Lecture 8 Literary Translation第8讲文学翻译.ppt

Lecture 8 Literary Translation Contents: Part 1 Fiction/ documentaire; Part 2 Prose; Part 3 Poem; Part 4 Drama Part 1 Fiction/documentaries; The famous works to be discussed 1.《骆驼祥子》 2.《红楼梦 》 3.《阿Q 正传》 4. Red Star over China 1.Two versions of 《骆驼祥子》 Rickshaw Boy, a version from Evan King, was published by Reynal Hitchcock in New York in 1945, nine years after the complete original novel appeared. Camel Xiangzi, a version of Shi Xiaojing, was published by Foreign Language Press in Beijing in 1981. 1945 美国人伊万·金翻 1981 施晓著 the advantage and disadvantage both for English and Chinese translators The advantage and disadvantage both for English and Chinese translators rendering Chinese works into English works: Comprehension Expression Name translation 祥子 Evan King’s rendition, “Happy Boy”, Shi Xiaojing’s “Xiangzi” Evan King’s rendition, “Happy Boy”, though partly convey the meaning of the name, has much to be desired. “Happy” in English is much lighter in style than Chinese “祥”.which should be rendered as“喜”.Hence, what the Chinese readers have in mind from“”can never be equal with what the English readers conceive of “Happy Boy”, with which Chinese would rather connect“喜子”. Of course, the transliteration of “Xiangzi” only makes a strange foreign name to the English readers, the original meaning of which has been sacrificed. It follows that disappears the writers ironic contrast between a fortunate name and an ill fate. Rendering of Idioms Ex.(1)嫁鸡随鸡，什么也甭说了。（p171） a. When you marry a rooster, you have got to be content to be a chicken like the rest.(Shi,p167) b. When you marry someone whatever he looks, you should be adapt to yourself. (Evan King,p145) “嫁鸡随鸡”is a classic “four-letter” idiom with strong Chinese local culture and color. It reveals that in the feudalism in Chinese man and woman gain unequal treatment as a fact .The idiom not only embodies the social situation but also with a sense of humor. Apparently, in Shi’s version, she used “marry”, “r