陳代球

(南方醫(yī)科大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院,廣東廣州510515)

論漢英翻譯中懸垂修飾結(jié)構(gòu)的種種表現(xiàn)

陳代球

(南方醫(yī)科大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院,廣東廣州510515)

英語(yǔ)懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)是英語(yǔ)的一種嚴(yán)重錯(cuò)誤,往往會(huì)給翻譯帶來(lái)麻煩。不僅英語(yǔ)初學(xué)者容易在這方面犯錯(cuò),高水平的專(zhuān)業(yè)人士也需小心對(duì)待。我國(guó)的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者往往對(duì)分詞的邏輯主語(yǔ)比較注意,但是對(duì)其它懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)卻缺乏重視。本文擬對(duì)懸垂分詞、句首懸垂動(dòng)名詞、句首懸垂不定式、句首懸垂介詞短語(yǔ)及句首懸垂形容詞等常見(jiàn)的懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)進(jìn)行分析,以引起大家的重視、提高英語(yǔ)譯文質(zhì)量。

漢英翻譯; 邏輯主語(yǔ); 懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)

在閱讀一本有關(guān)人事部三級(jí)級(jí)筆譯資格證書(shū)的一本教材時(shí),一次偶然碰見(jiàn)這樣一個(gè)句子:他(魯班)看見(jiàn)河面很寬,水流很急,兩條小船來(lái)回渡人。書(shū)本上給的譯文是:

On the swift waters of the wide river,he saw two small ferryboats hurrying to and fro with passengers1[1](P100)

仔細(xì)一看,這個(gè)譯文其實(shí)是很值得商榷的。因?yàn)檫@個(gè)句子里的介詞短語(yǔ),從語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)上來(lái)說(shuō),只可能修飾主句的主語(yǔ)或者謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞,但是兩種解釋都違背了漢語(yǔ)原文的意義。

其實(shí),這句話里的介詞短語(yǔ)是一個(gè)懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)。眾所所周知,懸垂修飾結(jié)構(gòu)是一種嚴(yán)重的語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤。但是在漢譯英翻譯實(shí)踐中,懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)似乎并沒(méi)有引起譯者的足夠重視。經(jīng)?？梢钥吹接蓱掖剐揎椊Y(jié)構(gòu)引起的翻譯錯(cuò)誤。本文擬對(duì)懸垂分詞、句首懸垂動(dòng)名詞、句首懸垂不定式、句首懸垂介詞短語(yǔ)及句首懸垂形容詞等常見(jiàn)的懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)進(jìn)行分析。

一、懸垂分詞

分詞,無(wú)論是現(xiàn)在分詞還是過(guò)去分詞,也不管是否出現(xiàn)在句首,都是同主句的主語(yǔ)發(fā)生關(guān)系,“…a participial phrase must modify the subject of the sentence(the subject of the main verb)1”。[2](P285)如果分詞的邏輯主語(yǔ)同主句的主語(yǔ)發(fā)生了沖突,或者導(dǎo)致了并非漢語(yǔ)原文想要表達(dá)的意義,那么就出現(xiàn)了懸垂分詞。

例如:

Using either military or peaceful means,most of the remaining enemy forces were put out of action1[2](P286)

這個(gè)句子給人的感覺(jué)是most of the remaining enemy forces是句首現(xiàn)在分詞的邏輯主語(yǔ)?？墒?事實(shí)上,原文想要表達(dá)的意義并非如此,而是我們通過(guò)軍事或和平手段使敵軍大部分殘余力量失去了戰(zhàn)斗力。因此,譯文可改為:

Using either military or peaceful means,we put most of the remaining enemy forces out of action.

又如:

Conveniently situated,traffic from Jin Hui T ower to Beijing International Airporttakes only 1/2hourviatheThirdRing Road1[2](P286)

同樣,在這個(gè)句子中,分詞conveniently situated的邏輯主語(yǔ)成了traffic,而事實(shí)上原文真正想要表達(dá)的意義應(yīng)為Jin Hui Tower地處方便?？紤]到本句用分詞真正的邏輯主語(yǔ)即Jin Hui T ower做主句的主語(yǔ)會(huì)使句子不流暢,所以當(dāng)另想辦法:

The Jin Hui T ower is conveniently situated,only 1/2 hour from the Beijing International Airport via the Third Ring Road.

當(dāng)然,現(xiàn)在分詞在有些情況下可以獨(dú)立使用,而不用考慮其邏輯主語(yǔ)和主句主語(yǔ)是否一致。常見(jiàn)的情況如下:[3](P73)

1.副詞+speaking 例如:generally speaking,strictly speaking,frankly speaking等;

2.V-ing+介詞 例如:judging from,talking of,allowing for,owing to,according to等;

31V-ing+從句 例如:supposing/supposed that從句,providing/provided that從句,granting/granted that從句,allowing/ considering/given that從句。

二、懸垂動(dòng)名詞

句首動(dòng)名詞的使用規(guī)則跟分詞一樣,即動(dòng)名詞的邏輯主語(yǔ)必須同主句的主語(yǔ)一致,“Still,when the phrase stands at the beginning,that unexpressed subject must be logically related to the expressed subjects of the sentence…The rule here is simple:the implied subject of an opening gerund must be the same as the subject of the sentence1”[2](P294-295)

例如:After gaining some experience,these measures will gradually be introduced in other regions across the country.

誰(shuí)gain some experience?難道是these measures?顯然不是。但是這句話給人就是這樣的感覺(jué)。正是因?yàn)闆](méi)有處理好動(dòng)名詞的邏輯主語(yǔ)才導(dǎo)致了“這些措施在獲得一些經(jīng)驗(yàn)后”的錯(cuò)誤意思。如果用動(dòng)名詞真正的邏輯主語(yǔ)來(lái)?yè)?dān)任主句的主語(yǔ),那么這個(gè)問(wèn)題就解決了:

After gaining some experience,we will gradually introduce these measures in other regions across the country.

三、懸垂不定式

中國(guó)學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ),整體上來(lái)說(shuō),對(duì)分詞和動(dòng)名詞的邏輯主語(yǔ)和主句主語(yǔ)一致問(wèn)題看得比較緊,但是對(duì)不定式、介詞短語(yǔ)和形容詞短語(yǔ)的邏輯主語(yǔ)往往卻容易忽視。其實(shí),句首動(dòng)詞不定式的邏輯主語(yǔ)的使用規(guī)則跟分詞和動(dòng)名詞邏輯主語(yǔ)的用法一樣,必須同主句的主語(yǔ)保持一致。(“…,the implied subject of an opening infinitive must be the same as the subject of the sentence1”)。[2](P298)也就是說(shuō),句首不定式的邏輯主語(yǔ),默認(rèn)為是主句的主語(yǔ)。如果這兩者發(fā)生了沖突,就會(huì)導(dǎo)致懸垂不定式。

例如:In order to succeed,great efforts must be made.

在這個(gè)例句中,不定式“為了成功”的邏輯主語(yǔ)成了極大的努力,也就是極大的努力為了成功。這是不合邏輯的。正確的理解應(yīng)該是人們?yōu)榱顺晒π枰冻鰳O大的努力。明白了不定式“為了成功”的邏輯主語(yǔ)是“人們”,而不是“極大的努力”。就可以把原句改為:

In order to succeed,we/people/one should make great efforts.

又如:In order to serve you better,please fill out a deposit slip before approaching the window.

在這個(gè)句子中,句首不定式的真正的邏輯主語(yǔ)應(yīng)當(dāng)是提供服務(wù)的一方,相當(dāng)于“we”之類(lèi)的詞。但是后面祈使句的隱含主語(yǔ)是“you”,也就是說(shuō),這個(gè)句子給人的感覺(jué)就是句首不定式的邏輯主語(yǔ)就是后面主句的主語(yǔ)“you”,但是這是明顯不合邏輯的。整個(gè)句子可以改為:

In order to be better served,please fill out a deposit slip before approaching the window.

四、懸垂介詞短語(yǔ)

句首形容詞性的介詞短語(yǔ)往往同句子主語(yǔ)發(fā)生關(guān)系,而副詞性的介詞短語(yǔ)往往則同主句的謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞發(fā)生關(guān)系。Joan Pinkham提到,“Any opening prepositional phrase that acts as an adjective will affix itself to the noun or pronoun that is the subject of its sentence”,“Any opening prepositional phrase that acts as an adverb will affix itself to the main verb in the sentence”。[2](P302-303)如果忽略了這一點(diǎn),句子就會(huì)出現(xiàn)懸垂介詞短語(yǔ)的問(wèn)題。例如:

他(魯班)看見(jiàn)河面很寬,水流很急,兩條小船來(lái)回渡人。

書(shū)本上給的譯文是:

On the swift waters of the wide river,he saw two small ferryboats hurrying to and fro with passengers1[1](P100)

在這個(gè)句子中,只能有兩種理解:一是把這個(gè)介詞短語(yǔ)理解成形容詞性的,那就是跟主語(yǔ)he發(fā)生關(guān)系;另一種就是把介詞短語(yǔ)理解成副詞性的,那就是跟主句謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞saw發(fā)生關(guān)系。按照第一種理解,那就是:他在水里湍急的河面上;而按照第二種理解,意思則是:在水流湍急的河面上看見(jiàn)什么情況。很明顯,這兩種意義都有悖于原文,因?yàn)樵牡囊馑际?兩條小船在湍急的河面上來(lái)回渡人,而不是“他”(魯班)在河面上,也不是“看見(jiàn)”這個(gè)動(dòng)作發(fā)生在河面上。所以,可以看出,原來(lái)的譯文是有著嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題的!

在對(duì)介詞短語(yǔ)的用法有了正確的認(rèn)識(shí)后,我們就可以把原譯文改為:

He saw two small ferryboats hurrying to and fro on the swift waters of the wide river with passengers.

在這個(gè)修改后的譯文中,由于介詞短語(yǔ)on the swift waters of the wide river不是放在句首,因此沒(méi)有只同主句主語(yǔ)或謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞發(fā)生關(guān)系的限制。改動(dòng)后的句子中,由于介詞短語(yǔ)放在了動(dòng)詞hurrying to andfro后面,所以修飾關(guān)系非常清楚,即修飾動(dòng)詞hurrying to and fro,也就是小船在水流湍急的河面上來(lái)回,合乎原文的意義。

再如:As leaders,it is necessary to get a clear picture of the problems and work out measures to solve them.

在這個(gè)句子中,句首介詞短語(yǔ)“As leaders”的邏輯主語(yǔ)本應(yīng)是諸如we、one或者people等指人的詞。當(dāng)讀者讀到這個(gè)介詞短語(yǔ)后,自然會(huì)期望后面主句的主語(yǔ)是這些指人的詞。但是,本句的主語(yǔ)竟然是“it”,矛盾便也由此而生?？梢愿臑?

As leaders,we should get a clear picture of the problems and work out measures to solve them.

五、懸垂形容詞短語(yǔ)

“Lastly,individual adjectives in an initial position,ones that are not part of prepositional phrases,can also dangle when they do not modify the subject of the sentence1”[2](P306-307)也就是說(shuō),當(dāng)句首形容詞短語(yǔ)沒(méi)有修飾主句主語(yǔ)時(shí),這個(gè)形容詞短語(yǔ)就是一個(gè)懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)。例如:

Tall and shy,Diana's stylish gowns were recently auctioned off for S|517 million1[2](P307)

“Tall and shy”的真實(shí)邏輯主語(yǔ)應(yīng)為Diana,但是后面緊接的主句主語(yǔ)卻是Diana's stylish gowns!所以,跟前面講的各種懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)一樣,這也是一個(gè)嚴(yán)重的語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤。從語(yǔ)法角度上來(lái)說(shuō),可以改為:

The stylish gowns of Diana,who was tall and shy,were recently auctioned off for S|517 million.

當(dāng)然,從語(yǔ)義的角度來(lái)說(shuō),定語(yǔ)從句中“tall and shy”是多余的,因?yàn)檫@跟Diana的衣服拍賣(mài)了多少錢(qián)是沒(méi)有關(guān)系的。

分詞、句首動(dòng)名詞、句首不定式、句首形容詞等都必須同主句的主語(yǔ)一致。如果這些結(jié)構(gòu)真正的邏輯主語(yǔ)同主句的主語(yǔ)發(fā)生了沖突,就會(huì)導(dǎo)致嚴(yán)重的語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤即懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)。另外,句首介詞短語(yǔ)可以同主句的主語(yǔ)或者謂語(yǔ)發(fā)生關(guān)系,如果既沒(méi)有同主句的主語(yǔ)也沒(méi)有同主句的謂語(yǔ)發(fā)生關(guān)系,那么這個(gè)句首介詞短語(yǔ)也是懸垂結(jié)構(gòu)。因此,在使用分詞、句首動(dòng)名詞、句首不定式及句首形容詞時(shí),要注意這些結(jié)構(gòu)的邏輯主語(yǔ)和主句主語(yǔ)的一致。在使用句首介詞短語(yǔ)時(shí),要確其同主句的主語(yǔ)或者謂語(yǔ)發(fā)生關(guān)系。

[1]黃源深,張春柏.全國(guó)翻譯專(zhuān)業(yè)資格水平考試指定教材英語(yǔ)筆譯實(shí)務(wù)3級(jí)[M].北京:外文出版社,2008.

[2]Joan Pinkham.中式英語(yǔ)之鑒[M].北京:外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社,2000.

[3]張一冰.美國(guó)高校入學(xué)考試指導(dǎo)叢書(shū)SAT文法[M].上海:上海譯文出版社,2009.

On Dangling Structures of Various Kinds in C-E Translation

CHEN Dai-qiu
(School of Foreign Studies,Southern Medical University,Guangzhou,Guangdong 510515)

Dangling structures in English,a kind of major linguistic errors,can give rise to great obstacles in Chinese-English translation.Not only beginners are inclined to make mistakes in termsof the dangling structure,but advanced professionals also should handle the structure with care.Paying adequate attention to the logical subject of participial phrases,English learners in our country fail to attach importance to dangling structures of other types.In view of this,the author intends to analyze the dangling participle,and the gerund,infinitive,prepositional and adjectival structure in the initial position of a sentence in order to increase English learns'awareness and help improve the quality of C-E translations.

C-E translation; logical subject; dangling structures

H059

A

1671-9743(2011)11-0082-02

2011-10-10

陳代球(1972-),男,苗族,湖南麻陽(yáng)人,南方醫(yī)科大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院講師,碩士,從事對(duì)外宣傳翻譯和跨文化交際方面的研究。