☆ You can find doctors and doctors in HongKong!
在香港,既有好医生,也有坏医生。
这一句不能译作:“在香港,你能看到很多很多的医生”。
英语和汉语一佯,词的重复(repetition)是一种修辞手段。
一般说来,它表达强调语势,突出语义,以收到音调和谐、生动有力的修辞效果。例如:
Gentlemen may cry,Peace,Peace - but there is no peace.
老爷们尽管可以高呼和平,和平!但是依然没有和平。
(from Patrick Henry's Speech Before the Virginia Convention of 1775 )
Scrooge went to bed again,and thought and thought and thought it over and over.
斯克罗奇又上床睡觉,左思右想,想个不休。
但是,在某些场合下,将某些词重复,并不是要收到突出语义的效果,
而是为了表示“不同类型”的涵义。例如You will find doctors and doctors in Hong Kong.
的语义就相当于You can find bad doctors as well as good doctors in Hong Kong.
该句的语义重点放在“也有坏医生”上。
下面是两个类例:
There are artists and artists.
既有好的艺术家,也有坏的艺术家。
You should know that there are books and books。
你们要知道,书有好坏之分,既有好书,也有坏书。
这里要指出,当一个名词不止重复一次时,它是表示“大量的”、
“许多的”涵义。例如有那么一个句子:
There were rats and rats and rats all over the house.
当然不能把它译为:“以前这幢房子里有各种各样的老鼠”。
更不能把它译作:“以前这幢房子里既有坏老鼠,也有好老鼠”。
正确的译法是:“从前这幢房子里到处都是老鼠”。
还要在此补充一句,如果名词性短语用作状语重复一次,
并不是表示“不同类型”的涵义,而是要收到加强语气、突出语义的效果。
例如Charles Dickens写的Oliver Twist里有这么一句:
"Aye, it is!" returned the girl. "It is my living; and the cold, wet,
dirty streets are my home; and you're the wretch1 that drove me to them long ago,
and that'll keep me there, asy and night, day and night, till I die!"
Nancy在怒骂Jew拖人下水,害人不浅的时候,就是通过名词性短语day and night
的重复来加强语势的,它所表达的涵义是:“夜以继日,日以继夜,天天如此。”