第七章 英汉句子互译中的词序
英语和汉语词序差别很大。下面我们先看看这两种语言在词序排列上各自的特点，然
后再针对这些特点讨论一下英汉互译中词序的处理方法。
7.1 英汉句子词序的差异
汉语是语义型语言，英语是形态型语言，这便决定了两者在词序安排上有着本质的区
别。汉语组词造句时，词序主要由语义的搭配决定，即语义团块的先后次序是由人的思维
逻辑来决定的。汉语是一种逻辑性很强的语言，其逻辑性主要表现在以下几个方面：
1 在时间上，英语句子的词序主要是根据语境的需要安排，而汉语通常按事情
发生或出现的先后顺序排列。例如：
1 He went to bed after he finished his homework.
他做完作业后便上床睡觉了。
2）They started as soon as he came .
他一到他们就开始干了起来。
3）Calmly Mother looked around before she turned back fearlessly, closing the door behind her and dashed to the window.母亲镇定地环顾四周，然后毫不畏惧地转身回到屋子里，顺手关上门，一个箭步
奔到门口。
4）A loud applause exploded from the audience when the actress went on the stage.
当女演员登上舞台时，观众中爆发出一阵掌声。
5）The invaders will not surrender until they come to the end of their tether.
侵略者不到走投无路的时候是不会投降的。
6）He was given a chair and asked to wait a little as darkness came on, then suddenly the whole bridge was outlined in lights.天快黑了，人家给了他一把椅子，请他坐下来等一会儿。忽然电灯全亮了，照出
了整个大桥的轮廓。
7）老栓正在专心走路，忽然吃了一惊，远远地看见一条丁字街，明明白白横着。他
便退了几步，寻找一家关着门的铺子，蹩进檐下，靠门立住了。（鲁迅，《药》）Absorbed in his walking, Old Shuan was startled when he saw the cross road lying distinctly ahead of him. He walked back a few steps to stand under the eaves of a shop in front of its closed door.（连淑能，p.72）
8）那只老狼从灌木丛里窜出来，惊魂未定地喘息，伸出舌头。它扭头望着那片灌木
林，声响渐渐消失了，慌乱中毫无目的地转了一阵。它累极了，便卧在地上。然后
它又坐起来，可是它突然像被咬了一下似地跳起来，那只猛禽的铁爪还留在它身
上。（周涛，《猛禽》）The old wolf runs out of the bush, still badly shaken, panting with its tongue lolling. It turns its head to look back at the bush; the terrifying sound has all but died out. Still in panic, it limps aimlessly for a while, then, exhausted, it crouches down to rest, As it sits up, a biting pain hurts its back: the eagle’s iron-like claw is still attached to its body.
上面第1至第6例在时间上都采取“倒叙”的手法，其中after, as soon as, before, when，
until和as 引导的从句所表达的事件或动作都在主句动词表达的动作之前发生。但是翻译成
汉语时，句子完全是按照时间顺序排列的。第7例和第8例的汉语原文也是典型是“顺”序
句。句中虽然动词很多，但排列时显得有条不紊。
二、在事理上，英语的词序比较灵活，但通常开门见山，直奔主题，然后再作解释。
在表示因果关系时，一般先讲结果再说明原因；在表示假设时，往往先说结果再说条件；
而汉语的词序则比较固定，通常按照先原因后结果、先假设后可能、先条件后结果的顺序来排列。这一点，当句中的关联词省略不用时尤其如此。例如：
9）I can’t trust her, because she is not honest.（连淑能，p.54）
比较：Because she is not honest, I can’t trust her.
她不老实，我不能信任她。
10）I think we should have been told if there was anything up.
比较：I think if there was anything up, we should have been told.
我想要是真发生了什么事，他们应该通知我们的。
11）(His assignment in the interim was to choose and develop his own replacement.) He chose Larry, who had an excellent record in sales and had held a management position prior to joining the company.（在这段过渡时期，他的任务是选择和培养他自己的接班人。）他选择了拉里，
（因为）拉里有出色的销售业绩记录，并且在调入本公司之前就担任过管理职
务。
12）The moon is a moon still, whether it shines or not.
<谚> 不管是明是暗，月亮总归是月亮。
13）抓住了主要矛盾，一切问题就可以迎刃而解。（先假设后可能）
Once the principal contradiction is grasped, all problems can be readily solved.（连
淑能，p.55）
14）这些斗争和探索，每一次都在一定的历史条件下推动了中国的进步，但又一次
一次地失败了。（江泽民，《在庆祝中国共产党成立八十周年大会上的讲
话》）All the attempts ended in failure one after another, although they helped promote progress in China under given historical conditions.
从上面的例子可以看出，英语句子对因果关系等逻辑顺序比较灵活，而汉语的词序则
比较固定，通常按先——后，因——果，条件——结果的顺序排列。
当然，汉语句子语序的排列也有例外，那就是，当把原因、条件等看成是补充说明的
情况时，也可以把它们放到句子的后半部分，这时，往往需要使用各种形式标记，也就是
说，需要使用表示各种关系的关联词语。例如：
15）我觉得真扫兴，因为我一分神钓索颤动了，拉迟了落了空。（刘白羽，《海峡
风雷》）In that moment as my concentration wavered, my line wobbled, I pulled back at the wrong moment and ended up with a tangled mess of line, hook and weed.16）不，我昨天没有来，因为我的姐姐病了。No, I didn’t come yesterday, because my sister was not very well.
三、在对某事发表评论时，英语通常先评论或表态，然后再说明有关情况。汉语则正
好相反，通常先叙述（即事实或描写）后表态（即判断或结论）。例如：
17）I believe strongly that it is in the interests of my countrymen that Britain should remain an active and energetic member of the European Community.我强烈地认为，英国应该继续是欧洲共同体中一个积极而充满活力的成员，这
是符合我国人民利益的。（连淑能，p.12）
18）It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. (From Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice)凡有产业的单身汉，总要娶位太太，这已经成了一条举世公认的真理。
19）It is important that everyone does his duty.
每个人各司其责，这一点是很重要的。
20）It’s no use telling him that he’s wrong. He will realise it himself later.
告诉他他犯了错误，这是毫无用处的。他以后会明白的。
从以上可以得知，英汉语在语序的排列上有相同之处，也有相异之处。翻译时，相同
之处可以照搬过来（即顺译）；相异之处则需要对语序进行调整，使之在整体上符合汉语
的表达习惯（即逆译）。
7.2 调整词序的方法
根据英汉两种语言的差异，我们在英汉对译时常常需要根据实际情况在语序上作一些
调整。以下是译者们经常采用的方法。
7.2.1 按照时间顺序进行调整
英汉语序虽然有很大差别，但也有很多相似或相同之处。语序相同便顺译，不同则逆
译，有时则顺译、逆译皆可。
一、顺译
顺译的情况很多，主要有以下几种：
（一）多个表示连贯动作的动词并列时，英语和汉语往往都可以按照动作发生的先后
顺序来安排词序。因此，英汉互译时通常可以采取顺译法。例如：
1）He would drive a rental truck loaded with his belongings and I would follow him in his sedan, then fly back.到时他将开租来的卡车拉上全部家什，我跟在后面帮他把小车开过去，然后乘
飞机返回。
2）I follow the group to the fifth row and directly against a tree I place my ladder so its legs hit the dirt sturdily.我跟随大家到第五行树，把梯子直接靠在一棵树上，梯子的两只脚牢固地插进
土里。（刘世同，p.84）
3）I closed my eyes and said a prayer of thanks before putting the car in gear and returning to the highway.我合上双目，感谢上苍，然后挂挡上路。
4）Taking the train, the two friends arrived in Berlin in late October 1922, and went directly to the address of Chou En-lai. (from Agnes Smedley, The Great Road)一九二二年十月下旬，这两位朋友坐火车来到柏林，一下车便径直去周恩来的
住处。
5）She had spent a sleepless night, and rising early, had stood, wrapped up, at her window, with the cool air blowing on her face, to watch the dawn.她一宵无眠，早早起身，披上毯子，迎着拂面的凉风，凭窗眺望黎明。（方梦
之，pp. 301-2）
6）In the blue of the morning that fragile soldier and servant breathed his last, and when the other children awoke they cried bitterly, and begged Sissy to have another pretty baby. (from Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’urbervilles)在晨光熹微中，那位脆弱的兵士和仆人就喘了他最后一口气，别的孩子们醒过
之后，一个个哭得伤心极了，他们恳求苔丝姐姐再给他们生一个漂亮的娃娃。
（张若谷 译,《德伯家的苔丝》）
7）（如今，台儿沟的姑娘们刚把晚饭端上桌就慌了神，她们心不在焉地胡乱吃几
口，扔下碗就开始梳妆打扮。）她们洗净蒙受了一天的黄土、风尘，露出粗
糙、红润的面色，把头发梳得乌亮，然后就比赛着穿出最好的衣服。（铁凝，
《哦，香雪》）
（But now, the girls of Terrace Gully served dinner in a flurry, absent-mindedly grabbed a quick bite and, soon as they put down their blows, went straight to their
