论中英诗歌的翻译原则

On Principles in Poetic Translation

翻译是自由的,但也不是任意的,而是要遵守一定的原则和方法的;而诗歌的翻译也有其特殊的原则。新的实用型翻译原则应是:先理解,再翻译,再理解。意思就是先博览群书,理解好了原作才能翻译;认真翻译完全文之后,在全面理解的基础上还要再进行全面的修改。错译的原因全在于译者对原文的理解不到位。据此原则理解好了原诗的三个层面的意思之后再进行翻译的话,才能将原诗的意思翻译到位。不仅要理解原文的深刻内涵,也要理解到原作的修辞风格、语言风格等。因此,除了要尽量翻译出原作的内涵之外,还要尽量做到译文和原文的语言风格对等。

The translation work is free, but not arbitrary. Instead, it should stick to some principles or skills. The poetic translation should obey its own unique principle. The new and practical principle should be ＂Understanding First, Translating Next and Understanding Again＂, which means that a translator should read as widely as he can, and then begin the translation after he has better understanding of the original work, and finally revise the whole version carefully. All the wrong versions originate from his poor understanding of the work. So based on this principle, he can understand both the deep meanings and the styles in rhetoric and words. Only in this way can he exactly express the superficial and implied meanings of a poem in his version.