故宫,又称紫禁城,是明、清两代的皇宫,二十四位皇帝在此生活起居和处理政务。② 它是世界现存最大、最完整的木质结构的古建筑群(architectural complex)。③ 宫殿墙壁的色调以红色和黄色为主,红色代表快乐、好运和财富,而黄色代表帝王的神圣和尊贵。④ 近十几年来,故宫平均每年接待中外游客600-800万人次,随着旅游业的繁荣,游客人数有增无减,可见人们对故宫的兴趣长盛不衰。(四句话)
①The Imperial Palace, also known as the Forbidden City,was the palace in Ming and Qing Dynasties where 24 emperors lived and handled government affairs. ② It is the largest and most complete existing ancient wooden architectural complex in the world. ③ The palace wall was painted mainly in red and yellow. ④ Red represents happiness, luck and fortune while yellow symbolizes imperial holiness and dignity. ⑤ In recent decades, the Imperial Palace is visited annually by six to eight million tourists at home and abroad. ⑥ Moreover, with flourishing tourism industry, the number of tourists keeps increasing. ⑦ It shows people’s everlasting and unfading interest in the Imperial Palace. (7句话)
解析:
原文第①句中,故宫、紫禁城、明、清两代,均属于专用地名或朝代名,翻译成英语时,需注意大写首字母。
原文第①句后半句中,汉语中的“在此” 可以转换成一个定语从句,“在此”为提示词,提示地点,所以使用定语从句时,关系词用where(译文第①句)。
原文第③句中,“而”有种对比之意,先说红色,后说黄色。while(译文第4句)此处表对比,程度较弱。
原文第④句中,“故宫每年接待中外游客”,汉语中习惯用主动语态,而英文则常用被动,此处可翻译成is visited(译文第⑤句)。
汉语原文一共4句,英语译文共有7句。在实际汉英翻译实践中,需注意断句处理。断句的前提是看汉语中前后两个分句的主语是否一致,前后两句意群是否相对独立,若前后两个分句的主语不一致,且意群相对独立,可考虑断句处理。
小编以为,原文第④句翻译时,也可以处理为两句话,把译文中的第⑥句和第⑦句合为一句,处理成一个主从复合句,即:Moreover, with flourishing tourism industry, the number of tourists keeps increasing, which shows people’s everlasting and unfading interest in the Imperial Palace.
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