一、形合与意合
傅雷60年代在给罗新璋的信中说：“东方人与西方人思维方式有基本分歧，我人重综合，重归纳，重暗示，重含蓄；西方人则重分析，细微曲折，挖掘惟恐不尽，描述惟恐不周……”[1]奈达也曾论述：“就汉语和英语句式而言，也许在语言学上最重要的区别就是形合和意合的对比。”[2]
形合（hypotaxis）和意合（parataxis）是语言的两种基本组织手段。形合即依仗形式（包括词的变化形态，词汇的衔接等）将语言符号由“散”（个体的词）到“集”（词组乃至语篇）的语言组织手段。The American Heritage Dictionary给形合定义为：The dependent or subordinate construction or relationship of clauses with connectives，for example，I shall despair if you don’t come．英语重形合。
所谓意合即依仗意义（而非形式），即内在的逻辑关系组织语言的手段。The World Book Dictionary给意合定义为：It is the arranging of clauses one after the other without connectives showing the relation between them．Example：The rain fell；the river flooded；the house washed away．汉语重意合。[3]
（一）英语的形合法
英语造句注重显性粘合（overt cohesion），以形显意，连接手段和形式（cohesive ties）数量大，种类多，使用频繁。
（1）英语几乎离不开关系词和连接词；汉语少用甚或不用。关系词（关系代词、关系副词、连接代词和连接副词）包括：who、whom、whose、that、which、what、when、where、why、how等。连接词（并列连词，从属连词）如：并列连词有and、but、or、yet、for、so、hence、however、therefore、nevertheless、as well as、both…and、not only…but also、（n）either…（n）or…；从属连词有when、while、as、since、until、so…that、unless、lest等。
例1．All was cleared upsome time later when news came from a distant place that an earthquake was felt the very day the little copper ball fell．
译文：过了一些时候，从远方传来消息：在小铜球坠落的当天，确实发生了地震。这一切终于得到了澄清。
例2．When I tryto understand what it is that prevents so many Americans from beingas happyas one might expect，it seems to me that there are two causes，of which one goes much deeper than the other．
译文：我试图理解什么使得如此众多的美国人不能如想象中那样幸福。我认为原因有二，而两者之间又有深浅之分。
例3．It was what sentimentalists，who deal in very big words，call a yearning after the ideal love，and simply means that women are not satisfied until theyhave husbands and children on whom they may center affections，which are spent elsewhere，as it were，in small change．
译文：一般情感主义者喜欢用大字眼，称之为对于理想爱情的渴望。换言之，他们认为女人的情感平时只能零星发泄，必须有了丈夫和孩子，情感收聚起来有了归属，自己才能得到满足。
（2）英语造句几乎离不开介词，汉语常不用或省略介词。英语介词分为：简单介词（with，to，in，of，about，between，through）、合成介词（within，onto，inside，upon，throughout）、成语介词（according to，apart from，because of，on behalf of）。英语中有各类介词共约286个，是最活跃词类之一，是连接词语和句子的重要手段[4]。R．Bander指出：“A preposition may be defined as a connecting word showing the relation of a noun or substitute for a noun to some other word in the sentence…．Prepositions appear constantly in English speech and writing…．Over ninety percent of preposition usage involves these nine prepositions：with，to，from，at，in，of，by，for and on．”[5]
例1．Power can be transmitted over a great distance with practically negligible loss if it is carried by an electric current．
译文：电流可以把动力传送到很远的地方，其消耗几乎可以忽略不计。
例2．Change of information，if any，concerning the con－tents of the section will be found in the appendix at the end of this book．
译文：本节目录如有更改，均可见本书末附录。
例3．She said，with perfect truth，that“it must be delightful to have a brother”，and easily got the pityof tenderhearted Amelia，for being alone in the world，an orphan without friends or kindred．
译文：她说道，“有个哥哥该多好啊”，这话说得入情入理。她没爹没娘，又没有亲友，真是孤苦伶仃。软心肠的阿米莉听了，立刻觉得她可怜。
（3）其他连接手段：英语常采用inflected forms，grammatical and notional concord，principle of proximity，常用代词，“it”和“there”。英语常综合运用关系词、连接词、介词和及其他连接手段来黏合句子成分。英语重形合。[6]
例1．He boasts that a slave is free the moment his feet touch British soil and he sells the children of the poor at six years of age to work under the lash in the factories for sixteen hours a day．
译文：他吹嘘说，任何奴隶一踏上英国的土地就获得自由，而他却出卖穷人家六岁的孩子到工厂干活，每天十六小时，受尽鞭打责骂。
例2．Even in its blasted condition，with boards and sackings in most of the windows，with its thick dust and its bare room，with its cracked plaster and its damaged roofs，the hotel had been a new world，a breadth and dignity，full of adventure possibilities．
译文：这家旅馆，尽管被炸坏了，窗户大多钉上了木板，
并堆上了沙包，到处是厚厚的尘土，房间空空荡荡，墙上的石灰也裂了，屋顶也坏了，可总是一个宽敞庄严的新天地，值得去探索。
例3．Could any spectacles，for instance，be more grimly whimsical than that of gunners using science to shatter men’s bodies while，close at hand，surgeons use it to restore them？
译文：炮手用科学毁坏了人体，而就在附近，外科医生用科学使其恢复健康，还有什么情景比这更加荒谬绝伦？
例4．There is nothing more disappointing to a hostess who has gone to a lot of trouble or expense than to have her guest so interested in talking politics or business with her husband that he fails to notice the flavor of the coffee，the lightness of the cake，or the attractiveness of the house，which may be her chief interest and pride．
这个句子中就运用了关系词、连接词、介词和其他连接手段来粘合句子成分，整个句子衔接紧凑，多枝共干，属形合句。
（二）汉语的意合法
汉语造句少用甚或不用形式连接手段，注重隐性连贯（covert coherence），注重逻辑事理顺序，以神统形。词语之间关系常在不言之中，语法意义和逻辑联系常隐藏在字里行间。汉语意合有下列手段：
（1）语序。汉语从句若前置，一般有“因为”、“如果”、“虽然”、“即使”等含义，而通常省去这些连接词。汉语中；先“因”后“果”，几乎不用“因为”，属常态；先“果”后“因”，大多用“因为”，属“变态”。[7]
例1．I can’t trust her because she is not honest．
译文：她不老实，我不能信任她。
例2．We will not attack unless we are attacked．
译文：人不犯我，我不犯人。
例3．I’ve made proposals，but they proved futile．
译文：说是说了，没有结果。
例4．If you get beyond your depth，you will suffer．
译文：打肿脸充胖子，吃亏是自己。
例5．Once the principal contradiction is grasped，all problems can be readily solved．
译文：抓住了主要矛盾，一切问题就可以迎刃而解了。
（2）对偶、对比、反复、排比等。这些句式整齐匀称，往往不用关联词。
例1．If he doesn’t come here，I won’t go there．
译文：他不来，我不去。
例2．As a man sows，so he will reap．
译文：种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆
例3．It is better to move ahead slowlythan just to mark time．
译文：不怕慢，只怕站。
例4．Be the first to bear hardships and the last to enjoy comforts．
译文：吃苦在前，享乐在后。
例5．Smart as a rule，but this time a fool．
译文：聪明一世，糊涂一时。
例6．If you have never tasted the bitterness of gall，how can you know the sweetness of honey？
译文：不知苦中苦，哪知甜中甜？
例7．If it lightens in the east，it will be sunny；if it in the west，rainy；if it in the south，sultry；if it in the north，stormy．
译文：东边闪电出日头，西边闪电必有雨，南边闪电天气热，北边闪电有雷雨。
（3）紧缩句。所谓“紧”就是取消分句间的语音停顿，让其紧挨在一起；所谓“缩”即省略分句间的一些词语，让其简约[8]。
例1．有饭大家吃。
Let everybodyshare the food if there is any．
例2．不到黄河心不死。
Ambition never dies until all is over．
例3．狐狸再狡猾也斗不过好猎手。
It is no match for a good hunter however sly a fox may be．
例4．狼披羊皮还是狼。
A wolf remains a wolf even though it is in sheep’s clothing．
例5．问遍千家成行家。
Learn from numerous advisers，and you’ll become a master．
例6．上梁不正下梁歪。
If the upper beam is not straight，the lower ones will go aslant．
When those above behave unworthily，those below will do the same．
（4）四字格。吕叔湘曾指出，“2＋2的四音节是现代汉语里的一种重要节奏倾向。四音节的优势特别表现在现代汉语里存在着大量四音节熟语即‘四字格’这一事实上”[9]。四字格往往历经锤炼，言简意赅，常常是意合法的佳作。
例1．不进则退
He who does not advance falls backward．
例2．酒醉智昏
When wine is in，wit is out．
例3．物极必反
Once a certain limit is reached，a change in the opposite direction is inevitable．
例4．玩火自焚
Whoever plays fire will perish by fire．
例5．欲盖弥彰
The more one tries to hide，the more one is exposed．
例6．远交近攻
Befriend those far awaywhile attacking those nearby．
王力指出：“西洋语的结构好像连环，虽则环与环都联络起来，毕竟有联络的痕迹；中国语的结构好像无缝天衣，只是一块一块地硬凑，凑起来还不让有痕迹。西洋语法是硬的，没有弹性的；中国语法是软的，富有弹性的。惟其是硬的，所以西洋语法有许多呆板的要求，如每一个clause里必须有一个主语；惟其是软的，所以中国语法只以达意为主，如初系的目的位可兼次系的主语，又如相关的两件事可以硬凑在一起，不用任何的connective word。”[10]英语注重形合，注重结构、形式，常借助连接手段，因而较严谨（preciseness）；汉语注重意合，注重功能、意义，常不用或少用连接词，因而较简洁（conciseness）。汉译英时，要先分析句子的功能、意义，才能确定句子的结构、形式；英译汉，则相反。[11]
例1．没有外力作用，运动的物体就连续做匀速直线运动。
译文：A bodyin motion remains in motion at a constant speed in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force．
例2．There is no more difference，but there is just the same kind of difference，between the mental operations of a man of science and those of an ordinary person as there is between the operations and methods of a baker or a butcher who weighs out his goods in common scales and the operations of a chemist who performs a difficult and complex analysis by means of his balance and finely graduated weights．
例3．从其交友知其为人。
Tell me whom you associate with and I’ll tell you who you are．
例4．再试纺，顶多忙一阵子，过了几天，还是外甥打灯笼———找舅（照旧）。
And if we’re now going to have a check spinning it’ll only mean that we’re be busier than ever for a spell and then after a few days things will be back to what they were before．
（三）形合、意合与文体
英语和汉语都有形合句和意合句。一般来说，英语形合句多汉语意合句多，但其多少与文体密切相关。书面语没有口语的辅助语言手段（表情、手势、语调等），因而形合句比口语多。现代汉语受西方语言的影响，形合句比古代汉语多。O．Jespersen对古代汉语曾评论说：“Undoubtedly Chinese of the old style carries with it an impressive dignity through the immediate succession of nothing but momentous notions；it acquires a simple greatness because it throws away all unnecessary accessory elements and thus，as it were，takes flight to pure thinking．”[12]
从古代汉语流传下来的成语、谚语匀称对偶，言简意赅，至今仍为汉语意合句的重要组成部分。现代汉语庄重文体，科技文体和论说文体多采用形合句，以表达清晰的逻辑关系和复杂的思想内容。[13]例如严复以下几段有关翻译的著名论述，用汉代以前的雅语，常以单句代复句，以并列代主从，多取意合法：
译事三难信达雅。求其信已大难矣，顾信矣不达，虽译犹不译也，则达尚焉。……
易曰修辞立诚；子曰辞达而已，又曰言之无文，行之不远；三者乃文章正轨，亦即为译事楷模，故信达而外，求其尔雅，此不仅期以行远已耳。实则精理微言，用汉以前字法句法，则为达易；用近世利俗文字，则求达难；往往抑义就词，毫厘千里；审择于斯二者之间，夫固有所不得已也，岂钓奇哉。……
新理踵出，名目纷繁，索之中文，渺不可得；即有牵合，终嫌参差；译者遇此，独有自具衡量，即义定名。……一名之立，旬月踟躇。（严复：《天演论·译例言》）
译文：Translation has to do three difficult things：to be faithful，expressive，and elegant．It is difficult enough to be faithful to the original，and yet if a translation is not expressive，it is tantamount to having no translation．Hence expressiveness should be required too…
The Book of Change says that the first requisite of rhetoric is truthfulness．Confucius says that expressiveness is all that matters in language．He adds that if one’s language lacks grace，it won’t go far．These three qualities，then，are the criterion of good writing and，I believe，of good translation too．Hence besides faithfulness and expressiveness，I also aim at elegance．I strive for elegance not just to make my translations travel far，but to express the original writer’s ideas better，for I find that subtle thoughts are better expressed in the vocabulary and syntax of pre－Han prose than those of the vulgar writings of today．Using the latter often leads to distortion of meaning，which，however slight，results in vast misunderstanding．Weighing the pros and cons，I opted for the Former，as a matter of necessity，not trying to be different…
New ideas come one after another，with a multiplicity of new names．No equivalents can be found for them in Chinese．Straining for resemblances，one gets only contrarieties．The translator is obliged to use his own discretion，doing his best to find a term suited to the sense…A single term often took weeks and months of deliberation…（王佐良译）
意合法在汉语中是常态，在英语中是“变态”。这类“变态”常见于英语一些谚语、表达复合句的简单句，以及表达状语从句意义的定语从句。[14]如：
例1．谋事在人，成事在天。
Man proposes，God disposes．
例2．A successful old age is easiest for those who have strong impersonal interests involving appropriate activities．
译文：如果老年人对个人以外的事情怀有强烈的兴趣，并参加适当的活动，他们的晚年是最容易过得好的
例3．The best shortcut would still take five hours．
译文：（即使）抄近路也要五小时。
例4．Out of blows friendship grows．／No discord，no concord．
译文：不打不相识。
例5．The enemy advances，we retreat；the enemy camps，we harass；the enemy tires，we attack；the enemy retreats，we pursue．
译文：敌进我退，敌驻我扰，敌疲我打，敌退我追。
（四）形合意合在汉英翻译中的操作[15]
汉译英时，首先分清汉语原文中哪些是主体意念，将其置于主句；哪些是客体描摹、事件背景、概念前提或条件、思维指向、行为对象等等，将其作从句或词组处理。
（1）翻译成带从句的英语句子
例1．他们妯娌吵嘴，不巧被我撞见了。
I chanced to be present when the sisters－in－law were having aquarrel．
（2）翻译成带介词短语的英语句子。
例2．好不容易才说服她，照我的想法办。
With some difficulty I brought her round to my way of thinking．
（3）翻译成带分词或不定式结构的英语句子
例3．只见那个理发师俯下身，听小姑娘说，她要什么发式。
Leaning down to hear the little girl，the barber listened to her about the style she wanted．
例4．对人太苛求，没什么道理，自己也容易失望。
You have little cause to make excessive demands from others and make yourself disappointed in return．
（4）翻译成带定式复合结构的英语句子
例5．酒不醉人人自醉。
It is not the wine that intoxicates but the drinker who gets himself drunk．
例6．人到醉时方觉醒，醒时难得醉时清。
It is not until one gets drunk that he gets sober and it is difficult for him to get as sober as he gets drunk．
练习（英形合，汉意合）
1．那时舅舅抱着我，哄着我，我觉得很温暖。
Sitting on my uncle’s lap，being humored all the way，I was feeling very good．
2．我软化了，我被母亲那颗永远充满了爱而又从来缺少爱的心软化了。我终于决定按照母亲的愿望，报考中文系。
I weakened，softened by my mother’s ever－lasting love that had never been reciprocated with love．In the end，I decided to enroll in the Chinese department，following my mother’s wish．
3．太华之高（）不知几千仞，（）惜未能裹粮往登焉。归途（）见林柿正黄，（）就马上摘食之。土人呼止，（）弗听，（）嚼之，（）涩甚，（）急吐去。（）下骑觅泉漱口，（）始能言。土人大笑。盖柿须摘下，煮一沸始去其涩，余不知也。（沈复《浮生六记》）
I have no idea how many thousand feet high the Huashan Mountains are and regret very much not havingbeen able to pack up some dry provisions and go exploring them for a few days．On my way back I saw some wild persimmons，which were of a ripe color．I picked one from the tree while on horseback，and was going to eat it then and there．The native people tried to stop me，but I wouldn’t listen to them．Onlyafter takinga bite did I find it to have a veryharsh flavor．So much so that I quickly spat it out and had to come down from horseback and rinse my mouth at a springbefore I could speak，to the great merriment of mynative advisers．For persimmons should be boiled in order to take away their harsh flavor，but I learnt this a little too late．