翻译策略与文化失真——《红楼梦》中17个“奶奶”一段三种英译比较

Translation Strategies and Their Distortion of Culture:A comparison of three English versions of a Hong Lou Meng passage with 17 nai-nai's

文化失真,指由于不同语言各自的文化特征所导致的、翻译过程中出现的某些文化内涵在不同程度上的丧失现象。以《红楼梦》第27回丫鬟小红与王熙凤的一段话为例。在这段话中,聪明伶俐的小红一连使用了17个含有“奶奶”的称谓词,将我国传统文化中的“礼貌与尊敬”现象表现得淋漓尽致。本文采用韦努蒂以文化为导向的“异化”与“归化”的翻译策略划分,对比分析这段话的三种英译(乔利、霍克斯、杨宪益),试图找出译文中文化失真与翻译策略的对应关系。

Cultural distortion, referring to the false account of cultural connotations in translation, turns to be most common in cross-culturaI translation of literature. Based on Venuti＇s dichotomy of translations into domesticating and foreignising, this paper sets out to investigate the relationship between translation strategies and their distortion of culture by comparing three English versions of a Hong Lou Meng passage with 17 nai-nai＇s, titles ofhonour for the wife of a young master in a rich or official family in traditional Chinese culture.