“胡锦涛总书记在纪念改革开放30周年大会上的讲话”作为重要的政治文件，被列入由中国外文局和英国外交部共同组建的中英联合翻译工作委员会近期的重点工作。该文件由《北京周报》组织人员翻译后，先后经过英国外交部专家和中国翻译协会组织的专家讨论修改，于2009年4月27日首先在《北京周报》（英文版）上刊登（http://www.bjreview.com/Key_Document_Translation/2009-04/27/content_194200.htm）。该译文同时被其他各主要网站转载，如《中国网》（http://www.china.org.cn/archive/2009-05/11/content_17753659.htm），《中国老龄门户网》（http://www.cnca.org.cn/en/iroot10073 /4028e47d20e6cce701212d17153f02b1.html）等。由此可见，这份文件的英译本是中外专家共同努力的产物，是作为标准译文向社会郑重推出的。但令人遗憾的是，该英译本仍存在不少语言表达和疏忽方面的问题，其中最严重的是竟然把我国1978年进出口总额206亿美元翻译成了20.6美元（$20.6）。鉴于该文件的严肃性，笔者不揣冒昧把其中发现的一些问题提出来，就教于译者和各位专家学者。如有不当之处，敬请批评指正。
一、大小写问题
“三个代表”和“两个凡是”都是中国文化特色的术语，为何在译文中，the “Three Represents” 用大写，而the “two whatevers” 却用小写？存在不一致问题。
二、名词单复数问题
1. We have made the necessary cuts in the numbers of military personnel, while weaponry has been greatly improved.
【问题分析】numbers没有理由使用复数形式。
2. We must link the effort to develop social productive forces with the effort to improve the cultural and ethical quality of the whole nation, pursuing coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization, and promote the vigorous development and prosperity of culture more conscientiously and actively.
【问题分析】“物质文明”和“精神文明”是两种文明，因此material and spiritual civilization中的civilization应改用复数形式civilizations。
三、词语用法问题
1. Based on our comprehensive analysis of our external environment, where the trend of world multi-polarization is strengthening and economic globalization is deepening, we have decided to take good use of the opportunities while meeting the challenges arising from the developments and changes in the world today.
【问题分析】make use of是英语惯用法，一般不说take use of，因此建议把take good use of改为make good use of。
2. We have upheld to the principle of the Party to toughen internal discipline and set a high standard for party building.
【问题分析】uphold在英语中是及物动词，后直接跟宾语，不能与to搭配使用。在译文其它地方，该词的用法是正确的，因此这里可能是笔误。
3. To properly solve these contradictions and problems, and overcome these difficulties and risks, we should grasp the principal contradictions and the principal aspects and make them as the breakthrough points.
【问题分析】动词make后直接接宾语和宾语补足语，不与as搭配，应把make them as the breakthrough points中的as去掉。
4. We shall adhere to the correct direction of reform and opening up, building an institution and mechanism that is efficient, open, full of vigor, and beneficial to scientific development.
【问题分析】institution与mechanism不是固定短语，根据上下文，这里属于表达重复，应去掉其中一个。否则，也不符合英语语法（其后的定语从句谓语动词为单数形式is）。
5. The fundamental approach to implement it is to give consideration to both urban and rural development, both coastal and inland development, both economic and social development, both human and environment protection, both domestic development and foreign relations.
【问题分析】表示做某事的方式或方法时，approach 所用的结构通常是 approach to sth / to doing sth，其中的 to 是介词，因此句中的 The fundamental approach to implement it 应改为The fundamental approach to implementing it。
四、时态问题
1. Therefore, it was the internal and external situation that demands that the Party and the nation had to make political decisions and the strategic choice vital to the fate of the Party as well as the nation.
【问题分析】这句有两处值得商榷。第一，从it was…that…可以看出，这是一个过去时强调句，按照英语时态呼应的要求，把demands改为demanded是否更好？第二，demand已经包含了后面had to的意思，而且按照英语用法习惯，demand后面的从句应该使用动词原形。综上所述，建议把demands that the Party and the nation had to make political decisions and the strategic choice改为demanded that the Party and the nation make political decisions and the strategic choice。
2. By so doing, the Party has guaranteed that the correct road of reform and opening up and building a modernized socialist China never changed.
【问题分析】这句话的主句谓语动词用的是现在完成时has guaranteed，不知为何从句谓语动词使用一般过去时changed？按照guarantee（确保）一词的用法，其后接从句时一般使用将来时。建议改为：By so doing, the Party has guaranteed that the correct road of reform and opening up and building a modernized socialist China will never be changed.
3. Every Chinese person who experienced and contributed to the transformation of the past 30 years should feel proud of himself.
I convey our warm greetings to all the compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and those in Taiwan and overseas, who made great effort to the modernization of the motherland and the great cause of unification.
【问题分析】上述两个句子中的定语从句以使用现在完成时为佳，因为其所表达的行为与现在有关。
五、主谓数一致问题
1. In the past 30 years, while adhering to the basic system of socialism amid profound and extensive changes, we have developed the market economy in a creative way under socialist conditions, which ensure our economic activities conform to the law of value, consistently liberated and developed social productive forces, increased national capacity, and improved people’s livelihoods, thus better fulfilling our central task of economic construction.
【问题分析】定语从句which ensure中的which只能有两种理解：一是指前面整个句子，二是指the market economy。但无论作何种理解，其主语都是单数形式，谓语动词ensure应改为ensures，以保持主谓数一致。
2. Reform and opening up is the essential feature of the new era.
Essentially reform and opening up are in accord with the aspirations of the Party membership and the people and keep up with the trend of the times.
【问题分析】细心的读者可以发现，在上述译文中，reform and opening up这一短语作主语时在数上存在不一致情况，第一句中它被视为单数，第二句中它又被视为复数。这种情况在译文中多次出现。
六、句子结构问题
1. Led by Comrade Deng Xiaoping and supported by other veteran revolutionaries, the Third Plenary Session began correcting "Leftist" mistakes of all forms committed before and during the “cultural revolution,” firmly repudiated the fallacy of the “two whatevers” (i.e. Whatever has been said and done by Mao Zedong is right and whatever has been stipulated by him must not be changed).
【问题分析】从语法结构上分析，这句话的谓语为并列谓语，即began correcting和repudiated，按照英语习惯，在firmly repudiated前加上and更符合英语规范。
2. We must link pressing ahead with changes in the economic base with promoting reform of the superstructure, continuously pushing forward political restructuring and provide institutional and legal guarantees for reform, opening up and socialist modernization.
【问题分析】首先我们看译文的句子结构。这句译文的谓语动词是 link，而pushing forward是分词短语，用来补充说明，这没有问题。但provide在这里作什么成分？如果是并列谓语动词，那么and provide前应该添加一个逗号；如果也是补充说明，那么也应使用分词短语形式，即改为providing。再来比较一下原文：“必须把推动经济基础变革同推动上层建筑改革结合起来，不断推进政治体制改革，为改革开放和社会主义现代化建设提供制度保证和法制保障。”通过分析句子结构，可以看出，“为改革开放和社会主义现代化建设提供制度保证和法制保障”是“把推动经济基础变革同推动上层建筑改革结合起来”和“不断推进政治体制改革”的目的，不是并列关系，因此建议把and provide改为so as to provide，并在其前添加一个逗号。顺带一提的是，译文中有大量由三个以上动词构成的谓语结构，这种译法是值得商榷的。
3. It is a must that all Party members and cadres put the interests of the Party and the people first and firmly bear in mind the "two musts." (The comrades must be taught to remain modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work. The comrades must be taught to preserve the style of plain living and hard struggle.)
【问题分析】括号里的内容是对 the “two musts” 所作的补充说明，按照英语习惯，应与其放入同一个句子中。因此有两种改法，一是把two musts之后的句号移置括号后，二是使用破折号，作如下修改：It is a must that all Party members and cadres put the interests of the Party and the people first and firmly bear in mind the “two musts” ― the comrades must be taught to remain modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work, and the comrades must be taught to preserve the style of plain living and hard struggle.
4. All Party members and cadres should put into practice the principle of exercising power for the people, showing concern for them and working for their interests, adhere to upholding the Party spirit, being impeccable in moral standards and playing an exemplary role in society, and withstand the tests of long-term governance, reform and opening up, and developing the socialist market economy.
【问题分析】从语法结构上分析，可以看出，该句的谓语为三个并列谓语，即should put into practice，adhere和withstand。那么and developing在句子中作什么成分？如果是对谓语withstand部分所作的补充说明，显然应该把developing前面的and去掉，但即便如此，语意上还是解释不通。
七、词性问题
We have upheld the principles of the Party managing the Party and imposing strict discipline, and achieved a noticeably improvement in standards of Party leadership and governance and in its ability to resist corruption and malpractice.
【问题分析】a noticeably improvement中，noticeably在这里作定语，修饰名词improvement，因此，按照英语语法应改为形容词形式noticeable。
八、冠词的使用问题
对中国英语学习者来说，英语冠词的使用是一个很头痛的问题。有时，运用不当会导致误解。如a socialist democracy and legal system were being built一句中，a socialist democracy and legal system到底指一种体制还是两种体制？如果是一种体制，那么democracy和legal应该都是用来修饰system的，因此应将democracy改为democratic。这样一来，就还存在主谓数不一致问题，应将were改为was。如果是两种体制，那么必须在legal system前添加一个不定冠词，而且根据上下文还需要添加socialist一词，即把legal system改为a socialist legal system才符合原文意思和英文表达习惯。从下文来看，第二种理解可能更符合原文意思。下面两例也存在明显的冠词使用不当问题：
1. This is therefore the cause of the millions of Chinese people themselves.
【问题分析】the millions中的定冠词应去掉。
2. Over the past 30 years, we have highly valued the right of independence that the Chinese people have gained through long-term struggle and never wavered in safeguarding it.
【问题分析】long-term struggle前应该添加不定冠词a。
九、粗心大意造成的错误
1. During the period from 1978 to 2007, the total import and export of China increased from $20.6 to $2.17 trillion, ranking the third in the world and becoming the No.1 country in terms of foreign reserves.
【问题分析】这句话存在两个问题。第一，对比原文“从1978年到2007年，我国进出口总额从206亿美元提高到21737亿美元，跃居世界第三，外汇储备跃居世界第一”，可以发现原文中的“206亿美元”在译文中变成了20.6美元（$20.6），漏掉了非常重要的billion一词。第二，根据英语语法，ranking the third in the world and becoming the No.1 country in terms of foreign reserves两个分词短语都是起补充说明作用的，其逻辑主语应为句子的主语，即the total import and export of China。但事实上，只有前一个分词短语ranking the third in the world符合这个要求，而另一个分词短语becoming the No.1 country in terms of foreign reserves的逻辑主语显然应该是China。建议全句改为：During the period from 1978 to 2007, the total import and export of China increased from $20.6 billion to $2.17 trillion, ranking the third in the world. China was also the No.1 country in terms of foreign reserves.
2. The military strategy and policies set for the new era have been implemented step by step and the building a modern armed forces with Chinese characteristics is well under way.
【问题分析】显然，the building与a modern armed forces中间漏掉了介词of。
3. Properly handing the relationship between efficiency and equity is a major task of the program.
【问题分析】本句中的handing应该是handling的误拼。
4. We try to arouse the initiative of the whole of society in promoting development on the economic and other fronts and stimulate society’s creativity and vitality of development to the greatest extent by deepening reform and implementing correct policies.
【问题分析】the whole of society中的介词of应该去掉。
5. We have deliberated and devised strategies for China’s development based on a philosophy to closely link the domestic situation with interaction situations.
【问题分析】何谓interaction situations？让人不知所云。本句对应的原文是“始终站在国际大局与国内大局相互联系的高度审视中国和世界的发展问题，思考和制定中国的发展战略”，因此interaction 应该改为international，其后的situations以使用单数形式为佳。
6. In the past three decades, we gave firmly focused on advancing the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics to make progress in building the Party, while strengthening our efforts to build the Party to advance the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
【问题分析】we gave firmly focused显然存在语法错误，应该把gave去掉。
十、缺乏政治意识导致的翻译不当
从事对外宣传翻译，一定要有政治敏感性。对一些敏感的政治术语，翻译一定要慎重。其中一个典型的例子就是我国“统一”大业的翻译问题。一般情况下，把“统一”翻译成unification，当然没有问题。但我国的情况比较特殊，台湾、香港、澳门过去早就是我国的领土，只是后来由于各种历史原因，被分割出去。因此，如今我们所说的统一，实际上是“重新统一”。对此，我国翻译学界和外交界的学者们早已达成共识，即为了反映这一历史事实，我国的“统一”应翻译成reunification。但遗憾的是，在该译文中，这一政治问题还是没有引起翻译者的注意，其中就有这样一句：The basic policy of “one country, two systems” has been implemented successfully, a significant step toward China’s peaceful unification.
（注：《中共中央总书记胡锦涛在纪念改革开放30周年大会讲话》中英文原稿见www.yygrammar.com/Article/200905/1218.html）
【作者简介】黄卫峰（1970―），男，湖南道县人，教授、博士，1994年英语语言文学专业硕士研究生毕业后开始在高校从事英语教学。2002年南京大学美国研究方向博士研究生毕业，获博士学位。2009年4月北京外国语大学外国语言文学博士后流动站出站。主要学术兴趣为美国文化和翻译实践。