余华小说《兄弟》中的文化专有词英译策略——基于数据统计和实例分析的考察

Translation Strategies for Treating Chinese Culture-Specific Items in Yu Hua's Brothers:A Statistical and Sample Analysis

本文参照艾克西拉的文化专有词翻译策略分类法,采用数据统计与实例分析相结合的方法,考察了《兄弟》英译者采用的文化专有词翻译策略。结果表明:译者运用了文化保留类和文化替换类翻译策略,但稍倾向于前者;当他们推定英文读者能够理解文化专有词,一般采用保留策略;反之,则用替换策略。前者较多采用语言(非文化)翻译法,后者主要采用绝对一般化和归化译法。这种灵活变通的翻译策略有助于《兄弟》在英语世界的传播和接受。

Drawing on the taxonomy of translation strategies regarding ＂culture-specific items＂ developed by Javier Franco Aixel6, this article examines the basic translation strategies employed by the English translators of Yu Hua＇ s novel Brothers by looking at 100 examples taken randomly from the original text. It is found that both cultural conservation and substitution strategies are adopted to maintain a rough balance between the two, though the former is slightly more frequently used. Where a Chinese culture-specific i- tem is judged to be both comprehensible and acceptable to general English readers, it is often conserved in the English text mainly through linguistic （non-cultural） translation. Otherwise, it tends to be substituted chiefly through absolute universalization and domesticating translation. It is concluded that the translators＇ flexibility and resourcefulness in treating cultural references can facilitate the novel＇ s dissemination and re- ception in the Anglophone world.