关于until now用法和译法的问答
■倪肖丁
【问】1
微信公众号“满胜语法新思维”(2018-10-08)《until now你理解对了吗?》一文认为:Until now I have always lived alone一句只能理解为“此后不再是一个人独自生活了”,而不能理解为“此后依然还是一个人独自生活”或“此后或许还是一个人独自生活”。
该文同时批评道:牛津词典(应该指英汉双解版-笔者注)把Until now I have always lived alone译成“直到现在,我一直独自生活”没有准确传达出英文原句的意思,很容易让学习者误读。因为这句英文明确地表示我现在以及今后不是独居了。相当于说:I have always up to now lived alone but now have someone living with me. 因此,建议大家以后看到until now就把它理解成“此前”,这样就蕴含了今昔对比。
《until now你理解对了吗?》的上述观点有道理吗?
【答】1
上述观点虽然我并不认同,但它也是有所依据的。在英语辞书和语法参考书中,确有此说。
例如,Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary(以下简称CALD)多个版本在until词条下的Common Learner Errors 中都有如下告诫:
Use 'until now' to talk about a situation that existed, but has just ended:
• The weather was lovely until now. I hope the rain stops soon.
To talk about a situation that still exists and may continue to exist, don't say 'until now', say so far:
☓ The weather has been lovely until now. I hope it will continue.
• The weather has been lovely so far. I hope it will continue
同样地,第五版Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English(以下简称LDOCE5) 在until词条下的Grammar板块中,对until now和 so far做了如下比较:
Until now is usually used to say that a situation has just ended or changed:
▪ Until now I had no one to tell things to (=I now have someone to tell things to).
Do not use until now when the situation has not changed. Use so far:
▪ So far no one has claimed responsibility for the bombs.
有的英语语法参考书也有类似的观点。这说明关于until now表示情况已经发生变化的说法并非空穴来风。
【问】2
既然有剑桥版和朗文版的英文词典作为依据,为什么你还不认同呢?
【答】2
我之所以并不认同,主要基于以下两点:
第一,学界对until now这一状语存在如下两种不同的诠释:
诠释A:until now只能表示此前一直存在,但现在已经结束(或改变)的情况。
诠释B:until now既可表示存在至今,但现已结束(改变)的情况,也可表示现在仍在继续,但(预期)将要结束(改变)的情况。
前面提到的CALD和LDOCE5的相关表达属诠释A。
但其它一些辞书和语法专著则支持诠释B。它们认为until now既可以表示某种状态直到现在才有了变化,也可能表示到现在还没有变化,仍在继续。也就是说,单纯的until now (或up till now, up until now, up to now - 以下同)本身并不明确表示某种状态至此是否已经结束。
例如,English for Research: Usage, Style, and Grammar一书对until now的这种不确定性有明确的提示。该书指出:Until now and so far both mean ‘from a certain point in the past up to the present moment and possibly in the near future too’
Longman Language Activator(2002)是专事诠释英语同义词和近义词的英文词典杰作,其对up to now/until now的释义和例句如下(例句序号为本文作者所加):
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