恩古吉的自译行为与非洲文学中的自译现象

A study on Ngugi's self-translation behavior and self-translation in African literature

恩古吉将自己早期的英语写作称为一种翻译行为,即将自己的非洲经验无本心译为欧洲语言。为摆脱英语写作的束缚,发展本民族文学,恩古吉之后转而投入基库尤语写作,但受政治环境、文学市场等诸多因素影响,他又不得不将自己的民族语作品自译为英语。恩古吉的自译行为在非洲文学中有着代表性意义,以其为个案,观照非洲文学中的此类自译现象,有助于深入了解非洲本土民族文学所处的生存境况,进而探究非洲英语文学与非洲民族文学间的密切关系。

Ngugi describes his early writing in English as a translational action,through which he mentally translates his personal experience in Africa into the European language.To be unshackled from English writing and prosper African lit-erature,Ngugi later turns to write in Gikuyu language.Due to factors including political environment and literature mar-ket,however,he has to translate his works from mother tongue into English.Ngugi's self-translation is significantly rep-resentative in African literature.With that as an example,self-translation in African literature is studied to help us not only better understand the survival of the ethnic literature in Africa,but also discuss the close relation between African literature in English and ethnic literature in Africa.