英语翻译基础考前“押题”：关于“译者心得”方向

北外MTI方向的英语翻译基础（368）在2024年12月的真题里考到了一篇译者心得类文本，可以说是非常新颖，很考验同学们的水平 ——

篇章选自《用母语照亮异域》，作者为严蓓雯（社科院外文所），是一篇凤凰书评，刊载于《文艺报》2021年4月23第006版（年代有些久远）

无论从事何种职业，或做什么事情，认真用心都是基本的态度，这点我想是共识。但这种“正确”的态度背后，或许勾连着译者有时并不自知的错误牵绊。翻译虽然有原作作为基础，但也是一种创造性工作。它不是把国外的螺丝一一换成国内的螺丝，只需认真用心就能百分百毫无差讹地完成。过于认真用心，也许就跳不出原作的掣肘，因为认真的另一语境便是呆板。另外，有时对原作的敬仰爱慕，亦步亦趋，也会成为一种反作用力，削减了译者运用母语的创造性。

这种以散文形式对翻译展开讨论的风格是之前各大院校未曾考过的，我们判断今年有可能成为新趋势，为此北鼎教研组为大家准备了大量的相关双语例句。如果你在这个角度的训练量还不够，可以跟着如下的内容操练起来！

希望同学们能从以下例句中学到足够多的特定用词、相关表达和常用句型，在考场中能够做到随机应变，见招拆招！

1、母语的厚度，决定了外语翻译的深度，没有对母语的通透驾驭，再流利的外文表达也难承载文字背后的风骨。

The depth of one's native language determines the profundity of foreign language translation. Without a thorough command of the mother tongue, even the most fluent foreign expression can hardly carry the essence behind the words.

2、翻译从来不是简单的语言搬运，而是用母语的土壤培育出外文文本里的文化之花。

Translation is never a simple linguistic transposition, but a process of nurturing the cultural blossoms embedded in foreign texts with the soil of one's native language.

3、外文是丈量世界的标尺，母语是锚定文化的坐标。二者同频，翻译才有灵魂。

A foreign language is a ruler to measure the world, while the mother tongue is a coordinate to anchor culture. Only when the two resonate in harmony can translation possess a soul.

4、丢掉母语的底蕴谈翻译，就像丢掉罗盘行船，纵然能抵达彼岸，也会错过沿途的文化风光。

Discussing translation without the profound heritage of the mother tongue is like sailing without a compass, even if you reach the other shore, you will miss the cultural scenery along the way.

5、好的翻译者，既是外文的解读者，更是母语的雕琢者，字词间的分寸，全靠母语功底拿捏。

A good translator is both an interpreter of foreign languages and a craftsman of the mother tongue. The delicate balance between words entirely depends on one's mastery of the native language.

6、AI能匹配字词的对应关系，却读不懂母语里藏着的含蓄与留白，这正是人工翻译不可替代的价值。

AI can match the corresponding relationship between words, but it cannot comprehend the implicitness and artistic blank spaces hidden in the mother tongue—that is the irreplaceable value of human translation.

7、精通外语是翻译的敲门砖，夯实母语才是站稳行业的压舱石，二者缺一不可。

Proficiency in a foreign language is a stepping-stone to translation, while a solid foundation in the mother tongue is the ballast to stand firm in the industry. Neither can be dispensed with.

8、原文是翻译的源头活水，母语是引流的沟渠，唯有沟渠通畅，活水才能奔涌向前，不失本味。

The source text is the living water of translation, and the mother tongue is the channel to guide the flow. Only when the channel is unobstructed can the living water surge forward without losing its original flavor.

9、翻译的最高境界，是让读者忘记译文的存在，仿佛直接与原文的灵魂对话。

The highest state of translation is to make readers forget the existence of the translated text, as if communicating directly with the soul of the original.

10、外文是通往异域文化的窗口，母语则是让窗内风景被读懂的那束光。

A foreign language is a window to exotic cultures, while the mother tongue is the beam of light that makes the scenery inside the window understandable.

11、没有对两种语言文化的双向深耕，翻译不过是浮于表面的文字拼凑。

Without in-depth cultivation of both languages and cultures, translation is nothing but superficial word splicing.

12、古诗文的一字千金，既要靠外语拆解其形，更要靠母语悟透其神。

Every word in ancient poetry is worth its weight in gold—it requires foreign languages to analyze its form, and more importantly, the mother tongue to comprehend its spirit.

13、翻译不是复制原文，而是带着文化的同理心，完成一次跨越语言的再创作。

Translation is not copying the original, but completing a cross-linguistic re-creation with cultural empathy.

14、AI能快速完成语言转换，却无法复刻译者在字里行间倾注的文化共情与人文关怀。

AI can quickly complete language conversion, but it cannot replicate the cultural empathy and humanistic care that translators pour into the lines.

15、翻译的生命力，在于既忠于原文的骨架，又赋予译文母语的血肉与温度。

The vitality of translation lies in being loyal to the skeleton of the original while endowing the translated text with the flesh, blood and warmth of the mother tongue.

16、外语学得再好，若母语表达苍白乏力，译文也终将沦为没有灵魂的空壳。

No matter how proficient you are in a foreign language, if your native language expression is pale and weak, the translated text will eventually become a soulless empty shell.

17、译者的使命，是架起语言的桥梁，让两种文化在相遇时，既不失本色，又彼此照亮。

The mission of a translator is to build a linguistic bridge, allowing two cultures to meet without losing their essence while illuminating each other.

18、译事三难：信，达，雅。

Translation has three difficulties: faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.

19、翻译应当像临画一样，所求的不在形似而在神似。（傅雷《高老头重译本序》）

Translation should be like copying a painting—what is sought is not likeness in form, but likeness in spirit.

20、好译本的作用是消灭自己，它把我们向原作过渡，而我们读到了原作，马上掷开了译本。（钱钟书《林纾的翻译》）

The role of a good translation is to annihilate itself: it leads us to the original, and once we read the original, we immediately cast aside the translation.

21、翻译的不行大半的责任固然该在翻译家，但读书界和出版界尤其是批评家也应该分负若干的责任。（鲁迅）

If translation is inadequate, most of the blame certainly lies with translators, but the reading public, the publishing industry, and especially critics should also share some responsibility.

22、Translation is the art of failure. Umberto Eco（翁贝托·埃科）

翻译是一门失败的艺术。

23、Writers make national literature, while translators make universal literature. Jose Saramago（若泽·萨拉马戈）

作家创造民族文学，译者造就世界文学。

24、Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence. George Steiner（乔治·斯坦纳）

没有翻译，我们便生活在接近沉默的孤岛之中。

25、Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture. Anthony Burgess（安东尼·伯吉斯）

翻译不仅仅是文字的事，更是让一种完整的文化变得可被理解的事。

26、The clumsiest literal translation is a thousand times more useful than the prettiest paraphrase. Vladimir Nabokov（弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫）

最笨拙的直译也比最优美的意译有用一千倍。

27、Translation is the circulatory system of the world's literatures.（Susan Sontag）

翻译是世界文学的循环系统。