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《红楼梦》精彩译文片段
http://www.sina.com.cn 2006/11/14 20:03  英语周报大学版


《红楼梦》精彩译文片段

  摘选:王川

  《红楼梦》是中国的旷世巨著,曾改编拍成电影,家喻户晓。五、六十年代多位中外学者就曾经把《红楼梦》英译,介绍到西方国家,但由于种种问题,都只是节译而已。直至七十年代牛津大学的教授霍克斯(David Hawks),不惜辞去职务,专心埋首于全部《红楼梦》的英译。他的译笔功力深邃。下面是霍克斯在《红楼梦》英译本自序中的最后一段感人的话:

  “My one abiding principle has been to translate everything—even puns. For although this is, in the sense I have already indicated, an ‘unfinished’ novel, it was written (and written) by a great artist with his very life blood. I have therefore assumed that whatever I find in it is there for a purpose and must be dealt with somehow or other, I cannot pretend always to have done so successfully, but if I can convey to the reader even a fraction of the pleasure this Chinese novel given me, I shall not have lived in vain.”

  霍克斯译红楼梦,是希望大学翻译系的同学能观摩汉英翻译的佳品,同时更希望各位忠实读者能欣赏到地道英文。请大家欣赏曹雪芹的生花妙笔,然后研习霍克斯的精彩译文:

  “从头看去,越看越爱,不大一会,已看了好几出了。但觉词句警人,余香满口。一面看了,只管出神,心内还默默记诵。”

  “The more she read, the more she liked it, and before very long she had read several acts. She felt the power of the words and their lingering fragrance. Long after she had finished reading. When she had laid down the book and was sitting there rapt and silent, the lines continued to ring on in her head.”

  原文通畅易晓,雅丽芊绵,是地地道道的好文字;译文亦步亦趋,简洁流畅,从平凡中见功力,更觉难能可贵。

  下面是《红楼梦》中的一段对白:

  凤姐听了,眼圈儿红了一会子,方说道:“天有不测风云,人有旦夕祸福,这点年纪,倘或因这病上有个长短,人生在世,还有什么趣儿呢!”

  霍克斯译成合乎习惯用法的地道英文:

  Xi feng’s eyes became moist and for a moment she was too overcome to speak.

  “I know the weather and human life are both unpredictable,” she said at last, “but she’s only a child still. If anything should happen to her as a result of this illness, I think all the fun would go out of life!”

  再来欣赏贾宝玉与袭人的一段对话:

  宝玉听了这话,见她脸上气色非往日可比,便笑道:“怎么又动了气呢?”袭人冷笑道:“我那里敢动气呢?只是你从今别进这屋子了。横竖有人服待你,再不必支使我,我仍旧服侍老太太去。”

  The expression on her face as she uttered these words was angrier than he had ever seen her look before. He laughed, “Oh dear! Are you in a rage again?” Aroma laughed mirthlessly, “ It’s not for the likes of me to get into rages. But I wish that from now on you would stop coming into this room. After all, you have got people to wait on you elsewhere. You don’t really need my services. I shall back to serving Her Old Ladyship, like I used before.”


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