也谈Cabbages and Kings的汉译问题

On the Chinese Translation of the Title of English Novel Cabbages and Kings

文章从翻译功能论视角对欧·亨利英文短篇小说集名Cabbages and Kings的两种译文进行解读。译文《白菜与皇帝》一定程度上影响了交际功能的实现,却完成了文化传递的功能。《东拉西扯》实现了翻译交际功能,却牺牲了文化传递的功能。因此,两种译文各有得失,无对错之别。另外,随着东西方文化交流逐渐加强,译文《白菜与皇帝》必将被越来越多的读者接受。

This paper probes into the Chinese translation of Cabbages and Kings,the tile of an English novel by O. Henry from functional translation theory. It points out that the Chinese version “东拉西扯”conveys the connotative meaning of the title well although it fails to preserve the original cultural image, and the version“白菜与皇帝”preserves the original cultural image successfully although it doesn’t transmit the connotative meaning well. Therefore, the two versions have their merits and demerits respectively and should not be simply judged with right or wrong. Moreover, it has to be noticed that more and more people will prefer“白菜与皇帝”with further development of English-Chinese culture exchange.