Error correction of sentence patterns in senior high school English translation: the translation of numerals

In translation, we often encounter the translation of numerals. Because there are some differences between English and Chinese in expressing numbers and increasing or decreasing multiples, you should be very careful when translating, and you may make mistakes if you are not careful. Therefore, we must be extra careful in translating figures and strive for accuracy.

First, common phrases composed of numerals

Most of these phrases consist of numerals and prepositions, or numerals and other parts of speech. It is often used to express uncertain scope and concepts, and sometimes it can also express the state of things or other situations. For example:

hundreds of

Thousands; many

Millions of people.

An incomplete half

Hundreds of dreams; hundreds of

Thousands; thousand

Dreams of thousands/countless solutions

Thousands.

Billions

Dozens, decades, dozens

Dozens of dozen; dozens of

Many scores

Billions of

The dream of hundreds of millions of people

countless/innumerable

1 10 multiple

nine in ten

nine in ten

Nine times out of ten; nine tenths

Tens of thousands of tens of thousands.

Millions

50-50; Half; Average

One hundred percent; all

More than one hundred long; 120/100 long

A few tenths; How many/much?

In twos and threes

By one or two in twos and threes; odds and ends

In the eyes of two; immediately

It's a mess.

One or two little; several

Twenty and two thirds, two thirds.

First of all, first of all

Second to none is unparalleled.

The penultimate is the penultimate.

10 decade, 10

Twenty, a score of twenty

A dozen dozen, 12

Thousands of people attended the meeting.

Thousands of people attended the meeting.

Nine times out of ten she has forgotten.

Nine times out of ten, she forgot about it.

Her name is second to last on the list.

Her name is the second to last on the list.

A few minutes later, the students began to come in in twos and threes.

A few minutes later, the students came in in twos and threes.

Second, the translation of numerals that need to be converted

Because the expression of English numbers is different from that of chinese numerals, it needs to be transformed in Chinese translation. The conversion of numbers seems simple, but translators often make mistakes because of carelessness, which can be described as a tiny difference. For example:

Ten thousand (10 thousand)

One hundred thousand (100000) one hundred thousand

Ten million (100000) ten million.

Happy one million (10 billion) billion.

Billion Billion (American English)

Ten billion (10 billion) billion

One hundred billion (1000 billion) one hundred billion.

One trillion trillion.

Thirdly, the translation of the divisor.

An estimate is a number used to represent a brief and general situation. In both English and Chinese, there is a linguistic phenomenon, that is, using estimated values to represent uncertain ranges or concepts. For example, Chinese concepts such as several, a dozen, several, about, left and right, up and down, about, less than, greater than and less than can be found in English.

(A) the expression of "approximation" and "uncertainty" translation strategies

In English, words such as about, some, around, round, near, towers, somewhere about, estimated, approximate, in/of/on the border of, and close to are commonly used to modify numbers, indicating "uncertainty", "approximate", "up and down", "near" and "almost".

The volume of the sun is about 1 300,000 times that of the earth.

The volume of the sun is about 6.5438+0.3 million times that of the earth.

It's nearly four o'clock.

It's almost 4 o'clock now.

The price of this new machine is close to 1000 dollars.

The price of this new machine is about $65,438+0,000.

According to the weatherman, the temperature will rise by 5 degrees.

Around℃.

According to the weather forecast, the temperature will rise by about 5 degrees Celsius.

(2) Translation methods of "above" and "beyond"

Words such as more than, odd, over, above, long, past, or more, upgrades of, higher than, over in excess are commonly used in English to modify numbers, meaning "beyond", "above", "beyond" and "beyond".

The child is said to weigh more than 100 Jin.

It is said that the child weighs more than 100 kg.

It took me more than two hours to finish my homework.

It took me more than two hours to finish my homework.

This car has run 1000 miles.

This car has run 1000 miles.

(3) Translation methods of "less than", "less than" and "less than"

Words such as less, less than, below, no more, under, short of, off, to, within and as less are commonly used in English to modify numbers, meaning "less than", "less than" and "less than".

It took them a month less than three years to develop this new material.

It took them three years and one month to develop this new material.

The price of that tricycle is less than 185 francs.

The price of that tricycle is less than 185 francs.

He bought the coffee pot at a price 6 dollars below the marked price.

He bought the coffee pot at a price 6 dollars below the marked price.

Fourthly, the translation of multiples.

Multiplication is widely used in English, but their expressions in English and Chinese are quite different. For example: increase by 5 times, Chinese can be translated as "increase by 5 times" or "increase by 4 times"; To reduce by 5 times, Chinese is usually not translated as "reducing by 5 times", but as "reducing to 1/5" or "reducing by 4/5". Therefore, questions such as "Le" and "Dao" are easily confused. Be careful and rigorous in translation, and strive for accuracy.

(A) the multiple of translation increased

In English, when the multiple increases, it often includes the cardinal number. An increased multiple usually means that the current quantity is a multiple of the original quantity. When sentence patterns such as "how many times is it", "how many times is it" or "how many times is it" are translated into Chinese, the numbers in the original text can be translated as usual; When translating into a sentence pattern of "increasing (decreasing) several times", it is usually necessary to subtract one from the numbers in the original text.

1. times+as ... as

The grain output this year is about three times that of last year.

The grain output this year is about three times that of last year. The grain output this year is about twice that of last year. )

Asia is four times as big as Europe.

Asia is three times bigger than Europe. (or: Asia is four times as big as Europe. )

2. Multiplication+Comparison +than

The output of oil wells in Kuwait is nearly 500 times that of American oil wells.

The output of oil wells in Kuwait is almost 500 times that of oil wells in the United States.

The weight of iron is almost three times that of aluminum.

The weight of iron is almost three times that of aluminum. The weight of iron is almost twice that of aluminum. )

X is bigger than y 15 times.

X is 15 times of y.

3. Verb+multiple means increasing meaning

The common verbs that express the meaning of increase are increase, rise, surpass, grow, improve, expand and rise.

The number of students enrolled in evening classes has more than tripled.

The number of students enrolled in evening classes has more than doubled.

Compared with the same period of last year, the total national procurement in the first quarter increased by 5.2%.

Compared with the same period of last year, the total national procurement in the first quarter increased by 5.2 percentage points.

The output of all kinds of picture tubes is four times higher than that of 1993.

The output of various picture tubes is three times higher than that of 1993.

4. Words+numbers indicating increasing meaning+

When this famous saying is translated into Chinese, the number in the original text must be reduced by one, because Chinese does not include cardinality.

Today, the speed of our car is three times higher than the normal speed.

Today, our speed is more than twice as fast as usual.

The population of this county has increased fivefold.

The population of this county has quadrupled.

5. Words+objects (or predications) that express multiple meanings

There are mainly verbs in English that express the meaning of multiples, such as double (to double), treble (to triple) and four (to quadruple). These words can also be used as adjectives. When used as an intransitive verb, there is no object or predicate after it.

The capacity of the new airport will be twice that of the existing airport.

The capacity of the new airport is twice that of the existing airport.

The population has almost tripled in forty years.

The population has almost tripled in 40 years.

The company's output quadrupled to about 20 million tons.

The company has quadrupled its output to about 20 million tons.

(B) Multiple reduction of translation

In English, words and numbers that indicate the meaning of reduction are often used to explain the multiple of reduction. Reducing the multiple usually means that the original quantity is a multiple of the current quantity.

1. Connect "by n or n%" with verbs (reduce, reduce, fall, lower, etc.). ) represents the net reduction; The conjunction verb "less (than)" is used to indicate the net reduction, and all the reduced figures can be translated.

180 minus 90 is 90.

180 minus 90 equals 90.

The cost has dropped by 40%.

The cost has dropped by 40%.

This new process saves 35% fuel.

This process saves 35% fuel.

2. Use verbs (decrease, decrease, decrease, decrease, etc. ) to connect "by n times", "n times", "n times as+ adjective or adverb +as" and "by a factor of n" can all be translated as "reduced by n (n- 1)".

Because there are differences in the use of fractions between English and Chinese (for example, decimal points are rarely used in Chinese denominator), if there are decimal points in English reduction multiples, the number of components should be converted.

This year's enterprise management expenses are reduced by two thirds compared with 2002.

The management expenses of this enterprise have been reduced by two thirds compared with 2002.

The main advantage is that the volume is reduced by three quarters.

The main advantage is that the volume is reduced by 3/4.

Through technical transformation, the error probability of the equipment is reduced by 2.5 times.

Through technological innovation, the equipment error probability has been reduced by 3/5.

Numeral translation is carefully prepared for you to study English abroad. liuxue86.com