楼主
第一类:缺少自校的耐心
如:打开的第一篇的试译稿的第一个字就是个错别字,某同学愣是把四月清晨写成西月清晨……这样的错误,让看官的印象分就不好,很吃亏。而且明显是没有通读过自己的文章。这样的同学不少。错别字太多是硬伤。
如:还有好几个同学把单词看错了,当然也就翻译错了,更遗憾的是由于没有自校,所以未被纠正,如:he was possessed with the thought popular among Armenians 其中不少同学把Armenians看成了Americans,因此翻译地也就牛头不对马嘴了。
第二类:选词的轻重问题
如:Amid the rabble of Greeks, Armenians, Turks, and Italians,这里的rabble如果翻译成乌合之众,用词可能有些过力,不如翻译成一群来自……的下层百姓之类。
如:The reply we received, though courteous, smacked strongly of reproof.其中strongly为程度副词,应译为强烈的谴责口气,有的同学译成轻微地谴责,程度上相差甚远。
第三类:漏译
如:which for us was the threshold of Asia 这个从句只有个别同学翻译出来了,在这而可译为对我们来说这里是亚洲的门槛儿
第四类:常识性错误
如:the little steamer conveying us across from Stamboul touched the wharf at Haider Pasha其中steamer有的同学译成了蒸汽火车……好吧,如果火车的停靠站不在火车站而在码头的话……
第五类:对词义/固定搭配的不理解
如:who had nerved themselves for nearly two years of separation其中,nerve oneself 根据《朗文高阶英语词典》英语版,意思是 to prepare yourself to brave enough to do something difficult or dangerous,很多同学没有翻出这层意思。另外,其中的nearly 意为almost,but not completely or exactly,因此此处可译为几乎两年或近两年的时间,但有些同学误解成近两年来,而近两年来的正确表达应当是the last two years
如:the“stars and stripes”应译成“星条旗”(美国国旗),有些同学没有理解,翻译成了星星和条纹。
如:On reaching London we had formed the plan...这句话的翻译关键在时间逻辑,到达伦敦和形成计划到底哪个先哪个后?先看这个例句:On reaching Beijing, she called up her mother.一到北京,她就给她母亲打了电话。因此这句话可以译为一到伦敦,我们就形成了……的计划。
如:to that end应译为为此,而非终于
如:“Western China,”he said,“is overrun with lawless bands 其中be overrun with意思是……泛滥、猖獗,而lawless bands应译为不法团伙
如:Minister Lincoln was sitting in his private office when we called the next morning at the American legation.中的call at,很多同学理解成打电话或是传唤,但其意思应是拜访某地,因此可以译为:第二天早上,当我们拜访美国使馆时,林肯公使正坐在他的私人办公室里。
如: the Celestial Empire 天朝(指封建时代的中国) 从上下文中亦可推测出指的是当时的中国
第六类:不符合中文习惯
如:The idea of a trip around the world had been conceived by us as a practical finish to a theoretical education; and the bicycle feature was adopted merely as a means to that end.这句话多数同学都把基本意思翻译出来了,但是逐字对应地翻译会使得这句话十分别扭,不符合中文使用习惯,因此可以酌情意译为:环球旅行这个想法,被我们设想成大学理论教育的毕业实践,而自行车这个特色只不过是达到这一目的的手段罢了。
第七类:选词时褒贬不当
如:Your extraordinary mode of locomotion would subject you to annoyance这句中对extraordinary 的翻译,根据说这句话的人的态度立场,应当是带有负面含义,可译为奇怪的,最多使用中性词非同寻常的,但不宜用褒义词如非凡的等等。
第八类:对句子结构的不理解
如:Your extraordinary mode of locomotion would subject you to annoyance, if not to positive danger, at the hands of a people who are naturally curious and superstitious.其中if not to positive danger为插入语,句子主干为Your extraordinary mode of locomotion would subject you to annoyance at the hands of a people 全句可译成:你们这奇怪的旅行,如果没有给你们带去正面威胁,也会给你们制造麻烦,你们很可能会落入天生好奇又迷信的当地人手中。
如:The documents received from the Chinese minister in response to Mr. Lincoln’s letter proved to be indispensable when, a year and a half later, we left the last outpost of western civilization and plunged into the Gobi desert. 这句话的主架构是The documents proved to be indispensable. 时间状语从句when, a year and a half later, we left the last outpost of western civilization and plunged into the Gobi desert中a year and a half later为插入语,译为一年半后。因此可以理清时间逻辑。整句话可译为中国大使回复了林肯先生,这封回信在其一年半后被证明是不可缺少的,那时我们已经离开了西方文明最后的哨所,深陷戈壁沙漠之中。
如:and to that capital, after cycling through Europe, we were now actually en route.这句有一半以上的同学好像没有理解透彻,en route在为外来语,在法语中意为在路上。这句话的语序可以调整为 after cycling through Europe,we were now actually en route to that capital,因此可译为:在骑行穿越欧洲后,实际上,现在我们已经踏上了前往波斯首都的旅途。
第九类:对上下文逻辑没有理解
如:for the people themselves I cannot answer. 这句话有好几位同学把这里的the people理解成上句中的officials,但根据上下文,理解成当地人民(也就是那些不法团伙)更复合逻辑。从词义上讲,the + people 表复数,意思是人民大众。
第十类:没有很好理解虚拟语气
如:I would much rather not have written it.词句为虚拟语气,林肯公使是想表示虽然他写了信,但希望没写过就好了,因为他知道这可能会给自己带去麻烦。所以可译为:我多么希望自己没有写过这封信。(但其实他写了)