(1) Christ, to hear some of those sailors' myths, you'd think bloody Fort Knox was on every ship that sailed. 天哪,要是听信有些水手的胡说八道,你会以为每条出海的船上都有该死的诺克斯堡哩。
(注:诺克斯堡是美国的一个军事保留地,是美国黄金仓库的所在地。)
(2) They did not reopen the Pandora's Box they had peeked into in 1972.
他们在1972年曾挖掘过这些丑事,如今却不再打开这个潘朵拉的盒子。
(注:潘朵拉的盒子原自希腊神话故事,里面藏有许多能给人们带来不幸的事物。)
(3)-Why are parliamentary reports called "Blue Books"?
--Because they are never red.
──为什么议会报告称为"蓝皮书"?
──因为他们从来就不是红的。(注:red和read谐音,实际上是指"从来没有人读它们")
C. 释义
由于许多英语修辞手法或比喻形象本身是特有的,如保留其形就会危害其义。如头韵法,其搭配可以千变万化,很难碰巧找到相同的汉语搭配,即使勉强凑韵,也不一定能表达原文的意思。这时就必须首先保证译文能正确传达原文的思想内容,然后再尽一切可能去表现原文的节奏和旋律。如英语明喻as rich as Croesus,如译成"富得像科里瑟斯",读者会十分费解,不知Croesus是何许人也。如果加注,说明Croesus是公元6世纪小亚细亚吕底亚国王,十分富有。读者虽然能明白了该词的意思,却极易分散他们阅读的主要注意力,因此不如干脆意译为" 极为富有",不必顾及其修辞手法。 其他例子还有:
as drunk as a fiddler酩町大醉 (在英格兰早期文化生活中,民间小提琴手在公共场合为舞蹈伴奏, 人们往往以酒酬谢,小提琴手因此每每喝得大醉。这种奇特的比喻只好意译。)
(1)They prolonged the clasp for the photographers, exchanging smiling words.他们延长握手的时间,让摄影师照相,同时微笑着交谈。(英语transferred epithet--汉语无修辞格)
(3)You want your pound of flesh, don't you?你要逼债,是吗?(英语allusion --汉语无修辞格)
(4)I spoke to them in hesitant English.我结结巴巴用英语对他们说。(英语transferred epithet--汉语无修辞格)
(5)He is the mouth of the House in its relations with the Crown.他是议会对王室的发言人。(英语metonymy--汉语无修辞格)
(6) Clearly a tug of war over key policies continues between the pragmatic and ideological camps.不言而喻,注重务实的和强调意识形态的两大营垒还会在重大政策上争吵不休。(英语metaphor--汉语无修辞格)
(3)It is regrettable that our appeal remained a dead letter.遗憾的是,我们当时的呼吁石沉大海。
(4) And I suppose she'll tell all the boys, the old cat. 我猜想她会告诉所有的男人,这个长舌的老太婆!(英语中猫常用来比喻恶毒的女人)
(5) Up and down he walked, up and down across the library floor.他在书房里走过来又走过去,走过来又走过去。(英语anastrophe--汉语顺成结构)
(6)In the past 12 months the word has watched with disbelief and dismay the acceleration of force and violence in the region.过去的十二个月里,全世界惊愕莫名地和难以置信地看到了这个地区正在加速使用武力和暴力。(英语alliter-ation--汉语对偶法)
(7)Mrs. Macbeth has a heart as hard as flint.麦克白夫人生来一副铁石心肠。(英语simile--汉语隐语)
(2) He was restlessly tired, even as he lay in bed.他累了,然而一点也不安宁,即使躺在床上也还是这样。
(3)Franklin Roosevelt listened with bright-eyed smiling attention.罗斯福目光炯炯,面带微笑,聚精会神地听着。
F.数种译法并用
有些英语修辞格译成汉语时有时需要数种译法并用才能译成漂亮的汉语。例如:
(1)…when I and my sorrows are dust.当我的尸骨化为尘土,我的哀愁化作清风时…… (英语zeugma--汉译采用分译和归化)
(2)Civilization is syphilization!世界愈文明,梅毒愈蔓延。(英语pun--汉语采用分译和释义)
(3)From their slopes flow streams feeding the oases strung along the rim of inland deserts. 条条溪水,潺潺而下,滋润着镶嵌于内陆沙漠边缘的片片绿洲。(英语alliteration和assonance--汉语使用叠词、象声词、分译)
G.英语原文无修辞格,翻译成汉语时用修辞格
有时原文中没有修辞格,但译成汉语时为了使语言表达生动活泼,译文中可以适当增加汉语修辞手法,例如:
(1)He determined to satisfy himself of the real state of the case.
他决心把事情弄个水落石出。
(2)I judge that there was going to be a crash by and by, but I was in now and must swim across or drown.我猜想迟早会有一天西洋镜有被拆穿,可是我既已下水,就不得不泅过水去,否则就会淹死。