汉语典故英译的异化处理

A study of the English translations of Elegy for the Hibiscus Spirit

通过对我国古典文学名著《红楼梦》中最长的韵文《芙蓉女儿诔》中的典故英译的比较分析,说明在处理象典故这样一类富含文化背景的语言单位时,异化是极其合理必要的,而处理形式上最宜采取直译加注。

This paper is a tentative study of both Yang Xian-yi and David Hawkes＇ translations of the allusions in the longest rhymed verse Elegy for the Hibiscus Spirit in the famous Chinese classical novel A Dream of Red Mansions. The author holds that the best way to render Chinese allusions is by combination of the literal translation and the footnote, through which, not only the text itself but also the culture behind can get the best preservation as well as the most faithful rendering.