无灵主语句的翻译

无灵主语句的翻译

王宪生

“无灵主语” (inanimate subject) 是指没有生命的物体作主语，尤其是抽象名词。英语和汉语里都有无灵主语，但英语用的多，汉语用的少。这一用法差异应该和中西文化的差异有关。中国文化强调主客同构，西方文化强调主客对立。汉语即便说到事物，也总要和人拉上关系，从人的立场上来说它。英语即便说到人，甚至是说到自己，也往往会把他推到客体的位置，自己好像置身事外似的冷眼旁观。所以，英语能用无灵主语就不用有灵主语，汉语正相反，能用有灵主语就不用无灵主语。

英语的无灵主语句可分为两类。一类是纯粹描写事物，一点“人气”也没有。另一类描写的是人，但偏不用人作主语，甚至把人“排挤”到很不重要的位置。这里不说第一类，只说说第二类。这一类的句子一般有两种翻译方法。较常用的是将其转换为汉语的有灵主语句，另一种是仍然保留无灵主语。用哪一种方法，只能视情况而定。如果两种方法都能用，那就尽量转换成有灵主语句。

英语的无灵主语句看似简单，实际上想译得地道却不太容易。另外顺便一提，我发现英语无灵主语句的掌握是中国学生的一个薄弱环节，多数人都用不好，主要是缺乏意识。有的学生写记叙文只会用“I”、“He”、“They”等人称代词作主语，无灵主语句基本不会用，这样写出来的只能是披着英语外衣的汉语，离地道的英语差得远。可以这么说，能否熟练使用英语的无灵主语句，是英语是否成熟的一个重要标志。要译好无灵主语句，自己要首先掌握好无灵主语句。自己都掌握不好，想译好是很困难的。

今天先出几个简单的句子。

例一：The boxer’s experience told in his favor.

例二：The sight of the clock reminded me that I was late.

例三：Jane’s kindly and gentle nature could not but revolt at her sister’s callous behavior.

例四：His reading inspired him.

例五：Fortune smiled on him.

例六：Aimlessness and failure marked Hitler’s early life.

例七：Childhood dearly loves a tale; for its simple heart finds the way out of a reality it does not understand by contriving a world of make-believe.

A Research on the International Competitive Power of Transportation Service Exports from Guangdong Province

Abstract: Guangdong, as the largest import and export trading power in China, has seen further expansion in international trade in the 21st century, especially after China became a member country of WTO. Since the 90's of the last century, with the rapid development of information technology, transportation service exports has been flourishing globally. Guangdong, being one of the forerunners in Chinese economic reform, shows the state of affairs in the field of international transportation exports.

Based on the analysis of development status of transportation service exports from Guangdong, of the necessity of tapping into transportation service exports, of the international competitive power and competitive edge of Guangdong in the field of transportation service exports, I put

forward the strategy of improving the international competitive power of Guangdong in transportation service exports.

Keywords: Guangdong Province, transportation service, service exports, international competitive power