Make a difference 词义探讨

2018-03-30 09:19刘刚义
东方教育 2018年3期
关键词:探讨

摘要:make a difference的字面含义甚为简单,所以各家词典对其收录情况不一。本文从三个方面对其词义进行探讨,认为完全有必要将其作为短语收入词典,并指出了不为各家词典所收录的两个新的含义,以期引起词典编撰者们的注意和重视。

关键词:make a difference; 探讨

Make a difference由三个极为普通、常见的单词组成,从字面上看不就是“产生差异(区别、不同)”吗?也许正因为如此,各家词典对它的收录也是“你有我无”,各不相同。

1. 词典中的make a difference

Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs(Courtney et al., 1983)、Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary(Mish, 1988)、《英汉辞海》(王同亿, 1990)、《牛津英语大词典》(简编本)(特朗博等, 2004)和《最新中学生英汉词典》(刘上扶等, 2002)等都没有对此收录;而这些工具书或为个人所有,或摆在图书馆、书店的书架上,供学习者使用或购买。《朗文当代英汉双解词典》第一版(朗文出版(远东)有限公司词典编译出版部, 1988)在difference词条下,虽没有将其作为短语正式列出,却列举了一个包含make a difference的例句“Flowers make a difference to a room.房间里有没有花有差别”; 该例句对make a difference的处理,正是本文开头的字面直译,给人一种深层意思没有说出的感觉。《英汉技术词典》(清华大学《英汉技术辞典》编写组, 1985)将make a difference 作为短语收入,并翻译为“起作用,发生影响;有差别,区别对待;很重要,关系重大”。《麦克米伦高阶英汉双解词典》(麦克米伦出版公司, 2002)收入了该短语,并释义为“1. to have an important effect on something, esp a good effect 产生重大影响(尤指好的影响)2. something that makes a lot of difference has a good effect on a person or situation 有关系;有好的影响”,可以看出,1、2义项有重复解释之嫌。《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》第四版(Hornby, 1997)对该短语的释义为“(a)have an effect (on sb/sth)(对某人[某事物])有作用或影响 (b) be important (to sb/sth); matter(对某人[某事物])重要;要紧”。《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》第七版(缩印本)(Hornby, 2009)对该短语的释义为“to have an effect on sb/sth 有作用,关系,影响”。《英汉大词典》第二版(陆谷孙, 2007)的解释为“1. 区别对待 2. 有关系;有影响;起(重要)作用”。

2. make a difference的常用词义

词典中的释义当然应源于生活,不应是编辑者的杜撰和臆想。让我们看一下具体篇章中的make a difference。 《大学英语》(修订本)第三册(李荫华, 1997:149)生词表中对make a /the difference的解释为“have an effect or influence; matter有关系,有影响”。该单元课文是一篇题为《防空洞》的英语短剧。现将make a difference所处的上下文(context)摘录如下(下划线为笔者所加):

……

Harlowe: Wait a minute, wait a minute. All of us couldnt fit in there. That would be crazy to even try.

Weiss: Why dont we draw lots? Pick out one family?

Harlowe: What difference would it make? He wont let us in.

Henderson: We can all march down there and tell him hes got the whole street against him. We could do that.

……

当Weiss提议, “Why dont we draw lots? Pick out one family?咱们何不抽签?谁家中签就让谁家进去?”, Harlowe 答道, “What difference would it make? He wont let us in. 何必多此一举呢?他不会让咱们进去的。” 。撇开译文贴切与否不议,此处“What difference would it make?”的英语释义(paraphrase)應为“Would it matter or have any effect?”

在Http://www.time.com/中进行最新搜索,随机选出两篇含有make a difference的文章。一篇题目为“ 21st Century First Lady”, 其中包含make a difference的段落如下(下划线为笔者所加):

……

Why are we unable to build up one woman, without comparing her to others? Comparing Michelle's style with Hillary Clinton's style of sending emissaries to key policy meetings does a disservice to both. Both embrace their roles fully. Calling some First Lady traditions "baggage" diminishes the important work that previous First Ladies have done. Collectively, the First Ladies have made a difference for their country. Perhaps it is time for us to appreciate them for what they are — many different women, all of them remarkable.

……

根據上下文, 划线部分应该释义为“have been important”。另一篇文章的题目为“Too fat? Read Your E-Mail”。为方便理解,将上文段落一同示意如下(下划线为笔者所加):

……

"These quick alerts remind your brain of the goals you've set for yourself," says Barbara Sternfeld, senior research scientist at Kaiser Permanente and the study's lead investigator. "So instead of standing around talking to a co-worker for 10 minutes, you may decide to take a lap around the parking lot and back."

Might not seem like much, but the truth is, small changes can make a big difference in your health. Studies show that switching from butter to soft margarine reduces your bad cholesterol — and by extension your risk of getting heart disease — 10%. ……

根据上下文,划线部分可以解释为“small changes can be very important to or have a big effect on your health”。

由此可见,make a difference 的含义并不像其字面所示意的那样简单,其常用词义应该为《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》第四版所注解的那样。

3. make a difference 的词典外含义

问题并未到此结束,除了上述两个释义外,笔者在教学中发现make a difference还有另外一个含义。 《全新版大学英语综合教程》第四册(李荫华等, 2003:78)生词表中将其第一个含义解释为“change the situation or outlook”。再看一下该make a difference在具体篇章中的运用。课文Text A讲述了被雇用的四条关键要素,其中第四条小标题便是“4. Find a way to make a difference”;该部分首先陈述了纽约出租车司机给人留下的坏印象, “unfriendly”、“rude”、“filthy”等等; 接着描述了一位名叫Wally的司机,其所作所为给人耳目一新之感,并因此多赚了不少小费。现将该部分课文摘录如下(下划线为笔者所加):

……

4. Find a way to make a difference. In my opinion, the majority of New York cabdrivers are unfriendly, if not downright rude. Most of the cabs are filthy, and almost all of them sport an impenetrable, bulletproof partition. But recently I jumped into a cab at LaGuardia Airport and guess what? It was clean. There was beautiful music playing and no partition.

“Park Lane Hotel, please,” I said to the driver. With a broad smile, he said, “Hi, my name is Wally,” and he handed me a mission statement. A mission statement! It said he would get me there safely, courteously and on time.

As we drove off, he held up a choice of newspapers and said, “Be my guest.” He told me to help myself to the fruit in the basket on the back seat. He held up a cellular phone and said, “Its a dollar a minute if youd like to make a call.”

Shocked, I blurted, “How long have you been practicing this?” He answered, “Three or four years.”

“I know this is prying.” I said, “but how much extra money do you earn in tips?”

“Between $12,000 and $14,000 a year!” he responded proudly.

He doesnt know it, but hes my hero. Hes living proof that you can always shift the odds in your favor.

作者在该部分最后一段写了两句话“He doesnt know it, but hes my hero. Hes living proof that you can always shift the odds in your favor.”。笔者认为最后一句话中“you can always shift the odds in your favor” 是对小标题的照应和诠释。现做简单分析:设make a difference=A, shifts the odds in your favor=B. 再将两者所在句子中译,即为:想办法做到A和你总能做到B,从而可以推断A=B,即make a differnce 在该篇章中的含义为“shift the odds in ones favor 让机会变得对某人有利,争取成功”。

无独有偶,在《汉译英求疵录—从中式英语到准确英语》一书(曾凯民, 2008:10)有这样一句汉语“上帝啊,再给我一次机会,我不会再这样了”。其“中式英语”为“My God, please give me a chance again. I wont do this again.” 。在“求疵笔记”中作者这样分析道:““不再这样”可以理解成“不再做这事了”,譬如赌博输了钱,害己害人,以后绝不再干了。也可以理解成“不再这样做了”,譬如炒股亏了本,换一种思路重新入市操作。译文译作“不再做这事了”,失之偏颇。应该保留原文两可的原意。” 。在“修改建议”中作者采用如下译文“My God, please grant me another chance, and Ill make a difference.(广南子译)”。该书作者的分析和“修改建议”不无道理,make a difference 在此处又衍生出一个新的含义,即“change anew 重新开始,不再这样”。

综上所述,make a differnce 从字面上看很易看懂,但“有差别”的汉语解释有时相当模糊,必须根据上下文挖掘其深层含义,所以完全有必要将其作为短语收入词典并进行释义,而且甚至应增添它的第三个释义“shift the odds in ones favor”和第四个释义“change anew”。语言是不断发展变化的,它绝不是一潭死水,也许在不久的将来,make a difference还会在具体语境中演绎出新的含义,等待着词典编撰者们去一一发现、收录。

参考文献:

[1]A S Hornby. 牛津高阶英汉双解词典第七版(缩印本)[Z]. 北京:商务印书馆,2009.

[2]A S Hornby. 牛津高階英汉双解词典第四版[Z]. 北京:商务印书馆,1997.

[3]朗文出版(远东)有限公司词典编译出版部. 朗文当代英汉双解词典第一版[Z]. 香港:朗文出版有限公司,1988.

[4]李荫华. 大学英语(修订本)第三册[M]. 上海:上海外语教育出版社,1997.

[5]李荫华等. 全新版大学英语综合教程第四册[M]. 上海:上海外语教育出版社,2003.

[6]刘上扶等. 最新中学生英汉词典[Z]. 南宁:广西教育出版社,2002.

[7]陆谷孙. 英汉大词典第二版[Z]. 上海:上海译文出版社,2007.

[8]麦克米伦出版公司. 麦克米伦高阶英汉双解词典[Z]. 北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2002.

[9]清华大学《英汉技术辞典》编写组. 英汉技术辞典[Z]. 北京:国防工业出版社,1985.

[10]特朗博等. 牛津英语大词典(简编本)[Z]. 上海:上海外语教育出版社,2004.

[11]王同亿. 英汉辞海[Z]. 北京:国防工业出版社,1990.

[12]曾凯民. 汉译英求疵录—从中式英语到准确英语[M]. 北京:中国水利水电出版社,2008.

[13]Courtney, Rosemary. Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs[Z]. Hong Kong: Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd, 1983.

[14]Frederick C. Mish. Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary[Z]. Beijing: World Publishing Corporation, 1988.

[15]Http://www.time.com/

作者简介:刘刚义,山东大学威海分校大学外语教学部讲师,研究方向:英语教学。

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