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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:% z! f6 a9 G7 Y0 x$ I
- e T* _& [% C8 D1.富贵功名,前缘分定。(《西游记》)
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9 J3 }* P6 z7 ?+ lWealth and honor, glory and fame, are predetermined by fate. (W.J.F. Jenner 译), c4 c/ j/ T& b! E! m+ P& ~$ W
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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》)
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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 K5 h# {/ T5 | s
3 c7 a3 U% k8 `; o7 _/ L" i/ C* B9 Z3.[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)4 a J% q& `! O
" w. f* c: O( [3 ]6 Z4 E4.她无缘,小生薄命。 (《西厢记》) / |9 [6 @( H* w
* d6 \, Z- O2 y$ ^) d# P* [' eShe lacks the karma; I‘m out of luck. (S. H. L. Idema 译)
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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》)
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My meagre lot, my partly destiny keep us from remaining together.( M. Robers 译)
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; c0 I! `' B; o8 b. e) v9 i a- [% j6.[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》)1 M! D0 n! v$ S# T% R/ u9 w& {7 E
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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)
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* n8 L2 x# k H' D/ g7.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》). G) z6 b _! H( ? U
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You are like a matching lute and zither set. You can appreciate each other‘s music. Fate has been too unkind to allow me, a$ v7 ^. \, d. o2 q9 _
( v1 n7 ?+ D- B- g! R1 F0 ksuch blessings. If we are linked by the ties of destiny, we will meet again in the next life. (D.C. & V. H Mair 译)
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5 \' V D$ }$ p; P! _# Y% T# S8.[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》)
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5 a R, n' u- T! b: hMiss Wo-Ni-Ta, we just weren‘t meant to "raise the bowl To the eyebrows." I hope some other lucky guy falls in love; m K1 u7 z4 r0 s
6 Q1 }# C9 Y J1 hwith you. (J. Kelly、 N. K. Mao 译)" |" P N+ r/ h
7 {( A% D" i+ {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。5 M7 a; ~4 o( N9 H, y
. a- C$ R( Z- K+ E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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9.[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。& |2 ?6 Q" | m3 ~' T
0 y7 M4 d1 a+ r# g% \5 M$ mYour talents and your virtue have ever been the objects of my esteem. But I have not had the honour of being presented to you.$ |+ ]5 f' e. ]* t, `+ t
$ R; T: ?& v/ I- V: `0 S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:
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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?
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This 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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@; m, e5 M+ ~" a2 Othat your life is always bound up with the Bai‘s. (林语堂 译) |
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