外来术语的引进与学术本土化——以soft power的汉语翻译之争为例

On Introduction and Localization of Technical Terms——Through Analysis of Competing Chinese Versions of Soft Power

外来术语的引进不仅仅是一个简单的翻译问题。soft power这一术语进入中国之后被翻译为"软实力"、"软权力"和"软力量",甚至引起了学者间的持久争论。从术语学的角度看,对soft power的翻译违反了术语的单义性和单名性原则,没有充分考虑来源语中该术语的概念体系和目标语中该术语的概念体系,以及这两个概念体系之间的对应。从翻译学的角度看,解构主义给翻译的异化原则提供了理论支持,使译者对来源语术语的忠诚度减弱,自我创作成分增加。从意识形态的视角看,学术本土化为通过术语翻译的方式进行所谓的创新提供了道义支持。

The introduction of foreign technical terms is more than a translation question. The term soft power has had three competing Chinese versions since it was introduced to China, and has caused debate among scholars from different fields. From the perspective of terminology, the translators have broken the rules of monosemy and mononymy, and failed to consider the concept system of the original term, the concept system of its Chinese equivalent, and the correspondence between the two con- cept systems. In terms of translation theories, deconstructionism supports the domestication principle, and thus reduces faithfulness to the original term, and increases freedom of translators. From the perspective of ideology, enthusiasm for academic localization provides moral support for the so-called academic innovation in the introduction of foreign technical terms.