试析《红楼梦》中主题句的翻译

汉语是主题突出语言,主题句占有很大比重,而英语是主语突出语言,句子的基本结构是＂主语—谓语＂,汉英翻译在很大程度上就是要作好主题句和主谓句之间的转换。《红楼梦》中的主题句层出不穷,怎样翻译好这些主题句,杨译本《红楼梦》提供了一个绝好的范例。杨译本中主要采用了直译、意译、增译和减译等译法,对于翻译汉语主题句具有指导作用。研究汉语主题句的英译对于汉英翻译具有一定的指导意义。

Translation of Chinese Topic Sentences in A Dream of Red Mansions

Chinese sentences are mostly topic sentences since Chinese is a topic-prominent language,while English is a subject-prominent one,so the sentences are mostly subject-predicate structure.For this reason the translation from Chinese to English is to some extent the transference from topic sentences to subject-predicate structures.In the English translation of A Dream of Red Mansions by the Yang couple,at least four methods are adopted： literal translation,free translation,addition,and deletion.Their success in the translation of Chinese topic sentences is of great guidance for the Chinese-English translation practice.