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1、Lecture 4 英汉语态差异及 翻译中的语态转换,I. Voice Contrast,英、汉都有主动语态和被动语态之分，但是对于两种语态的运用却不尽相同。一般来说，英语里运用被动语态的频率明显高于汉语。从句法角度看，英语重形合，注重句法结构和表达形式。当主动式不便于表达时，出于造句的需要或修辞的考虑，往往采用被动式。此外，从文体的角度看，某些文体较多使用被动句，以迎合其表达的需要。,有人统计了奥斯汀的小说傲慢与偏见开头三十页中竟有135个被动句。 还有统计，在科技文体中，被动句的使用频率比其他文体要大4倍。 汉语中被动语态用得少。据统计，在水浒中，一回中只发现“被”字二三处；而在红楼梦中，
2、则二三十回中，才见一处。“五四”运动前，“被”往往与对动作承受者有不利影响的动词连用，如“被迫害”， “被腐蚀”等。但由于外来语的影响，汉语中“被”字的使用才趋向增加。,巴金的家初版于1931年，在1957年做了很大的修订，其中主要的一项就是针对被动句。初版的有272处被动句，1957年删改了161处之多。如： 我也许是太自私了，也许是被的别的东西迷住 了眼睛。(1931) 我也许是太自私了，也许是别的东西迷了我的眼睛。(1957),II. Causes of PV in English,被动语态在英语里是一种常见的语法现象。在某些文体中，使用被动句几乎成了一种表达习惯(passive hab
3、it)。SBaker在The Practical Stylist一书中指出: “Our massed，scientific，and bureaucratic society is so addicted to the passive voice that you must constantly alert yourself against its drowsy, impersonal pomp被动句促成了物称倾向，物称倾向也滋长了被动句。英语常用被动句，主要有以下原因 ：,施事的原因。人们表达思想的时候，通常使用主动句。但当主动句的施事(agent)由于以下的原因而不需要或不可能指明时，英语往
4、往采用被动句。 1）施事未知而难以言明 The murderer was caught yesterday，and it is said that he will be hanged. 凶手已于昨天被捕，据说他将会被绞死。,2）施事从上下文中可以不言自明 She told me that her master had dismissed herNo reason had been assigned; no objection had been made to her conduct. She had been forbidden to appeal to her mistress 她告诉我，她
5、的男主人已解雇了她。男主人没有讲明任何理由，对她的行为没有任何异议，也不许她向女主人申诉。,3）施事不如受事重要，或受事需要强调 Her only son was run over by a car 她的独子被汽车轧了。 Very soon he was surrounded by a crowd and was snowed under with questions. 一群人立刻把他围住了，向他提出一个又一个的问题。 Clinton is expected to give his testimony by videotape. 克林顿将会以录像的形式提供证词。,有时为了隐去含糊的人称主语(v
6、ague pronoun subject)，也用被动句: At the tea party they served only tea and cake At the tea party only tea and cake were served 茶会上只供应茶和饼。,4)由于特殊的原因而不要指明施事，如为了使叙述显得圆通、得体，或为了表达某种微妙的情绪(tact or delicacy of sentiment)，例如： Some things have been said here tonight that ought not to have been spoken 今晚有人在此讲了些不该讲
7、的话。,2.句法的要求 1）为了使句子承上启下、前后连贯、便于衔接。 He appeared on the stage and was warmly applauded by the audience. 他出现在台上，观众报以热烈的鼓掌。 She was asked ten questions in the oral exam and answered every one of them correctly. 口试时，问了十个问题，她全答对了。,Language is shaped by, and shapes, human thought. 人的思想形成语言，而语言又影响了人的思想。 2）为
8、了使句子平衡，保持末端中心(end focus)和末端重量(end weight)，以符合主语简短、谓语复杂的表达习惯。 I was astounded that he was prepared to give me a job 他准备给我一份工作，这使我大吃一惊。,3.修辞的考虑。英语修辞学主张不要过分使用被动句，但适当使用被动句可以使表达方法灵活多变，避免句型单调，达到一定的修辞效果。例如使用被动式可以减少以填补词“it”、“there”引导的句式，使句子比较干脆、有力。试比较：,There are many ways to vary the basic English sentence
9、pattern of subjectverbobject 有许多方法可以变换英语“主一动一宾”基本句型。 The basic English sentence pattern of subjectverbobject can be varied in many ways 英语“主一动一宾”基本句型可以用许多方法加以变换。,4.文体的需要。某些文体较多使用被动句，以迎合其表达的需要。 RQuirk等人指出：There is a notable difference in the frequency with which the active and passive voices are used
10、. The active is generally the more common, but there is considerable variation among individual texts. The passive has been found to be as much as ten times more frequent in one text than another.,The major stylistic factor determining its frequency seems to be related to the distinction between inf
11、ormative and imaginative prose rather than to a difference of subject matter or of spoken and written English. The passive is generally more commonly used in informative than in imaginative writing, notably in the objective, non-personal style of scientific articles and news items,这类信息性的(informative
12、)文体主要指科技文体、新闻文体、公文文体及论述文体。科技论文注重事理和活动的客观叙述(impersonal activity seen objectively)，力戒作者的主观臆断，因而常常避免提及施事。JPerlmutter指出，“Its traditional among technical writers to keep themselves in the background, to exclude personal pronouns and emphasize their work instead”,新闻报道注重口气客观、间接，叙事翔实、冷静(calm fact-teller)，施事
13、往往难以言明，也不宜言明。公文则注重叙述公正、无私，口气客观、正式。RAhick对此曾作如下解释：,The passive voice allows one to express ideas without attributing them to a specific individual source. That is why it is so widely used in government communications, in which decisions and opinions are presumed to be those of the bureau or agency as
14、 a whole and not of individual officials. But legitimate use can easily turn into abuse. While the convention by which governmental edicts come from an impersonal entity can be defended,the indiscriminate use of the passive as a grammatical camouflage can also be a sign of moral weakness. Anyone who
15、 does not wish to assume personal responsibility for his statements finds an “out” by writing “it is directed that” instead of “I direct that,” or “it is the opinion of the firm” instead of “I think”,The weak passive is used in newspaper writing for the same reason for which it is used in government
16、al correspondence: to achieve the impersonal note, and thus, in many instances, to disclaim direct responsibility for statements that are based on hearsay.,英语有过分使用被动语态的倾向，正式文体尤其如此。英美语言学者都主张多用主动语态，不要滥用被动语态。许多学者认为被动语态虽有不少用处，但显得罗唆(wordy)、间接(indirect)、无力(weak)、隐晦(oracular)，故弄玄虚(mysterious)而深不可测(impenetrable)，使交际者之间隔着一层被动的烟幕(passive smoke-screen)。R. Quirk曾引用D. Senior攻击被动语态的话，,说它是“half the dilatoriness，the passing of the bucks，the shirking of responsibility，th
