第二部分:从汉语到英语 从汉语到英语

类别:文学名著 作者:张海迪 本章:第二部分:从汉语到英语 从汉语到英语

    From Co English

    从汉语到英语

    尽管我学习英语已经很多年,也翻译出版了几本英美小说,可是直到今天我对汉译英却还是十分谨慎的,对一些国外报刊的英文约稿从不敢轻易应允,更不敢主动把自己的文章译成英文发表。准确的英译汉要经过严格的训练才有可能做到,翻译文学作品就要有更深的功力了,而要把文学作品的汉译英做好,不仅要具备汉语和英语本身的坚实基础,还要有其他方面的深厚涵养。文学的汉译英决不是学过几年英语就能做到的,实际上这种翻译是译者的二度创作。

    对于中国人,英译汉做得漂亮不容易,汉译英做得漂亮就更难了,因为在进行汉译英的置换时,我们很可能在潜意识里就把汉语习惯载入了英语。往往是这样,我们认为自己译得很好的英文,英语国家的人却会挑出很多毛病,小的,大的,甚至标点符号,还有的地方他们干脆就说看不懂。那种时候真让人很丧气,可是怎么办呢?

    多年前,我经常把一篇篇自认为很好的汉译英文章寄给我的美国朋友Jerry,他看完又把修改后的文章寄回来,看着被他用红色圆珠笔修改得密密麻麻的地方,我总是很难过,也很奇怪,为什么我认为对的地方却是错的呢?有时候,我会一连几个小时,盯着那些被红笔划过的痕迹苦思冥想,一会儿好像恍然大悟,一会儿好像又绕进了文字的迷魂阵。我觉得汉译英太难了。不过,我还是鼓起勇气,继续学习,并且坚持每天都做一些汉译英的练习。

    那时候,我读了一本《中诗英译探胜》,那本书让我爱不释手,里面是中外语言专家翻译的中国古代诗词,从到。读那些诗歌,我体味到汉语诗词英译的困难,把意思表达准确是要下苦功的,而既忠实于原文,又表现出原文的意蕴,就需要付出更多的心血。有些古诗词被译成了英语,却品不出古诗词的意味了,但是,我仍然感受到译者对每一个句子,甚至每一个词的认真推敲。不过我想,也许任何一种外语都不能充分地表达意象万千的中国古诗词,因为它们独特魅力的光芒是别的语言不能与之争辉的。比如唐代孟浩然的《春晓》:

    春眠不觉晓,

    处处闻啼鸟。

    夜来风雨声,

    花落知多少?

    罗伯特?佩恩(Robert Payne)是这样翻译的:

    I slept in spring not conscious of the dawn,

    But tering all around,

    I remember, torm at night.

    Pray, how many blossoms have fallen down?

    许渊冲先生的译文是这样的:

    this morn of spring in bed I’m lying,

    Not to aill birds are crying.

    After one night of wind and showers,

    he fallen flowers!

    这种对比多么有趣啊!文学作品有多种多样的译法,因为人们对它有各种各样的理解和想象。我已经不能确切地回忆起那些日子是怎样度过的,只记得那本《中诗英译探胜》一直放在我的床头,每天夜晚我都要翻看,我喜欢书中那些英语国家的人翻译的每一首诗词,看他们怎样用英语来表现中国古代诗词,或是把它们变成一个个通俗的英语故事。读那本书我总是快乐的。

    从那以后,我又给Jerry寄去文章,一篇又一篇,我发现,他在文章里做的红色修改印迹越来越少了。再后来,我就用e-mail给Jerry发去我的汉译英文章。有一次,我给Jerry发去一篇我翻译的自己的散文,他在回信中说:

    It iful. I love it. It ed to read every line. Your imagination is so vivid and tful. Yes, remember our conversations, “ is t forever. t they?

    (文章这么美,我喜欢它,写得很好。海迪,读这篇文章是一种快乐,读每一行文字都让我激动。你的想象是这样生动并且令人深思。是的,还记得我们的谈话吗?“生命的意义是什么?”啊,你的想法很明确。生命的记忆是持久的,肯定是持久的,不是这样吗?)

    不过,Jerry 的信并没有让我感到欣慰,我觉得Jerry作为美国人也许还不能透彻地理解我的本意,他只是读懂了这个故事。怎样才能让外国人真正理解这个故事呢?我继续修改文章,还请另一位美国朋友Margaret帮我提意见。我想,Margaret是女性,她也许会从另一个角度理解这个故事。在和他们讨论这篇文章的时候,我觉得自己对汉译英有了更大的兴趣——汉语和英语毕竟是两种语言,怎么才能译得更好呢?

    下面是Jerry 和Margaret帮我修改过的散文。我真希望有人能再将它译成中文,看看在别人的笔下它会变成一个什么样的故事:

    In a small toyard. tyard  people in big cities could not  ball fields. tory yard  sunsables: cucumber, eggplant,  bean, tomatoes, and  green peppers. In tiful pattern. Our red roof oed tness, and ted sky blue as if t of colorful toy bricks as in tales.

    Usually tyard , and sometimes it  t you could feel t it  empty. I loved reading in tyard ree wenderness.

    tco me imes I felt ted to talk to somebody. But at times no one alking to me. In tting, tyard . People coming  life to tyard. Men and ered er sccyard, as ter the same.

    During t only tyard, ty-years old. Sterly blind. Most of time sayed in ting in an old armcimes to t of t ternoon in silence. No sound  ence and in my consciousness tyard; but in reality the black dog, me and Granny.

    One day I again sat under tree, reading Die eltraetsel (tery of t . ter I ed to ture ream, tful breezes and tains... I couldn’t urned my   sting in  far from me. Sick  of . ly closed and s and serene.  ill floed very muco ask  lonely? If ther feelings in her mind?

    I turned my wo her side and asked her loudly, are you asleep Granny?

    No, I don’t feel sleepy, Granny answered.

    So, ? I asked.

    I ch, she replied.

    I was so surprised; I opened my eyes wide as if a rainbow suddenly appeared before me.

    itill sligc to my er anotterned cotton-padded coat and my  oo; I al   I alied a five-incring...

    , a Granny of over eig, till keep ters cannot imagine.

    Under tree I  on reading tery of tly sting sun. In t moment, I almost forgot t in tyard the black dog, and me.

    I continued to read my books in tyard as usual. One day I  to a very dull page and my eyes stayed stubbornly on a line. I raised my eyes and sating quietly in t urned my  gentle. I asked  feel bored, s  on t t and a red skirt made of silk. t day a big cart came decorated o t... Granny murmured very slotle and in her eyes I saw she had memories lingering from a year long ago.

    It suddenly came to me t t Granny sitting in tude ing silently for o come and ation. I ter s, actually s in so calm a mood. Before urned back  from t and pleasure. t is in reality. Life lasts forever in the memory.

    One day Granny fell ill and  to tal; I felt very sorry. People said t per get over suco tyard. yard I al lonely and sad. Everyday I asked t food to tal about tion of Granny. One day someone told me t Granny could eat again, and ories of ors and perhaps she would come back soon.

    Granny did come back to tyard again and I ality. I t yard. Eac t h her head leaned low as before.

    t autumn s fe be back and  for   umn day, a day like today, leaves fell rustling every and carried a clot tter not go out of tyard, for t a mont earn money ton coat for   come back yet. Since t day I made a neton coat for umn, but ill  come back. No make a coat; I can’t see anyt make out w he is really like...

    I caressed Granny’s ly; trees and te autumn fell from ttle. Soday. It is getting colder again, but ears rolled slowly down from her dim eyes.

    t day Granny  and made o t, and rummaged out of it t s o  in  any suffering.

    t left only tyard. It snoer. te snoations. In my obscure meditation ten a quiet and a bit elling a long story, he green leaves of life.

    can I recall wh my hair silver, I asked myself.

    在这里,我期待着陌生朋友们的译文,我愿和你们一起分享汉译英、英译汉的快乐。


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