功能词

功能词的应用 Use of Function Words

（一）功能词的普遍性与重要性

功能词又叫结构词，是指没有单独完整的词汇意义，更多是语法意义或语法功能的词。

常见的有代词(she, that, her, it, what等)、数词(one, two, third等)、冠词(a, an, the)、

助动词(can, would, should, have, do等)、介词(to, with, in, at, for等)、连词(but, not, or,

and等)，其数量相对实词比较的少。

功能词虽然相对实义词数量较少，其出现的频率却相当地高。功能词通常起着句法构

建的作用，对于衔接句子，表达清楚句子内部乃至整篇文章的逻辑关系，起着至关重要的

作用。因此，我们在汉译英之前，先要把这些耳熟能详的功能词掌握住，对于功能词特别

是功能词组能手到擒来。

六级翻译中常用连接功能词或功能词组表达如下：

表示时间顺序的:first, later, next, then, finally, before, after, soon, previously,

immediately, formerly, subsequently, meanwhile, presently, initially, ultimately,…

表示举例的:for example ,for instance, such as ,…

表示列举的:and ,firstly ,second, third, last, another, next, finally, furthermore…

表示补充的:also ,in addition, and, further, another, as well as, besides, too,

either,…

1

表示比较或反差的:

比较类like, likewise, similarly, as, at the same time, as well as, in comparison,

both, all…

反差类 on the other hand, in contrast, however, but, in spite of, despite,

nevertheless, on the contrary, instead, rather, though, yet, regardless, although,

unlike, even though, whereas,…

表示强调的:important to note, most, above all, especially valuable, a central

issue, especially relevant, should be noted, the most substantial issue, remember

that ,a major event, the principal item, pay particular attention to, the chief factor,

most of all, a significant factor, a primary concern, a key feature, the main value,…

表示因果类的:because, accordingly, for this reason, hence, resulting, as a result,

so ,then ,thus, therefore, since, consequently,…

表示总结类的:thus ,in short, to conclude, in brief, in the end, in summary, to

sum up, in conclusion, finally, therefore, as already stated, all in all, in a word, in

general, it may be briefly summed up as follows; from what has been mentioned

above; we can come to the conclusion that…

（二）功能词翻译现象关注点

除了对上述连词功能词的记忆与熟悉之外，功能词在翻译与写作中有一些关注点，先

2

通过例子来初步展示。

1）功能词在句中位置

Having spent some time in the city, he had no trouble ______(找到

去

历史博物馆

的路

). (finding the way

to

the history museum)

To make donations or for more information, please ________(

按

以下地址和我们

联系). (contact us

at

the following address)

此两处介词分别引导后置的定语和置后的地点状语。

2）功能词的省略

有一次，他们大吵了

一番

。(They had

a

big quarrel once.)

从前

他爸爸是个打渔的。他

过去

也许和我们

现在

一样穷。(They say his father

was

a

fisherman. Maybe he

was

as poor as we

are

.)

汉译英时，量词与时间介词都省略了，而分别以冠词和动词时态来表现。

3）功能词的添加

门口

放着一堆雨伞，少说也有十二把，五颜六色，大小不一。(

In

the doorway lay at

least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors.)

3

He designed the first suspension bridge,

把

美观

与

功能完美地结合起来.(

which

combined beauty and function perfectly.)

分别在名词前增译了一个介词和一个关系代词。

4）某些功能词在句中的特殊语法结构

The more you explain, _________________(我愈糊涂).（

the more

confused I

become）

Leaving one’s job, ____________________,（不管是什么工作）, is a difficult change

even for those who look forward to retiring. （

no matter what

job

it is

）

5）功能词的搭配与正确选用

The new government was accused____________ (未实现其降低失业率的承诺). (

of

failure to fulfill its promise to reduce the unemployment rate)

Specialists in intercultural studies say that it is not easy to___(适应不同文化中的

生活)。(adapt oneself

to

life/living in different cultures)

6）记住常用功能词及惯用表达

__________(

多亏了

一系列的新发明), doctors can treat this disease

successfully.(

Thanks to

a series of new inventions)

4

I am going to pursue this course, _____________(

无论

我要作出什么样的牺牲). (

no

matter at what

expense (cost)/

no matter what

I have to sacrifice (pay)/ would have

to sacrifice (pay))

7）代词的正确把握

该公司今年产值比去年要高。(The output of this company this year is higher than

that

of last year.)

露西睁开眼睛，眼里充满了泪水。(Lucy opened his eyes.

They

were filled with

tears.)

Please come here at ten tomorrow morning ______________(如果你方便的话).(if

it

is at your convenience/if

it

is convenient for you.)

只是在这个时候我才开始怀疑，我的精力究竟能不能公诸于众呢！

It

was only then

that I began to have doubts whether my story would ever be told.

代词可以让句型简化，或更为凝练、正式，或加强语气。

8）助动词的复合用法

I can’t boot my computer now. Something ____________(

一定

出了毛病) with its

operation system. (

must have

happened)

If you had followed my advice, _____________________(你就不会陷入麻烦).(you

5

wouldn’t have

put yourself in trouble)

有一些复杂的情态助动词的复杂或符合用法出现在翻译与写作当中。

9）实义词的功能化

他是一个

脱离

低级趣味的人。(He is a man

above

vulgar interest.)

看来我们免不了要

碰上

一场暴风雨了。(It looks as if we are

in

for a storm.)

朱迪的第一个妻子

所生

的儿子来和他们同住。(Judy’s small son

by

his first

marriage comes

to live with them.)

10）数词的表达

在汉英翻译中，我们经常会遇到数量增加、减少的问题。然而英汉两种语言在倍数增

减的表达上存在着很大差异请读者试着翻译这个句子：

与去年同期相比，今年的出口总量

增长了两倍

。(The total amount of the export has

increased

by three times

, compared to the same time last year.)

该句涉及数量的变化。今年出口总量增加了两倍，是指在去年总量的基础上再增加了

两倍。也就是说今年的总量应该已经增长到去年同期的三倍。所以by three times为正解。

6

（三）检验型翻译练习——功能词的应用

1

计算机

是一种能接受数据并把它处理成信息的机器。

2站在窗口的

姑娘

是他妹妹。

3

公共场所

禁止吸烟。

4早知如此，我就不参加了。

5冬天来了，春天也就不远了。

6她

虽然

很年轻，却承担了家庭的大部分收入。

7尽管人员不足，支出增加，他也没有抱怨什么。他的脸上还是常常挂着笑容。

8天色很黑了，但是玛丽

本能

地知道该走哪条路。

9我认为父母亲

剥夺

孩子们自由支配空余时间的自由是不明智的。

10

谁

犯了纪律，

谁

就应该受到批评。

11我们犯了错误就要承认

错误

，改正

错误

。

12他

越

是要掩盖他的伤疤，就

越

是会暴露。

7

13他

与其

说是个学者，

不如

说是一个作家。

14我带你到威尼斯去

度

蜜月。

15彼得拔刀向那个强盗

砍去

。

16今后，

具有

大学文凭的人将会获得很多新的就业机会。

17请乘客切勿与

坐在

驾驶盘前开车的人说话！

18

征得

克林顿的同意，他们于七月五日飞往日内瓦。

19

每当

我遇到这类问题，我脑袋一片空白。

20如果他不是忘记了的话，他昨天肯定会亲自来参加会议的。

21考虑到天气这么好，他们

很可能

已经外出。

22他设计了第一座悬浮大桥，把美观与功能完美地结合起来。

23为了改进国企效能，中央政府已经实行了一系列改革，其中包括裁员。

24只是在这个时候，我才开始怀疑，我的经历究竟能不能公诸于众呢！

25他费了不少的劲才找到回家的路。

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26外面一片漆黑，大雨倾盆。

27过去五年中，我公司的销售额已

增长至四倍

。

28这家医院的缴费是一般医院的

三至五倍

。

29我买进这些邮票后他们的价格已经

提高了三倍

。

30小轿车车速比大货车

快一倍

。

（四）功能词应用中的相关细则归纳

1）功能词在句中位置

介词引导可作主语、状语、定语、宾语、表语、补语，因此视其具体的成分来决定在

句中的位置。

有些关系代词在句中有自己的语法格式，起着连接两个句子和充当句子成分的作用，

如by which, whatever, as等。

2）功能词的省略

量词的省略现象在汉译英中比较常见。中文的量词和数词分开使用，而英语中数词如

a, one等既有数词的功能，又有量词的功能。因此，在翻译时，就会出现省略的现象。

如：

一辆

轿车，

a

car。

一轮

满月，

a

full moon。

一场

美梦，

a

pleasant dream。

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如：

朵朵鲜花

开满山坡，

Flowers

bloom all over the hill。

如：该庙宇处在

群山

掩映之中，地势优厚。The temple is hidden in the

mountains

,

with a good terrain.

汉语中一些表时间的词在英语中可以直接通过表时态的助词来体现，因此，汉语中的

时间词就被省略了。

例如：

原来是

魅影教会了小女孩唱歌，所以小女孩对他有种特殊的感情。It was the

phantom that

had

taught the little girl how to sing, so she had a special feeling for

him.

如：

以往

我未想过，当我发觉自己无足轻重时我会感到高兴。It

had

never came to me

before that I would feel happy when people take me as unimportant.

3）功能词的添加

在汉译英中，会出现冠词、介词、连词、it代词等的添加现象。因为，英语的语法功

能比较强，因此有时需要借助功能词来表达。

①冠词的添加。

如：

太阳

照常升起。

The sun

also rises.定冠词的添加，强化了某些专有名词的用法。

如：

穷人

和

富人

的差距越拉越大。The gap between

the rich

and

the poor

is

widening.

10

②介词的添加。

如：化学这门学科讨论的是物质的构成方式、它们相互化合的方式以及在不同条件下

它们相互作用的方式。The science of chemistry deals

with

how substances are made

up, how they combine and how they act under different conditions.

这种增译法的出现主要是由于英语中对于词性的附着性有着较强的要求与标识，需要

通过介词的添加才能衔接下一个单词。还有一类是表地点、时间、原因、条件等状语的介

词的添加。

③连词的添加也是同样的道理。

例如，光传播得比声音快，听到雷声之前即可看见闪电。

Since

light travels faster than

sound, we see lighting before we hear the thunder. 借助Since才能把前后语句进行

衔接。

④代词的添加。

包括英语中常见的关系代词的衔接。另外，就是it代词的添加。

例如，遗憾的是，这次实验的结果不尽人意。

It

is a pity that the result of this test is

not satisfactory.

“It”除了可以做人称代词、指示代词和无人称代词之外，还可以做形式主语或宾语，

成为引导词，改变句子的结构，有时还可以起强调作用。

11

如：多亏绿色植物，空气中才充满了游离的氧。

It

is due to the green plants that the

air is full of free oxygen.

4）功能词的搭配与正确选用

介词在句中的位置多半取决于和这个介词相搭配的实义词，如动词、名词、形容词等，

所以，我们需要从这些实义词的角度来掌握介词在句中的位置及其搭配情况，如drop in,

contribution…to, prone to, on behalf of等。

5）实义词的功能化

实义的词，特别是动词或动词短语等在汉译英中有时会被功能化，以介词或介词短语

等形式出现，作状语、表语或定语等。这是因为有些介词，包括静态和动态，都含有动作

或状态的意味。

①功能化翻译后作状语：

如：党的干部

吃

简陋的饮食，

住

寒冷的窑洞，

靠

微弱的灯光，长时间地工作。Party

officials worked long hours

on

mean food,

in

cold caves,

by

dim lamps. (A.L.

Strong)

类似的介词包括静态介词on, in, by，动态介词across, down, up, by, past, against,

from, 具有明显的动词性。

例如：小鸟快速飞行，越过大桥，飞临海面。The bird flies very fast,

across

the bridge

and over the sea.

12

②功能化翻译之后作表语：

如：要是一个人不能一上任就看出谁

支持

他，谁

反对

他，那他就不配搞政治。If a person

couldn't tell who was

for

him and who was

against

him, then he wasn't much of a

politician.

如：他母亲

做梦也没有

想到他的儿子会成为有名的音乐家。It is

beyond

the

mother’s wild dream that his son would be a famous musician.

③功能化翻译之后作定语：

如：马克·吐温

写的

第一部小说让人印象深刻。The first novel

by

Mark Twain is very

impressive.

如：我远远看到那个小男孩手上

拿着

书本。I see from afar a little boy

with

a book

in his hand.

6）数量词的翻译

①表示陈述达到某数量的句型。除最常用的系动词加数词之外，还可以用...up

to...，...as+ adj. +as...，...，...等。

例：快过年了，大白菜的价格

已接近

3元一斤。The New Year is coming, and the

price of the cabbage

goes up to

nearly 3 Yuan per kilogram.

②表示数量比较和增减的句型。包括...as...as...，...as...much (many) as...，...数量词

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+as...as...，...as...as+数量词，...数量词+比较级+，比较级+by...，...数量词

+the size（length, volume）of...，...数量词+，...表增减的动词+by/

to/数量词。

例：这种商店的价格是前一种商品的

两倍

。The price of this product is

twice as

much as

that of the previous one.

例：这只桶能装那只桶

三倍

的水。This barrel can hold

three times as much

water

as

that one.

例：去年该工厂的产量下

降到

2003年的

65％

。The output of that factory last year

fell to 65％

of the output in 2003.

③特殊词语表示数量比较和增减，此类为非功能词。这些单词比使用某些句型来得更

简洁，也较容易掌握。

首先是以-ble和-ple结尾的表示倍数的词。

两倍double 三倍treble/ triple 四倍quadruple 五倍quintuple

六倍sextuple 七倍septuple 八倍octuple 九倍nonuple 十倍decuple

有读者或许会问：“一倍”怎么说？如果说A的数量是B的一倍，那不就是A＝B吗？

即：A equals B。如果说A比B多一倍，也就等于A的数量是B的两倍，就要用double

一词了。所以英文里一般不说...as one 。但是有half as much again的说法，

意为“一倍半”。

14

例：预计下月我的工资会翻两翻。It’s expected that my salary will

triple

next

month.

例：自1974年以来，计算机进口量增加了7倍。The number of computer imports

has been

septupled

since 1974.

例：这个月水费开支是原来的三倍。The water rate

quadrupled

this month.

另外，-fold是英文里一个很管用的后缀。当你想不起来倍数的表达的时候，不妨在数

字后面加上它，准没错！当然这个后缀是表示数量的增加。请大家用这些特殊数字表达法

来翻译下列句子：

例：这个国家的人口是原来的三倍。The population in that country is

threefold

of

before.

英语与汉语里数字增减的表述都是有一定规律可循的。但是这样的句型和表达很多，

因此考生要对这些句型逐个加以记忆以免错译。学会准确地表达数字，不仅适用于六级翻

译新题型，也同样适用于六级作文题。尤其是图表作文对数字的描述要求非常高。

（六）答案

1

A

computer is a machine whose function is to accept data and process them

into information.

2

The

girl standing at the window is his sister.

15

3 Smoking is prohibited

in

public places.

4

If

I had known it, I would not have joined in it.

5

If

winter comes, spring is not far behind.

6 Young

as

she is, she assumes most of the family’s income.

7 Despite deficiency in workers

and

increase in expense, he complained

nothing,

and

there are always smiles on his face.

8 It was very dark, but Mary seemed to know which way to take

by

instinct.

9 I don't think it advisable that parents should deprive their children

of

freedom to spend their spare time as they wish.

10

Whoever

violates the disciplines should be criticized.

11 When we make a mistake, we have to admit

it

and correct

it

.

12

The more

he tried to hide his scars,

the more

they are going to be revealed.

13 He is

not so much

a scholar

as

a writer.

14 I'll take you to Venice

for

your honeymoon.

16

15 Peter drew his knife

on

the robber.

16 Many new opportunities will be opened up in the course of time for those

with

a university education.

17 Passengers will please not speak to the man

at

the wheel.

18 They,

with

the approval of President Clinton, flew to Geneva on July 5.

19

Whenever

confronted with such question, my mind goes blank.

20 If he

had not

forgotten the meeting, he

would have

attended it in person.

21 Considering it being fine today, they

must have been

going out.

22 He designed the first suspension bridge,

which

combined beauty and

function perfectly.

23 In order to improve the competence of state-run enterprises，the central

government has implemented a series of reforms, among

which

is cutting down

the staff.

24

It

was only then that I began to have doubts whether my story would ever

be told.

25

It

was with some difficulty that he found the ay to his own house.

17

26 It was pitch dark outside

and

was raining cats and dogs.

27 Sales in our company have increased up to

four-fold

in the last five years.

28 This hospital charges three to

five times that of

ordinary ones.

29 The value of these stamps has multiplied

three-fold

after I bought them.

30 The car runs

as

fast again

as

the truck.

18