略谈 until such time as 结构

略谈 until such time as 结构

略谈 until such time as 结构

 

方明亮(博士)

 

英语中,until such time as 是很常用的结构,表示直到…”的意思。例如:

1. Until such time as I am able to transfer my consciousness, I shall remain in a secure location and with the world in this manner. [直到我能够转移自己的意识,我会呆在一个安全的地方,并且以这种方式和世界交流。]

2. Until such time as mankind has the sense to lower its population to the point where the planet can provide a comfortable support for allpeople will have to accept more “unnatural food”. [在人类意识到将人口减少到地球可以为所有人提供舒适的食物之前,人们将不得不接受更多的人造食品]

3. Canada Post said it would not resume deliveries at several addresses in East Vancouver until such time as the hazard no longer exists. [加拿大邮政声称,若是危险隐患排除,在温哥华东区的几处地址将恢复邮递服务。]

4. Until such time as these are formulated and promulgated by the central authorities, work in various fields should continue to be carried out under the regulations now in force.[在中央制定并正式公布新的制度和条例以前,有关各方面的工作,仍照现行制度办事。]

然而,惯用法专家葛传槼先生在1963年出版的《英语惯用法词典》一书中(第664页)认为:until such time as结构中的such time as是多余的,最好删去。语言学家马杰(N. H. Mager)先生等人在1975年出版的《英语用法百科全书》(Encyclopedic Dictionary of English Usage)一书中(第317页)也认为:要避免使用until such time as结构。

事实上,著名学者周海中(笔名周求知)先生在1985年发表的《英语中的 until such time as 结构》一文中就指出:使用until such time as结构时,语句通常具有不确定的意思;这种用法常见于英国英语。他在该文中还举了几个实例,其中有:

5. I shall be asked no question until such time as I may deem it expedient to forestall them by telling my own story. C. Dickens: Oliver Twist[汉译略]

6. Meadows was wandering about the premises until such time as Robinson should return.C. Reade: It Is Never Too Late to Mend[汉译略]

7. Which of these approaches (or any other) is likely to produce good results is not demonstrable until such time as a great deal more data has been accumulated illustrating the nature of the supposed situationally-conditioned linguistic distinctiveness.(D. Crystal: Direction in Applied Linguistics[汉译略]

笔者认为:含有until such time as结构的语句确有不确定的意思,如句1用了shall、句2用了will、句3用了would、句4用了should、句5用了may、句6用了wandering about、句7用了likely,这些词或词组使句子具有不可预见性的因素。可以说,无论是until such time as结构,还是其他英语固定结构,它们都有各自的语义、语法和语用特点。因此,不能随便删除或修改;否则,就会容易出差错,造成文不达意的后果。

  • 发表于 2022-05-04 08:47
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