翻译网站unit13.doc

Unit 13

English for Science and Technology

Highlights of the Unit 单元要点概述

Practical Translation Training 实用翻译训练

I. Formation of English Technical Terms 英语技术词语的构成

II. Characteristic Syntax of EST 科技英语的句法特点

III. Methods Employed in the Translation of EST 科技英语的翻译方法

Reflections and Practice 思考与练习

BACK

单元要点概述

实用翻译训练英译汉：The Age of Spiritual Machines

实用翻译训练汉译英：技术创新

I. 英语技术词语的构成

1. 缀合法 2. 复合法 3. 缩合法

4. 首字母缩略 5. 专有名词

II. 科技英语的句法特点

1. 大量使用长句 2. 大量使用名词化结构

3. 广泛使用被动语态 4. 大量使用非限定动词

5. 时态的不同用法 6. 习惯用后置定语

III. 科技英语的翻译方法

1. 将名词性短语扩展成汉语句子

2. 将名词性短语转换成动宾结构

3. 将定语成分转为独立句、状语从句等

4. 将被动转换为主动

5. 补充必要的词语

本单元从科技英语的词汇和句法特点两个方面阐述科技英语的翻译。

英语技术语一般以三种形式存在，即单词式、复合式和短语式。它们的构成与普通构词法大致相同，因此要译好英语技术词语就离不开构词法的帮助。本单元从五个方面介绍了英语技术词语的翻译方法：

1. 由级合法构成的术语，其含义为词缀（前级、后级）与词干的意义相加; 2. 由复合法构成的术语，在大多数情况下它们往往是各词的合成意义，但也有不少例外，翻译时应格外当心；3. 由缩合法构成的术语，翻译时首先应弄清它们被掐头去尾的成分；4. 首字母缩略，这类术语有时会有不同的出处，翻译时需根据上下文弄清其确切含义; 5. 由专有名词构成的术语，翻译这类术语时应适当地增词或做必要的注释。

科技英语的句法特点主要表现在六个方面：1. 大量使用长句；2. 大量使用名词化结构；3. 广泛使用被动语态；4. 大量使用非限定动词; 5. 时态的不同用法; 6. 习惯用后置定语。

科技英语文体的翻译方法包括：1.将名词性短语扩展成汉语句子；2.将名词性短语转换成动宾结构；3.将定语成分转为独立句、状语从句等；4.将被动转换为主动；5.补充必要的词语。

Practical Translation Training

1. English-Chinese Translation

The age of Spiritual Machines

Since its beginning in the work of Alan Turing, the British mathematical genius who conceived of the computer, artificial intelligence has been overly anthropocentric. Its traditional-some would say misguided-aim has been to build machines that are like humans. For example, the Turing test for machine intelligence holds that a computer is a genuine thinker if it resembles a human being to the degree that someone interviewing both the computer and a human by teletype cannot tell which is which. Against this background, it is not surprising that researchers in artificial intelligence often make believe that their inventions possess human qualities. Turing himself described a simple computational mechanism as a " child-machine", to be "rewarded", "punished", and taught by a process intended to produce "discipline, "initiative". Turing's child-machine was a "creature" that was taught by an inspector of schools but could not be sent to school without "the other children making excessive fun of it".

In a contemporary example，Daniel Dennett stow that Cog，a robot under construction at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab，is to have an "infancy and childhood". Cog has "hips" and a "waist", and will have skin and a face. Cog is to be "as human as possible in its wants and fears，likes and dislikes". It will "want to keep its mother's face in view" and is to "delight in learning，abhor error，strive for novelty，and recognize progress."

Ray Kurzwell is another who anthropomorphizes machines：nanomachines（devices built on an atomic scale）have "brains", "bodies", "arms", "hands", and "little forgers". His new book The Age of Spiritual Machines，is an excellent example of the blurring of fact and fiction so common in discussions of artificial intelligence. He blends together present day technologies，such as artificial legs and breast implants，with those he foresees，such as computers that store "migrated" human brains.

Notes and Explorations

1. Alan Mathison Turing 艾伦，图灵（1921-1955） 英国数学家

2. overly anthropocentric 过度地以人类为中心的

3. misguided adj. 令人误入歧途的；注意此句中插入语的翻译方法

4. hold that 认为

5. cannot tell which is which 分不清谁是人谁是机

6. Against this background 在上述背景下

7. make believe 假装

8. computational mechanism 计算机械装置

9. make fun of 取笑，嘲弄；注意此句中双重否定的译法

10. MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab 麻省理工学院人工智能实验室；注意此句中Cog的同位语的译法

11. keep something in view 牢记在心；在记忆中

12. anthropomorphize v. 人格化，赋于人性

13. nanomachines 纳米机器，nano十machines

14. an atomic scale 原子尺度

15. blend with 挽和在一起

16. "migrated" human brains “被迁移的”人脑

2. Chinese-English Translation

技术创新

我们正在进人一个知识经济的时代，这个时代的本质特征就是科学技术在经济增长中起着核心作用。在发挥这个核心作用的过程中，技术创新被赋予了全新的内涵，要求以城市区域经济的系统的观点，从多种要素的角度构造城市技术创新体系。建立和运用这样一个体系，是促进城市区域经济可持续发展的一块基石，是促进产业结构调整、加快经济增长方式转变的关键，也是迎接知识经济与挑战的必然选择。

Notes and Explanations

1. 知识经济的时代 an era of knowledge economy

2. 发挥作用 bring the function into play

3. 赋予新的内涵 take on a new sense

4. 以……的观点 in terms of/from the point of view of

5. 城市区域经济 urban zone economy

6. 可持续发展的一块基石 a cornerstone for the sustainable development

7. 产业结构调整 the adjustment of industrial structure

8. 加快经济增长方式转变 speed accelerate the transformation of the mode of economic growth

With rapid and remarkable advances in modern science and technology, an increasingly large number of English technical terms have arisen in our daily life, giving rise to a new genre of register with vocabularies outside the range of the ordinary educated man-English for science and technology (EST). Today, more and more people are willing to accept these newly created technical terns, for the modern methods of scientific research, investigation and operation do produce numerous new concepts, materials and processes. In brief, scientific and technical registers provide a swift, economical, efficient, impersonal, sometimes international, means of exposition and discussion of specialized issues.

Generally speaking, there is no special requirement for the translation of EST in comparison with general English except for its wording and characteristic structures. In this unit we are going to survey the translation of EST from two aspects：its vocabulary and syntax.

I. Formation of English Technical Terms

One of the most distinctive features of EST is its technical terms，which not only account for a large part of English vocabulary，but also are the most important source of newly coined words in modern English，ranging over an extensive area of various fields. A mastery of them will benefit us a great deal in the translation of EST.

In terms of form，English technical terms may be classified into three categories，namely，single words（e.g. robot机器人，Internet 因特网，etc.），compound forms（e.g. feedback 反馈，splashdown溅落，etc.）and phrases（e. g. on-and-off-the-road 路面越野两用的，anti-armored-fight-vehicle-missile 反装甲车导弹，power transmission relay system 送电中继体系，etc.）. Since most of the technical terra come out of the basic rules of word-formation，it's necessary for us to conduct a brief survey of their formation.

1. Affixation

Affixation is an important means of coining new English words and technical terms, with prefix and suffix as inseparable elements of the words being coined. The advantage of affixation is evident：it is the most flexible means of forming new words and its potential of creation is almost boundless，therefore it is extensively used in the formation of technical terms. Besides prefix and suffix of English origin，there are some foreign borrowings，noticeably the Latin ones，e.g. bio-( 生命、生物 )，thermo-(热), electro-（电）, aero-（空气）, carbo-（碳）, hydro-〔水〕, -ite（矿物）, -mania(热、狂)，etc. If we are familiar with these prefixes and suffixes，many technical terms of such formation can be translated appropriately. The following are some typical examples.

● miniultrasonicprober ＝ mini + ultra + sonic + prober 微型超声波金属探伤仪

● macrospacetransship = macro + space + trans + ship 巨型窨转运飞船 

● teletypesetter = tele + type + setter 电传排字机

● bathythermograph = bathy + thermo + graph 海水测温仪

● barothermograph = baro + thermo + graph 气压湿度记录器

● deoxyribonucleic = de + oxy + ribo + nucleic 脱氧核糖核的

● photomorphogenesis = photo + morpho + genesis 光形态发生

2. Compounding

That two or more words combined to form a new word is called compounding. English technical terms formed by compounding generally take three forms：combining with a hyphen（e.g. salt-former卤素，dew-point露点，pulse-scaly脉冲定标器）or with-out it（e. g. fallout 放射性尘埃，waterlock 水闸， thunderstorm 雷暴），or two or more separate words forming a word combination（e. g. verbal translator 逐字翻译机，hover craft 气垫船，satellite antimissile observation system 卫星反导弹观察系统）.

Most of such compound words may be translated literally，i. e.，put the Chinese equivalents of the separate elements together and we get the Chinese equivalents of the compound words. Sometimes，however，there are exceptions. For example，bull's eye（靶心），cat-and-mouse（航向与指挥的），dog house（高频高压电源屏蔽罩）, etc. -literal translation in tackling such terms may lead astray. Therefore whenever we are confronted with unfamiliar terms and are not sure of their meaning，we should frequently consult dictionaries of relevant specialties. In many cases some addition explanations are needed to make the original meaning clear and accurate.

3. Blending

This is a variant of compounding，omitting the latter part of the first word and cupping off the first part of the second word. Sometimes, however, either the first part or the second part of the overlapped word may be a full word. Generally speaking, this blending of words possesses the combined meaning of both, therefore, literal translation is used in translating such terms, with one element modifying the other. 

● smog = smoke + fog 烟雾

● brunch = breakfast + lunch 早午餐/ 晚早餐

● telex = teleprinter + exchange 电传

● gravisphere = gravity + sphere 引力范围

● medicare = medical + care 医疗保健

● biorhythm = biological + rhythm 生理节奏

● copytron = copy + elechon 电子复写（技术）

4. Acronym

An acronym is a word made up from the first letter; of the name of something. Since it is very convenient to use this brief form，acronym is widely adopted in English technical terms. With the rapid development of science and technology，more and more acronyms are extensively used in～fields，therefore，it is up to the translator to discern their actual meaning in different context.

● ADP automatic data processing 自动数据处理

● AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 艾滋病

● EDPM electronic data processing machine 电子数据处理机

● GSV guided space vehicle 制导宇宙飞船

● Laser light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation 激光

● RAM random access memory 随机存取存储器

● DINK dual income, no kids 双收入无子女家庭

Sometimes，an acronym happens to be a significant English word，or it may possess more than one meaning. In this case，special attention is necessary to pick out the proper one.

● MOUSE minimum orbital unmanned satellite of the earth （仪表载重50公斤以下的）不载人的最小人造地球卫星

● SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Talks 限制战略武器会谈

● SNAP subsystem for nuclear auxiliary power （原子）核辅助动力子系统

   space nuclear auxiliary power 空间核辅助能源

   systems for nuclear auxiliary power 核辅助能（电）源系统

● AS air scoop 空气收集器

   air seasoned 风干的（木材）

   air speed 空速、气流速率

   air station 航空站、飞机场

   American standard 美国标准

   atmosphere and space 大气层与宇宙空间

   automatic sprinkler自动洒水车

   automatic synchronizer自动同步器

5. Proper Nouns

Many of the technical temps in English are borrowed from proper nouns such as names of people，places，firms，trade marks，organizations，and so on. In such cases，consulting relevant dictionaries will be of great help. Transliteration is usually adopted in dealing with such tams，and at the same time，labels that indicate the nature of such words are added to the corresponding translation.

● Xerox 静电复制 （derived from a trademark）

● IBM System IBM 系统（derived from a US corporation）

● Kuru 库鲁病 （derived from a place in eastern New Guinea）

● Alfven wave 阿尔文波（derived from the Swedish astrophysicist Hannes Alfven）

● Chandler's wobble 钱得拉波动说 （derided from the US astronomer Seth Carlo Chandler）

Besides the above ways of word-formation，there are some other means to form technical terms in English. To name a few，clipping（ "剪截法" e.g. lab come from laboratory），Back-formation（ "逆序法" e. g. to lase comes from laser）, Coinage （ "造词法" e. g. "quark" in physics），Functional Shift（ "词性转换法" e.g. to contract the terminal , here "contract" has been converted from a noun to a verb）, Borrowing ( "借用法" e.g. "gene" is borrowed from German), and so on. In whatever circumstances，the discrimination of the original meaning and the contextual analysis are of vital importance. Only when we get accurate understanding of them，can we put them into Chinese exactly as they actually mean.

II. Characteristic Syntax of EST

1. More Long and Complicated Sentences 

EST as a formal style of writing usually consists of more long aid complicated sentences. When translated into Chinese，a long sentence may be cut into several parts. For example:

● The efforts that have been made to explain optical phenomena by means of the hypothesis of a medium having the same physical character as an elastic solid body led，in the first instance，to the understanding of a concrete example of a medium which can transmit transverse vibration but later to the definite conclusion that there is no luminiferous medium having the physical character assumed in the hypothesis. 为了解释光学现象，人们曾试图假定有一种具有与弹性固体相同的物理性的介质。这种尝试的结果，最初曾使人们了解到一种能传抽横向展动的介质的具体实例，但后来却使人得出了这样一个明确的结论：并不存在任何具有上述假定所认为的那种物理性质的发光介质。

● One of the most important things which the economic theories can contribute to tire management science is building analytical models which help in recognizing the structure of managerial problem，eliminating the minor details which might obstruct decision malting，and in concentrating on the main issues. 经济理论对于管理科学的最重要贡献之一，就是建立分析模型。这种模型有助于认识管理问题的构成，排除可能妨碍决策的次要因素，从而有助于集中精力去解决主要的问题。

2. More Nominalization

Compared with general English, noun phrases are more frequently used in EST. This is because scientific literature contains more abstract concepts such as definitions, principles, laws, conclusions, etc., and manifold modification and restriction are required to elaborate these concepts or ideas. As the semantic meaning of a noun phrase that consists of several words is usually complicated, tire translation should go beyond the surface structure. For example：

● All substances will permit the passage of some electric current，provided the potential difference is high enough.

Poor Translation:

   只要有足够的电位差，所有的物体都允许一些电流通过。

Idiomatic Translation:

   只要有足够的电位差，电流便可通过任何物体。

● The