Negative and affirmative conversion

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1、Warm-up translation exercisesWhat translation skill is adopted?In which cases such skill is used?1Its not our opinion that your proposed contract is practical.It has long since been satisfactorily established that a high executive doesnt have a large vocabulary merely because of the opportunities of

2、 his position.At any rate,she cannot grow many degrees worse,without authorizing us to lock her up for the rest of her life.(J.Austen:Pride and Prejudice,Ch.18,V.II)Im wiser than to believe what you call money talks.He cant see you quickly enough.What dirty means would he not resort to!2我方认为，贵方所拟议的合

3、同并不是切实可行。高级管理人员之所以拥有大量词汇，并非只是因为其所处的地位给了他们许多机会。不管怎么说，她要是变得更坏的话，那我们以后就把她一辈子关在家里。我才不至于蠢到竟然相信你所说的金钱万能呢。他很想尽快和你见面。什么卑鄙手段他都使得出来。3What translation skill is adopted?Negative and affirmative conversion(Please refer to the textbook section two of chapter five)4Chinese expressions of negation are comparatively

4、 simpler in form and easier to recognize for almost all the negative expressions contained negative markers such as“不”、“无”、“非”、“莫”、“勿”、“未”、“否”、“别”、“没有”and so on.5While the negation in English is much more complex.Besides the negative words,there are a large number of negative affixes such as dis-；il

5、-；in-；non-；un-；-less and various words with implied negative meanings(such as fail；deny；defy；miss；lack；ignore；but；except；beyond）、phrases（such as instead of；in place of,etc）or some unique structures（such as morethan；other than；rather thanetc）.6Then In what cases such conversion occurs?1.Sentences wit

6、h transferred negation 2.Litotes(double negation and pleonastic negation)3.Words with negative implication4.Some traps in negative structures71.Sentences with transferred negation As R.Quirk had pointed out in his A Grammar of Contemporary English that “a strange feature of the syntax of subordinati

7、on in colloquial English is the transfer of the negative from a subordinate that-clause,where semantically it belongs,to the main clause.”8Such negation transfer usually occurs when the main clause contained verbs indicating belief or assumption,etc.as think,believe,fancy,feel,expect,imagine,conside

8、r,guess,suppose(with the exception of assume,presume and surmise).9I do not think the Council can or should remain indifferent to these most serious violations of human rights.我认为，安理会不能也不应对这些极其严重的侵犯人权的行为袖手旁观。It is not our view that the speech made by your minister of foreign affairs at the Conferenc

9、e yesterday will be conducive to a lasting peace in that area.我们认为，贵国外交部长昨天在会上的讲话将无助于该地区的持久和平。102.Litotes(double negation and pleonastic negation)Litotes is used for the sake of euphemism or emphasis.Here we only discuss two types:double negation and pleonastic negation.11Double negation To my no sm

10、all astonishment,I found the house on fire.我发现房子着了火，这使我大吃一惊。His house is not seldom filled with water in a very rainy season.在多雨的季节，他的住宅经常满屋是水。12Hardly a month goes by without word of another survey revealing new depths of scientific illiteracy among U.S.citizens.美国公民科学知识匮乏的现象日益严重，这种调查报告几乎月月都有。13Ple

11、onastic negationPleonastic negation is the negation which is in fact superfluous in the sentence,not necessary in sense or in construction.In Chinese,we also have few of such negations as in“好不好不+adj”:好不热闹，好不热闹，好好不伤心，好不快乐不伤心，好不快乐.In translation,we usually make it affirmative.14If the walls of that r

12、oom could speak,what an amount of blundering and capricious cruelty would they not bear witness to.(Samuel Butler)假如屋里的墙会说话，就会证实这里多残酷多肆虐啊!I ran away,I dont know how far I didnt run.（Katherine Mansfield）我跑了，也不知道跑了多远。153.Words with negative implication16This often occurs when the source sentences cont

13、ain“Words with negative implication”such as the verbs of avoid,cease,fail,hate,ignore,miss,overlook,pass,prevent,lack,stop,refrain,refuse,neglect,etc;nouns of absence,aversion,failure,refusal,exclusion,vain,etc;adjectives of ignorant,far(from),free(from)little,etc;adverbs of out,too(to),etc;preposit

14、ions of beyond,instead of,without,above,other than,except,etc;connectives of before,rather than,unless,lest,etc.17The naughty boy is far from honest and his excuse is pretty thin.这个调皮的男孩很不老实，他的借口一点也站不住脚。Everyone acknowledges that Newton was a great man;yet few have more than the vaguest acquaintance

15、 with his living personality.大家承认牛顿是一位伟大人物，但是很多人对他生前的为人只有一个大概的了解。18Prof.White said he still hoped to be the first to complete the first human head transplant,but conceded his age was working against him.怀特教授说，他仍然希望自己是第一个完成首例人类头颅移植手术的人，但他同时也承认，自己毕竟已入暮年，未免力不从心。19In the course of time,Mr.Earnshaw began

16、 to fail.He had been active and healthy,yet his strength left him suddenly.译文一：时间不断过去，欧肖先生开始支撑不住了。他一向健壮、活跃，谁知一下子体力就不济了。（方平译）（反译法）译文二：日复一日，恩肖先生开始垮下来了。他本来是活跃、健康的，谁知体力一下子就从他身上消失了。（正译法）20Im at my wits end to keep this child quiet.我实在是没有办法让这孩子安静下来。True,reading is far from the only source of knowledge.的确，

17、阅读远非知识的唯一来源。21Americans are far more race-conscious than class-conscious.美国人的阶级意识远不如种族意识那么强烈。Now is the time for the industry to act before there is a major outcry.现在，趁公众还没有提出强烈抗议，业界应该马上采取行动。224.Some traps in negative structures1).not because2).cannottoo（再（再也不会过分的）也不会过分的）3).all/everynot4).bothnot5)I

18、t be+adi.+n.+that231).not becauseThe engine didnt stop because the fuel was finished.引擎并不是因为燃料耗尽而停止运转。But the two systems are not necessarily identical,or even very similar because they have some properties in common.但是这两个系统并不因为有某些共同的特征就一定是相同的，或甚至是十分相似的。24CautionsNot all sentences wit“notbecause”str

19、ucture contain negation transfer.It depends on its context.I didnt leave home because Im afraid of my father.我并不是因为害怕父亲才离开家的。/我因为害怕父亲，所以没有离开家。252)cannottoo（再（再也不会过分的）也不会过分的）A book may be compared to your neighbor;if it is good,it can not last too long;if bad,you can not get rid of it too early.一本书可以

20、比作邻居；如果是好的，结识愈久愈好；如果是坏的，分手愈早愈好。（中国翻译1998年，第1期，第22页）26I cannot state too strongly my appreciation of the part you played in the negotiation in order to bring about the desired result.A：我不能过分表达我对你为了达到预想的结果在谈判中起了很大作用。B：为了达到预想的结果，你在谈判中起了很大作用，对此我再怎么感激也不会过分。27You cant be too careful.你要特别小心。The importance

21、of this conference cannot be overestimated.这次会议的重要性无论怎么强调也不过分。283).all/everynotAll that glitters is not gold.闪光的并非都是金子。All is not lost.并非全失。29All his words are not credible.他的话不全可靠。Every worker here is not a model laborer.这里的工人并非人人都是劳模。All cities did not look like they do today.过去，城市面貌并不都像今天这样千篇一律。3

22、04).bothnotBut you see,we both cannot go.但是我告诉你，我们俩不能同时都走。Both the instruments are not precision ones.这两件东西不都是精密仪器。31Both read the same Bible,and pray to the same God;and each invokes His aid against the other.The prayers of both could not be answered.双方念的是同一本圣经，拜的是同一个上帝，但各方都恳求上帝帮助起打倒对方。所以，双方的祈求不可能都

23、得到满足。325)It be+adi.+n.+thatIt is a long lane that has no end.路必有弯。（凡事总有变化，不会永远不变）Its a good horse that never stumbles.好马也有失蹄时。It is an ill wind that blows nobody good.坏事未必对人人都有害处。33Caution!Be cautious to the differences in the style and tone in the negative and affirmative transformation.34Posters F

24、orbiddenNo Posters,please禁止张贴不许张贴Indeed vs.的的确确 or毋庸置疑All the articles in the museum are untouchable.A:禁止触摸博物馆内的一切展品。B:请不要触摸博物馆内的一切展品。35ConclusionNegative or affirmative conversion is an effective translation technique.the translators should not make the conversion between negative and affirmative a

25、t his will.And besides,some traps in negative structures should also worth our greatest attention in the translation practice.Whats more,our attention should also be given to the different style and tone in which the negative and affirmative expressions carried.36 For further study,please refer to连淑能，Contrastive Studies of English and Chinese,高等教育出版社，1994周志培，C-E contrastive Studies and the Transformation in Translation,华东理工大学出版社，200437HomeworkTranslate the following passageA Letter from Shelley to Keats38Thank you 39