“官话”译经与文体革命

Translating Bible in Mandarin and Literary Revolution

晚清来华传教士在发现、学习和推广"北京官话"的过程中,特别是翻译"官话"和合本《圣经》的过程中,努力调和口语与欧化两种元素,创造出了"书面官话"这种新文体。译经小组的领导人狄考文曾预言:"毫无疑问,丰富的、正确的、高雅的官话将会成为中国口头和书面语的主流。"他们的工作确实对现代白话文产生了不容回避的影响。

Missionaries tried to mix spoken language and europeanized language when they learned and promoted Beijing Mandarin, especially when they presided over the translation of the widely circulated Chinese translation of the Holy Bible, The Chinese Union Version. Calvin Wilson Mateer, the chairman of the committee for Bible translation, said, ＂These is little doubt that ultimately Mandarin , enriched, corrected and dignified , will come to be the written, as well as the spoken, language of China. ＂ They innovated a kind of new written language - written Mandarin - and contributed the development of modern vernacular.