名词的锤炼也很重要，锤炼得好，可以准确地表现事物，增强话语的准确性。

《红楼梦》运用名词的第一特色是：新奇。或者借湘云在“凸碧堂品笛感凄清，凹晶馆联诗悲寂寞”一回中所言“……更觉新鲜，不落窠臼”。

1)“......而且背前背后乱说那些混话，凡读书上进的人，你就起个名字叫作‘禄橐’；……”（第十九回）

杨译：

As if this wasn’t bad enough，you keep saying crazy things in public as well as in private，sneering at those who study hard so as to get on and calling them career-grubbers.

霍译：

"…一but on top of that you have to be forever making rude remarks about it — and not only behind his back but even when he's there. According to you anyone who studies and tries to improve himself is a'career worm'..."

贾宝玉起的这个名字“禄蠹”，形象地勾画了封建社会那些热衷功名、追求利禄的人的嘴脸。曹雪芹赋予他的富有叛逆性格的主人公以新名词，充分表现了他在词语上的创新精神。比较两个译本，career worm与原文如出一辙，体现译者的忠实与创意。

2) 黛玉便说道你家三丫头倒是个乖人。虽然叫他管些事，倒也一步儿不肯多走。差不多的人就早作起威福来了。”（第六十二回）

杨译：

'Your third sister's rather smart," remarked Daiyu. "Although she's been put in charge of things, she never oversteps her authority. Most people would have given themselves big airs long ago."

霍译：

'What a curiously detached person your sister is!' said Dai-yu. 'She has been actually invited to take charge of things, yet she still won't go a step beyond what is absolutely necessary. Most people in her position would have been throwing their weight about long ago.'

例2的“乖人”，是对探春的最深刻、最具代表性的评论。正如宝玉所说，她是位“最是心里有算计的人，岂只乖而已”。曹雪芹仅用一个名词，给探春以定评，概括力之高，含义之丰富，令人叹服。

对名词的翻译，关键是研究汉英两种语言在语义上的对应关系: 是属于完全对应，部分对应，还是缺乏对应。以上所举示例，因汉语词汇木身貝有“新奇”的特点，在英文中要想找到完全的对等词，并不容 易。但“信、达、雅”的原则，分明指出了“忠实”在翻译中无以替代的首 要的和主导的地位。因此，译者可以根据自己的视角和笔调，找出独具风格的译法。以上这些例句的译文中，两位译者的表现手法都不算拘泥，他们或改变词性，将名词译作形容词;或用名词短语、介词短语、定语从句等等，较大程度地再现了原文的风貌。