英语论文-浅谈英语长句的汉语翻译

浅谈英语长句的汉语翻译
[Abstract] The aim of this essay is to tell us how to translate English long sentences into Chinese correctly and precisely. It contains the comparison between English and Chinese long sentences, and defines English long sentence. The common types of English long sentences are classified in the essay, and it also explains why and where long English sentences are used respectively. In the third part of the essay, we proposes the steps and methods in translating long English sentence. In conclusion part, we points out the key to become a good translator is to read and practice as much as possible, and also mentions the similar ways in translating Chinese long sentences to English. [Key Words] long sentences; understanding; expressing; translating
【摘要】本论文主要是向大家介绍如何准确到位的将英语长句翻译为中文。

作者比较了中英文句子结构和表达的不同特点，同时对英语长句作了定义，对常见的几种英文长句作了说明，并且分别介绍了英语长句发生的原因和背景。

在论文第三部分作者提出了翻译英语长句的步骤与方法。

在结论部分，作者指出成为一个好的译者关键是多读多练，同时也提出了将中文长句翻译成英文相似的方法。

【关键词】长句；理解；表达；翻译
1. Introduction
English-Chinese translation is a process which requires a detailed analysis of the original sentences in such aspects as meaning, structure and logic, and which, as a result, needs a long time of practice to perfect. However, translation is made more difficult and complex by frequent appearance of long sentences in the two languages. In this essay, we discuss how we can develop skills in long sentence translation. What is a long sentence? A long sentence is one with several attributives, subordinate and adverbial clauses, which are interdependent on and linked to each other. Long sentences are characterized by frequent use of attributive and adverbial clauses, compound structure, parenthesis and dangling structure. Besides, what makes long sentences difficult to translate is the fact that Chinese and Englishmen have different thinking habit, which naturally leads to their differences in ways of expression and sentence structure. Thus, the emphasis of this essay is on a comparison between the structures of English and Chinese sentences. Reasons why this essay is on a comparison between the structures of English are also discussed, and the types of articles where long sentences frequently appear are shown to the readers. The priority of this essay is given to the steps, which should be taken, and the methods to be used in long sentence translation and vice versa.
2. Comparison between English and Chinese sentences
2.1Common types of long sentences in English
Generally, there are various types of long sentences, which are different in structures.
2.1.1 “Sentences with attributive clauses[1]P565--583
One common type of long sentence is one with attributive clauses. What is an attributive clause?
An attributive clause is one used after a noun to modify the noun. Attributive clauses, although sharing the similarity of being modifiers, are different according to their relationship with the main clause, and can be divided into several types.
(i). Attributive clause suggesting cause or effect
An important type of attributive clause is the ones that suggest cause or effect. In translating a long sentence with this type of attributive clause, the relationship of the attributive clause with the main clause-whether it is the cause or effect of the main clause-should be determined first. Then, based on its function, a proper conjunctive word should be chosen in order to show the reader the relationship of the two clauses.
“The reason for d etermining the relationship first is that English is a language which uses a large number of different structures to show the relationship between clauses, while in Chinese sentences, words are employed show the readers the relationship between clauses.” [2] P120To use an example to clarify the process,
(1)The improvement in his health resulted from the physical exercises he did every morning.
In this sentence, the attributive clause is “he did every morning”. After reading the sentence, we can find out th at the fact that “he did exercises everyday” is the reason for “his improvement in health”, thus, in English Chinese translation we should choose the Chinese equivalence of “because” to be used before the attributive clause to suggest the relationship betw een the attributive and the main clause, This English sentence can be translate in Chinese,因为他每天早晨都锻炼，所以身体好了很多。

(ii). Attributive clause suggesting time
Attributive clause sometimes is used to show the main clause. In translating this type of attributive clauses, an analysis of the relationship between the main and attributive clauses is necessary so as to choose a proper Chinese equivalence of the word “when”, “after” or “before”.
(2)At seven, he went up to look at John, who was sleeping at that time.
In this sentence, the attributive clause“who was sleeping at that time”can be regarded as the time when the action in the main clause took place. As a result, we should translate the attributive clause as a time adverbial clause, and the Chinese equivalence o f the word “when” should be put before the attributive clause to suggest the time.
(iii). Attributive clause suggesting transition turn
Attributive clause can also be used to suggest transition turn. In this case, the Chinese equivalence of the word “but” should be put before the attributive clauses. Consider the following sentence, (3) He didn’t want to see his wife, who, unexpectedly, came back after two days.
After reading this sentence, it is easy for us to find out that the attributive clause “who,
une xpectedly, came back after two days” should be regarded as a turning point of the main clause, so it is equal to this sentence in meaning “He didn’t want to see his wife, but she came back after two days.” Thus, in translating this sentence, we should put the Chinese equivalence of the word “but” before the attributive clause”.
2.1.2 Adverbial clause
“The use of adverbial clauses can also result in long English sentences. Adverbial clauses are those used to suggest time, place or reason of the main clauses. Adverbial clauses can be put either before or after the main clauses, and the specific relationship between the main clause and the
adverbial clause can be easily identified because the relationship is clearly suggested by the different word used before t he adverbial clause.” [3]P563 For instance, an adverbial clause beginning with the word “when” naturally suggests time, and one with the word “because” implies cause. Compared with attributive clause, adverbial clause is generally easier to translate. In translating the English sentence into Chinese, the adverbial clauses are mostly put ahead of the main clauses in Chinese. We can look at the following sentences,
(4)“Please turn off the light when you leave the room.”[4]P140
In translating this sentence, we should put the adverbial clause when you leave the room before the main clause according to the common way of expression in Chinese.
2.1.3 Compound sentence
“Compound sentences are often long sentences because a compound sentence usually includes two clauses. What, however, makes compound sentences different from other long sentences is that the two clauses in each compound sentence play an equally important role in the sentence. Compound sentences usually suggest a sequence of actions that take place one after another, and the words mostly commonly used to connect the two clauses in a compound sentence are “and” and “but”.”[5]P483
(5)She worked hard, but she failed in the final exam.
After reading this sentence, the meaning is quite apparent to us because the structure of compound sentences is the same as that of most Chinese sentences. Naturally, in translating compound sentences, we just need to translate it without changing the structure of the original sentence.
2.1.4 Parenthesis
Parenthesis is another attribution to large quantities of long sentences in English. “In an English sentence, the parenthesis can be a word, a phrase, or a sentence, and before translating the sentence we should first find out the relationship of the parenthesis with the main sentence and its function in an effort that the translated version complies with the Chinese way of expression.”[6]P612-616
(6) He gets up early every morning, whether it is summer or winter, to do exercises. Similarly, in translating this sentence, put th e parenthesis “whether it is summer or winter” at the beginning, followed by the main sentence “He gets up early every morning to do exercises.”
2.2Differences in English and Chinese sentence structures
2.2.1 Difference in ways of thinking
Different peoples have different ways of thinking, so their languages, which are used to express people’s thoughts, are also different.
“In English, results are usually given ahead of the causes, while in Chinese, causes appear before their effects. This is because Chinese people put emphasis on the natural order of the verbs according to the time the actions take place. For example,
(7)Tragedies can be written in literature since there is tragedy in life.生活中既有悲剧，文学作品就可以写悲剧。

”[7]P199
And look at this example,
(8) He began to read a book after having supper.
After reading this sentence, we can identify that the action having supper takes place before the action read a book, but in the sentence, the latter is put before the former. So in translating English
sentence first carefully find out the time sequence of the verbs, and then put them into Chinese according to the time sequence, as is the Chinese way of expression.
2.2.2 Difference in the use of prepositions
“R.Bander used to say: “A preposition may be defined as a conn ecting word showing the relation of a noun or substitute for a noun to some other word in the sentence. … Prepositions appear constantly in English speech and writing.…” Like the sentences,
(9)The any colors of a rainbow range from red on the outside to violet on the inside. 彩虹有多种颜色，外圈红，内圈紫。

”[8]P50-51 English sentences cannot without preposition, but Chinese sentences are not use or omit preposition.
2.2.3 Difference in relative pronoun
Relative pronoun is a very important part in English, but in Chinese t here’re no such words as relative pronouns. Relative pronouns are frequently used in subordinate clauses, such as object subordinate clause and attributive clause. In comparison, pronouns are used instead of relative pronouns.
(10) She turned to Tom, who was watching TV. 她转向汤姆，而他正在看电视。

2.2.4 Different orientations of Chinese English sentences
“Chinese is characterized by its emphasis on meaning, while English, on the contrary, pay much more attention to structure and logic of the sentence. A reader, while reading a Chinese sentence or article, must try hard to find out its meaning, but the meaning of English sentences is much clearer because its structure makes the meaning quite clear.”[9]P53/58
(11) He stepped right in after them, like it or not, and he was determined that nothing as pretty as good manners should keep him from a chance of enlightenment. 他不管人家欢迎不欢迎，紧跟着他们走了进去。

什么礼貌不礼貌，他顾不得这一套了。

他决心不错过这个机会，把心里的问题弄明白。

A detailed comparison between the above two sentences will show how the English sentences, in general, differ from each other.
2.2.5 Different relation of clauses
“Another big difference between English and Chinese sentences lies in the more frequent use of clauses in English than in Chinese. The structure of an English sentence can be compared to a “grapevine”, which means that many words in a English sentence have their own clause. In contrast, the words in a typical Chinese sentence don’t have their clauses, but appear in time sequence, each playing equally important role in the Chinese sentence.”[10]P43
(12) Lily, who is a very active girl at school, becomes quiet as soon as she arrives home, which makes her parents quite puzzled. 莉莉在学校里非常活跃，但一回到家却变得很安静，这让她的父母感到很迷惑。

In the above English sentences, there are two attributive clauses to modify two segments in the sentence, while in the Chinese sentence, all the sentences are equally important and come one after another in time sequence.
3. Steps and methods in long English sentence translation
Long sentences make up a large portion in English, and there are several reasons for its frequent appearance.
3.1 Reasons for frequent appearance of long English sentences
3.1.1 Frequent use of modifiers
Compared with Chinese, modifiers are much more frequently used in English, such as attributive clauses, adverbial clauses and appositives. But in Chinese, the specific nouns are not modified, but are explained by employing another independent sentence.
(13)These students, who rarely do any housework at home, will serve as waiters in the restaurant near the school, which draws a large number of customers everyday.
The main structure of this sentence is “the students will be waiters in the restaurant”, but the sentence is made long by the use of two attributive clauses, one of which is to modify the word “students”, and the other of which “the restaurant”. But in Chinese, this sentence will be put as followed. 这些学生在家几乎不做家务，而他们将要到学校附近的一家餐馆去当侍者，而这家餐馆每天食客云集。

We can see that the single English sentence is separated into three clauses, each expressing a specific meaning without employing any subordinate clauses.
3.1.2 Complex structures
“Compared with Chinese, in which verbs are arranged in time sequence, English sentences are much more complex with the use of various clauses, parenthesis, appositives and prepositions. Chinese students usually find it hard to identify the main structure of long English sentences, so it is necessary and quite helpful to learn the segments that make the simple sentences long.”[11]P61 (14)He, instead of standing back, walked forward to face the accuser, with others looking at him in astonishment as well as puzzlement.
This is a typical long English sentence with complex structures. A student without a thorough knowledge of English grammar is bound to fail to understand its meaning. To understand long sentences, a study of English grammar is required, and a large amount of reading of all types of articles in English is also very helpful.
3.2 Types of long sentences writing
In order to know better how to translate long sentences, it is necessary to know the types of writings where long sentences are most frequently used. Generally, long sentences frequently appear in official documents, scientific reports, and newspapers.
(i). Law documents
The reason why long sentences are frequently used in law documents is that long sentences are more formal compared with shorter ones, and official documents must be written in a formal tone and style. For example,
(15) “Any clause, covenant or agreement in a contract of carriage relieving the carrier or th e ship from liability for less or damage to, or in connection with, goods arising from negligence, fault, or failure in duties and obligations provided in this article or lessening such liability otherwise than provided in these rules shall be null and voi d and of no effect.” [12]P256
(ii). Scientific documents
Long sentences also make up a large portion in scientific document, such as technology specifications. We can look the typical example.
(16) “But it is realized that supplies of some of them are limi ted, and it is even possible to give a reasonable estimate of their “expectation of life”, the time it will take to exhaust all known sources
and reserves of these material.” [13]P6
(iii). Newspapers
Newspapers usually are quite abundant in long sentences, but not all kinds of articles in newspapers are long-sentence-oriented. Only formal types of articles, such as articles about politics, economy, sports, economy and culture use a lot of long sentences normally. For example, (17) “The China Banding Regulat ory Commission (CBRC) also said on Friday more reform measures are in the pipeline this year, including pressing ahead with joint-stock reforms of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), broadening reforms of rural credit cooperation and initia ting key reform measures to the postal savings system.”[14] P4
The reason for frequent appearance of long sentences in English has been analyzed. Then what are the common ways of translating long sentences in English?
Regardless of which kinds of articles contain long sentences, there are common steps and methods in translating long English sentences. Generally, the steps taken should be, first, understanding the structure and meaning of the sentence correctly, and, second, expressing out the same meaning in Chinese in a natural way of expression.
3.3 Steps in translating long English sentences
The steps that should be taken in translation are understanding and expressing. A strict adherence to this principle would be sure to make the translation process much easier.
3.3.1Understanding
“Understanding is the first and also the most important step in translation of long sentences. As long sentences are usually quite hard to understand because of their being complex, correct understanding of the original sentence is directly linked to correct translation without changing the meaning of the original sentence. To understand a long English sentence thus requires an analysis of the main structure, the exact meaning of specific words that tend to be misunderstood, distinguishing the main clauses from the subordinate clauses, identifying the logic of different segments in each clause, and, finally and most importantly, finding out the correct meaning of the sentence.”[15]P13
(i). Find out the “trunk” of the sentence
By “trunk”, we mean the main structure of the whole sentence. Zhang Yan hold the view that “Finding out the main structure of the sentence is quite important because this often helps the reader identify which clauses are used to modify which, and the function and relation of each clause. In a word, the main structure of sentence includes subject, verb and object (if there is any object in the sentence). A subject is always a noun, indicating the doer of the action of the verb; a verb always indicates an action; an object is used to indicate the bearer of the action. A typical English sentence must contain a subject and a verb, and the object can be omitted if not needed. What’s more, each English sentence should only contain one main structure.” [16]P121
(18)Each comment from her, which seemed quite disappointing to everyone else, made Tom, however, very exited.
The main structure of this sentence is “each comment made Tom exited.” If readers can separate the main structure from the original sentence, then the meaning of this seemingly complex long English sentence becomes quite clear.”
(ii). Analyze the meaning of important words
After finding out the main structure, what the translator should do is to identify the correct meaning of the words that seem to have some different meanings. In English, there also exist some words that may have different meanings according to the context in which the words are used. Thus, the translator needs to identify the meaning of the words in the sentence. The most efficient way is to consult the dictionary to find out the different meanings a word may have and the different circumstances the word is used according to their meaning. This step is especially important in understanding the meaning of the important words in the sentences.
(19)He heard a girl crying outside.
In this sentence, the word which has two ways of understanding is the word “crying”. As we know, the word “cry” has two meanings: one being the action of shedding tears, and the other being the acti on of shouting. To find out which is the correct meaning of the word “cry” in this sentence, the reader needs to take the whole context into consideration because the specific meaning of a word depends on the whole context.
(iii) Identify subordinate clause
After finding out the main structure and meaning of the words in a sentence, subordinate clauses must also be identified to find out the relation between the subordinate clauses and the words and the main clause. As is known, each subordinate clause has its own function, either to modify a specific word, or to indicate its relation with the main clause. Whether a sentence is well and appropriately translated largely depends on whether the subordinate clause is thoroughly studied.
(20)He opened the book that his father gave him as a gift at his thirteenth birthday.
The main clause of this sentence is “he opened the book”, and that “his father gave him as a gift at his thirteenth birthday” is an attributive clause to modify the book. So the main clause shoul d first be translated, and then the attributive clause should be translated in another clause or sentence to further introduce to the reader the source of the book. Thus, the sentence should be translated as followed. 他打开了那本书，那本书是他爸爸在他13岁生日时作为礼物送给她的。

(iv). Get the general idea of the sentence
The reason why we don’t tend to change the main idea of the original sentence is that we don’t tend to change the main idea of the original sentence in the translated version. Even though a reader may not have any difficulty in understanding the meaning of each of the words in a sentence, he may find it hard to find out the main idea of the sentence, thus making it impossible for him to translate the sentence correctly.
In general, understanding is the first step that should be taken in translating long sentences. To achieve correct understanding of the sentences, a reader must be good at English grammar, be familiar with various types of English sentences and a fairly large vocabulary.
3.3.2Expressing
After understanding the meaning and structure of the original sentence, the next step to be taken is to express the meaning in the target language in a rational way.
“English and Chinese have different ways of expressions, grammatical rules and thinking habits, so it is natural that the same meaning has different structures when expressed in English and Chinese. So when translating English sentences into Chinese, the sentence structure should be changed in order to be acceptable in Chinese language. This step is particularly difficult in long sentence translation as translators usually find difficulties in where to put the segments in the
targeted language.”[17]P25
After reading the English sentence, the reader needs to identify the function of every word, phrase, and clause, and then put these segments, according to their function, in the proper place in conformation with the grammatical rules, way of expression and thinking habit of Chinese. For example, attributive clauses are used as modifiers of nouns, but they should be put before the noun rather than after the noun. For another instance, time adverbs are often put at the end of a sentence, while in the Chinese language, the time adverbs should be put at the beginning of a sentence. Similarly, in English, nouns, rather than verbs, are more frequently used to indicate an action, so
in the translated Chinese version, the noun should be transformed into a verb, as verbs are frequently used in Chinese than nouns.
(21)He became angrier as the noise didn’t stop.
After reading the sentence, we know that “as the noise didn’t stop” is the reason for the fact “he became angrier”. In Chinese, the reason is usually first given before the affected in conformation with time sequence, so the reason should be put before the effect in Chinese. Thus, the translated version should be,
“噪音没有停止，这让他更生气了。

”
3.4 “Methods in translating long English sentences”[18]P149-158
Besides knowing the steps taken in translating long sentences, more important, perhaps, is to master the methods and skills in translating long sentences. Zhang Peiji in his book A Course in English-Chinese Translation shows his opinion in translating long English sentences.
3.4.1 Obverse translation
Although English and Chinese sentences are different in the way of expression, some sentences in English are the same in word order and way of expression as Chinese sentences. Thus, in translating these sentences, the original word order need not be changed, making the translation process relatively easier.
(22)Before I had my dinner, I went out to see whether my uncle had come back.
In this sentence, “before I had my dinner” is a time adverbial clause. In Chinese, the time adverbial clause is usually put at the beginning of this adverbial clause. In Chinese, the time adverbial clause is usually put at the beginning of a sentence, so the translated version of this adverbial clause do not need to be changed to another position. Thus, the translate version should be “吃饭之前，我出去看看叔叔有没有回来。

”
(23)He knocked at the door, and, having heard no sound from inside, began to shout.
In this sentence, there are three verbs: “knock”, “hear”, and “shout”. After reading this sentence, we can find out that the three verbs are arranged in time sequence, as is the way verbs are arranged in Chinese sentences. Thus, when translating this sentence, the word order need not be changed, and it should be translated as followed: “他敲了敲门，听到里面没有声音，就开始喊。

”
3.4.2 Reverse translation
Most of English sentence are, because of the thinking habit of Englishmen, different in word order, phrase order or clause order from Chinese sentences. Some sentences are completely reversed according to Chinese grammar. Translating these sentences, as a result, requires the translator, first, to put the reversed segments in the normal order based on Chinese grammar. This is called reverse translation.
(24)He picked up the book his mother gave him.
This sentence contains an attributive clause to modify the noun “the book”, but we know that in Chinese, modifiers are generally put before the noun it modifies. So, in the translated sentence, the attributive clause should be put before the noun. However, there is an exception. If the attributive clause is too long, it is not proper to put the translated clause before the noun. This is because, if thus translated, the translated version would sound too awkward based on Chinese grammar. The details of this kind of translation will be discussed later.
So, the translated version of the above example is “他拿起了妈妈给他的那本书。

”
3.4.3 Reverse-and-obverse translation
Some sentences in English contain both the segments that are the same in word order as Chinese and those segments, which are different. So, in translating these sentences, the former should be translated by using obverse translation, and the latter should employ reverse translation. Both reverse and obverse translation should be employed to translate different parts of the sentence. (25)As Tom is at present writing a report, the book you gave him should be of much help to him. In this sentence, “As Tom is at present writing a report” is an adverbial clause indicating the cause, and “the book you gave him should be of much help to him” is the effect, so the sentence structure in general is the same as a Chinese sentence. However, this sentence also contains an attributive clause used to modify the noun “book”. As has been discussed before, the attributive clause should be put before the noun it modifies. In this case, both obverse and reverse translation is used in translating this sentence. The translated se ntence is “他正在写报告，所以你给他的那本书一定对他有帮助。

”
Most of the long sentences in English are of this type, that is, requiring both obverse and reverse translation. So, it is required of the translator to first analyze the structure of the sentence and then understand the meaning of the sentence. The nest step is to translate the sentence in the correct order and in the common way of expression in Chinese.
3.4.4 Component translation
Component translation is generally used in attributive-clause translation, provided that the attributive clause is relatively too long to be put before the noun in the translated version, and on the condition that the attributive is not so closely related to the main clause in meaning. Generally, the attributive clause can be translated as a separate sentence from the main clause, or it can be translated as an adverbial clause.
(26)He decided to go to the market, which was far from his home, so he took a taxi.
In this sentence, the clause, “which was far from his home” is used to modify the noun “the market”, but it is not so closely related to the main clause in meaning. Rather, it can be regarded as a turning point in the sentence, so it can be separated from the main clause. So the translated version is “他决定去那个市场，而那个市场离他家很远，所以他打了车去。

”
(27)He choose the red one whose color he liked. In this sentence, the attributive clause “whose color he liked” can be regarded as the reason why “he choose the red”, so the attributive clause can be translated as an adverbial clause indicating reason. The trans lated version is “他选了那个
红的，因为他喜欢那种颜色。

”
(28) He left at one o’clock last night, when all the others were sleeping. In this sentence, the attributive clause is used to indicate “the time when he left”, so this clause can be regarded as a。