中国古代天文学术语英译探究——以《梦溪笔谈》为例

Study on the English Translation of Astronomical Terms in Ancient China——Taking Brush Talks from Dream Brook as an Example

沈括所著《梦溪笔谈》记载了中国北宋时期先进的天文学科成果,书中包含数量众多、类型多样的古代天文学术语,术语的翻译是科技典籍翻译和对外传播的关键。该文以王宏译版《梦溪笔谈》为语料来源,收集并归类书中的天文学术语英译案例,采用案例分析的方法对所收集的六类天文学术语英译策略展开研究。研究结果表明,针对不同类别的古天文术语,译者分别采用以套用规范术语、音译加注释、借词创译、释译说明为主的翻译策略。研究结果以期为我国古代天文学术语英译实践提供策略参考,为古代科技典籍英译提供一定借鉴,促进中国传统科技文化对外传播。

Brush Talks from Dream Brook authored by Shen Kuo records the achievements in astronomy of the Northern Song Dynasty in China.The book contains a variety of ancient astronomical terms,and their translation is key to the translation and spread of scientific classics.The study takes Brush Talks from Dream Brook translated by Wang Hong as the source of corpus,collecting and categorizing examples of English translations of astronomical terms,and applies a case analysis to explore the English translation strategies for six categories of collected terms.The findings suggest that,the translator adopts different translation strategies for various astronomical terms including employing the standard English terms,transliteration with annotation,creative translation by borrowing English vocabulary and paraphrase for illustration.It is hoped that the findings provide strategic reference for the English translation practice of astronomical terms in ancient China,guide the translation of scientific classics,and promote the international spread of China's traditional scientific and technological culture.