1 not的翻译与否定范围

请问老师:

If Harry could only enter, unseen, behind him, what might he not see or hear?

这句话中的 not 否定的是哪一个部分?

给出的翻译是“如果哈利跟在他后面,神不知鬼不觉地混进去,他会看到什么、听到什么呢?”这句话中好像没有把 not 翻译出来啊?

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最佳答案 2017-11-16 09:31

If Harry could only enter, unseen, behind him, what might he not see or hear?

这个问句属于修辞性问句。否定的问句形式实际表示强烈的肯定。

因此,what might he not see or hear?= he might see or hear everything.

原翻译没理解修辞性问句,对问句部分的翻译是错误的。另外,if...only为只要。。。

正确译文应为:

只要哈里能跟在他后面进去不被发现,他有什么看不见或听不到呢?


与刘老师讨论

刘老师对修辞性问句的理解有些狭隘了。请读一下夸克书中的以下内容:

夸克《英语语法大全》(英文版)P. 825-826

Rhetorical questions

11.23 The rhetorical question is interrogative in structure, but has the force of a strong assertion. It generally does not expect an answer.

A positive rhetorical yes-no question is like a strong negative assertion, while a negative question is like a strong positive one.

POSITIVE :

Is that a reason for despair? ['Surely that is not a reason. . .']

Can anyone doubt the wisdom of this action? ['Surely no one can doubt. . .']

NEGATIVE :

Isn't the answer obvious? ['Surely the answer is obvious.']

Haven't you got anything better to do? ['Surely you have something better to do.']

… …

There are also rhetorical wh-questions. The positive question is equivalent to a statement in which the wh-element is replaced by a negative element:

Who knows/cares? ['Nobody knows/cares' or 'I don't know/care.']

What difference does it make? ['It makes no difference.']

How should I know? ['There is no reason why I should know.']

What should I say? ['There is nothing that I should say.']

What makes you think you can do better? ['Nothing should make

you think you can do better.']

How can I help it? ['There is no reason why I can help it.']

Non-assertives may occur:

What has he ever done for you?

Who has any money to spare these days?

The less common negative question is equivalent to a statement in which the

wh-element is replaced by a positive element:

Who doesn’t know? ['Everybody knows.']

How couldn’t you remember? ['You certainly should have remembered.']

因此,我对句子的理解和翻译是正确的。您的理解不符合该句的语境。原翻译忽视了if...only,只要。。。就。。。同时也忽略了修辞性问句的否定形式表示肯定的意义,而二者是呼应的。只要。。。肯定就。。。怎么会是普通的问句呢?刘老师再想想。

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其它 1 个回答

刘永科   - 教育出版集团英语总顾问 & 英语系列图书主编
擅长:语法理论,语言学,文化背景

If Harry could only enter, unseen, behind him, what might he not see or hear?

这句话中的 not 否定的是哪一个部分?

给出的翻译是“如果哈利跟在他后面,神不知鬼不觉地混进去,他会看到什么、听到什么呢?”这句话中好像没有把 not 翻译出来啊?

【答】what might he not see or hear?——这是一个否定的特殊疑问句。

先说句子构成。我们平时见到的特殊疑问句,大多数不带否定。但用否定的时候也有,例如:

“他对什么不感兴趣?”What is he not interested in? 也可说:What isn’t he interested in?

“他对什么可能不感兴趣?”What might he not be interested in?

问题中的句子:what might he not see or hear?  跟上句是一个类型。

这个句子为什么没有“否定”意思呢?关键在于might 这个情态动词,它表示推测,可能性占一半。从逻辑上讲,“可能不”= “可能是”,各占百分之五十。因此,否定句可以按照肯定句翻译,因此,就有了“他会看到什么或听到什么呢?”


【与曹老师讨论】

1. not用于一般疑问句,才表示“反问”,这就是修辞上的反问句,表达了更加强烈的肯定意义!例如:

Aren't you happy when you get a letter of university admission?

收到大学录取通知书,你难道不高兴吗?

Is he not entitled to hit back? 他难道无权反击吗 ?

来自《简明英汉词典》

2. not用于特殊疑问句,并不表示“反问”,依然是字面意思。例如:

Which film is he not interested in? 他对哪一场电影不感兴趣?

Why are you not dancing? 你为什么不跳舞啊?

问题中的句子,是特殊疑问句,我认为,仍然按特殊问句理解。


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  • steamgear 提出于 2017-11-15 15:39

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