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Able was I ere I saw Elba! (ere<古>=before)
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在看到俄尔巴岛之前我还没有倒!
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这是英国人嘲讽不可一世的拿破仑战败后在俄尔巴岛上的一句名言,述实中含诙谐,严肃里有幽默。此句的闪亮美感在于:不管顺读,还是倒读,其字母顺序都一样。这颇与汉语“回文”(Palindrome)相似,不过汉语是倒读其字,而非字母。如南朝诗人王融的名诗:池莲照晓月,幔锦拂朝风。倒读(风朝拂锦幔,月晓照莲池)获得的意境与顺读极近。
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这种接近游戏美感的表达,在翻译中受到彻底“制约”!
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The Sacred ‘Rac’(见Reader’s Choice)一文中有如此一段:
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The rac-an animal much like a bull in size, strength and temperament. In the Asu tribe, it is almost a social obligation to own at least one if no more racs. Anyone not possessing at least one is held in low esteem by the community because he is too poor to maintain one of these beasts properly. Some members of the tribe, to display their wealth and social prestige, even own herds of racs.
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本段的阅读美感在于:初读懵懂,细读入门,三读豁然!上段描写的公牛似的怪兽rac倒拼过来则是car,而那个称为Asu的部落倒拼便是USA呀!文章含蓄而又幽默地嘲讽了今日美国“车满为患”的现实。文中由字母因素构成的Palindrome断不可译也。
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· 字母形状
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a. If you wish to succeed, you must mind your p’s and q’s.
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如果你想获得成功,你就必须小心行事。
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b. He has given a more or less accurate statement of the facts, though I hope he will not mind if I dot his i’s for him.
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他对事实已作了比较准确的陈述,如果他不介意的话,我还希望作一些细节上的补充。
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字母p和q外形相似,在字母表中又彼此紧挨,学生或旧时的排版工人都需特别留神这两个字母的区别,例a中mind your p’s and q’s系一成语(意即“言行需谨慎”)。
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例b中的dot his i’s亦源于字母的i的结构,i必须有一点其书写方算正确,dot his i’s之说应运而生,意即“补充细节,一丝不苟”等。
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从相应的汉译中,不难看出,如此生动形象,美感荡漾的表达也被彻底“制约”了。因为,此美发端于英语的字母形状。
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· 字母拼音
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“汉语具有意美、音美、形美三大优点。”(鲁迅《汉文学史纲要》第一篇,《自文学至文章》)然而,英语与汉语相比,前者为拼音文字,而后者为表意文字。英语所具有的“音美”显然有别于汉语。汉语一个字代表一个音节,而汉语音节结构形式的一个突出的审美特征是双声叠韵。就双声言,它主要出现于诗中,如:
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小怜初上琵琶,晓来思绕天涯。
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疏影横斜水清浅,暗香浮动月黄昏。
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英语中的Alliteration(头韵)近乎汉语的双声,得拼音文字之便,英语的Alliteration作为一个语音辞格,广见于英谚、广告、书名、小说、政治、散文等等。当今的英美书刊可以俯拾。如前所述,英语头韵的汉译也不乏佳译,但是,英语头韵之美在汉译时的流失,毕竟占绝大多数。
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To many parents, the three Gs-gays, guys and gangs-have replaced the three Rs as benchmarks of school life. (US News & World Report Jan. 2, 1995)
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对于许多父母来说,同性恋、枪支、团体这三个词已经代替了读、写、算作为学校的基准尺度。
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As many as 15,000 doctors now rely on cosmetic surgery for a fair chunk of their income —— and they are allowed to advertise aggressively. (The Economist Jan. 11, 1994)
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目前多达15000名医生依靠整容手术赚取相当丰厚的收入,而且还被允许大肆做广告。
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Hair loss can be triggered by drugs, disease and diet. (Reader’s Digest Dec., 1995)
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