《三国演义》中的丧葬文化专有项英译“失真”——以邓罗、罗慕士、虞苏美英文全译本为例

The “Distortion” of the Funeral Culture in English Translation of San Guo Yan Yi—Taking the Three Full English Translations of C. H. Brewitt-Taylor, Moss Roberts and Sumei Yu as Examples

中华传统文化意蕴深厚,其中丧葬文化更是特色鲜明,记录并保留这些珍贵传统文化的载体之一便是文学作品。《三国演义》中丧葬文化相关的描写与表达在推动情节发展及人物塑造上都发挥着不可忽视的作用。本研究从微观字词层面出发,以邓罗、罗慕士及虞苏美英文全译本中丧葬文化的英译状况为研究对象,对《三国演义》英译本中丧葬文化信息的翻译进行对比研究,也从母语为源语言的评论者角度观察了一些译者的误读与误译,并对此提出了建议。从语言背后的文化信息传递效果看,三译本中对丧葬文化翻译均存在文化意象的失落。就本研究而言,译者的时代特征、翻译目的及文化背景差异是译文中出现文化“失真”的根本原因。本文旨在通过个案研究对其他传统文化外译研究提供借鉴,从而更好地促进中国传统文化的对外传播。

Chinese traditional culture has profound implications, among which funeral culture is distinctive. One of the carriers to record and retain the precious traditional culture is literary works. The description and expression of funeral culture in San Guo Yan Yi play an important role in promoting plot development and characterization. This study takes the three full English translations of C. H. Brewitt-Taylor, Moss Roberts and Sumei Yu as examples to make a comparative study of the funeral culture in the English translation of San Guo Yan Yi from the word level. From the perspective of native speakers, the study observes some translators’ misreading and mistranslations and puts forward some suggestions. In terms of the effect of the funeral cultural information transmission behind the words, there is a loss of cultural images in the translation of funeral culture in all three translations. In this study, the characteristics of translators’ times, the purpose of translation and the differences in cultural background are the fundamental reasons for the “distortion” of culture in the translation. The purpose of this study is to provide a reference for other studies of foreign translations of traditional cultures, thereby promoting the transmission of Chinese traditional culture.