通过翻译讲述中国故事——戴乃迭当代中国文学英译研究

Gladys Yang’s Way of Telling the Chinese Stories in Her Solo Translations of Chinese Literature

当前中国对外文化传播的战略任务,是通过各种文化输出方式来讲好中国故事,构建良好的中国形象。这意味着,当下中国文学外译研究的重要任务之一,就是考察中国故事由谁来讲,怎么讲和讲什么样的中国故事。本文聚焦翻译家戴乃迭的中国当代文学外译活动,考察戴乃迭的独译从题材内容到文本策略展现的特点,尝试回答以下问题:戴乃迭翻译了哪些中国文学作品?这些作品在处理中国文化元素的时候采取了什么样的翻译策略?戴乃迭的独译从内容到形式讲述了什么样的中国故事?研究发现,戴乃迭的当代中国文学英译从题材内容到翻译策略都展现出一定的特色,旨在为外国读者讲述多元而真实的、不一样的中国故事。

One of China’s current cultural agendas is to project a positive image of itself onto the world by effectively telling a Chinese story to the international society.In this endeavor,translation has been playing an essential role and one of the major tasks facing Chinese TS is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Chinese story told through translation.To tackle this task,attention must be focused on investigating what kind of Chinese stories have been told through translation,by whom,and in what manner.This article takes Gladys Yang and her translations of Chinese contemporary literature for a case in point.By addressing questions such as“What Chinese literary works were selected for translation by Gladys Yang?”,“How were the culture-specific items in these texts translated?”,and“What kind of Chinese stories did she tell with her translations?”,the study finds that her translations of contemporary Chinese literature tend to exhibit certain textual and strategic characteristics,enabling her to vividly portray a diversified cross-section of the Chinese society and faithfully represent the authentic life in contemporary China.It is through these achievements that she had added her distinct voice to the collaborative and on-going efforts to tell the Chinese story abroad through translation.