理论的创新与实践的支点——翻译标准“信达雅”的实践再审视

Theoretical Innovations and Practical Applicability:"Faithfulness," "Expressiveness" and "Elegance" as Translation Criteria in Action

随着翻译研究的不断深入以及翻译学的逐步确立与发展,关于翻译的一些基本问题似乎已经取得了相当的共识。但如果把目光从狭小的学术圈移开,投向广阔的实践领域,认真地对翻译实践中所发生的实际情况加以关注,我们会发现,翻译理论界看似已经解决的问题或统一的思想在翻译实践中并没有得到普遍的认可或贯彻。本文结合翻译理论界对"信达雅"的认识以及"信达雅"作为普遍流行的翻译标准在诸多领域的实践情况,从理论与实践的结合与互动层面对翻译标准"信达雅"进行重新审视。

Whereas translation scholars have succeeded in reaching agreements on many fundamental issues in their field,whether these consensuses are all relevant to and applicable in real-life situations of translation practices deserves a careful examination.A reality check reveals that many of the seemingly-solved problems or the seemingly-unified thoughts have not been generally recognized or implemented in the actual practices of translating.A case in point is the discrepancy between theorists' shared understanding of the tripartite criterion of' faithfulness,'' expressiveness' and' elegance' and its popular application in the assessment of translation in many practical fields.Taking notice of the gap,this paper seeks to rethink the criterion in question from a perspective that combines theoretical insights and practical imperatives and is sufficiently informed with the tension between the two.