词义空缺与翻译策略（3）

　　加注法就是通过注释的形式在译文中补充必要的文化背景知识，以弥补汉英文化的差异，帮助译文读者更好地理解这些具有特殊文化色彩的词语。例如《汉英大词典》中的“八卦”这一词条，在直译为the Eight Trigrams之后，还加上了适当的注解：eight combinations of three lines – all solid, all broken, or a combination of solid and broken lines – joined in pairs to form 64 hexagrams, formerly used in divination。加上这一注释之后，“八卦”的文化内涵一清二楚，确保了译文读者对词语的透彻理解。又如“八股文”这一中国传统文化特有的事物也可用直译加注法译为eight-part essay (a literary composition prescribed for the imperial civil service examinations, known for its rigidity of form and poverty of ideas)，“满月酒”可译为One-Month-Old Birthday Feast (a special ceremony held after a baby has been one month old)，“龙虎斗”可译为Dragon and Tiger Fight (a traditional dish in Canton cuisine including meat of snake, resembling dragon, and cat or leopard, resembling tiger, well-known for its medical function of relieving rheumatism, promoting blood circulation, repelling ailment, and reinforcing body fluid)，“西岳”可译为the Western Mountain (another name for Mount Huashan in Shaanxi Province)，“白军”可译为the White Army (the reactionary bourgeois troops, in China referring to the Kuomintang army during the Second Revolutionary Civil War, 1927-1937)，“红案”可译为red board (cooking that deals with dishes, both meat and vegetable)。

　　除了与直译法相结合外，加注法还可作为音译法、意译法的补充，为译文读者提供更为详尽的词语文化内涵，促进东西方文化之间的交流。例如：“围棋”weiqi (a game played with black and white pieces on a board of 361 crosses)、“散手”Sanshou (Chinese boxing)、“西施”Xishi (a famous beauty in the late Spring and Autumn Period)、“碑帖”a rubbing from a stone inscription (usually as a model for calligraphy)、“表妹”younger female cousin (the daughter of one's father's sister or of one's mother's brother or sister)、“抓周”the grabbing test on the occasion of a baby's first birthday (in which various articles -- e. g. a book, a writing brush, an inkstone, workman's tools, playthings and eatables, cosmetics and many an unexpected gadget -- are assembled and spread out before the baby and the one particular article he picks up is supposed to give a general idea of his future character and pattern of life, his career and behaviour, his habits and hobbies)、“元宵节”the Lantern Festival (the 15thof the 1st lunar month)等等。除了以括号或注释的形式加注之外，文内加注也可以对词语的文化意义进行补充说明。例如“下海”，直译为jumping into the sea容易引起误解，可在词语中添加“商海”这一注解，改译为jumping into the sea of business，既可传达了词义，又保留了汉语原词生动形象的语言特色。

　　无论采用以上哪种方法，我们的目的都是要忠实准确地传达汉语词语的文化内涵，促进汉英文化之间的交流。尽管汉英两种文化间存在较大差异，只要我们目的明确、方法得当，就能克服文化差异的障碍，在两种文化间搭起沟通的桥梁。