青岛市北区翻译公司“正词反义”翻译方法介绍

　　比起汉语来，英语词有个待点——即这里要讨论的“正词反义”现象。所谓“正词”就是词的具有正义的正身。如果这个正身竞表示了相反的词义，那便是“正词反义”现象。“正词反义”是“同词反义”的一种特殊形式。

　　如果说，“fire”作“火”或“开火”——“开枪”(或“开炮”)——解，是“正词正义”;那么，作“反火”即“防火”解的“fire”，便是“正词反义”了。现各举一例如下：

　　1. 正词正义：fireing squad开枪队(即开枪射击以执行死刑或为葬仪志哀的一队人)。

　　2. 正词反义：fire department 防火处即消防处。应该说，正词正义是常例而正词反义是变例。请看“正词反义”的实例：

　　3. The stakes are staggering. The tilt of the power balance in Europe is now decided at the Vienna arms conference〔意为“disarmament conference”，即“裁(减)军(备)会议”〕。

　　一Readers Digest, January 1974, p.27

　　4. A loyal member of a local Evangelical church, he believes that his pornography campaign 〔意为“antipornography cainpaign”即“反黄色书画电影……运动”〕。

　　5. The requirement that certain contract must be in writing was first adopted by the British Parliament in 1677, in an act known as the statute of frauds (a more accurate title would have been“statute to prevent frauds”〔“防止欺诈条例”〕。

　　—You and the Law, 1980, p.206

　　6. Florida's oil-pollution law〔意为“anti-oil-pollution law”即“防治油(料)污(染)法”〕。requires the licensing of many marina fuel docks,

　　—Reader's Digest, February 1974, p.86

　　7. During past seven years, some 3697 arrests have led to 2914 convictions for violations of federal and state obscenity laws〔意为“anti-obscenity laws”即“反猥亵法”〕。

　　一Reader's Digest, May 1970, p.214

　　8. Sulina ... went voluntarily to see if she could help the Serious Crime Squad〔意为“Anti-Serious-Crime Squad”即“反严重犯罪队”〕 investigating internal frauds ....

　　一Daily Mail, May 7, 1977, p.3

　　9. Neither Roberts nor I commented. One of the ftrst things a homicide detective〔意为 “anti-homicide detective”即“破凶杀案侦探”〕learns is not to assume anything not supported by clear evidence.

　　—True Detective, June 1980，p.14

　　10. The head of a factory in Britain which goes baakrupt may proclaim loudly that the bankruptcy was everyone's fault but his own, or he may flee the country to evade the Fraud Squad〔意为“Anti-Fraud Squad”即“防欺诈(警察)队”〕。

　　—The Study of Current English, February 1975, p.18

　　11. The grim picture includes mob warfare ... rising police corruption in narcotics squads〔意为“anti-narcotics squads”即“缉毒队”〕….

　　—Newsweek, April 12, 1982, p.32

　　12. Hundreds of Polish riot police〔意为“anti-riot police”即“防暴警察”〕battled at least 25,000 union protesters in Warsaw ....

　　—The Study of Current English, July 1982, p.9

　　(注：各例中方括号前为“正词”，方括号内为其“反义”及汉译。)

　　从上列诸例出发，可得到初步的印象如下，供翻译上参考与检验：

　　1. 正词反义多发生于用作前置定语的名词或复合名词(依次为ams，pornography, oil-pollution, obscenity, serious crime, fraud, homicide, narcotics, riot);

　　2. 正词反义少发生于由“介词-名词”词组构成的后置定语(如例3中的“of frauds”);

　　3. 以上“1”和“2”中所述定语所修饰的，以表示法律(law, statute)与执法机关或人(如 squad/detective/police)等概念者为多，其它如会议或运动(conference, campaign)者为少。