16差不多先生

汉英翻译(上) 主讲:魏志成教授 第6单元 I 提示 ?原文来源 原文作者是中国现代作家胡适(1891-1962)，语篇选自张培基译注，1999年，《英译中国现代散文选》(汉英对照)，上海:上海外语教育出版社。 ?译文来源 < 1 > 译文1为张培基译，选自张培基译注，1999年，《英译中国现代散文选》(汉英对 照)，上海:上海外语教育出版社。 < 2 > 译文2为张梦井、杜耀文译，选自张梦井 杜耀文编译，1999年，《中国名家散文 精译》。青岛:青岛出版社。 ?语体特征与翻译策略 < 1 > 语篇 胡适(1891-1962)是中国20世纪初新文化创始人之一。《差不多先生》是 胡适尝试创作的一篇短篇小说，针砭社会陋习，具有沉郁的幽默和深刻的讽刺意义。 作品于1924年6月28日发表在《申报•平民周刊》的创刊号上，曾不胫而走，传诵 一时。 < 2 > 句式 胡适虽然精于国学，但是又深受西方文化思想影响，这种现象也反映他的 白话文创作上。胡适的作品大多讲究清晰的行文方式:逻辑性强、段落分明、句际 关系明显、甚至包括标点符号都很用心。(请注意:胡适是早期倡导在现代汉语中 使用标点符号的人士之一) 以共核语为主，日常词汇突出，白话文用语明显。请比较几个白话文用语< 3 > 语义 与书面文用语:“要紧的事/重要的事”、“搭火车/乘火车”、“法子/”等。 < 4 > 翻译策略 本语篇最大的特点就是其沉郁的幽默和深刻的讽刺。这种风格是通过 其具体的一些修辞手段来完成的，如绰号、委婉、反语等。如“差不多”一词，既 是语篇中的主人公的绰号，又在文章起着另外的语法作用。“差不多”这3个字在 文章中共出现19次，其中作为绰号为8次，作为谓语共10次，作为状语1次。无 论是作为绰号，还是作为谓语或作为状语，译文都应该从语篇的整体效果来统筹考 虑。再如原文中用“一命呜呼”来代替“死”，也是具有诙谐色彩的。英语中相应 的意思也有多种表达，特同样具有语义色彩的区别，如与kick the bucket比较 ，pass away只是die的一般性委婉语。如此等等，都应该从语篇的翻译策略来考虑。 1 II 译法要点 6.1绰号与nickname 6.2不可译与意译 6.3变通:语气转换 6.4语法与语义:冠词 6.5风格:形式标记(音系) 6.6 变通:阐释法(III) 6.7 语法与语义:不定冠词 6.8变通:增补(过去完成时) 6.9 语法与语义:定冠词 6.10变通:语态转换(主动?被动) 6.11委婉与Euphemism 6.12反语与Irony (I) 6.13误用:时态 6.14不妥的增补 III 原文与译文 【原文】 差不多先生传 你知道中国最有名的人是谁? 提起此人，人人皆晓，处处闻名。他姓差，名不多，是各省各县各村人氏。你一定见过他，一定听过别人谈起他。差不多先生的名字天天挂在大家的口头，因为他是中国全国人的代表。 差不多先生的相貌和你和我都差不多。他有一双眼睛，但看的不很清楚;有两只耳朵，但听的不很分明;有鼻子和嘴，但他对于气味和口味都不很讲究。他的脑子也不小，但他的记性却不很精明，他的思想也不很细密。 他常常说:“凡事只要差不多，就好了。何必太精明呢?” 他小的时候，他妈叫他去买红糖，他买了白糖回来。他妈骂他，他摇摇头说:“红糖白糖不是差不多吗?” 他在学堂的时候，先生问他:“直隶省的西边是哪一省?”他说是陕西。先生说:“错了。是山西，不是陕西。”他说:“陕西同山西，不是差不多吗?” 后来他在一个钱铺里作伙计;他也会写，也会算，只是总不会精细。十字常常写成千字，千字常常写成十字。掌柜的生气了，常常骂他。他只是笑嘻嘻地赔小心道:“千字比十字只多一小撇，不是差不多吗?” 有一天，他为了一件要紧的事，要搭火车到上海去。他从从容容地走到火车站，迟了两分钟，火车已经开走了。他白瞪着眼，望着远远的火车上的煤烟，摇摇头道:“只好明天再走了，今天走同明天走，也差不多。可是火车公司未免太认真了。8点30分开，同8点32分开，不是差不多吗?”他一面说，一面慢慢地走回家，心里总不明白为什么火车不肯等他两分钟。 有一天，他忽然得了急病，赶快叫家人去请东街的汪医生。那家人急急忙忙地跑去，一时寻不着东街的汪大夫，却把西街牛医王大夫请来了。差不多先生病在床上，知道寻错了人;但病急了，身上痛苦，心里焦急，等不得了，心里想道:“好在王大夫同汪大夫也差不多，让他试试看罢。”于是这位牛医王大夫走近床前，用医牛的法子给差不多先生治病。不上一点钟，差不多先生就一命呜呼了。 差不多先生差不多要死的时候，一口气断断续续地说道:“活人同死人也„„差„„差不多，„„凡事只要„„差„„差„„不多„„就„„好了，„„何„„何„„必„„ 2 太„„太认真呢?”他说完了这句格言，方才绝气了。 他死后，大家都很称赞差不多先生样样事情看得破，想得通;大家都说他一生不肯认真， 不肯算帐，不肯计较，真是一位有德行的人。于是大家给他取个死后的法号，叫做圆通大师。 他的名誉越传越远，越久越大。无数无数的人都学他的榜样。于是人人都成了一个差不 多先生。----然而中国从此就成为一个懒人国了。 【译文】 译文1 Mr. About-the-Same Do you know who is the most well-known person in China ? The name of this person is a household word all over the country. His surname is Cha and his given name, Buduo, which altogether mean "About the Same". He is a native of every province, every county and every village in this country. You must have seen or heard about this person. His name is always on the lips of everybody because he is representative of the whole Chinese nation. Mr. Cha Buduo has the same physiognomy as you and I. He has a pair of eyes, but doesn’t see clearly. He has a pair of ears, but doesn’t hear well. He has a nose and a mouth, but lacks a keen sense of smell and taste. His brain is none too small, but he is weak in memory and sloppy in thinking. He often says, "Whatever we do, it’s OK to be just about right. What’s the use of being precise and accurate? " One day, when he was a child, his mother sent him out to buy her some brown sugar, but he returned with some white sugar instead. As his mother scolded him about it, he shook his head and said, "Brown sugar or white sugar, aren’t they about the same?" One day in school, the teacher asked him, "Which province borders Hebei on the west?" He answered, "Shaanxi. " The teacher corrected him, "You are wrong. It's Shanxi, not Shaanxi. ”' He reported, "Shaanxi or Shanxi, aren't they about the same?" Later Mr. Cha Buduo served as an assistant at a money shop. He could write and calculate all right, but his mathematics were often faulty. He would mistake the Chinese character 十 (meaning 10) for 千 (meaning 1000) or vice versa. The shop owner was infuriated and often took him to task. But he would only explain apologetically with a grin, "The Character 千 differs from 十 in merely having one additional short stroke. Aren't they about the same?” One day, he wanted to go to Shanghai by train on urgent business. But he arrived at the railway station unhurriedly only to find the train already gone , because he was two minutes late. He stood staring helplessly at the smoke belching from the diminishing train , and shook his head, "Well, all I can do is leave tomorrow. After all, today and tomorrow are about the same. But isn’t the railway company taking it too seriously? What’s the difference between departing at 8:30 and 8:32?" He walked home slowly while talking to himself and kept puzzling over why the train hadn’t waited for him for two minutes more . One day he suddenly fell ill and immediately told one of his family to fetch Dr. Wāng of East Street. The latter went in a hurry, but could’t find the physician on East Street. So he fetched instead Veterinarian Wáng of West Street. Mr. Cha Buduo, lying on his sickbed, knew that a wrong person had been brought home. But, what with pain and worry, he could ill afford to wait 3 any longer. So he said to himself, "Luckily, Vet Wáng is about the same as Dr. Wāng. Why not let Vet Wáng have a try?" Thereupon, the veterinarian walked up to his bed to work on him as if he were a cow. Consequently, Mr. Cha Buduo kicked the bucket before an hour was out. When Mr. Cha Buduo was about to breathe his last, he uttered intermittently in one breath, "Live or die, it’s about ... about ... the same .... Whatever we do ...it's OK ... to be ... just ... just about right .... Why...why...take it...so seriously?" As soon as he finished this pet phrase of his , he stopped breathing. After Mr. Cha Buduo's death, people all praised him for his way of seeing through things and his philosophical approach to life. They say that he refused to take things seriously all his life and that he was never calculating or particular about personal gains or losses. So they called him a virtuous man and honored him with the posthumous reverent title Master of Easy-Going. His name has spread far and wide and become more and more celebrated with the passing of time. Innumerable people have come to follow his example, so that everybody has become a Mr. Cha Buduo. But lo, China will hence be a nation of lazybones ! 译文2 A Biography of Mr. Almost Do you know who is the most famous person in China? Talking of this person, he is known to all. He is surnamed AI and named Most, born in every province, every county and every village. You certainly have seen him and surely heard of others mentioning him. The name of Mr. Almost is on everyone's tongue every day, for he is the representative of all Chinese people. Mr.Almost looks like you and me. He has a pair of eyes, but he can’t see clearly; he has two ears, but he can't hear distinctly; he has a nose and a mouth, but he doesn’t mind the smell or the taste. He has a rather big brain, but his memory is not so shrewd and not precise, either. He often says,"In doing anything, it's better to be almost; why should we be so shrewd? " When he was young, his mother told him to buy brown sugar, but he bought white sugar instead. His mother cursed him, but he shook his head and said, "Aren't brown sugar and white sugar almost the same?" When he was in school, his teacher asked him, "What province lies to the west of Zhili Province?" He said that it was Shaanxi . The teacher said ,"You are wrong. It is Shanxi, not Shaanxi. " But he said, "Aren't Shaanxi and Shanxi almost the same?" Later, he worked as a partner in a private bank; he could write and count, but not precise. He often wrote the character "十"(ten)as "千”(thousand) ; the manager became angry and often cursed him, but he often answered with a smile :"The character “千” is just a stroke more than"十 " ， aren't they almost the same?" One day, he was going to Shanghai for an urgent matter. He went to the station unhurriedly only to find the train had gone two minutes before. Watching the smoke from the chimney of the fast leaving train with wide open eyes, he shook his head and said, “I’ll have to go tomorrow. To go today or tomorrow is almost the same. The railway company is really too serious. Isn’t it the same to start off at eight thirty as to eight thirty-two?" As he was saying this, he went home with slow steps, wondering why the train was not willing to wait for him for two minutes. One day, he suddenly fell ill, he told a man fetch a doctor in the east street. The man 4 hurried there, but he could not find Dr. Wang(汪) and fetched back an ox doctor Wang(王) from the west street. Lying on the bed, Mr. Almost knew that the man had brought back the wrong doctor, but as he was too ill with pain and worry at heart, he could not wait any longer. Thinking at heart, he said, "Luckily, Dr. Wang (王) and Dr. Wang(汪) are almost the same. Let him have a try. " Thus the ox doctor Wang approached to cure his illness in the way he cured an ox's illness. Almost an hour later, Mr. Almost passed away. When Mr. Almost was dying, he said at his last gasp discontinuously,"Living men and dead men are al...mo...st the same. In...doing...every...thing...it's better...to... be...almost...the...same. Why...sh...should...we be...so...so strict?" After he said this proverb, he took his last breath. After his death, everyone praised Mr. Almost's attitude in treating matters , for he could see through everything and never took things too hard. Everyone said he was not conscious all his life. He did not count, and he did not fuss about; he was really a man of virtue. Thus after his death, people gave him a religious name , calling him Master Yuantong. His fame spread far and wide, and the more his name spread, the more famous he became. Therefore, many, many people followed his example. As a result, everyone became a Mr. Almost. Thus China became a country of idlers ever since. ------------ Shaanxi:陕西省，on the west of Shanxi Province. Shanxi:山西省，on the east of Shaanxi Province. Master Yuantong:圆通大师，meaning being flexible in treating matters. IV 比较与译法 ,1, 差不多先生传 译文1 Mr. About-the-Same 译文2 A Biography of Mr. Almost 6.1绰号与nickname 汉语“绰号”，《现代汉语词典》释义为“外号”;英语nickname,在Longman词典里被释 义为a name used informally instead of (some)one’s own name, usu. given because of one’s character or as a short form of the actual name (the real name)(不正式)绰号,浑名。汉英绰号一 般都含有文化上的贬义或戏谑意义。绰号的使用能激发读者的联想，使语言妙趣横生。 先 看英语中的几个例子:(金惠康，1998:192-193) [114]Mr Good-for-Nothing一无用处的人,饭桶,草包/ Mr Particular过于挑剔的人/ Mr Copy一味抄袭的人/ Lady Teaser喜欢揶揄他人的人/ Lady Sneerwell擅长轻蔑嘲 笑他人的人/ Nosy Parker好事者帕克/ Doubting Thomas疑心重重的托马斯/ Joseph Surface虚有其表的伪君子 原文标题“差不多先生”也是一个绰号。“差不多”这3个字在文章中共出现19次，其中作为 5 绰号为8次，作为谓语共10次，作为状语1次。作为绰号，译文1给出两个对应的名称:一个是标题的Mr. About-the-Same、另一个是文中使用的Mr Cha Buduo;译文2只给出一个名称Mr. Almost。作为谓语，译文1将“差不多”分别处理为:to be just about right,to be about the same, 译文2的处理是:to be almost, to be almost the same。作为状语，译文1将“差不多要死”变通为to be about to breathe his last，译文2变通为to be dying。从语篇效果来看，我们认为译文2整体上的处理得比较妥当。 ,2, 他姓差～名不多～是各省各县各村人氏。 译文1 His surname is Cha and his given name, Buduo, which altogether mean "About the Same". He is a native of every province, every county and every village in this country. 译文2 He is surnamed AI and named Most, born in every province, every county and every village. 6.2不可译与意译 汉英语由于某些表达方式的不同，有时会存在一些不可译的现象。这个时候我们必须借助于意译。我们虽然主张翻译中以直译为主，以意译为辅，(参见3.2)但是究竟应该在何种情况下采用意译,一般都认为在不伤害原文宗旨，确保译文通顺畅达，而且能更好地为主旨服务时就应该采取意译。(萧立明.2001:37)譬如对于原文“姓„„名„„”结构，其实存在结构的不可译性，但是译文1、2的直译要么在表达上罗嗦，要么在达意上不太顺畅。译文1在音译“差不多”之后，由于表意受阻，所以又增补阐释性的一句----这种译法有罗嗦之嫌;译文2将“姓差，名不多”对应为is surnamed AI and named Most-----这种译法也很难说对应了原文的意思，因为AI不对应原文的“差”，Most也不对应原文的“不多”。既然如此，我们主张在这里采取意译，这样也许能够做到既达意又避免罗嗦，----虽然意译有时会调整原文的一些结构。查《英汉大词典》surname词条，II vt.2给…起别名,或绰号,:King John was surnamed Lackland.约翰王被人称为无领地王。所以建议从意译的角度将译文修改为: [115]He is surnamed Almost, born in every province, every county and every village. ,3, 你一定见过他～一定听过别人谈起他。 译文1 You must have seen or heard about this person. 译文2 You certainly have seen him and surely heard of others mentioning him. 6.3变通:语气转换 原文中的副词“一定”表示说话人对事理的判断或推理的确凿性，带有猜测语气。译文1、2分别以must have和以certainly have对译。从语义上来看，must 与certainly的确具有同义的方面。Longman词典对must的释义:to be, do etc., very probably or certainly。但是这两个词含有不同的语气:certainly表示斩钉截铁的“是”;而must表示推测的“是”。因此，译文1在语气转换方面比译文2更加符合原文。 ,4, 差不多先生的名字天天挂在大家的口头～因为他是中国全国人的代表。 译文1 His name is always on the lips of everybody because he is representative of the whole Chinese nation. 译文2 The name of Mr. Almost is on everyone's tongue every day, for he is the representative of all Chinese 6 people. 6.4语法与语义:冠词 对于原文“他是中国全国人的代表”一句的翻译，译文1为he is representative of the whole Chinese nation，译文2为he is the representative of all Chinese people----其中需要关注的问题是:“代表”一词究竟应该是representative还是 the representative,根据李在铭(1980:119)《英语冠词》一书的观点，这里还是以译文1的representative为妥，因为无论是从语法还是从语义上都应该如此。从语法上来讲，现代英语的倾向是:名词类似形容词，当表语(即主语的表语或者宾语的表语，也称主语补语或者宾语补语)时，不用任何冠词。从语义上来讲，在表示身份、职业、职位、头衔、官衔、尊称、名称、社会关系或地位、等级等名词前面，不用冠词的情形比较普遍。我们可以结合这两个方面分析下面例句: [116]Mr Sweet will be secretary to the council. [117]My eldest son is master of modern languages. [118]I was nursery-governess in a family where Mr Copperfield used to visit. [119]They invited him as interpreter. [120]People elected John Mayor. ,5, 差不多先生的相貌和你和我都差不多。 译文1 Mr. Cha Buduo has the same physiognomy as you and I. 译文2 Mr.Almost looks like you and me. 6.5风格:形式标记(音系) 218-230)认为，风格标记分为“形式标记”与“非形式标记”两类。刘宓庆(1999: 而形式标记无疑是我们借以识别风格的最重要的手段，因为任何风格都通常首先考虑如何将它赋形于语言，而语言是一种符号体系，因此风格必不可避免地被“语言符号化“了。风格的符号化形式标记体系是由以下6个类属性标记组成的:(一)音系标记;(二)语域标记;(三)风格的句法标记表现为各种有特色的句法形式;(四)词语标记;(五)章法标记;(六)修辞标记。原文只一篇针砭社会陋习的短篇小说，作者利用绰号“差不多先生”中的“差不多”3个字的不同语法功能，来体现他的对这类人物或现象的讽刺，也体现他的行文风格。原文“差不多先生的相貌和你和我都差不多”中的“差不多”，虽然只是语法上的谓语功能，但是这个词组却是识别文章风格的音系标记，----朗读本句诉诸读者的听觉效果;此外“差不多”还兼修辞标记----重复格。译文1、2虽然表达了原文语义，但是明显地欠缺原文风格。因此建议译文修改为: [121]Mr. Almost has almost the same physiognomy as you and I. ,6, 后来他在一个钱铺里作伙计,他也会写～也会算～只是总不会精细。十字常常写 成千字～千字常常写成十字。掌柜的生气了～常常骂他。他只是笑嘻嘻地赔小心 道:“千字比十字只多一小撇～不是差不多吗?” 译文1 Later Mr. Cha Buduo served as an assistant at a money shop. He could write and calculate all right, but his mathematics were often faulty. He would mistake the Chinese character 十 (meaning 10) for 千 (meaning 1000) or vice versa. The shop owner was infuriated and often took him to task. But he would only explain apologetically with a grin, "The Character 千 differs from 十 in merely having one 7 additional short stroke. Aren't they about the same?” 译文2 Later, he worked as a partner in a private bank; he could write and count, but not precise. He often wrote the character "十"(ten)as "千”(thousand) ; the manager became angry and often cursed him, but he often answered with a smile :"The character “千” is just a stroke more than"十" ， aren't they almost the same?" 6.6 变通:阐释法(III) (参见4.16;5.13)原文中的“十”和“千”可以说是英译中的“障碍点”。译文1、译文2都是综合性地采取了阐释法:首先保留原汉字“十”和“千”，同时以括号的形式再进行释义。(另外，我们认为在处理下面第6自然段中的“陕西”和“山西”的时候、以及第9自然段中的“汪大夫”和“王大夫”也都可以统一地采取这种方法。) ,7, 有一天～他为了一件要紧的事～要搭火车到上海去。他从从容容地走到火车站～ 迟了两分钟～火车已经开走了。 译文1 One day, he wanted to go to Shanghai by train on urgent business. But he arrived at the railway station unhurriedly only to find the train already gone , because he was two minutes late. 译文2 One day, he was going to Shanghai for an urgent matter. He went to the station unhurriedly only to find the train had gone two minutes before. 6.7 语法与语义:不定冠词 原文“为了一件要紧的事”，译文1、2分别处理为on urgent business和for an urgent matter。其中抽象名词business/matter前究竟该不该使用不定冠词,英语名词分成具体名词和抽象名词两大类，汉语语法结构中不存在这个概念。在与英语具体名词对应时，汉语表示数量“一”的概念有时等值于英语不定冠词a(或an)，因为英语不定冠词a(或an)是从古英语an(相当于现代英语数词one)衍生而来的。但是，两者有时也并不等值，因为英语不定冠词a(或an)有时只是概括事物的一个类别，而不是特指某一事物。不使用冠词的情况也常常出现在一些由抽象名词构成的习语中，如on business是一个习语，其中是不需要使用冠词的----译文1使用on urgent business的根据可能来源于这一点。不过值得注意的是:抽象名称在表达一般概念的时候，其前面不加冠词。但是，如果抽象名词被赋予具体含义时、尤其是在被形容词修饰的时候，前面加不定冠词a。请比较下面3组例句:(王冠三.1980:58-61) [122] a.He was absent from school because of illness.他因病没去上学。 b.He has just revovered from a long illness.他久病后刚刚恢复健康。 [123] a.He received his friend with pleasure.他很愉快地接待了朋友。 b.It’s a great pleasure to meet you.见到你很高兴。 [124] a.Both work and play are necessary in our daily life.劳动和运动都是日常生活必需 的。 b.This beautiful carpet is really a work of art.这幅美丽的地毯真是一件艺术品。 根据这个语法原理，当习语on business只是作为一个抽象的“出差”的概念，business前是不加冠词的;但是当business被一个形容词修饰而赋予具体含义的时候，通常加一个不定冠词。所以，就原文“为了一件要紧的事”的两种译文而言，译文2的处理是合适的。 ,8, 他一面说～一面慢慢地走回家～心里总不明白为什么火车不肯等他两分钟。 8 译文1 He walked home slowly while talking to himself and kept puzzling over why the train hadn’t waited for him for two minutes more . 译文2 As he was saying this, he went home with slow steps, wondering why the train was not willing to wait for him for two minutes. 6.8变通:增补(过去完成时) 英语的过去完成时，表示过去某一时间之前就已经发生的动作或情况，也可以说是“过去的过去”。在对待“火车不肯等”这个动作的时间概念上，译文1增补了过去完成时态，译文2增补的是一般过去时态。因为整个语篇的时间基点是过去，如原文中的“说”“走”“明白”都是发生在过去，而“等”这个动作又是发生在这些动作之前，所以译文1的处理是比译文2更加合理一些。 9, 有一天～他忽然得了急病～赶快叫家人去请东街的汪医生。那家人急急忙忙地跑, 去～一时寻不着东街的汪大夫～却把西街牛医王大夫请来了。 译文1 One day he suddenly fell ill and immediately told one of his family to fetch Dr. Wang of East Street. The latter went in a hurry, but could’t find the physician on East Street. So he fetched instead Veterinarian Wáng of West Street. 译文2 One day, he suddenly fell ill, he told a man fetch a doctor in the east street. The man hurried there, but he could not find Dr. Wang(汪) and fetched back an ox doctor Wang(王) from the west street. 6.9 语法与语义:定冠词 “东街”与“西街”是一个专有地名，译文1翻译为East Street/ West Street;译文2翻译为the east street/ the west street。 关于街、巷、里、弄名称前面，如何使用冠词呢,街、巷、里、弄名称前面使用冠词与否，在英美以及其它使用英语的国家，对此没有绝对。一般来讲，“地名+Street/Road/Avenue”就可以了，不用冠词。中国的街道里巷英译时，一般只需要音译。名字的前面可以不使用冠词。至于带有东西南北等方向性的词汇时，可以斟酌具体情况处理。(王冠三.1980:33-34)据此，“东街”与“西街”的译名，我们认为以译文1的East Street/ West Street为妥为妥。 ,10, 差不多先生病在床上～知道寻错了人, 译文1 Mr. Cha Buduo, lying on his sickbed, knew that a wrong person had been brought home. 译文2 Lying on the bed, Mr. Almost knew that the man had brought back the wrong doctor, 6.10变通:语态转换(主动?被动) 原文“寻错了人”一句是主动句，“寻”的主语是“那家人”----这个主语都已经在上文的作用下而省略了。译文1将这个主动句转换成了被动句，译文2基本上为顺译，尽管译文2增补了主语。无论是从语篇信息还是从句中的信息来看，重点信息都是这个“大夫”，而不是“那家人”。所以，从原文的信息重点及英语被动句的使用情况来看，译文1的将原文主动转换为被动的处理更加合适一些。以下是一些情况类似的例子: [125]当下众人七言八语。,曹雪芹《红楼梦》,By now proposals of all kinds were being made. [126]两人走进大门～门上的人进去禀了主人～那主人走了出来。,吴敬梓《儒林外史》, 9 They entered the great gate, were announced by the gateman and greeted by the master of the house. ,11, 于是这位牛医王大夫走近床前～用医牛的法子给差不多先生治病。不上一点钟～ 差不多先生就一命呜呼了。 译文1 Thereupon, the veterinarian walked up to his bed to work on him as if he were a cow. Consequently, Mr. Cha Buduo kicked the bucket before an hour was out. 译文2 Thus the ox doctor Wang approached to cure his illness in the way he cured an ox's illness. Almost an hour later, Mr. Almost passed away. 6.11委婉与Euphemism 汉语委婉与英语Euphemism，都是各自修辞格中的一种，其局部对应的意义在于:在提 及令人不愉快的事物时用好听的言辞或令人愉快的方式，避免直截了当或触怒人。然而作为 一种词汇，汉语委婉与英语Euphemism却又是完全对应的，这是因为当人们不愿意说出禁 忌的名物或动作，而又不得不指明这种名物或动作时，就用动听的语词来代替，用隐喻来暗 示，用曲折的表达来提示。这些好听的、代用的或暗示性的词语就是委婉/Euphemism。(李 国南.1999，245-304)如原文中的“一命呜呼”，就是一个委婉语，用来代替“死”。译文 1对应为kicked the bucket，译文2为passed away。 在汉语中，作为“死”的委婉语有许多种形式，它们主要是:丧亡，丧命，亡故，身故， 去世，逝世，故世，谢世，弃世，过世，凋谢，毙命，毕命，殒命，殒灭， 殂落， 疾终， 长逝，长眠，永别，永诀，永眠，就木，故去，溘世，断气，咽气，合眼，闭眼，老了，没 了，挺腿，完蛋，呜呼，仙逝，仙游，千古，作古，归西，归天，大故，大行，大去，不在， 过去，牺牲，舍身，献身，就义，捐躯，殉职，殉难，殉节，效命，送命，阵亡，成仁，升 天，坐化，鹤化，圆寂，归寂，入寂，尸解，驾崩，夭折，夭亡，短折，等等。 在英语中，作为die的委婉语也有许多种形式，例如:be gone/ be no more/ breath one’s last/ depart (from this life)/ give up the ghost/ go aloft/ go hence/ go off/ go out of this world/ go the way all of flesh/ go the way all of the earth/ go the way of nature/ go to a better world/ go to glory/ go to grass/ go to heaven/ go to one’s last (或long) home/ go to one’s long rest/ go to one’s own place/ go to pot/ go to the ground/ go west/ join the (great) majority/ pass away/ pass on/ pop off/ pop off the hook/ be a goner/ kick the bucket/ return to dust/ take one’s last sleep/ turn one’s toes up/ have gone to sleep, but forever/ lay down one’s knife and fork/ one’s heart ceases to beat 等 等。 值得注意的是:汉英语中“死/ die”的委婉语都具有一定的语义色彩。也就是说，这些 委婉语一般都有其独特的含义与用法，用在不同的对象身上可以表达不同的感情色彩。如原 文中用“一命呜呼”来代替“死”，具有一定诙谐色彩，与英语中的kick the bucket比较对 应(见Longman词典bucket词条，kick the bucket意思是to die，是一条具有幽默语义色彩 的俚语)，而pass away只是die的一般性委婉语，显得规范有余，神似不足。 ,12, 差不多先生差不多要死的时候～一口气断断续续地说道:“活人同死人也…… 差……差不多～……凡事只要……差……差……不多……就……好了～…… 何……何……必……太……太认真呢?”他说完了这句格言～方才绝气了。 译文1 When Mr. Cha Buduo was about to breathe his last, he uttered intermittently in one breath, "Live or die, it’s 10 about ... about ... the same .... Whatever we do ...it's OK ... to be ... just ... just about right .... Why...why...take it...so seriously?" As soon as he finished this pet phrase of his , he stopped breathing. 译文2 When Mr. Almost was dying, he said at his last gasp discontinuously,"Living men and dead men are al...mo...st the same. In...doing...every...thing...it's better...to... be...almost...the...same. Why...sh...should...we be...so...so strict?" After he said this proverb, he took his last breath. 6.12反语与Irony (I) 汉语的反语与英语的Irony，都是修辞格的一种，它们无论在种类、作用还是运用方面 都基本相同。汉语的反语和英语的Irony，都是利用正话反说，或反语正说的表现形式，从 对立的意义上来使用词义，基本上都分以正作反、以反作正、或把引用辞作反语的三种形式。 (胡曙中.1994:353-354)原文中的“格言”一词是一个反语，是正话反说的形式，译文1 对译为pet phrase，译文2为proverb。根据《现代汉语词典》，格言，指的是含有教育意义 的成语，如“满招损，谦受益”，“虚心使人进步，骄傲使人落后”。原文中的所谓格言“凡 事只要差不多就好了，何必太认真呢? ”一句，其实并不是正面意义上的格言，而是受到作 者讽刺或嘲笑的反语。建议将“格言”对译为proverb，因为作为一个术语，proverb也可以 指那种广为流传、包含哲理与教育意义的话语;而pet phrase并不是一个术语，pet的意思 是a person(esp. a child )or thing specially favoured above others受宠爱的人或物,a pet phrase 也只能释义为a phrase which is specially favoured above others。所以，pet phrase不适宜对译 原文具有反语意义的“格言”。 ,13,他死后～大家都很称赞差不多先生样样事情看得破～想得通,大家都说他一生不 肯认真～不肯算帐～不肯计较～真是一位有德行的人。于是大家给他取个死后的 法号～叫做圆通大师。 译文1 After Mr. Cha Buduo's death, people all praised him for his way of seeing through things and his philosophical approach to life. They say that he refused to take things seriously all his life and that he was never calculating or particular about personal gains or losses. So they called him a virtuous man and honored him with the posthumous reverent title Master of Easy-Going. 译文2 After his death, everyone praised Mr. Almost's attitude in treating matters , for he could see through everything and never took things too hard. Everyone said he was not conscious all his life. He did not count, and he did not fuss about; he was really a man of virtue. Thus after his death, people gave him a religious name , calling him Master Yuantong. 6.13误用:时态 原文整个篇章，除了前4个自然段和最后一个自然段外，中间的几个段落都是对过去事 情的叙述。所以，从第1-4自然段和最后一个自然段可以采取现在时，而中间的几个段落可 以采取过去时。这里的语段为3个并行句组成，即“大家称赞……;大家都说…。大家给他 取法号……。”译文1以“ people all praised…They say … they called…”这样3个并行结构对 译，但是其中以“They say”对译“大家都说”,很显然以现在时say出现的谓语谓语动词为时 态误用，恰当的表达应该为过去时said，以便呼应前后的时态关系，形成“people all praised…They said … they called…”这样3个时态一致的并行结构。 ,14,他的名誉越传越远～越久越大。无数无数的人都学他的榜样。于是人人都成了一 个差不多先生。----然而中国从此就成为一个懒人国了。 11 译文1 His name has spread far and wide and become more and more celebrated with the passing of time. Innumerable people have come to follow his example, so that everybody has become a Mr. Cha Buduo. But lo, China will hence be a nation of lazybones ! 译文2 His fame spread far and wide, and the more his name spread, the more famous he became. Therefore, many, many people followed his example. As a result, everyone became a Mr. Almost. Thus China became a country of idlers ever since. 6.14不妥的增补 (参见2.14)刘宓庆(1999:194)认为，译文之所以需要增补(也包括省略与重复)， 是因为以下4个基本原因:(一)有助于意义的全面转换;(二)有助于语言结构的适度优 化 ;(三)有助于适度提高目的语的可读性;(四)有助于与接受者的交感及接受者的审 美参与。译文1在对译最后一句时增补了一个感叹词lo。我认为这个感叹词增补得并不是妥 当，有两点理由:(一)根据上述有关增补的4个基本原因，增补这个叹词的原因并不是十 分突出。也就是说，不增补这个感叹词也并影响译文对原文意义的全面转换，也并影响译文 的语言结构，也并不影响译文的可读性，同时也并不影响接受者的交感及接受者的审美参与。 (二)英语感叹词lo，是一个旧的表达方式，也就是说这个词是过时的表达，放在译文中有 点不合时宜。 12