汉英语篇翻译好坏比较研究-----以《背影》两种译本为例《背影》是朱自清先生的名作,被多次选入小学教材中,我们基本上都熟知这篇感人至深的散文,本文节选了一些其中段落,并以张培基先生和杨宪益先生的译文为例来对比赏析,并探讨一下散文英译的方法与遣词及其传递的不同情感我与父亲不相见已二年余了,我最不能忘记的是他的背影。
那年冬天,祖母死了,父亲的差使也交卸了,正是祸不单行的日子,我从北京到徐州,打算跟着父亲奔丧回家。
到徐州见着父亲,看见满院狼藉的东西,又想起祖母,不禁簌簌地流下眼泪。
父亲说:“事已如此,不必难过,好在天无绝人之路!”It is more than two years since I last saw father,and what I can never for get is the sight of his back. Misfortunes never come singly. In the winter of more than two years ago,grandma died and father lost his job. I left Bei-jing for Xuzhou to join father in hastening home to attend grandma's funeral. When I met father in Xuzhou,the sight of the disorderly mess in his courtyard and the thought of grandma started tears trickling down my cheeks. Father sa id,"Now that things' ve came to such a pass,it's no use crying. Fortunately,Heaven always leaves one a way out.”( 张培基译) Though it is over two years since I saw my father, I can never forget my l ast view of his back. That winter my grandmother died, and my father’s offici al appointment was terminated, for troubles never come singly. I went from B eijing to Xuzhou, to go back with him for the funeral. When I joined him in Xuzhou I found the courtyard strewn with things and could not help shedd ing tears at the thought of granny. “What’s past is gone,” said my father. “It’s no use grieving. Heaven always leaves us some way out.(杨宪益译)1. “我与父亲不相见已二年余了,我最不能忘记的是他的背影。
”张先生译的是“It is more than two years since I last saw father,and what I can never forget is the sight of his back.”杨先生译的是“Though it is over two years since I saw my father, I can ne ver forget my last view o f his back.”汉英属于不同语系的英语和汉语在句法上各具特色,其间差异不一而足。
奈达在其《Translating Meaning》(1983)一书中指出:就汉语和英语而言,也许在语言学上最重要的一个区别,就是形合和意合的对比(contrast between hypotaxis and parataxis)。
其实,“意合”一词,并非奈达首创。
语法学家王力在其《中国语法理论》及《汉语语法纲要》两本书中皆提及了“意合”。
他在后者中言及:复合句里既有两个以上的句子形式,它们之间的联系有时候是以意合的……。
英语重形合,汉语重意合。
-- 早已是人们的共识。
英语借助connectives(连接词)组成复句,汉语则可依靠语序直接组合复句。
我觉得张先生有些汉语思维的痕迹,只是按照好于的顺序译过来没有达到形合,而杨先生这句运用了连词t hough串起了整句话,更加原汁原味,读起来更符合英语习惯,并且字数更少,更简洁。
并且使用view使得这句话更具画面感。
2. “正是祸不单行的日子”较之杨先生”troubles never come singly”张先生翻成”Misfortunes never come sing ly.”似乎更好些,因为此时朱自清先生遭遇的是亲人的离去等不幸,misfortune更侧重人生大不幸,命运的,trouble更侧重麻烦,令人苦恼的事,而且也没有让人有悲伤的感觉。
3. “我从北京到徐州,打算跟着父亲奔丧回家。
我认为张先生译的更好“I left Bei-jing for Xuzhou to join father in hastening home to attend grandma's funer al.”因为相比杨先生的“I went from Beijing to Xuzhou, to go back with him for the funeral.”Left…for 比went to 更地道而且奔丧回家译成hastening ho me to attend grandma's funeral.比go back with him for the funeral.”更能传递作者朱自清当时的事发的突然,更能表现出祸不单行。
而且go back 太平常,缺少感情。
4.不必难过,张先生译为it's no use crying,杨先生以为it’s no use grieving.就我个人而言,我认为杨先生译的更好,因为crying表示的哭的动作grieving更侧重与内心的无比痛苦,更能表现作者内心的伤痛,这种伤痛就算大哭也去不掉。
我说道,“爸爸,你走吧。
”他望车外看了看,说,“我买几个橘子去。
你就在此地,不要走动。
”我看那边月台的栅栏外有几个卖东西的等着顾客。
走到那边月台,须穿过铁道,须跳下去又爬上去。
父亲是一个胖子,走过去自然要费些事。
我本来要去的,他不肯,只好让他去。
我看见他戴着黑布小帽,穿着黑布大马褂,深青布棉袍,瞒姗地走到铁道边,慢慢探身下去,尚不大难。
可是他穿过铁道,要爬上那边月台,就不容易了。
他用两手攀着上面,两脚再向上缩;他肥胖的身子向左微倾,显出努力的样子。
这时我看见他的背影,我的眼泪很快地流下来了。
我赶紧拭干了泪,怕他看见,也怕别人看见。
我再向外看时,他已抱了朱红的橘子往回走了。
过铁道时,他先将橘子散放在地上,自己慢慢爬下,再抱起橘子走。
到这边时,我赶紧去搀他。
他和我走到车上,将橘子一股脑儿放在我的皮大衣上。
于是扑扑衣上的泥土,心里很轻松似的,过一会说,“我走了;到那边来信!”我望着他走出去。
他走了几步,回过头看见我,说,“进去吧,里边没人”等他的背影混入来来往往的人里,再找不着了,我便进来坐下,我的眼泪又来了。
I said, "Dad, you might leave now." But he looked out of the window an d said, "I'm going to buy you some tangerines. You just stay here. Don't move around." I caught sight of several vendors waiting for customers outside the rai lings beyond a platform. But to reach that platform would require crossing the railway track and doing some climbing up and down. That would be a strenuo us job for father, who was fat. I wanted to do that myself, but he stopped me, so I could do nothing but let him go. I watched him hobble towards the railw ay track in his black skullcap, black cloth mandarin jacket and dark bule cotton -padded cloth long gown. He had little trouble climbing down the railway trac k, but it was a lot more difficult for him to climb up that platform after cross ing the railway track. His hand held onto the upper part of the platform, his le gs huddled up and his corpulent body tipped slightly towards the left, obviousl y making an enormous exertion. While I was watching him from behind, tears g ushed from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away lest he or others should catch me crying. The next moment when I looked out of the window again, father was already on the way back, holding bright red tangerines in both hands. In crossing the railway track, he first put the tangerins on the ground, climbed down slowly and then picked them up again. When he came near the train, I hurr ied out to help him by the hand. After boarding the train with me, he laid all t he tangerines on my overcoat, and patting the dirt off his clothes, he looked so mewhat relieved and said after a while, "I must be going now. Don't forget t o write me from Beijing!" I gazed after his back retreating out of the carriage. A fter a few steps, he looked back at me and said, "Go back to your seat. Don't leave your things alone." I, however, did not go back to my seat until his fi gure was lost among crowds for people hurrying to and fro and no longer visib le. My eyes were again wet with tears.(张译)“Don’t wait, father,” I said. He looked out of the window. “I’ll just buy y ou a few tangerines,” he said. “Wait here, and don’t wander off. Just outside t he station were some vendors. To reach them he had to cross the lines, whic h involved jumping down from the platform and clambering up again. As m y father is a stout man this was naturally not easy for him. But when I volun teered to go instead he would not hear of it. So I watched him in his black c loth cap and jacket and dark blue cotton-padded gown, as he waddled to the t racks and climbed slowly down --- not so difficult after all. But when he had crossed the lines he had trouble clambering up the other side. He clutched th e platform with both hands and tried to heave his legs up, straining to the left. At the sight of his burly back tears started to my eyes, but I wiped them ha stily so that neither he nor anyone else might see them. When next I looked out he was on his way back with some ruddy tangerines. He put these on the platform before climbing slowly down to cross the lines, which he did after picking the fruit up. When he reached my side I was there to help him up. W e boarded the train together and he plumped the tangerines down on my coat. Then he brushed the dust from his clothes, as if that was a weight off his m ind. “I’ll be going now, son,” he said presently. “Write to me once you get there.” I watched him walk away. After a few steps he turned back to look at me. “Go on in!” he called. “There’s no one in the compartment.” When hisback disappeared among the bustling crowd I went in and sat down, and my e yes were wet again.(杨译)1.于是扑扑衣上的泥土,心里很轻松似的he looked somewhat relieved and said after a while,这里张先生译的somewhat relieved 有些模糊不清而杨先生译的as if that was a weight off his mind,表现出来父亲心事已了,已经对儿子做了力所能及的事,如释重负了。