時(shí)間:2021-02-23 09:47:46 作者:珠海市宇揚(yáng)翻譯咨詢服務(wù)有限公司
如何欣賞小說?這當(dāng)然是仁者見仁的問題。但小說的三要素已成為大家的基本共識(shí),即人物、情節(jié)、環(huán)境,無論中英小說,無一例外。由于中英語言具有巨大的差異,各自的文學(xué)作品自然呈現(xiàn)不同的特點(diǎn)。如果說,中文小說長于情節(jié)的設(shè)計(jì)和鋪陳,英語則以心理刻畫而取勝。相對(duì)來說,中文結(jié)構(gòu)隨意、靈活,詞匯豐富多彩,英語結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜、完整,詞匯相對(duì)簡單。
現(xiàn)以《長日將盡》的幾個(gè)片段加以說明,并欣賞譯者馮濤的譯文?!堕L日將盡》(The Remains of the Day)是2017年諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)獲獎(jiǎng)作家石黑一雄(日裔英國小說家)的第三部長篇小說,全篇以主人公的回憶展開和構(gòu)成,表現(xiàn)手法獨(dú)特,內(nèi)容虛虛實(shí)實(shí),語言優(yōu)美,結(jié)構(gòu)精妙,具有強(qiáng)大的感染力。
It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days. An expedition, I should say, which I will undertake alone, in the comfort of Mr Farraday’s Ford; an expedition which, as I foresee it, will take me through much of the finest countryside of England to the West Country, and may keep me away from Darlington Hall for as much as five or six days.
欣賞:英語句子綿長復(fù)雜,語體正式,從句、插入語比比皆是,與日常的簡明英語風(fēng)格迥異。欣賞英語小說,要點(diǎn)不在于看作者選用哪幾個(gè)詞(雖然也很重要),而在于作者以什么樣的結(jié)構(gòu)和手段組織句子,展示作者的獨(dú)創(chuàng)性。英語小說的結(jié)構(gòu)之美,既是我們欣賞之首要,也是我們閱讀之難點(diǎn),需要反復(fù)揣摩,仔細(xì)體會(huì)。
譯文:看來,這些天來一直在我心頭盤桓的那次遠(yuǎn)行計(jì)劃越來越像是真的要成行了。我應(yīng)該說明的是,這是一次叨光法拉戴先生的福特轎車的舒適旅行;一次依我看來將帶我穿越英格蘭眾多最優(yōu)美的鄉(xiāng)村盛景,去往西南諸郡的遠(yuǎn)行,而且會(huì)讓我離開達(dá)林頓府的時(shí)間長達(dá)五六天之久。
This was not the first time my employer had raised such a question; indeed, it seems to be something which genuinely troubles him. On this occasion, in fact, a reply of sorts did occur to me as I stood up there on the ladder; a reply to the effect that those of our profession, although we did not see a great deal of the country in the sense of touring the countryside and visiting picturesque sites, did actually ‘see’ more of England than most, placed as we were in houses where the greatest ladies and gentlemen of the land gathered. Of course, I could not have expressed this view to Mr Farraday without embarking upon what might have seemed a presumptuous speech. I thus contented myself by saying simply:
‘It has been my privilege to see the best of England over the years, sir, within these very walls.’
欣賞:句子結(jié)構(gòu)非常復(fù)雜,描繪出復(fù)雜的心理過程,同時(shí)展示出英語的結(jié)構(gòu)之美,讀者需要靜下心來,慢慢體會(huì)作者的匠心所在。
譯文:這不是我的雇主第一次提出這樣一個(gè)問題了;看來,這倒確實(shí)是讓他大為費(fèi)心的一件事。在這種情況下,當(dāng)我站在那個(gè)梯凳上的時(shí)候,我腦子里倒是浮現(xiàn)出了一個(gè)回答;大意是:雖然從旅行觀光、游覽鄉(xiāng)村盛景的角度上來說,我們確實(shí)對(duì)這個(gè)國家所知甚少,但是干我們這一行的,對(duì)于英格蘭的“見識(shí)”卻實(shí)際上比大多數(shù)人都更勝一籌,因?yàn)槲覀兙蜕硖庍@個(gè)國家名流顯貴云集的顯赫府第當(dāng)中。當(dāng)然了,我在向法拉戴先生表達(dá)這一觀點(diǎn)的時(shí)候,卻又不太可能不給人一種自以為是的冒昧感覺。所以我也只能滿足于簡單地如此答復(fù):
“這些年來,就在這幢府第當(dāng)中,我已經(jīng)盡享飽覽英格蘭的無限精華之特權(quán)了,先生?!?/span>
The fact that my attitude to this same suggestion underwent a change over the following days – indeed, that the notion of a trip to the West Country took an ever-increasing hold on my thoughts – is no doubt substantially attributable to – and why should I hide it? – the arrival of Miss Kenton’s letter, her first in almost seven years if one discounts the Christmas cards.
欣賞:英語喜用插入語,靈活多變,為作者提供了重要的表達(dá)手段,但有時(shí)會(huì)給讀者和譯者帶來不小的困難。如何處理這些插入語,譯者有不同的方法,簡言之:歸化或異化。在越來越開放的當(dāng)今中國,歸化翻譯受到一般讀者的歡迎,但異化翻譯同樣占有非常重要的地位。了解異國風(fēng)情是大多數(shù)人閱讀翻譯作品的初心,他們不僅想知道原文是什么意思,還想知道原文作者采用什么樣的形式來表達(dá)意思的。在可能的情況下,保留原文的插入語形式和順序,有利于全面展示原文作者的寫作風(fēng)格和敘述技巧,使得讀者多一個(gè)角度觀察異國文化。當(dāng)然,是否需要保留或調(diào)整插入語,不可一概而論。
譯文:而我在接下來的幾天里對(duì)這一建議的態(tài)度之所以發(fā)生了改變——的確,前往西南諸郡一游的打算在我的思緒中越來越揮之不去——無疑實(shí)質(zhì)上應(yīng)該歸因于——我又何必隱瞞呢?——肯頓小姐的來信,如果不算圣誕賀卡的話,這是幾乎七年來她寫給我的第一封信。
What had occurred was this. Once the transactions were over – transactions which had taken this house out of the hands of the Darlington family after two centuries – Mr Farraday let it be known that he would not be taking up immediate residence here, but would spend a further four months concluding matters in the United States. In the meantime, however, he was most keen that the staff of his predecessor – a staff of which he had heard high praise – be retained at Darlington Hall.
欣賞:同位語結(jié)構(gòu)在英語中十分普遍,起到詳細(xì)解釋和進(jìn)一步說明的作用,有時(shí)因?yàn)榫渥犹L,導(dǎo)致閱讀和理解障礙。為了順暢地閱讀英語原作,必須熟悉英語結(jié)構(gòu),對(duì)長句、插入語和同位語等做到語法清晰,剝絲抽繭,進(jìn)而正確理解并真正欣賞。
譯文:具體的情況是這樣的。房產(chǎn)交易一旦結(jié)束——這次交易使達(dá)林頓家族在長達(dá)兩個(gè)世紀(jì)之后,失去了對(duì)這座府第的所有權(quán)——法拉戴先生就知會(huì)我們,他不會(huì)馬上入住這里,而是將再花四個(gè)月的時(shí)間對(duì)美國的事務(wù)做一個(gè)了結(jié)。不過與此同時(shí),他又最殷切地希望前任東家的員工——他已經(jīng)聽說這批雇員具有極佳的聲譽(yù)——能夠繼續(xù)留任達(dá)林頓府。
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