《文言英譯教程》引用譯文中的誤譯初探
——兼向郭著章教授請教

賀龍平,張蕾蕾

(1.長沙師范高等?？茖W(xué)校外語系,湖南長沙 410100;2.河南農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)華豫學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院,河南商丘 476113)

《文言英譯教程》引用譯文中的誤譯初探
——兼向郭著章教授請教

賀龍平1,張蕾蕾2

(1.長沙師范高等專科學(xué)校外語系,湖南長沙 410100;2.河南農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)華豫學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院,河南商丘 476113)

郭著章教授編著的《文言英譯教程》是一部水平很高的翻譯教材,但是編者所引用的譯文有些值得商榷,主要體現(xiàn)在措辭,句子和篇章三個方面。作為翻譯專業(yè)本科生的教材,編者有必要在引用時對誤譯做出說明,以方便學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)。

《文言英譯教程》;措辭;句子;篇章

2006年初,國家教育部頒布了《關(guān)于公布2005年度教育部備案或批準(zhǔn)設(shè)置的高等學(xué)校本科專業(yè)結(jié)果的通知》,正式設(shè)立“翻譯”專業(yè)。2006年復(fù)旦大學(xué)、廣東外語外貿(mào)大學(xué)和河北師范大學(xué)開始招收“翻譯專業(yè)”本科生,2007年、2008年教育部又先后批準(zhǔn)了10所院校設(shè)置翻譯專業(yè);2007年國務(wù)院學(xué)位辦批準(zhǔn)了15所院校設(shè)立翻譯專業(yè)碩士點 (Master of Translation and Interp retation,簡稱M TI)。這些無疑都是翻譯界的大事,其重要性在此無需贅言。為了配合翻譯專業(yè)的建設(shè),上海外語教育出版社邀請了30余名專家教授,組成了“翻譯專業(yè)本科生系列教材編委會”。經(jīng)過幾年的辛勤付出,“翻譯專業(yè)本科生系列教材”先后出版。本套教材的編寫隊伍和水平代表了我國當(dāng)前翻譯教學(xué)和研究的發(fā)展方向和水平。但是,仔細(xì)閱讀郭著章教授編著的《文言英譯教程》,會發(fā)現(xiàn)其中有一些不盡如人意之處,不是郭教授的翻譯有誤,而是郭教授所引用的譯文有些地方欠妥。有一些誤譯郭教授指了出來,并做了分析評論,讓人受益匪淺,還有一些地方,郭教授卻沒有指出來。因為千千萬萬莘莘學(xué)子將使用這本書作為教材,有一些佳作學(xué)生可能還會背誦。其中的誤譯,他們不一定能夠發(fā)現(xiàn),他們的老師有可能忽略,下面筆者從措辭,句子和篇章三個方面來分析書中引用的一些譯文,并請郭教授指正。

1 措 辭

措辭、句子和篇章是一個譯者要考慮的三個不同層面。措辭的學(xué)習(xí)是無窮無盡的,而且還有一個選優(yōu)的問題,“春風(fēng)又綠江南岸”,“紅杏枝頭春意鬧”,“鳥宿池邊樹,僧敲月下門”,這些都是古人煉字的佳話,英語也是如此。因此,書中所列譯文的失誤主要體現(xiàn)在措辭上。

先列舉兩個低級錯誤,可能是排版時出現(xiàn)失誤:

1 The monk may run away,but the temp le cannot run away w ith them.[1]P38

2 “虎毒不食兒?！盵1]P163Even a vicious tiger doesn’t eat herow n cubs.

上面兩個例子代詞出現(xiàn)失誤,例1中 monk應(yīng)對應(yīng)him,monks對應(yīng)them;例2中tiger應(yīng)對應(yīng) his,或者tigress對應(yīng)her,所以應(yīng)改為:

1a Themonks may run away,but the temp le cannot run away w ith them.

2a Even a vicious tiger doesn’t eat hisow n cubs.

因為書中引用的典籍譯文多出自現(xiàn)代漢學(xué)家之手,他們的思維受到現(xiàn)代工業(yè)的影響,沒有考慮到現(xiàn)代有的一些東西古代沒有,所以出現(xiàn)誤譯:

3 子曰:“工欲善其事,必先利其器?！盵1]P79

The Master said,“The mechanic,w ho wishes to do his work well,must first sharpen his tools.”

4 孔明索紙筆,屏退左右,密書十六字曰:欲破曹公,宜用火攻;萬事俱備,只欠東風(fēng)。[1]P88

Taking penand paper and waving away the attendants,he w rote:To break Cao’s back,we need fire to attack.The w hole scene is set,only the east w ind we lack!

例3中的“工”應(yīng)當(dāng)指的是“工匠 (craftsman)”,而不是“技工,機修工 (mechanic)”,孔子那個時代應(yīng)該是“工匠”更普遍一些;例4中的筆應(yīng)當(dāng)指的是“毛筆 (w riting brush)”,而不是“鋼筆 (pen)”,所以應(yīng)改為:

3a The M aster said,“A craftsman,w ho w ishes to do his work well,must first sharpen his tools.”

4a Taking a w riting brushand paper and waving away the attendants,he w rote:To break Cao’s back,we need fire to attack.The w hole scene is set,only the east w ind we lack!

代詞和介詞在英語中使用廣泛,稍微不注意,就會出現(xiàn)誤譯。尤其是介詞,基本上每一個介詞都有至少一個迷惑性很強的錯誤選項。因為代詞和介詞屬于虛詞,一般譯者在翻譯過程中不大注意,而把精力集中于實詞。書中名家都有失誤之處,更不用說初學(xué)者:

5 趙王與大將軍廉頗諸大臣謀:欲與秦,秦城恐不可得,徒見欺;欲勿予,即患秦兵之來。 (司馬遷《史記·管晏列傳》)[1]P26

The king took counselw ith General Lian Po and his chief ministers,w hofeared that if the jade were sent to Qin they might be cheated and get no cities in return,yet if they refused the soldiers of Qin might attack.楊憲益,戴乃迭譯

6 先帝不以臣卑鄙,猥自枉屈,三顧臣于草廬之中,咨臣以當(dāng)世之事。(諸葛亮《出師表》)[1]P86

Your father,the late empero r,unmindful of my low estate,did not consider it beneath his dignity to come to my cottage three times and consult me in matters of policy.

例5譯文中w ho指代不清,一般理解為指大將軍廉頗及諸大臣 (General Lian Po and his chief ministers),也可以指趙王 (the king),但是綜合上下文,應(yīng)當(dāng)是指趙王,廉頗及諸大臣。趙王指趙惠文王,史上的一位明君。《史記·管晏列傳》讓一批賢臣良將名留青史,讀者容易忽略著墨不多的君王,但是能夠重用賢臣良將的豈是昏君?不是明君能夠重用賢臣良將?即是明君,不可能看不透秦國的這點小伎倆。所以,譯文指代有誤。例6中consult的句型為consult sb(about sth);consult(with)sb(about/on sth)。所以應(yīng)改為:

5a The king took counsel w ith General Lian Po and his chief ministers.They feared that if the jade were sent to Qin they might be cheated and get no cities in return,yet if they refused the soldiers of Qin might attack.

6a Your father,the late emperor,unmindful of my low estate,did not consider it beneath his dignity to come to my cottage three times and consult me about mattersof policy.

20世紀(jì)70年代,描述翻譯學(xué)興起,翻譯出現(xiàn)文化轉(zhuǎn)向,翻譯單位由詞變?yōu)榫渥?再擴大到篇章,甚至是兩種文化。文化詞在典籍中比比皆是,不熟悉兩種文化,翻譯肯定是舉步維艱,誤譯司空見慣。

7 浩浩乎如馮虛御風(fēng)而不知其所止,飄飄乎如遺世獨立羽化而登仙。[1]P109

We let our boat drift over the vast expanse of water,feeling as free as if we were riding the wind and going to some unknow n destination,as light and carefree as if we had left the wo rld of man and become w inged immortals.

8 挾飛仙以遨游,抱明月而長終。[1]P41

I longed to clasp winged fairiesand roam freely,or to embrace the brightmoon fo r all eternity.

此處出現(xiàn)誤譯,是因為沒有考慮到東西方文化不同。例7中的“羽化”在現(xiàn)代漢語詞典中有兩種意思:1 是指成仙;2 是指道教徒婉指人死。無論何種解釋,翻譯成winged都是不對的。中國的佛教強調(diào)轉(zhuǎn)世,道教強調(diào)永生,所以immo rtals是對的。但是,無論轉(zhuǎn)世還是永生,中國的神仙都是沒有翅膀的。《封神榜》中只有雷震子和辛環(huán)生有一對翅膀,而且是一對肉翅,不是像鳥那樣的羽翅。西方信基督教,西方的天使多有一對白色的羽翅。譯文可視為歸化,但是容易引起讀者對于東方文化的誤讀。所以更改如下可能好一點:

7a We let our boat drift over the vast expanse of water,feeling as free as if we were riding the w ind and going to some unknow n destination,as light and carefree as if we had left the wo rld of man and become immo rtals.

8b I longed to clasp flying immo rtalsand roam freely,o r to embrace the brightmoon fo r all eternity.

增譯和減譯是常見的翻譯方法,其原則是“增詞不增義,減詞不減義”。書中有幾個地方?jīng)]有遵循這一原則。

9 千呼萬喚始出來,猶抱琵琶半遮面。(白居易《琵琶行》)[1]P50

Being called time and again,the player at last came out;w ith pi-pa in arm and face half hidden,she looked about.曾炳衡

10 肴核即盡,杯盤狼藉。[1]P141

When we had finished the dishes,and cups and p lates lay about us in disorder.

對于例9,郭教授有一段評論:“白居易用“千呼萬喚始出來”這個夸張語,揭示了“邀相見者”與被邀者各自的心情。相比較而言,譯文2用直譯更能體現(xiàn)兩者的心情?！边@一段評論是中肯的。其實,曾炳衡先生的譯文出現(xiàn)了增譯:she looked about。該增譯有蛇足之嫌,與我國古代的女性形象不符。我國古代的女性是“足不出戶”,“笑不露齒,行不露趾”的深閨女性。再怎么開放,也不會第一次見面就抱著琵琶游目四顧 (looked about)。例10中的“肴核”指食物和水果,譯文漏譯了“核”,所以應(yīng)改為:

9a Only after a thousand entreaties does she appear,her face half hidden behind the pi-pa in her arms.

10a W hen we had finished the dishes and fruits,and cups and p lates lay about us in diso rder.

理解原文是翻譯的前提和基礎(chǔ)。如果原文理解有誤,譯文肯定不對。典籍對于本國人來說,理解都很困難,更不用說對于外國人。其實上面的誤譯,都可以歸結(jié)為理解錯誤。所以,學(xué)習(xí)英語,不能忘記平時加強漢語的學(xué)習(xí)。

11 正是俗話說得好:“清官難斷家務(wù)事,”此時正是“公婆難斷床幃事了。”《紅樓夢·第八十回》[1]P69

Just as“Not even good officials can settle family troubles”,so“Not even parents can settle disputes between son and w ife.”

12 居廟堂之高,則憂其民;處江湖之遠(yuǎn),則憂其君。[1]P101

When such peop le are high in the government or at court,their first concern is fo rthe o rdinary peop le;w hen they retire to distant areas of streams and lakes,their first concern is fo r the sovereign.

13 所賴君子安貧,達(dá)人知命。[1]P101

Nevertheless,the virtuousman is content w ith his due poverty,and theman of great understanding know s his destiny.

14 越明年,政通人和,百廢俱興。[1]P108

After Teng Zijing had governed the district fo r a year,the administration went smoothly,the peop le became united and happy,and all things that had fallen into disrepair were under a new construction.

15 出家人行善,如春園之草,不見其長,日有所增;行惡之人,如磨刀之石,不見其損,日有所虧。[1]P163

If amonk acts rightly he w ill grow daily but invisibly,like grass in a garden during the sp ring,w hereas an evildoerw ill be impercep tibly worn away day by day like a w hetstone.

例11中“床幃事 (disputes between son and w ife)”的英譯有兩種理解,一種是“disputes between son and his w ife”,這一種是正確的;另一種是“disputes between son and hismother”。如翻譯如下則沒有任何歧義:

11a Just as“Not even good officials can settle family troubles”,so“Not even parents can settle disputes between son and daughter-in-law.”

例12中的“處江湖之遠(yuǎn)”是指被貶官到了一個離皇帝和朝廷很遠(yuǎn)的地方,而不是做官退休 (retire)。所以應(yīng)改為:

12a When such peop le are high in the government or at court,their first concern goes tothe ordinary peop le;w hen they are demoted and banished to distant areas of stream s and lakes,their first concern goes to the sovereign.

例13中的“達(dá)人”應(yīng)當(dāng)指“心胸豁達(dá)的人”,所以應(yīng)改為:

13a Nevertheless,a virtuousman is content with his due poverty,and a broad-minded man know s his destiny.

例14中的“百廢俱興”是指“各種該辦未辦的事業(yè)都興辦起來”,而不是“年久失修的建筑物被翻新 (all things that had fallen into disrepair were under a new construction)”,所以應(yīng)改為:

14a After Teng Zijing had governed the district fo r a year,the administration went smoothly,the peop le became united and happy,and all that was left undone is now being done.

例15中的“不見其長”,不是指人長高長個頭 (he will grow daily),而是指個人的修為,功德等。所以應(yīng)改為:

15a If a monk acts rightly his personal accomplishmentswill grow daily but invisibly,like grass in a garden during the sp ring,whereasan evildoer’swill be imperceptibly worn away day by day like a whetstone.

2 句 子

句子翻譯主要涉及語法。和措辭不一樣,語法原則畢竟是有限的,所以,書中所引用的譯文,句法層面上的誤譯比較少,但是,“智者千慮,必有一失”,有幾處誤譯還是能夠被找出來的:

16 那位學(xué)貫中西的我國學(xué)者和英文大師,年輕時赴美負(fù)笈哈佛一年,即得碩士。[1]P15

That Chinese scholar w ho know s China and the West quite well and a master of English went to the U-nited States w hen he was young,and studied there at Harvard University for only one year before he got his Master’s degree.

17 立百福之基,只在一念慈祥;開萬善之門,無如寸心挹損。[1]P34

To lay the foundation fo r a hundred blessings one needs only to have an idea of mercy and kindness;to open the gate to ten thousand good deeds,nothing is better than restraining one’s selfish heart.

18 道得眾,則得國;失眾,則失國。是故君子,先慎乎德,有德,此有人,有人此有土,有土此有財,有財此有用,德者,本也,財者,末也。[1]P80

This show s that,by gaining the peop le,the kingdom is gained,and by losing the peop le,the kingdom is lost.On this account,the ruler w ill first take pains about hisow n virtue.Possessing virtue w ill give him the peop le.Possessing the peop le w ill give him the territory.Possessing the territory will give him its wealth.Possessing the wealth,he w ill have resources for expenditure.Virtue is the roo t;wealth is the result.

例16中的“amaster of English”有歧義,既可以理解為“that Chinese scholar”的同位語,又可以理解為“know s”的賓語,稍微改一下即可消除歧義:

16a That Chinese scholar,a master of English w ho know s China and the West quite well ,went to the United States w hen he was young,and studied there atHarvard University fo r only one year before he got his Master’s degree.

例17中的“to open the gate to ten thousand good deeds,nothing is better than restraining one’s selfish heart”存在主語不一致的現(xiàn)象,即應(yīng)該是某人來“開萬善之門 (to open the gate to ten thousand good deeds)”,而不是“nothing”,前面的譯文是正確的,所以應(yīng)改為:

17a To lay the foundation fo r a hundred blessings one needs only to have an idea of mercy and kindness;to open the gate to ten thousand good deeds,one should restrainone’s selfish heart.

例18有兩個問題:第一是“by gaining the peop le,the kingdom is gained,and by losing the peop le,the kingdom is lost”存在主語不一致之嫌,即應(yīng)該是某人,比如說皇帝,贏得或者失去民心,而不是王國 (kingdom),王國 (kingdom)是無生命的,怎么贏得或者失去民心?第二,“by losing the peop le,the kingdom is lost”這個句子有點怪。讀起來好像是某人特地失去民心,進而失去自己的王國。沒有人會這么做。歷史上的昏君都聲稱自己愛民如子,執(zhí)法如山,鞠躬盡瘁,死而后已,都罵造反的人是亂臣賊子,正義永遠(yuǎn)在昏君這一邊,昏君是永遠(yuǎn)不會承認(rèn)自己荒淫無度,罪該萬死。即:by短語應(yīng)該和褒義或者中性的動名詞或者名詞短語連用,類似于英語中的否定前綴un-,im-,in-,il-和ir-,只有unhappy,unsatisfied,unimpo rtant等,卻沒有unsad,unannoyed,untrivial等詞。所以應(yīng)改為:

18a This show s that,if the peop le are gained,the kingdom is gained,and if the peop le are lost,the kingdom is lost.On this account,the ruler w ill first take pains about his ow n virtue.Possessing virtue w ill give him the peop le.Possessing the peop le w ill give him the territory.Possessing the territo ry w ill give him its wealth.Possessing the wealth,he w ill have resources for expenditure.Virtue is the root;wealth is the result.

3 篇 章

篇章主要考慮修辭。和語法原則一樣,修辭要考慮的東西是相對有限的,但是,書中所引用的譯文還是有一個范例未能考慮周詳:

19 待其酒力醒,茶煙歇,送夕陽,迎素月,亦謫居之勝概也。[1]P110

When Ibecame sane again after drunk,w hen Ifinished sipping the tea and the incense burning ended,I watched the sun setting and the brightmoon rising.Onlyat such a time did Ienjoy my life w hen Iwas a demoted official.

原文出自北宋詩人、散文家王禹偁 (954～1001)所作的《黃岡竹樓記》。和韓愈、柳宗元、范仲淹、歐陽修等文豪一樣,王禹偁常因直言犯上而被貶,但是為人樂觀豁達(dá),《黃岡竹樓記》就是反應(yīng)這種精神的一篇文章。他可以在小樓里聽雨、賞雪、詠詩、下棋、投壺,閱讀《周易》等等,字里行間毫無頹廢之氣。譯文的失誤在于“only”這個單詞。因為這個單詞,整篇文章的精神天翻地覆,頹廢不堪:只有在那個時候我才能享受到謫居的樂趣 (Onlyat such a time did Ienjoy my life w hen Iwas a demoted official.)。所以應(yīng)改為:

19a When Ibecame sane again after drunk,w hen Ifinished sipping the tea and the incense burning ended,Iwatched the sun setting and the bright moon rising,w hich was also part of my carefree life as a demoted official.

4 結(jié)束語

翻譯有一個思辨的過程。上述分析,可能有不當(dāng)之處,

可能郭教授早已明知,但是沒有在書中加以點評,而是留給學(xué)生去發(fā)現(xiàn)思考。但是作為一本教材,它將是千千萬萬學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)的圭臬,仔細(xì)推敲,反復(fù)討論,實不為過,而且必須。特撰此文,不當(dāng)之處,請郭教授指正。

[1]郭著章.文言英譯教程 [M].上海:上海外語教育出版社,2008.

Abstract:A Course in Translation from Classical Chinese into English is a masterpiece compiled by Professo r Guo Zhuzhang from Wuhan University.However,some quoted translations need to be weighed twice from the perspectivesof diction,syntax or text to help the students w ho w ill use this book as a textbook.

Key words:A Course in Translation from Classical Chinese into English;diction;syntax;text

On the W rong Quoted Translations in A Course in Translation from Classical Chinese into English——To be corrected by Professor Guo Zhuzhang

H E Long-ping1,ZHANG Lei-lei2
(1.Department of Foreign Languages,Changsha Normal College,Changsha Hunan 410100,China;
2.Department of Foreign Languages,Huayu College,Henan Agricultural University,Shangqiu Henan 476113,China)

H315.9

A

1673-0313(2011)01-0137-04

2010-09-26

賀龍平 (1977—),男,湖南衡陽人,助教,碩士生,主要從事外國語言學(xué)及應(yīng)用語言學(xué)研究。