再談這個number的數(shù)

湖南長沙  陳根花

一、該問題幾次討論回顧

關(guān)于We have made the necessary cuts in the numbers of military personnel, while weaponry has been greatly improved 中的 number 該用單數(shù)還是復數(shù)的問題，英語語法網(wǎng)已發(fā)表了四篇討論文章：

黃衛(wèi)峰老師認為該改用單數(shù)，原文如下：

www.hz123456.com/Article/200905/1217.html

李翔老師認為由于此處因強調(diào)次數(shù)（即中國曾經(jīng)歷過9次裁軍），所以非用復數(shù)不可，原文如下：

www.hz123456.com/Article/200908/1307.html

www.hz123456.com/Article/200908/1314.html

筆者認為用單數(shù)或復數(shù)均可以，但以用單數(shù)為佳，原文如下：

www.hz123456.com/Article/200908/1312.html

二、再看看總書記的講話原稿和我們的翻譯者給出的翻譯

我們先來學習胡錦濤總書記的講話原稿：

……我們堅持黨對軍隊絕對領(lǐng)導，國防和軍隊建設取得重大成就。軍隊革命化、現(xiàn)代化、正規(guī)化建設全面加強，新時期軍事戰(zhàn)略方針扎實貫徹，中國特色軍事變革加速推進，中國特色精兵之路成功開辟，裁減軍隊員額任務順利完成，軍隊武器裝備建設成效顯著。軍隊、武警部隊停止一切經(jīng)商活動。軍政軍民團結(jié)不斷鞏固。人民軍隊履行新世紀新階段歷史使命能力全面增強，在保衛(wèi)祖國、建設祖國特別是抗擊各種自然災害中發(fā)揮了重要作用。……

然后再來看看我們的翻譯者對總書記這段原稿的英文翻譯：

…While the absolute leadership of the Party over military forces remains unchanged, China’s national defense force and military development have seen substantial progress. Modernization and standardization of the armed forces have comprehensively been progressing. 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. We have made the necessary cuts in the numbers of military personnel, while weaponry has been greatly improved. All military and armed police units have ceased from doing business operation to gain financial help. The relationship of the armed forces with the government and with the public is in good condition. Therefore, the capability of the People’s Liberation Army to fulfill its historical task has been strengthened comprehensively, and it has been playing an important role in national defense, economic construction and rescue work in natural disasters…

由此可以看出，我們的翻譯者對總書記說的“中國特色精兵之路成功開辟，裁減軍隊員額任務順利完成，軍隊武器裝備建設成效顯著”這句話的翻譯是：We have made the necessary cuts in the numbers of military personnel, while weaponry has been greatly improved.

三、問題再討論

筆者反復學習了總書記的這段話，也許天生愚昧，實在是沒有看出總書記在說“裁減軍隊員額任務順利完成，軍隊武器裝備建設成效顯著”時，是在特別強調(diào)裁軍的次數(shù)，況且We have made the necessary cuts in the numbers of military personnel…中的 necessary cuts 中的 cuts 用了復數(shù)，已經(jīng)很清楚地表現(xiàn)出了“多次”的含義。

退一步說，就算是強調(diào)“次數(shù)”，也未必要將 number 改為復數(shù)。筆者在www.hz123456.com/Article/200908/1312.html 這篇文章中已作了列舉了多個實例，現(xiàn)再引用一例說明：

She had lost count of the number of times she’d told him to be careful.

這個句子摘自商務印館出版的《牛津高階英漢雙解詞典》(Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English) (第6版)的 count 詞條。此句大意為“她不知多少次告訴過他要小心”。顯然，這個句子含有“多次”的含義，但 number 并沒有用復數(shù)。

從語法上分析，We have made the necessary cuts in the numbers of military personnel…中的介詞in 指的是“在……方面”，所指概念相對是比較抽象的，因此用單數(shù)顯然要比用復數(shù)好。

盡管如此，是不是這個 number 不能用復數(shù)呢？其實也未必。筆者在《朗文當代英語詞典》(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English) (1995年第3版) plague 詞條下找到這樣一個說明：

a plague of rats / locusts etc: an uncontrolled and harmful increase in the numbers of a particular animal or insect.

很顯然，此例中雖然用了復數(shù)形式的 in the numbers of…，但它并不強調(diào)次數(shù)。

結(jié)論：the number of…的基本義為“……的數(shù)量”，其中 number 通常是用單數(shù)，雖然偶爾也可見到用復數(shù)的用例，但不算普通。

四、再與李翔老師商榷