关于“according to”插入到动词前用法的思考

“according to”是我们在日常翻译工作中频繁遇到和使用的一个短语介词。“according to”的常见位置有几种，我会在下文简单举例说明。我今天想与大家探讨的是，“according to”插入到动词前的用法。

一、“according to”放在句首

根据天气预报，明天会下雨。

According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow.

二、“according to”放在句尾

凡受刑事控告者，在未依法证实有罪之前，应有权被视为无罪。

​Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.

三、“according to”插入到动词前

（一）由人民法院依照有关法律的规定，组织股东、有关机关及有关专业人员成立清算组，进行清算。The people’s court shall, according to provisions of related laws, organize the shareholders, the relevant authority and related professionals to form a liquidation committee to carry out liquidation.（二）接受委托处理个人信息的受托人，应当依照本法和有关法律、行政法规的规定，采取必要措施保障所处理的个人信息的安全，并协助个人信息处理者履行本法规定的义务。

​Entrusted persons accepting entrusted handling of personal information shall, according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations, take necessary measures to safeguard the security of the personal information they handle, and assist personal information handlers in fulfilling the obligations provided in this Law.

​*内容出处：斯坦福大学网络政策中心

The party entrusted with the processing of personal information shall, in accordance with this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations, take the necessary measures to ensure the security of the personal information entrusted for processing, and assist the entrusting personal information processor in fulfilling the obligations provided by this Law.*内容出处：中国人大网

我们可以看出，无论是采用“according to”还是“in accordance with”，就短语介词的位置而言，两份译文的选择是一样的。

四、关于上文“三”中“according to”位置的思考

上文“一”“二”中所述的“according to”位置非常常见，同时也是我们翻译时的常规选择。我们看到“三”中所述位置的“according to”时，也不存在理解方面的问题，所以可能不会太过于关注。之后，在翻译CE项目时，我发现机翻参考译文、翻译记忆库参考译文都出现了因为直接将“according to”放在句尾而产生歧义的情况。我们就以“三”中两个句子为例子进行分析。

（一）The people’s court shall, according to provisions of related laws, organize the shareholders, the relevant authority and related professionals to form a liquidation committee to carry out liquidation.

如果我们将“according to provisions of related laws”放在句尾，如下文所示，会不会有什么问题呢？The people’s court shall organize the shareholders, the relevant authority and related professionals to form a liquidation committee to carry out liquidation according to provisions of related laws.

我们读一下这句话，你觉得“according to provisions of related laws”是修饰哪一部分呢？是人民法院应当按照有关法律的规定去行事？还是股东、有关机关及有关专业人员按照有关法律的规定去成立清算委员会？或者是清算委员会按照有关法律的规定进行清算？这样看来，在这句话中，将“according to provisions of related laws”放在句尾并不是一个好的选择。

（二）Entrusted persons accepting entrusted handling of personal information shall, according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations, take necessary measures to safeguard the security of the personal information they handle, and assist personal information handlers in fulfilling the obligations provided in this Law.

同样，如果我们将“according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations”放在句尾，会是什么情况呢？

​​Entrusted persons accepting entrusted handling of personal information shall take necessary measures to safeguard the security of the personal information they handle, and assist personal information handlers in fulfilling the obligations provided in this Law according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations.

我们看看这种情况下，我们要怎么去判断“according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations”是修饰哪一部分呢？是受托人采取措施和协助信息处理者时，都需要依照本法和有关法律、行政法规的规定？还是受托人只是在协助信息处理者时，需要依照本法和有关法律、行政法规的规定？或者是信息处理者履行本法规定的义务时，需要依照本法和有关法律、行政法规的规定？

我们可以总结一下，当两个或更多不同主体采取不同动作时，或者当同一主体采取两项或更多动作时，如果我们简单地将“according to”放在句尾位置，可能会出现歧义。在这种情况下，我们可以根据原文想表达的意思，相应调整“according to”的位置。

另外一些介词短语，例如“without undue delay”、“within XXX days after XXXX”，也可能会出现类似的情况。大家可以在日常翻译工作中总结一下，或者去搜索一下相关的例句。

如有其他看法，欢迎大家在评论区留言探讨！