Abstract
文化含义丰富的比喻的翻译是中国文学经典作品英译中的典型困难。莫言的《檀香刑》中使用了大量的比喻,本文通过对葛浩文译本中比喻的翻译策略分析发现:除极少数的误译以外,译者所采取的八种翻译策略并非可简单归结为遵循描写翻译学所提出的"充分性"和"可接受性"两端的翻译原则,而是分布于两端之间的连续轴上,呈现翻译策略的"连续轴规律"。当汉语比喻的喻体形象及喻义能够在目标语中得到接受和理解时,其译文就体现出"充分性"特征;反之,如果不能被认同接受时,译者要么更改喻体,要么删除喻体只译出喻义,其译文就体现出"可接受性"特征;多数情况下汉语比喻的喻体形象须经过译者适当调适后才能被目标语系统所接受,这时候译本就呈现出相应的中间状态,而这种中间状态所涉及的复杂性远远超过连续轴的两端。由此可见,中国文学经典作品翻译策略的复杂性并非早期译论的比喻翻译三分法模式,或纽马克的比喻翻译七分法模式,或图里的比喻翻译六分法模式可以全面归结,也并非"直译"或"意译"、"形似"或"神似"、"形式对等"或"功能对等"、"归化"或"异化"等二元式译论可以解释。
Translation of metaphors that are rich in cultural connotations constitutes a typical difficulty in translating Chinese literary classics. It is therefore meaningful to examine the translation strategies employed by Howard Goldblatt in translating Mo Yan's novel Sandalwood Death, which is known for its rich metaphors. Through inter-textual comparative analysis, it is found that eight strategies employed in translating metaphors can be understood as spreading over the continuum between "adequacy" and "acceptability". When both the image and sense of some metaphors can be accepted by the target culture, their translations follow the principle of "adequacy"; otherwise, the translations of other metaphors follow the principle of "acceptability". In most cases, however, the images of the metaphors were adapted to different degrees in translation and the strategies can be understood only as the middle points of the continuum. The "continuum pattern" revealed through the study can account for the complexity of English translation strategies of Chinese literary classics, which have not been fully accounted for by either the summaries of translation strategies in previous literature or the dichotomic translation principles of "literal vs. free translation", "form- based vs. meaning-based translation", "formal vs. functional equivalence", and "domestication vs. foreignization" in translation theories.
Translation of metaphors that are rich in cultural connotations constitutes a typical difficulty in translating Chinese literary classics. It is therefore meaningful to examine the translation strategies employed by Howard Goldblatt in translating Mo Yan's novel Sandalwood Death, which is known for its rich metaphors. Through inter-textual comparative analysis, it is found that eight strategies employed in translating metaphors can be understood as spreading over the continuum between "adequacy" and "acceptability". When both the image and sense of some metaphors can be accepted by the target culture, their translations follow the principle of "adequacy"; otherwise, the translations of other metaphors follow the principle of "acceptability". In most cases, however, the images of the metaphors were adapted to different degrees in translation and the strategies can be understood only as the middle points of the continuum. The "continuum pattern" revealed through the study can account for the complexity of English translation strategies of Chinese literary classics, which have not been fully accounted for by either the summaries of translation strategies in previous literature or the dichotomic translation principles of "literal vs. free translation", "form- based vs. meaning-based translation", "formal vs. functional equivalence", and "domestication vs. foreignization" in translation theories.
| Translated title of the contribution | The Continuum Pattern in the English Translation Strategies of Chinese Literary Classics: An Analysis of Goldblatt’s Translation Modes of Metaphorical Expressions in Sandalwood Death |
|---|---|
| Original language | Chinese (Simplified) |
| Pages (from-to) | 98-105 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | 中国外语 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
本文为国家社科基金一般项目“王阳明思想在英语世界的译介与阐释研究”（编号：19BYY099）的研究成果。