搞翻译的必备条件
January 23rd, 2008 | by lindsay | Posted in » 翻译探讨 | 381 views |李成业
俗语说：“工欲善其事，必先利其器”。掌握高度的双语，就是搞好翻译利器的基本条件。有了良好的基本双语条件，就可以开始学习翻译。
不过，请别忘记，语言既是翻译必备的利器，当然是越利越好。在学翻译时，双语也应该不断磨练，越磨越利，不断提升。
向来，这里的译员待遇差，社会地位也不高，不像采用二十多种多语传译制度的欧洲那样，把会议同步传译，看成是跟律师、医生……等量齐观的专业人士。
在翻译方面，也像学语文那样，我向来都是靠自学和自修这四个字。我多年来经常到书店里，找些英华对照的翻译书当案头师父，一有空就经常“拜师”、“学艺”、“练功”。
我怎么“学艺（译）”呢？看英华对照的翻译书，一看到好的翻译作品，我会如获至宝，接着“进补”，吸收“好料”，学习好的表达方式，好的翻译方法，好的翻译技巧。必要时，更在书本上做记号，用彩色笔加上五颜六色，甚至在本子上另做笔记，以备日后参考。
怎么“练功”呢？华英对照的翻译书，并非都是十全十美的。
因此，在华英对照的翻译书里，也会有错译之处。在找到错误和不尽善的地方，就是“练功”的大好场所和难得机会。我可以研究错在哪里，考虑改正或修订，避错就正，加以完善。这样，我才能够从翻译错误中，从进行负面学习，研究翻译技巧，磨练翻译功夫，提升翻译水平。
研究华英对照的翻译书，好处可分两方面：一方面可以从善如流，吸收别人的优点，当作是“进补”；另一方面，也可从别人的缺点中吸取教训，当作是“防疫”（防错）。
在自修或进修翻译时，还必须量力自作决定，自己是要做哪一类翻译。在我看来，翻译大致可分为三类：一、英译华的单向翻译；二、华译英的单向翻译；三、英华互译的双向翻译。
有意做第一类的译者，英文的理解力要强，华文的写作力也得强。有意做第二类的译者，华文的理解力要强，英文的写作力也得强。第三类比较难求，有意做这类比较难的译者，英文和华文的理解力和写作力，都得一样强。
在英文词汇里，这种人称为“ambilinguist”（平衡精通双语者），就如“ambidexter”（双手都能善用者）。这种人有能力用英文英语思考，用英文写作和说话，也有能力用华文华语思考，用华文写作和说话。他们是真正、也是难得的华英双语精英。
最后，如果问我搞好翻译有何秘诀，由于翻译是语文工作之一，我在这里，献出“十二字诀”，与译界朋友们共勉之——“兴趣、目标、决心、恒心、努力、常练”。
·作者曾任最高法院通译、文化部翻译主任；现任国会和国际会议同步传译、本报新闻奖评审委员。他也是日内瓦国际会议传译协会会员。
Prerequisites for translation
By Lee Seng Giap
“To get a job done well, there must be sharp tools first,” so says a folk adage. Mastery of two languages of high standard is the basic prerequisite of the sharp tool to engage in translation. To begin learning translation, one must have a good foundation of the two languages used.
It must not, however, be forgotten that since languages are the required sharp tools for translation, it goes without saying that the sharper the tools, the better they are.
All along, the pay package for translators is poor and their social status is not high either, quite unlike Europe, where over twenty languages are used in its multilingual interpreting system and simultaneous interpreters are regarded as professionals on par with, say, lawyers and doctors.
I have always relied on self-learning and self-study in translation as in languages.
For many years, I frequented bookshops to pick up translation books bilingual in Chinese and English. I regarded them as my “masters” on the desk. Whenever I had the time, I would learn the art from them and practise the skill with them.
How did I learn the art? When I read the bilingual books of translations and came across good pieces, I would feel like I had come across a priceless treasure. Then, like taking tonic, I would absorb the good stuff, learning the good expressions, the good methods and the good translation skills.
Whenever necessary, I would do some marking in the book, using colour pens and even taking down notes in a separate exercise book for future reference.
How did I practise the skill? English-Chinese books of translations are not all perfect.
That being the case, there are bound to be mistakes in bilingual books of translations. Mistakes and imperfections in such books provide good grounds and hard-to-come-by opportunities for skill practising.
These enabled me to study and find out where the translations had gone wrong. They also enabled me to consider the corrections and revisions to avoid mistakes and make improvements. In this way, I was able to learn from the mistakes of others. Through learning by negative examples, I picked up translation techniques, sharpened my translation skill and improved my translation standard.
Through the study of English-Chinese books of translation pieces, I have benefited in two ways.
On the one hand, I could readily learn from good examples and picked up good points of others, taking them in like tonic and nutrition. On the other, I could learn lessons from others’ shortcomings, regarding such lessons as anti-mistake vaccines.
In the process of self-study or doing a refresher course in translation, one must, depending on one’s interest, decide on the type of translation to take up.
In my view, translators fall into three categories: (1) one-way from English to Chinese (E to C); (2) one-way from Chinese to English (C to E) and (3) two-way between English and Chinese (E<>C).
For those bent on (1), their comprehension of English must be strong and be matched with a strong writing skill in Chinese; on (2), their comprehension of Chinese must be strong and be matched with a strong writing skill in English; on (3) which is harder to come by, they must be equally strong in the comprehension and the writing skill of both English and Chinese.
In the English vocabulary, such people are known as “ambilinguists” and are like “ambidexters” who are equally at home in the use of both hands. The ambilinguists are able to think English, write and speak in English. They are also able to think Chinese, write and speak in Chinese. They are the true and rare Chinese-English bilingual elites.
In conclusion, if I am asked whether there is any secret of success for engaging in translation, since translation is one of the types of linguistic work, I can only share with all my translator colleagues the following experience: “Interest, objective, determination, perseverance, effort and practice”.
The writer was formerly a Supreme Court Interpreter, Head (Translation) of the Ministry of Culture. He is currently a free-lance Simultaneous Interpreter of Parliament and at international conferences. He is also one one of the SPH’s CND News Award Judges and a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC).
转自淘海翻译
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