Cybernetics应该翻译成什么?——基于维纳著作在中国翻译、传播的移时考察

What Should We Translate"Cybernetics"?A Time-shifting Investigation Based on the Translation and Dissemination of Norbert Wiener's Works in China

维纳创造的Cybernetics一词在中国被译为“控制论”,这种译法虽然很好地传递出维纳希望在生物体与机器之间建立信息反馈机制的目的,但还存在一定的问题。一是遮蔽了维纳企望实现人体与机器融合,进而造福人类、社会的美好愿景;二是与数学分支control theory使用同一中文译名,引起了不必要的混淆。在考察维纳创造Cybernetics造词意图、当时译者选择“控制论”这种译法的历史原因,以及分析维纳的Cybernetics理论对现今技性科学发展影响的基础上,提出将Cybernetics一词意译为“人机合成学”的充分理由。

The term Cybernetics coined by Norbert Wiener is translated as"Kong Zhi Lun"(it means""The Theory of Control")in China.Although this translation well conveys wiener's goal of establishing an information feedback mechanism between organisms and machines,but it has certain problems.First,it covered wiener's vision of realizing the integration of human body and machine to benefit mankind and society.Second,it causing unnecessary.confusion by uses the same Chinese translation with a branch of mathematics.On the basis of examining Wiener's intention of creating Cybernetics,the historical reasons why the translators chose"Kong Zhi Lun",and analyzing the influence of Wiener's Cybernetics to the development of modern technoscience,this paper puts forward sufficient reasons for paraphrasing the word Cybernetics as"Ren Ji He Cheng Xue"(it means"The Study of Man-machineSynthesis").