《史记》与《汉书》中的动物隐喻英译分析

Analysis of the Metaphors of Animals in the English Translated Versions of Shi Ji and Han Shu

隐喻往往具有民族文化内涵的沉淀,其翻译涉及到不同文化、概念和语言框架之间的转换。动物隐喻翻译是翻译研究中一个重要领域。本文以Peter Newmark的隐喻翻译理论为框架,基于Burton Watson、William H.Nienhauser,Jr.的《史记》英译本和Burton Watson、Homer H.Dubs的《汉书》英译本,对其中的动物隐喻英译方法进行分析,以探究中国典籍中动物隐喻英译的方法。研究发现,译者在译文中主要采用了以下策略:再现原文隐喻意象;保留原文隐喻意象,不添加释义;直译部分隐喻意象,改写其他意象或添加释义;把隐喻改为明喻;明喻加解释性翻译;用源语隐喻意象的上义词替换该意象;省略源语隐喻意象,通过改写译出隐喻的文化语义等。

As metaphors tend to embody ethnic cultural connotations, the translation of metaphors involves the reformulation of metaphorical flames between cultures, concepts and languages. Metaphor of translation is under-researched in translation studies. This paper takes the metaphor translation strategies proposed by Peter Newmark as the theoretical framework and examines the English versions of Shi Ji by Burton Watson and William H. Nienhauser, Jr., and of Hart Shu by Burton Watson and Homer H. Dubs with the aim of exploring the appropriate English translation strategies of metaphors in Chinese classics. The research reveals that the following strategies are employed by the translators： reproducing the same metaphorical image in the TL; using the same metaphor without explicating its sense; adopting literal translation for some metaphorical images, rewriting other images and adding the sense; converting metaphor to simile without adding the sense; converting metaphor to simile and adding interpretative sense; substituting the metaphorical image with its superordinate; deleting the metaphorical image and explicating its cultural connotations.