布迪厄社会学视角下《高兴》的英译研究

Study on the English Translation of Happy Dreams from the Perspective of Bourdieu’s Sociological Theory

《高兴》是贾平凹的长篇小说之一,作者耗费三年心血,据说曾五易其稿。其英译版由著名汉学家韩斌(Nicky Harman)翻译,Amazon Crossing(亚马逊跨文化出版事业部)发起并出版。不同于中国文学海外译介的国家主导输出模式,《高兴》的译介模式属于典型的西方商业出版社主动“拿过去”。基于法国著名社会学家布迪厄的核心概念工具——场域、惯习及资本,从宏观与微观层面对《高兴》的英译活动进行考察。外部文学场域的变化介入了翻译选材过程;译者的社会经历内化为一定的翻译惯习,转而影响其采用以目标语读者为导向的翻译策略;《高兴》的成功英译还离不开译者的象征资本及出版商Amazon Crossing的经济资本的助力。

Gao Xing,a novel by Jia Pingwa,is the result of three years of laboring work and about five serious drafts.It is translated into English by Nicky Harman and published by Amazon Crossing.Different from the national project of introducing Chinese literature overseas,the English translation for Happy Dreams,headed by a western commercial publishing house,is a typical mode of importing Chinese literature by western peers.Based on the celebrated French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory,especially his concepts of field,habitus and capital,this paper analyzes the translation practice of Happy Dreams both from the macro and micro aspects.The external literature field has changed and thus influenced the original text selection.Nicky’s habitus,which is the product of her social experiences,affected her to employ the reader-oriented translation strategy.Finally,the symbolic capital of the translator,and abundant economic capital possessed by the publisher Amazon Crossing contribute a lot to the successful reception of Happy Dreams overseas.