是否有可能“超越”原作——谈英语格律诗的汉译

Is It Possible to Be "Better" Than Originals——On the Translation of Metrical Poems into Chinese

忠实于原作乃翻译的根本。意图“超越”的结果通常是牺牲准确。但在格律诗汉译中可能有一种例外。译文如果相当准确地反映了原作的基本格律特征,那么由于汉语一字一音的特点,就有可能在排印形式上“超越”原作,更清楚地显示出那些特征和不同原作之间的异同。这不但展现了千姿百态的格律美,甚至还勾勒出格律上的某些演化。

To be true to the original is the basis of translation. The attempt to make translation text 'better' than the original often jeopardizes accuracy. But the translation of metrical poems into Chinese may be an exception. If the Chinese version reflects accurately enough the fundamental metrical traits of the original, it may, thanks to its monosyllabic characters, be better than the original in a visual form, which more clearly illustrates the traits and the similarities or differences between different poems. This not only displays the immense variety of metrical beauty, but also delineates a certain evolutionary path.