科技英语的文体特点
I. A brief introduction to scientific style
The classification of style(文体) Journalistic style, expositive style, official style, literary style, practical style and scientific style. (刘宓庆) Scientific style Special science style(专门科技文体): monograph, thesis and scientific report Popular science style(通俗科技文体): universal scientific reading material(scientific prose)
I. A brief introduction to scientific style
General characteristics of scientific English texts Logic, precise, objective General translation principles(一般原则) Accurate,smooth,concise Summary 科技英语是一种特殊文体,分为专门科技和通俗科技 两类,涉及社会各个领域,包括政治、经济、军事、 体育、科学技术等方面。科技英语注重逻辑性、准确 性和严密性,在翻译的过程中要做到准确、通顺、简 练。
However,it is only the colon where we find all sorts of toxins and bacteria that provided the harsh circumstances that cause that gene to finally break down and the cancer to spread.
Practice:translate the following sentences in passive voice into Chinese
Researchers have found that emotions are accompanied by biochemical changes in the brain. Fear, for example, is accompanied by the one set of brain chemicals that can make us alert and ready to flee… 研究者发现,感情的发生被大脑中的生物化学变化所 伴随。例如,恐惧是受大脑中的一种化学物质所伴随, 它令人警觉,并准备好逃之夭夭。 研究者发现,感情是伴随着大脑中的生物化学变化发 生的。例如,在恐惧中,大脑会产生一种化学物质, 令人们警觉,并准备好逃之夭夭。
The difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single word: complexity. The large mammalian brain is the most complicated thing, for its size, known to us. The human brain weighs three pounds, but in that three pounds are ten billion neurons and a hundred billion smaller cells. These many billions of cells are interconnected in a vastly complicated network that we can’t begin to unravel as yet. When a graphite crystal is crushed, it breaks into micro-scaled laminar flakes. They are many dangling bonds on the edge of an isolated graphite micro-sheet which elevates its energy and makes it unstable. When a graphite micro-sheet curls into a nanotube, the number of dangling bonds decreases, and the system energy is reduced accordingly.
II. Text features of Scientific English
Lexical features(词汇特点)
Syntactical features(句法特点)
1. Lexical features(词汇特点)
大量使用科学术语(scientific terms) magnetism, genome, hormone, psychopathology 科学术语具有单义性(monosemy) seed: 种子选手(体育) Transmission:发射,播送(无线电工程学) 变速(机械学) 投射(物理学) 遗传(医学)
2. Syntactical features
大量使用结构复杂的长句(long or complex sentence) 英语是形合的语言(hypotaxis) 英语科技文要求叙述全面、严谨,富有逻辑性, 所以主从复合句、同位语、插入语的使用频率 也很高。这就使得科技文章往往句子长,结构 也较为复杂。
Practice:translate the following sentences in passive voice into Chinese
Current will not flow continuously, since the circuits are broken by the insulating material. 电流不再继续流动,因为电路被绝缘材料隔断了。 Computers may be classified into analog and digital. 计算机可分为模拟计算机和数字计算机两种。 The molecules of all matters are believed to be moving. 人们确信,所有物质的分子都在不停地运动。 A brief discussion of some basic concepts is presented in this paper. 本文简要讨论了一些基本概念。
初译:而只有在结肠部位才能找到构成病变环境且导致 该基因最终损坏、致使癌细胞扩散的各种毒素和细菌。 改译:而只有在结肠部位,才能找到构成病变环境的各 种毒素和细菌,它们会导致该基因最终损坏,致使癌 细胞扩散。
据推测;人们猜测 由此可见 应该注意的是 可以有把握地说 必须强调的是 已经证明 据估计 人们(普遍)认为
Summary
英语多用被动语态,尤其是科技英语,而 汉语多用主动语态,这与中西方思维模式的差 异有关。因此,英语科技文翻译成汉语时,经 常采用“语态转换法”(the conversion of voice)。
The difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single word: complexity. The large mammalian brain is the most complicated thing, for its size, known to us. The human brain weighs three pounds, but in that three pounds are ten billion neurons and a hundred billion smaller cells. These many billions of cells are interconnected in a vastly complicated network that we can’t begin to unravel as yet. (popular science)
Summary
科技英语大量使用科学术语,且术语具有单 义性。在翻译过程中,注意词义的准确性。 对于那些一词多义的词语,要掌握他们在科 技文献中的含义。 要尽可能地掌握英语前、后缀,扩大词汇量, 从而提高翻译速度和质量。
2. Syntactical features(句法特点)
频繁使用被动语态(passive voice) 根据英国利兹大学John Swales 的统计,科技 英语中的谓语至少三分之一是被动态。 客体型思维在语言中的表现(objective thinking) 被动语态的使用是科技文章追求客观性的一个 有效手段
English for Science and Technology Translation (EST Translation) 科技英语翻译
Text Features of Scientific English (科技英语的文本特点)
I. A brief introduction to scientific style II. Text features of scientific English Lexical features(词汇特点) Syntactical features(句法特点) III. Assignment
When a graphite crystal is crushed, it breaks into micro-scaled laminar flakes. They are many dangling bonds on the edge of an isolated graphite micro-sheet which elevates its energy and makes it unstable. When a graphite micro-sheet curls into a nanotube, the number of dangling bonds decreases, and the system energy is reduced accordingly. (special science)