定语从句翻译：英汉互译技巧

4.5　定语从句的翻译

英语中，定语从句分成限制性从句与非限制性从句两种。它们在英语中的位置一般是在其所修饰的先行词后面。限定性定语从句与非限定性定语从句的区别主要在于限制意义的强弱。而汉语中定语作为修饰语通常在其所修饰的词前面，并且没有限制意义的强弱之分，因此，限制与非限制在翻译中并不起十分关键的作用。英语中多用结构复杂的定语从句，而汉语中修饰语则不应过度复杂。所以，在翻译定语从句时，一定要考虑到汉语的表达习惯。如果英语的定语从句太长，无论是限制性的或非限制性的，都不适合译成汉语中的定语，而应用其他方法处理。常见的定语从句翻译有以下几种方法:

4.5.1　前置法

把定语从句置于所修饰的先行词之前，用“的”来连接。既然定语从句的意义是作定语修饰语，所以在汉译时，通常把结构简单，传递信息较少的定语从句译成带“的”的前置定语，直接修饰从句的先行词。

例1:He who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet.

【译文】没有吃过苦的人不知道什么是甜。

【分析】who has never tasted what is bitter在句中作为先行词He的定语从句，因结构简单，信息量不大，在翻译过程中直接前置。

例2:But even more important，it was the farthest that scientists had been able to look into the past，for what they were seeing were the patterns and structures that existed 15 billion years ago.

【译文】但更为重要的是，这是科学家们所能观察到的最遥远的过去的景象，因为他们看到的是150亿年前宇宙云的形状和结构。

【分析】例句中that existed 15 billion years ago是一个定语从句，其先行词是the patterns and structures，翻译时，直接将其修饰先行词，译为:150亿年前宇宙云的形状和结构。结构清晰，意义明了，符合汉语表达习惯。

例3: The ambassador，who had long been interested in Asian affairs，was flattered.And he stood up and went up to the leaders from several counties.And then they had a private meeting.

【译文】早就对亚洲事务感兴趣的那个大使，不禁受宠若惊。然后他站起来并且走向几个国家领导人，与他们进行了私下会晤。

【分析】例句为非限制性定语从句，其结构和意义也较为简单，在句中做the ambassador的定语从句。汉译时，将定语从句翻译成带“的”的定语词组，置于被修饰的词之前，将英语原文的复合句翻译成汉语的简单句。

4.5.2　重复法

由于定语从句的先行词通常在定语从句中作为句子成分出现，如果定语从句。需单独翻译，先行词往往需要重复，也可以用代词代替先行词来达到重复强调的效果。

例1:He made the sound of sympathy which comes so readily from those who have an independent income.

【译文】他发出了同情之声，这种同情声是那些有独立收入的人最容易脱口而出的。

【分析】此句中先行词sympathy在句中充当定语从句的先行词，也是从句的主语。因此在翻译时，为了结构上的需要，第一个“同情之声”作为主句的宾语，第二个则作为从句的主语出现，句式结构清晰，易于理解。句中还包含一个who引导的限制性定语从句，因结构简单，用前置法处理即可。

例2:People in the United States experience a wide range of options in their daily lives，which reflect individual personalities and situations and contribute to the richness of American life.

【译文】美国人的日常生活五彩缤纷，个人选择的生活方式反映出每个人的个性和所处的环境，各种不同的选择丰富了美国人的生活内容。

【分析】原句中出现了由which引导的非限制性定语从句，其先行词是a wide range of options，它在定语从句中充当主语的句子成分，身兼两职的先行词重复之后意义更为明确。

例3:Cambridge University has nurtured great scientists，thinkers and poets such as Newton，Bacon，Milton，Byron and Darwin，who made outstanding contribution to the progress of mankind.

【译文】剑桥大学培养出了牛顿、培根、弥尔顿、拜伦、达尔文这样伟大的科学家、思想家和诗人，他们为人类的进步做出了杰出的贡献。

【分析】原句中出现了who引导的非限制性定语从句，先行词是great scientists，thinkers and poets such as Newton，Bacon，Milton，Byron and Darwin，在主句中作宾语，同时在之后的定语从句中作主语。翻译时，考虑用重复法处理定语从句部分，但是因为篇幅较长，不能直接重复，需要借助于代词来代替先行词达到重复的效果。

4.5.3　省略法

有些定语从句表面上是定语从句，但在意义上却已经和主句融为了一体。在翻译时，应该将引导定语从句的关系词省略，从而使句子的意思显得更为连贯通顺。

例1:One of the features of London is the number of big stores，most of which are to be found in or near the West End.

【译文】伦敦的一大特色是大商店多，大多数位于西区及周边地区。

【分析】例句中，big stores为先行词，其后的非限制性定语从句由which来引导，若省略关系词，译文则与原主句成为一个整体概念的表述:大多数(承前略去商店)。

例2:They worked out a new method by which production has now been rapidly increased.

【译文】他们制订出一种新方案，采用之后生产已迅速得到提高。

【分析】a new method为先行词，其后的非限制性定语从句由“介词+which”来引导，若省略关系词，原从句内容与主句之间变为顺承关系，更为直观表达原从句作目的的意义。

例3:His wife，Betty，is Shanghai-born Chinese who left China at the age of eight，and whose book Moon，tells of her sister's life in China.

【译文】他妻子贝蒂是一位出生在上海的华人，八岁离开中国，写过一本名叫《月》的书，记叙了她妹妹在中国的生活。

【分析】Shanghai-born Chinese作为先行词，两个限制性定语从句紧随其后，分别由who和whose来引导，分别表达:八岁离开中国;写过一本名叫《月》的书。两件事情的表述与“他妻子贝蒂是一位出生在上海的华人”这一信息置于统一语境中，句子的意思显得更为连贯通顺。故翻译中，将关系词省略，更符合汉语的表达习惯和行文顺序。

4.5.4　融合法

融合法是指翻译时把主句和定语从句融合成一句简单句，其中的定语从句处理为单句中的谓语部分。由于限制性定语从句与主句关系较紧密，所以，融合法多用于翻译限制性定语从句，尤其以“there be”结构中带有定语从句的句型为代表。

例1:There are those，of course，who would adopt the Epicurean motto of“Eat，drink，and be merry”.But most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.

【译文】当然，也有人奉行“吃、喝、享受”的享乐主义信条，但绝大多数人还是会受到即将到来的死亡的惩罚。

【分析】例句中包含了there be句型和一个who引导的限制性定语从句，of course作插入语，those是定语从句的先行词。原句先行词those和定语从句who would adopt the Epicurean motto…结合在一起，可译为一个简单句:也有人奉行“吃、喝、享受”的享乐主义信条，符合汉语简洁的表达习惯。

例2:There are those who insist that the era of a computer terminal on every desk is just around the corner，while others insist that traditional teaching methods will never give way to computerized instruction.(www.chuimin.cn)

【译文】有些人坚信，每张课桌上放一台计算机终端设备的时代即将来临，而另一些坚持说传统的教学方法决不会让位于计算机教学。

【分析】例句中包含了there be句型和一个who引导的限制性定语从句;those是定语从句的先行词，与定语从句who insist that the era of a computer terminal on every desk结合在一起，可译为一个简单句:有些人坚信每张课桌上放一台计算机终端设备的时代即将来临。其中定语从句成为简单句中的谓语部分，符合汉语简洁的表达习惯。

例3:We used a plane of which almost every part carried some indication of national identity.

【译文】我们驾驶的飞机几乎每一个部件都有一些国籍标志。

【分析】原句的主句较简单，整句句子的重点是在定语从句中。因此，翻译时将主句We used a plane译成主语:我们驾驶的飞机，而将定语从句of which almost every part carried some indication of national identity译成句子的谓语部分。

例4:The idea that the family is the traditional unit of society is challenged by American youth who are increasingly turning down marriage.

【译文】家庭是社会的传统组成成分，而美国青年越来越拒绝婚姻，使这种观念受到了挑战。

【分析】此句前一个that引导的是同位语从句the family is the traditional unit of society，而句末又有一个who引导的定语从句who are increasingly turning down marriage。我们在翻译的时候，可以把这两种句式结合在一起，整句译作一个简单句，这样更符合汉语的表达方式，逻辑关系清晰，意义也更明确。

4.5.5　定语状语转换法

英语中有些定语从句，不仅起到一个定语修饰的作用，而且在逻辑上(即意义上)与主句有状语关系，表示原因、目的、结果、条件、让步等关系。所以在翻译的时候，应尽量从原文意义层面发现其内部逻辑关系，进而翻译成汉语中相对应的状语分句。

例1:Actually，it isn't，because it assumes that there is an agreed account of human rights，which is something the world does not have.

【译文】事实并非如此，因为这种问法是以人们对人的权利有共同认识为基础的，而这种共同认识并不存在。

【分析】在这个句子中which引导非限制性定语从句修饰名词an agreed account，而the world does not have是省略了从句引导词that的定语从句，修饰something。定语从句中的转折关系要翻译出来。

例2:Anyone who thinks that rational knowledge need not be derived from perceptual knowledge is an idealist.

【译文】如果一个人认为理性认识可以不从感性认识得来，他就是一个唯心论者。(条件状语)

例3:We know that a cat，whose eyes can take in many more rays than our eyes，can see clearly in the night.

【译文】我们知道，由于猫的眼睛比我们人的眼睛能吸收更多的光线，所以猫在黑夜也能看得很清楚。(原因状语)

例4:The danger of a recession in world trade that could hit all countries can not be ignored，but it would bear most heavily on the weakest partners in the world economy.

【译文】因为经济衰退的危险可能冲击到所有的国家，所以不容忽视，但是受到冲击最大的将是世界经济中最为弱小的国家。(原因状语)

例5:There was something original，independent，and heroic about the plan that pleased all of them.

【译文】这个方案富于创造性，独具一格，很有魄力，因此他们都很喜欢。(结果状语)

例6:I'll try to get an illustrated dictionary dealing with technical terms，which will enable me to translate scientific literature more exactly.

【译文】我要设法弄一本有插图的技术名词词典，以便把科学文献译得更准确。(目的状语)

【练习】

1.Let me tell you about the first enemy we face from within.The first enemy that you've got to destroy before it destroys you is indifference.

2.The brave men，living and dead，who struggled here，have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract.The world will little note nor long remember what we say here，but it can never forget what they did here.

3.And without the Administration's goal of a“bullet-proof agreement”that business lobbyists can enthusiastically sell to a Republican Congress，the whole process will end up in partisan acrimony that could harm relations with China for years.

4.This was the area where I found imperfection，and where I was best able to fight.And I fought because I knew it was not doomed to be a losing fight.It couldn't be a losing fight—not when it took place in a free society.

5.Why in the following two hundred years a knowledge of natural and mathematical science has accumulated，which so vastly exceeds all that was previously known that these sciences may be justly regarded as the products of our own times.

6.E-commerce is a challenging and dynamic area where change，growth and innovation are the norm.

7.Smart cards，which can carry as much as 80 times more information on them than conventional cards with a magnetic stripe，are already widely used in European countries where centralized banks can roll out new services on a nationwide basis.

8.In the Greek heritage of the west，myth has always been in tension with reason，which

signified the rational and analytic mode of arriving at a true account of reality.

9.Medicine，like all branches of science，needs scholars who are able to develop appropriate rule of evidence and then apply those rules to the continuously flowing stream of new idea to determine what is relevant.

10.My idea of a good P.E.class is one where youth are involved in at least 20 minutes of basic movement that gets their heart rates up.

11.Other issues that concern the body politic，such as crime，poverty，and welfare，are not easily linked to public support of scientific research，save at the educational level.

12.That summer，those who remained were found fleeing down river to return home to England by new settlers with fresh supplies，who encouraged them to reconsider.

13.This is an elegant，anti magnetic，waterproof，shock-protected and heat-resistant watch which is made of stainless steel and high-precision fittings.

14.Many of China's aging singles are victims of the Cultural Revolution lasting to the 1970s，when they were sent to the countryside to live among the peasants for reeducation，and made a career and settled down in the expanse of the countryside.

15.Refugee laws，laid down in international treaties and adopted into national legal codes，acknowledge and spell out legal obligations toward people whose own governments are unwilling or unable to protect them.