉语动词没有什么形态变化，且重动态描写。汉语在表达一些较复杂的思想时往往借助动词，按时间顺序、逻辑顺序，逐步交代，层层展开，给人以舒缓明快的感觉。英语句子主要采用主谓制。由于英语句子中的谓语动词受动词形态变化的约束，句子中只能有有一个谓语动词，谓语动词是句子的轴心，然后要借助名词来表达，而名词与名词之间的联系要借助介词来串联。另外，在汉语中多个动词在句子中一般具有同等重要的地位。但是，在英语中某些动词却要用分词来表示。所以英语是名词、介词和分词占主导地位的语言。在英译汉语文言时，要抓住句子的主要动词，其余动词用名词、介词和分词来处理。

晋太元中，武陵人捕鱼为业；缘溪行，忘路之远近。忽逢桃花林，夹岸数百步，中无杂树，芳草鲜美，落英缤纷，渔人甚异之，复前行，欲穷其林。

林尽其源，便得一山，山有小口，仿佛若有光，便舍船，从口入。初极狭，才通人。复行数十步，豁然开朗。土地平旷，屋舍俨然，有良田、美池、桑竹之属。阡陌交通。鸡犬相闻。其中往来种作，男女衣着，悉如外人。黄发垂髫，并怡然自得。

俨然：整齐。

夹岸：水流的两岸。

In the year of Taiyuan of the Jin Dynasty, there lived a man in Wuling Prefecture who earned his living by fishing. One day, he rowed his boat along a stream, unaware of how far he had gone when all of a sudden, he found himself in the midst of a wood full of peach trees in blossom. The wood extended several hundred footsteps along both banks of the stream. There were no trees of other kinds. The fragrant grass was fresh and beautiful and peach patals fell in riotous（茂盛的）profusion （大量）. The fisherman was so curious that he rowed on,in hope of discovering where the trees ended.

At the end of the wood was the fountainhead of the stream. The fisherman beheld a hill, with a small opening from which issued a glimmer of light. He stepped ashore to explore the crevice （缺口）. His first steps took him into a passage that accommodated only the width of one person. After he progressed about scores of paces, it suddenly widened into an open field. The land was flat and spacious. There were houses arranged in good order with fertile fields, beautiful ponds, bamboo groves （树丛）, mulberry trees （桑树）and paths crisscrossing the fields in all directions. The crowing （鸣叫）of cocks and the barking of dogs were within hearing of each other. In the fields the villagers were busy with farm work. Men and women were dressed like people outside. They all, old and young, appeared happy.

--罗经国译

One day in the Taiyuan period of the Jin Dynasty, a native of Wuling Prefecture, being a fisherman by trade, was boating in a stream. Oblivious （不注意的）of the distance that he had covered, he came upon a peach grove, which lined the banks of the stream for several hundred paces. The grove was unmixed with any other trees and was carpeted with fragrant and tender grass, while the newly opened blossom was a riot of pink. The fisherman much wondered and proceeded further, hoping to reach the end of the grove, which turned out to be the head of the stream. There he was confronted with a crag （峭壁）, which had a small orifice （小孔）looking as if it were lit by a dim light. Then he abandoned the boat and entered the opening.

At first the cave was very narrow, only passable for one person. After a further walk of several dozen paces, a broad view burst upon his sight. He saw an even and wide tract of land, on which some houses were arranged in good order, with fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees and bamboos all around them. The fields were crisscrossed with ridged paths. The cocks and dogs heard and eachoed each other. The clothes worn by the men and women tilling （耕地）the land were identical with those

of the outsiders. The aged and the adolescent all enjoyed themselves in blissful ease.

--谢百魁译

三、重复与替代（repetition vs. substitution）

汉英两种语言在代词的使用上有很大的差异。一般说来，汉语中代词用得少，英语中代词用得多。汉语不避重复，连续使用某个词语是常见的事，而英语则不然，如果在一句话中或相连的几句话中需要重复某个词语，要用代词或其他手段来避免重复。所以，汉语文言英译时，要用代词避免名词的重复，要在适当的地方增加代词，特别是人称代词、物主代词、反身代词和关系代词，才能符合英语语言的习惯。

（一）原文用名词，英文用代词代替，避免重复

子曰：“后生可畏，焉知来者之不如今也？四十、五十而无闻焉，斯亦不足畏也已。”

The Master said, “A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reaches the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will not worth being regarded with respect.”

人非生而知之者，孰能无惑？惑而不从师，其为惑也，终不解矣。

——韩愈《师说》Man is not born with knowledge. Who can deny that he has puzzles? These would ramain unsolved, should one refuse to be instructed by teachers.

(二)原文未用代词和名词，英文增加代词

荆卿好读书击剑，以术说卫元君，卫元君不用。（术，技艺）

——司马迁《史记·刺客列传》Mr. Jing was much given to reading and was expert at swordsmanship, by virtue of which he once recommended himself to the King of Wei, who nevertheless ignored him.

四、省略与完备（omission vs comprehensiveness）

汉语文言表意较模糊，英语表意较准确；汉语文言强调篇章的整体结构，讲究起承转合，注重对称平衡，英语强调篇章句子结构的严谨。翻译时要进行必要的增译，增补省略的词句，使之结构严谨，意思完备。

以正治国，以奇用兵，以无事取天下。（正，通政，法令）

——《老子》

Kindoms can only be governed if rules are kept; batttles can only be won if rules are broken. But the adherence of all under heaven can only won by letting-go.

--trans. by Arthur Waley

欲做精金美玉的人品，定从烈火中锻来；思立掀天揭地的事功，须向薄冰上履过。

——洪应明《菜根谭》

To have the character of pure gold and fine jade, one has to go through tempering fire; to achieve great earth-shaking feats, one must walk over treacherous ice.

——蒋坚松译

机息时便有月到风来，不必苦海人世；心远处自无车尘马迹，何须痼（音固）疾丘山。

When one’s calculation ceases, there will be the enjoyment as of bright moon and pleasant breeze: this world need not be a sea of bitterness; when one’s mind transcends, there will be no vexation as by dust raising carriages and boiterous heroes: why set one’s mind on a life of seclusion?

机息：机，心机，息是停止。心远：指思想超越尘世。痼疾丘山：痼疾形容特殊的喜好，丘是小山。指对山等有特殊的爱好。大意：心中停止一切算计心机之后，就会有明月清风到来一样轻松舒畅之感，因为从此不再为人间的烦恼而痛苦；思想远远超脱世俗之后，自然不会听到外面的车马喧闹之声，就不一定要眷恋山野泉林的幽静生活。