分类: 教育/科学 >> 外语学习
解析:
汉语中的“吃”并非总是对应着英语中的"eat"。当“吃”表示一个实际的进食动作时,可以直译。英语中表示“吃”的动词主要有三个:eat, have和take,直译时选用哪个要根据动词与其宾语的搭配而定。比如“吃一个苹果”,可译为eat an apple。“一天吃三顿”,译为have three meals a day。“他在吃晚饭”,译为He is taking supper.
很多时候“吃”并不表示“吃”这个动作的本义,如:吃亏、吃力、吃苦。当“吃”表示比喻或引申意义时,翻译时应采用意译,译出其比喻意义、引申意义。例如:“他们是靠这个吃饭的”,该句中“吃”并非表示“吃饭”这个具体动作,而是引申为“谋生”,因此“靠……吃饭”在此应译为live on this或make a living by this,又如:“我吃不准他的意思”,“吃透了文件的精神”。这儿,“吃”表示一种比喻,其喻意为“理解”,“领会”,“掌握”,译为 understand, catch, grasp,“吃”表示比喻和引申意义时,常有以下几层意思:
①“遭受”、“承受”、“忍受”,分别对应着英语中的stand, suffer, bear。如:“吃得消”译为be able to stand;“吃亏”译为suffer losses, get the worst of it;“吃苦”译为bear hardships;
②表示流行、受欢迎。如:吃香be popular; 吃不开be unpopular, not in current demand;吃得开be popular, get along all right, “吃”到底是本义还是引申义,该直译还是该意译,要视具体语境而定。
如:“他吃素,别在菜里放猪油。”中的“吃素”是本急直译为restrain from eating meat;也可说:He is vegetarian.“别惹他,他可不是吃素的。”中的“吃素”用的是引申义,意思是“老实可欺”,可译为He is not to bully.又如:“吃水不忘挖井人。”中的“吃水”是本意,直译为drink water,“这船吃水三米,,中的“吃水”是个专业词,应译为The ship has a draught of 3 metres. 这些习语时不可逐字对应地硬译,若把“吃苦” 译为eat bitterness,“吃闲饭”译为have free meal就会闹出笑话。既然是成语,理解时应从 整体上把握其意义,然后进行意译,若能在英语中找出对应的成语或谚语,当然更好。例如:
吃不了兜着走 be in for it/ to be made to *** art for it (to *** art=suffer acutely)
吃得苦中苦,方为人上人。Hardship increases stature.
或:If you patiently endure trouble upon trouble, you will rise over the heads of others.
吃老本 to live off one's past gains,或 to live on one's own fat; 或 to rest on past achievements.
吃力不讨好 to do a hard but thankless job
吃软不吃硬 to be open to persuasion, but not to coercion 或 can be persuaded but not forced.
吃闲饭 to be sponger/ to lead an idle life/ to live in idleness.
吃里扒外 to live off one person while secretly helping another
吃着碗里,瞧着锅里。Peep in my cabbage pot; stare in my cupboard. 或 While eating one dish, he keeps watching for next to be insatiably greedy.
吃一堑长一智。A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit.
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