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缘分”是所谓命中注定的人与人遇合的机缘。英译“缘分”(亦作“天缘”)以及“有缘”、“无缘”常用的英文词有fate, luck, lot, destiny 等。请看几个例子:, `3 p, l) f4 g" L
& D0 g* i/ K2 m) o4 u% Z1.富贵功名,前缘分定。(《西游记》). u/ R7 k, y" [6 k
$ X2 C: ^! c& ?, e fWealth and honor, glory and fame, are predetermined by fate. (W.J.F. Jenner 译)& p0 D) B; z9 {9 Z- u8 M) C
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2.[宝玉问香菱为何薛蟠相亲定下了金桂,香菱笑道] 一则是天缘,二来是“情人眼里出西施”(《红楼梦》) 5 T5 R) P" z* R) r! y8 k
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It‘s partly fate, and partly a case of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."(杨宪益、戴乃迭 译) 4 _5 ~* e) v8 B2 G/ v
; O4 Y( f! k" |9 k3.[王婆为了撮合西门庆和潘金莲,故意问前者是不是妻子死后,没有别的女人他中意的。西门庆争辩说]做甚么了便没?只恨我夫妻缘分上薄,自不撞着!(《水浒》)
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Who says there isn‘t? It‘s just that my marriage luck has been bad. I‘ve never met the right one. (S. Shapiro 译)
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4.她无缘,小生薄命。 (《西厢记》) , Y0 b, Q$ L; O
8 c! n m& r" P& _0 yShe lacks the karma; I‘m out of luck. (S. H. L. Idema 译)9 \3 `) x/ ?5 r k) s2 B
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5.[刘备送别徐庶时说]备分浅缘薄,不能与先生相聚。(《三国演义》)' H# y' G* H- e3 j) g
0 A N7 s: Y8 a2 A6 R9 E+ j' kMy meagre lot, my partly destiny keep us from remaining together.( M. Robers 译)
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6.[杜慎卿向季苇萧诉说自己没有知心朋友]只为缘悭分浅,遇不着一个知己,所以对月伤怀,临风洒泪!(《儒林外史》)
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But I have not been lucky enough to find a true friend, and that is why I so often give way to melancholy! (杨宪益、戴乃迭 译)7 g+ n# f- A- `9 O- r0 Z. F
5 d9 |9 D G4 l7.君琴瑟之好,自相知音;薄命人乌有此福。如有缘,再世可相聚耳。(《聊斋.宦娘》)
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( v! q# s# r! l9 F3 G( gYou are like a matching lute and zither set. You can appreciate each other‘s music. Fate has been too unkind to allow me
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such blessings. If we are linked by the ties of destiny, we will meet again in the next life. (D.C. & V. H Mair 译): x+ @, q8 @9 w4 h
. ?7 E1 I7 \3 E7 r: `& D8.[方鸿渐看不中张小姐,心中暗说]“我你他”小姐,咱们没有“举碗[案]齐眉”的缘分,希望另有好运气的人来爱上您。 (《围城》)6 `6 d2 o/ b& a0 m
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Miss Wo-Ni-Ta, we just weren‘t meant to "raise the bowl To the eyebrows." I hope some other lucky guy falls in love# ~! N m' H/ h' w1 G, J9 Z# k! _9 `
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with you. (J. Kelly、 N. K. Mao 译)
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) `8 ? _4 B) U5 g5 u. O5 R" S4 Y, A可以看出,以上句子里的中心词都含有“命运”的意识,英译亦然。《围城》一例所mean,据New World Dictionary 等词典的解释也有 to destine or seem to destine 的意思,颇为妥帖。
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然而,“缘分”等词和命运的关联在有的用法里变得淡化了,甚至完全消失了。它只是泛指一种机遇或者机会。所以M. Roberts翻译《三国演义》的以下两句,用的词语和上边英译句子中的相应部分不同:
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3 \0 `. r8 J0 v9.[刘备二顾草芦时误认诸葛均为为诸葛亮,说]备久慕先生,无缘拜会。
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Your talents and your virtue have ever been the objects of my esteem. But I have not had the honour of being presented to you.
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不仅如此,这种机遇还可以发生在人和事物之间。体育报道里说的“无缘(进入)决赛(be barred from entering the finals; be disqualified for the finals) 即其一例。《浮生六记》的作者沈复(字三白)因妻子陈芸喜欢李白和白居易的诗,就跟她说: ^) s! N" d# f K! u+ [- ?8 C
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11.异哉!李太白是知己,白乐天是启蒙师,余适逢字三白,为卿婿;卿与“白”字何其有缘耶?" v, [ [& M/ P0 Z
3 I1 [8 k. Q# m6 v+ X: A" P# `. mThis is very strange. So LiBai is your bosom friend, Bai Juyi is your first tutor and yours band‘s literary name is Sanbai. It seems
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. O7 J9 P; b* f S6 Fthat your life is always bound up with the Bai‘s. (林语堂 译) |
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