英文稿件中常用標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號的使用

焦維棉

（河北教育出版社，河北 石家莊 050061）

英文稿件中常用標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號的使用

焦維棉

（河北教育出版社，河北 石家莊 050061）

作為標(biāo)明句讀和語氣的符號，標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號是書面語的重要組成部分。英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)在形式、功能和用法方面和中文標(biāo)點(diǎn)有很多差異，使用不當(dāng)就會出現(xiàn)造成語義的表達(dá)不清，出現(xiàn)編校甚至知識性錯(cuò)誤。本文就英文中常用的句號、問號、逗號、冒號等標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號的使用及容易出現(xiàn)的一些問題做了比較詳盡的說明。

英文；標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號；用法；編校

隨著我國對外開放的不斷深入，編輯出版涉及到的英文稿件越來越多，在加工英文稿件經(jīng)常會碰到英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)的使用問題。英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)在形式、功能和用法方面和中文標(biāo)點(diǎn)有很多差異，且英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)的使用比中文標(biāo)點(diǎn)的使用要嚴(yán)格很多，在編校英文稿件中對標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號使用不當(dāng)就會出現(xiàn)造成語義的表達(dá)不清，出現(xiàn)編校甚至知識性錯(cuò)誤?，F(xiàn)就編校中句號、問號、感嘆號、逗號、冒號、分號、破折號的使用及容易出現(xiàn)的一些問題等梳理如下。

一、常用英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號

二、英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號與中文標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號的主要區(qū)別

1.外形不同的標(biāo)點(diǎn)。

（1）英文的句號是實(shí)心點(diǎn)（.）；中文的句號是空心圈（。）。

（2）英文中的破折號短（-），中文的破折號（——）。

（3）英文的省略號位于下標(biāo)，三個(gè)點(diǎn)（...）；中文的居于行中，六個(gè)點(diǎn)（……）。

例如：Jim：Hmm... Wednesday is not good for me.

2.中文獨(dú)有而英文中沒有的標(biāo)點(diǎn)。

英文中沒有頓號（、）、間隔號（·）、書名號（中文中的《》）等。英文書名、電影、戲劇、文章、報(bào)刊等用斜體表示。例如：

（1）Jenny read a novel called Jane Eyre.

（2）And some movies，like Titanic，can take years to make and cost a lot of money.

（3）My group wrote a play called The Fisherman and the Goldfish.

（4）Eugene O’Neill wrote serious plays on the problems of life in New England. The Hairy Ape，Desire under the Elms，and Mourning Becomes Electra are the best known of these.

3.英文中獨(dú)有而中文中沒有的標(biāo)點(diǎn)。

撇號：Apostrophe（’）、連字號：Hyphen（-）、斜線號：Virgule or Slash（/）等標(biāo)點(diǎn)只在英文中使用，中文中沒有相應(yīng)的標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號。

三、幾種常見英文標(biāo)點(diǎn)的用法

我們先來看一下這段文字：Save water！Did you know that a leaky toilet can waste 20 to 40 litres of water an hour？In a year，that would fill a large swimming pool！In environment clubs，students fix leaky toilets and sinks.

以上文字每個(gè)句子或以句號、或以問號、或以感嘆號來結(jié)束。根據(jù)英語的語法規(guī)則：“書面上的句子必須以大寫字母開頭，并以句號（．）、問號（？）或者感嘆號（！）結(jié)尾?！币簿褪钦f一個(gè)完整的句子總是以大寫字母開始，以句末標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號結(jié)束。英文句末標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號包括句號、問號和感嘆號。下面就三個(gè)句末符號以及逗號、冒號等常見用法做一簡要介紹。

（一）句號

英文中使用句號的頻率大大多于中文中的句號使用。這是由其兩種語言的不同特點(diǎn)所決定的。英文中，在一個(gè)完整的陳述句的最后必定使用句號，如：

（1）My name is Michael，and I live in Canada. There is a pond near my house. During the winter it freezes，and I can play hockey on it with my friends. In Canada，many people like hockey.

（2）Hawking was confined to a wheelchair. However，he found both comfort，and a reason to live in his future wife Jane Wilde.

（二）問號

英文中問號的使用同中文相同，用在問句后面。例如：

Brian：I think travelling is a good way to learn geography. Have you ever been abroad，Danny？

Danny：Yes. Jenny and I have been to China twice.

【編校小貼士】

問號必須用在直接的問句后面，而非間接的問句后面。如：

（錯(cuò)誤）I always wonder what life would be like without computers or mobile phones？

（正確）I always wonder what life would be like without computers or mobile phones.

此句為復(fù)合句，雖然里面含了一個(gè)問句，但是句子主體是陳述句，故而不能用問號結(jié)尾。又如：

（錯(cuò)誤）We knew what fun we could expect when one of those envelopes arrived？

（正確）We knew what fun we could expect when one of those envelopes arrived.

（三）感嘆號

顧名思義，感嘆句帶有強(qiáng)烈的感情色彩，一般用在感嘆句及祈使句句尾，表示感嘆、贊賞、強(qiáng)調(diào)、呼吁、決心、命令等。例如：

（1）Jenny：Wow！How exciting！I don’t have any big plans for this weekend.（感嘆句）

（2）Danny：Hold on，Debbie！Don’t fall off！（祈使句）

【編校小貼士】

感嘆句除了用于以上兩種句型，還可用于陳述句或者疑問句后面，生動表現(xiàn)說話人說話時(shí)的強(qiáng)烈的情感，加強(qiáng)語氣。例如：

Peter felt so happy. After school，he told Krista the good news.“I made it！”he said.“It’s all because of your help！Thank you so much！”

上句中“I made it！”“It’s all because of your help！”“Thank you so much！”三句話雖然不是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的感嘆句型，但是說話者帶有非常強(qiáng)的感情色彩，感嘆號表示強(qiáng)調(diào)、贊賞。

（四）逗號

逗號主要用于語意的停頓，在英文中，逗點(diǎn)的主要用法如下。

1.分隔并列的詞匯、短語或從句。例如：

（1）We meet at the school theatre every Monday，Wednesday and Friday.

（2）I often read English storybooks，magazines and newspapers.

（3）It is always sunny here，and we have lots of beaches.

（4）English only has 26 letters，but those 26 letters can make a lot of words.

2.用于較長的修飾短語之后。例如：

（1）Kim，from Grade 7，won first place in four events.

（2）Every lunch hour，since arriving at his new school，Sam sat alone in the dining hall.

（3）In 1963，Hawking’s life changed dramatically when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease，a disease that affects the body’s mobility.

（4）In Mexico，the butterflies always return to the same small piece of forest，which is only 20 kilometres wide.

3.直接引用的句子之前。例如：

（1）One day，God said to Noah，“There are too many bad people in the world，so I will send a great flood. Everyone will die—all except you and your family.”

（2）The perfect motto for this shop would be，“Take what you need.Give what you can.We trust you！”

4.分隔句首狀語，用于狀語從句或很長的短語與主句之間。例如：

（1）On the first day of school，something terrible happened.

（2）With friends，we make ourselves.

（3）Whether the sayings are in Chinese，English，or any other language，they share something in common.

5.分隔附加問句或類似的詞或短語。例如：

（1）It’s a nice day today，isn’t it？

（2）Your home is a safe place，right？

（3）Ms.Cox said we could write a story or a poem，right？

【編校小貼士】

1.英文中沒有頓號（、）標(biāo)點(diǎn)。中文中使用頓號來分割句子中的并列成分，英文中多用逗號。例如：

（1）Choose a type of ad—TV，bus，magazine，newspaper or Internet.

（2）No matter what you have，a computer，a tablet，a laptop，an e-reader or a real book，keep on reading！

而連接詞匯或短語一般不在and之前使用逗號。例如：

（1）（錯(cuò)誤）It connects Europe，and Asia.

（正確）It connects Europe and Asia.

（2）（錯(cuò)誤）Turkey is modern and old，rich，and poor.

（正確）Turkey is modern and old，rich and poor.

2.限定定語從句前后均不用逗號，而非限制性定語從句前必須用逗點(diǎn)。例如：

（1）（錯(cuò)誤）I guess that people，who know how to communicate well with others，are happier and more satisfied with their lives.

（正確）I guess that people who know how to communicate well with others are happier and more satisfied with their lives.

（2）（錯(cuò)誤）Recently I saw a movie called The Chronicles of Narnia which is based on a series of novels.

（正確）Recently I saw a movie called The Chronicles of Narnia，which is based on a series of novels.

3.“however”作為副詞使用時(shí)，要注意避免逗號粘連錯(cuò)誤。例如：

（錯(cuò)誤）These suggestions can make your product really shine，however，good quality is the most important thing.

（正確）These suggestions can make your product really shine. However，good quality is the most important thing.

我們可以區(qū)別“however”作為連詞的用法：

His field of study，however，is very theoretical and is difficult to support with provable experiment or observation.

4.兩個(gè)完整的句子或兩個(gè)并列句之間不能簡單用逗號分隔，可在逗點(diǎn)后加并列連詞，或者斷為兩句話。例如：

（1）（錯(cuò)誤）She doesn’t like the colour，she likes the style.

（正確）She doesn’t like the colour，but she likes the style.

（2）（錯(cuò)誤）June had a bad headache，she stayed in bed to rest.

（正確）June had a bad headache，so she stayed in bed to rest.

（3）（錯(cuò)誤）In the evening，the dove came back with a green olive branch in its mouth，this meant that land was near and that the danger had passed.

（正確）In the evening，the dove came back with a green olive branch in its mouth. This meant that land was near and that the danger had passed.

5.狀語從句根據(jù)其在句子中所處的位置決定是否使用逗號。狀語從句在句首時(shí)，一般要用標(biāo)點(diǎn)隔開；而在句末時(shí)，則不要隔開。例如：

（1）（錯(cuò)誤）If each of us does something for the environment all of us will have a better life.

（正確）If each of us does something for the environment，all of us will have a better life.

（2）（錯(cuò)誤）People usually take up their first hobby，when they are kids

（正確）People usually take up their first hobby when they are kids

（3）（錯(cuò)誤）People will be happy to talk to you，if you are listening carefully.

（正確）People will be happy to talk to you if you are listening carefully.

（五）冒號

冒號用來引起讀者注意下文，是一個(gè)補(bǔ)充、連貫的符號。冒號多用于對后面內(nèi)容的介紹或解釋。例如：

（1）That day，she learned many more words：mother，father，sister and teacher.

（2）When this happens，remember this：there is no such thing as true failure.

（3）The next day，the giant built a high wall around his garden and put up a notice：DO NOT ENTER！

冒號也經(jīng)常用于清單之前。例如：

You can interview these people：

·the victim

·the witness

·the doctor

冒號也可用來引出大段引語。例如：

（1）On the way home，Mum told me an old German saying：Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.

（2）NORTH TOWN，Alberta：Thirteen-year-old Ann Brown was hit by a car at 15 Park Road…

冒號還能用來表示數(shù)字時(shí)間。例如：

（1）The accident happened at about 7：30 a.m.

（2）Detective Monkey thinks the baby was stolen between 9：30 and 10：00 the night before.

【編校小貼士】

要注意區(qū)分與中文冒號的使用。在中文中，冒號一般用在“說、問”等動詞的后邊，提示下面的話是誰說的，還可用在“例如”、“如下”等提示語后邊。在英文表達(dá)中，以上兩種情景常用逗點(diǎn)。例如：

（1）（錯(cuò)誤）There are copies of your DNA in every part of your body. For example：your finger has the same DNA as your hair.

（正確）There are copies of your DNA in every part of your body. For example，your finger has the same DNA as your hair.

（2）（錯(cuò)誤）Dr. Hu smiled at me and said：“See，I told you it would be OK.”

（正確）Dr. Hu smiled at me and said，“See，I told you it would be OK.”

（六）分號

分號主要用于分隔地位平等的獨(dú)立子句。分號用來連接兩個(gè)獨(dú)立句子，比起逗號，用分號連接的兩個(gè)句子聯(lián)系更為緊密。例如：

A jade stone is useless before it is processed；a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

【編校小貼士】

要注意分號與逗號的區(qū)別。分號隔開的是分句，逗號用在獨(dú)立句子之中。例如：

（1）（錯(cuò)誤）This was a group project，if one person didn’t do a good job，it meant the whole group would suffer.

（正確）This was a group project；If one person didn’t do a good job，it meant the whole group would suffer.

（2）（錯(cuò)誤）A jade stone is useless before it is processed，a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

（正確）A jade stone is useless before it is processed；a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

正如有學(xué)者所指出的：同其他標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號不同，在各種情況下分號都可以用其他標(biāo)點(diǎn)來代替，因此其使用在逐漸下滑。上述兩個(gè)例句也可以用其他方式表達(dá)：

This was a group project. If one person didn’t do a good

job，it meant the whole group would suffer.

A jade stone is useless before it is processed and a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

（七）破折號

破折號主要用于強(qiáng)調(diào)，意思突然中斷、發(fā)生轉(zhuǎn)折或者猶豫不決，用法和冒號、分號相似，不如二者正式，但是表達(dá)的語氣更強(qiáng)。例如：

（1）With a lot of hard work，he found new ways to help people with T.B.—a disease that damages the lungs.

（2）The girl didn’t see the car. And the street was icy—the car couldn’t stop in time.

Bourke-White was fearless and hardworking. When she first began working，few North American women had jobs，as most people thought women should stay at home. But Bourke-White had a job—and it was a dangerous job，too.

【編校小貼士】

1.注意區(qū)分英文的破折號與中文的破折號。前者為后者的一半。在加工英文稿件時(shí)，不要錯(cuò)用中文的破折號。

（錯(cuò)誤）There is no reply—only the sound of the waves crashing on the coast.

（正確）There is no reply—only the sound of the waves crashing on the coast.

2.注意區(qū)分英文破折號與連字符（-）。破折號使句子的結(jié)構(gòu)更清晰，英文連字符是將詞連接為一體，沒有句法功能。

（錯(cuò) 誤）These plays have been on stage for many years-and still are today.

（正確）These plays have been on stage for many years—and still are today.

作為標(biāo)明句讀和語氣的符號，標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號是書面語的重要組成部分。而“英語標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號的使用要比漢語嚴(yán)格得多，漢語作者很多時(shí)候可以有較大的自由去使用標(biāo)點(diǎn)；而英語卻不可以?！⒄Z語法是剛性的，漢語語法是柔性的?！ㄅ宋膰?1997：136）正是兩種語言的不同特點(diǎn)造成了標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號使用的差異。英語標(biāo)點(diǎn)使用要求嚴(yán)格，漢語則較為寬松。”（英漢語翻譯與標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號研究 孫坤）所以我們在書寫、編輯加工英文稿件時(shí)應(yīng)該格外注意。

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1674-9324（2014）13-0125-04