在CCJK的博客里,就翻译而言,讨论的最多的还是翻译技巧。然而在实际工作中,仅仅掌握这些理论是远远不够的。在平时的翻译工作中,我们时常发现,自己的词汇量是如此的有限,似乎局限在初高中所掌握的词汇中。冥思苦想,找不出原因,有时甚至觉得自己处于事业的瓶颈期了。

其实,这种状态归根于我们不擅于积累,总结。就笔者而言,有时拿到编辑稿时,不得不感叹,某个单词经编辑改动后,整篇文章都提高了一个水平。确实如此,对于词汇的选择,我们总是很困惑。

可谓是,词汇用时,方恨少。就这种情况,Ben 曾发表过一篇名为《建立翻译语料库初探》的博客,CCJK 的同事们也正在努力地建设该语库。有感而发,笔者也开始尝试为汉译英的翻译工作者建立一个 Glossary。

关于该Glossary,笔者打算从词性入手,分别为动词,形容词,名词,副词,介词,连词等建立一个文档。以动词为例,参考结构如下 :

中文 英文 例句 出处 相关连接
下降下跌 dip to China’s annual economic growth dipped to 7.4 percent in the third quarter Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-china-economy-gdp-idUSBRE8B404W20121205
ease China’s annual consumer inflation eased to 1.7 percent Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-china-economy-gdp-idUSBRE8B404W20121205
decline Wall Street declined, as did European markets at their close and Brent oil prices Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20121203
fall The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX fell 6.72 points Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20121203
slide IXIC slid 8.04 points Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20121203
slip Global shares slip after U.S. data, oil mixed on China Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20121203
down The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index barely moved, down a mere 0.2 percent Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/fiscal-cliff-warnings-yet-to-faze-wall-street/2012/12/04/be7fa984-3e49-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_story.html
减少 abate as concerns abated about debt-burdened Greece and Spain Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20121203
diminish Britain’s global influence would sharply diminish Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-1126-britain-europe-20121126,0,7164024.story
allay while Chinese data allayed worries about global growth Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20121203
上升 climb China’s exports climbed by 11.6 percent in October Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-china-economy-gdp-idUSBRE8B404W20121205
soar Let THE markets soar The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/12/05/wall-street-unfazed-by-fiscal-cliff.html
rise the stock market rose.
escalate
ascend
达到 stand at The death toll in the province stood at 150 Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-philippines-typhoon-idUSBRE8B306420121205
reach Damage to agriculture and infrastructure in Compostela Valley province could reach at least 4 billion pesos ($98 million), Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-philippines-typhoon-idUSBRE8B306420121205
hit In August 1982, the unemployment rate hit 10.1 percent, The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/05/reagan-s-deal-with-democrats-for-tax-increases-paired-with-spending-cuts-is-a-myth.html
高涨 roar warnings of soaring tax rates Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/fiscal-cliff-warnings-yet-to-faze-wall-street/2012/12/04/be7fa984-3e49-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_story.html

从以上的表格,可以看出,我们所选的例句均来源于一些著名的英语报刊,书籍。因为笔者认为,要成为一名合格的汉译英翻译,译员们应该熟练掌握英语的表达方式,而最佳的学习办法,就是广泛阅读英美报刊和文章,这样才能了解英语本地人对英语句子的要求。在欣赏这些文章的同时,我们可以联想平时在翻译中常遇到的一些问题,然后对比一下这些地道的表达方式。

如上述提到的 “下降”,这个词在我们平时的翻译中使用频率很高,然而,我们常想到的只有一个 “fall”,于是,有时通篇译文中,都只见这一个词,殊不知,还有更为形象具体的表达。

除了这些常用的单词外,我们还可以记录一些,中文表达比较笼统,而英文却非常详细的词。比如,“愤怒”,相对应的英文就有“angry”, “annoyed”, “irritated”, “indignant”, “raged”, 等等。而我们翻译时,可能最先想到就是“angry”了,但根据不同的语境,我们如果能选择其它更具有描述性的形容词,译文就会呈现出不一样的效果了。如果也能建立相应的词汇表,我们在平时的翻译中,就可以通过查阅,轻松找到理想的用词了。通过这样的总结对比,还可以扩大我们的词汇量,工作学习两不误。