为了表达人类丰富的思想感情,英语中有许多与“哭”有关的同义词汇,但它们之间有细微的差别。本文揭示了这些有关“哭”的词汇含义和其细微差别以及翻译时注意的事项。
英语词汇哭
哭是人类表达思想感情常见的方式之一。汉语中有“大哭”、“号哭”、“”、“啜泣”等等这些极其生动的表达“哭”的词汇,英语中也同样存在丰富的表达“哭”的词汇。下面,笔者想从三方面进行归纳和解析。
1英语中表示“哭”的动词
1.1 blubber:cry noisily, especially in a way that annoys people号哭
Stop blubbering, for heaven’s sake!天哪,别再哇哇地哭个不停!
1.2 howl:make a long loud cry because of unhappiness, pain, or anger.(因悲伤、疼痛、愤怒而)不停地嚎哭;咆哮
He bowled when he fell down.他摔倒时疼痛地嚎叫。
1.3 moan:make a long low sound expressing pain, unhappiness, or sexual pleasure,呜咽,哼哼。
The old man moaned in pain when he received an operation.
老人接受手术时痛苦地着。
1.4 scream: make a loud high noise with your voice because you are hurt, frightened, excited etc(因疼痛、惊恐、兴奋等)尖声大叫,哭叫
Shots rang out, and people started screaming.突然响起***声,人们大声哭叫起来。
1.5 screech:make a very unpleasant, high noise with your voice, especially because you are angry(因生气等)尖叫,尖声喊叫
She screeched at me to take off my muddy shoes.她尖声叫喊叫我脱掉粘满污泥的鞋子。
1.6 sniffle: sniff repeatedly to stop liquid from running out of your nose, especially when you are crying or have a cold反复抽鼻子(尤指在哭或感冒时为了不让鼻涕流出来。
For goodness’ sake, stop sniffling.看在老天爷面上,别再抽鼻子了。
1.7 sob:cry noisily while breathing in short sudden bursts啜泣,呜咽,抽噎
Mary flung herself on the bed, sobbing.玛丽扑倒在床,抽泣起来。
1.8 wail:say something in a loud, sad, and complaining way大声哭叫,号啕大哭
When his money was stolen, the old man wailed for half an hour.钱被偷后,老人号啕大哭了半小时。
1. 9 weep:cry, especially because you feel very sad.(尤因悲伤)哭泣,流泪
The children wept for their mother’s death.孩子们为母亲的去世而悲伤地哭。
1.20 whine:make a long high sound because you are in pain or unhappy悲鸣,哀叫
The old man was whining beside his son’s tomb.老人在他儿子坟墓旁哀哭。
2英语中表示“哭”的名词
英语中表示“哭”的动词大部分也是名词。例如,cry, scream, yell,blubber等。英语与汉语在行文上有两个显著的区别。一是英语行文中多用名词,汉语行文中多用动词。
例如:
We are in need of your help.我们需要你们的帮助。
Their fates are in the hands ofthese rich people.他们的命运掌握在这些富人手中。
英语中常用“介词+名词”的结构表达思想,如以上的in need of和in the hands of在翻译成汉语时,应转化为动词“需要”和“掌握在……手中”。
3英语中有关“哭”的短语
3.1 burst into tears突然哭起来
The little girl burst into tears at the sight of the dog.小姑娘一看到狗就突然哭了起来。
3.2 complain of being hard up哭穷
She is always complaining of being hard up before her friends.她总是在朋友面前哭穷。
3.3 put on a long face哭丧着脸
The old lady always put on a long face before her daughter.老太太总是在女儿面前哭首帕场
3.4 wail and whine哭天抹泪
The old couple wailed and whined when their only child died in a traffic accident.在得知自己唯一的孩子在车祸中丧命后,这对老夫妻伤心得哭天抹泪。
3.6 shed crocodile tears猫哭耗子
People know the boss shed crocodile tears at his rival’s funeral.人们知道这个老板在他的对手的葬礼上猫哭耗子。
4结语
和“笑”相比,英语中表示“哭”的词汇较少。我们应该熟知和掌握这些“哭”的同义词,并了解它们之间细微的差别。这样才能在书写英语文章和从事翻译时准确使用。另外,我们还要掌握英语与汉语在行文上有一个明显的区别:英语行文中多用名词,汉语行文中多用动词。因此,我们在写英语文章或从事汉译英翻译时,要多用英语名词。这样才符合英语的习惯,翻译出地道的作品,提高译文质量。
参考文献:
[1]牛津现代高级英汉双解辞典.牛津大学出版社,1984.
[2]《英汉大词典》编写组.英汉大词典.上海:上海译文出版社,1997.
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