简析中国文化表现形式的可译度——以霍译《红楼梦》第五回判词为例

Brief Analysis of the Translatable Degree of Representations in Chinese Culture -Examples from Judgment of Chapter Five of The Story of the Stone

《红楼梦》第五回中的判词是一种独特的艺术形式,作者使用了谐音、拆字、藏字、典故、寓言和暗示等表现形式来隐喻人物命运,富有浓厚的中国文化特色。那么,富有中国文化特色的一些特殊表现形式如何译成英语,能否译成英语是一个见仁见智的问题。本文以霍译《红楼梦》第五回判词的表现形式为例,通过对判词英译的具体分析,认为:谐音和拆字不可译;典故和寓言的意思可译出,但其味道不可译;藏字可译出80%;暗示可100%译出,但需读者发挥联想才可领会到。

The judgment from Chapter Five of The Story of the Stone is a literary form of some unique kind. The author app lies suc h rep rese ntat ions as homophone, both components of a Chinese character, words hidden in a poem line, literary quotation, fable and allusion to imply the fates of beauties, full of rich flavors of Chinese culture. How or whether these can be translated remains controversial. After the analysis of the judgment translated by David Hawkes, this paper thinks that homophone and both components of a Chinese character are untranslatable. The connotative meanings of literary quotation and fable can be translatable, but their flavors can't be communicated. Words hidden in a poem line can be translated by 80%, and allusion can be translated by 100%, but the reader's association is required.