浅议汉语四字结构的翻译

On the translation of four-character phrases in Chinese

结合例句探讨了汉语四字结构的英译。一般来说,汉语四字主谓结构译成英语时也是一个主谓结构;动宾结构中若动词和名词在句子中分别作谓语、宾语,则仍译为动宾结构,若动宾结构在句中作主语或宾语,则往往译为一个名词短语;偏正结构如果表达的是修饰和被修饰的关系,英译时常采用“形容词/名词+名词”的结构,其它情况则灵活处理。四字并列和排比结构中,经常出现同义反复的情况,这时只要部分译出即可。

This paper focuses on the translation of four-character phrases in Chinese. Generally speaking, the 'subject-predicate' pattern can be put in English in the same structure. In the 'verb- object' pattern, if the verb and the noun serve as predicate and object respectively, it can be translated in the same way; if the phrase acts as subject or object, it should be rendered into a noun phrase. If a phrase consists of a modifier and the word it modifies, it can be translated into 'adjective/noun plus noun' pattern, and in other cases, it should be dealt with in a flexible way. The parallel structures in four-character phrases, frequently used in Chinese, often lead to tautology, when translated into English, repetition should be avoided.