论典籍翻译古雅韵味的补偿——以《三国演义》罗伯茨译本为例

On Making up Classic Elegance in Translation

典籍翻译是否应当传递古雅韵味?这是一个长期困扰翻译界的问题。本文回顾了中外近代与现代有关这一问题的论述,分析了相关翻译案例,论证了典籍翻译中古雅韵味补偿的必要性。通过比较汉英形态和语义特征的异同,在词法、句法、文化和美学层次分析译文的基础上,探讨了典籍翻译中古雅韵味补偿的可能性与局限性,并提出选词古而不僻、译文雅而不呆;句法求大同存小异;文化上能指与所指共存,异化与同化并举的二元补偿策略。

Transmission of ancientness in classics translation has long been a disputable issue. This paper reviews modern and contemporary theories on this topic, analyzes some translated classics texts, and shows the necessity of compensating for ancientness in classics translation. Morphological and semantic differences and similarities are compared between Chinese and English. Based on this, the possibilities and restraints of such compensation are studied through analysis at lexical, syntactical, cultural and aesthetic levels. A dualistic strategy is proposed aimed at archaic but not obsolete diction, elegant but not fossified texts; similarity in significant but not trivial syntactic structures; and coexistence of the signifying and the signified, foreignizing and domesticating of cultural messages.