碩士學(xué)位論文-許淵沖古詩英譯中的創(chuàng)造性叛逆.doc

1 摘要摘要 中國古典詩詞不僅是中國文學(xué)的瑰寶 還是語言使用的典范 并且是中華 燦爛文化的美麗載體 要讓全世界享受這份文化遺產(chǎn) 就必須有效地對它們進(jìn) 行譯介 許淵沖先生在中國文學(xué)翻譯方面獨(dú)領(lǐng)風(fēng)騷 是當(dāng)代中國譯學(xué)界的杰出 人物 他的許多譯著 尤其是中國古典詩詞的英譯 被看作是詩歌翻譯方面的 典范 文學(xué)翻譯實(shí)績使許淵沖先生無愧為當(dāng)代中國文學(xué)翻譯史上中外著作互譯 的杰出開拓者 創(chuàng)造性叛逆為翻譯理論提供了一個全新的概念 由于詩歌翻譯的特殊性和 復(fù)雜性 創(chuàng)造性叛逆在詩歌翻譯中表現(xiàn)得尤為明顯 本文從譯者主體性理論入手 分析許淵沖古典詩詞英譯中的創(chuàng)造性叛逆 通過深入分析譯者的審美意識 接 受美學(xué) 文化轉(zhuǎn)向 主體性發(fā)揮的局限性等幾個方面結(jié)合譯者的創(chuàng)造性叛逆 對許淵沖古典詩詞的翻譯進(jìn)行了研究 文中仔細(xì)闡述了譯者主體性和創(chuàng)造性叛 逆的辯證關(guān)系 譯者主體性導(dǎo)致了創(chuàng)造性叛逆的產(chǎn)生 而創(chuàng)造性叛逆又是譯者主 體性的表現(xiàn)形式 通過許淵沖詩歌翻譯的個案分析 進(jìn)一步論證了由于中國古 典詩詞語言的特殊性 創(chuàng)造性叛逆在英譯中是不可避免也是必不可少的 本文主要分為六個部分 首先介紹了古典詩詞英譯的文化背景及其研究現(xiàn)狀 第一章分析了譯者主體性的具體內(nèi)涵 及其在翻譯過程中的體現(xiàn)和限制因 素 為后來正確評價許淵沖的翻譯理論與實(shí)踐打下理論基礎(chǔ) 第二章對創(chuàng)造性叛逆的概念做了詳細(xì)的介紹 并分析了在翻譯過程中譯者 的身份 既是創(chuàng)造者又是主體者 接著進(jìn)一步闡述了由于文化和語言的障礙 以及中國古典詩詞語言的特殊性 創(chuàng)造性叛逆在英譯中是不可避免的 第三章介紹了許淵沖的生平以及他的翻譯理論 第四章是本文的重點(diǎn) 從譯者主體性的角度 結(jié)合許淵沖英漢詩歌翻譯個案 分析 探討在詩歌翻譯中與創(chuàng)造性叛逆行為相關(guān)的問題 旨在挖掘兩者間的關(guān)系 及其對翻譯實(shí)踐的重要意義 以期更具體 直觀地理解其概念 更好地發(fā)揮其作 用 2 最后一部分是對本文的總結(jié) 關(guān)鍵詞 譯者主體性 創(chuàng)造性叛逆 許淵沖 詩歌翻譯 3 Abstract Classical Chinese poetry is not only a treasure of Chinese literature a model of the use of language but also the beautiful carriers of splendid Chinese culture Only with effectively carrying out the translation can the cultural heritage be appreciated by the rest of the world Xu Yuanchong is a prominent translator in Chinese translation history Many famous works translated by him especially classical Chinese poetry translation have been regarded as elaborate works and models for the study of poem translation The achievements on literature translation accomplished by Xu Yuanchong who well deserves the outstanding pioneers between Chinese and foreign literature translation in history of contemporary Chinese literary translation Creative treason has afforded a new concept for translation theory Translation is a kind of creative treason which is particularly prominent in the translation of classical Chinese poetry because of its refined form and richness in imagery Based on the theory of translator s subjectivity the author aims to analyze the creative treason in Xu Yuanchong s classical Chinese poetry translation This thesis combines the analysis of translator s aesthetic ability reception aesthetics cultural turn and the restrictions on translator s subjectivity with creative treason and then makes a study of Xu Yuanchong s classical Chinese poetry translation The dialectical relationship between translator s subjectivity and creative treason was elaborated translator s subjectivity leads to the emergence of creative treason which is also the manifestation of translator s subjectivity Based on the case studies of Xu Yuanchong s classical Chinese poetry translation this thesis further demonstrates creative treason is inevitable in C E translation due to the unique qualities of classical Chinese poetry language This thesis is divided into six parts The thesis first introduces the background of classical Chinese poetry translation and the present research 4 The first chapter makes a detailed analysis of the specific connotation of translator s subjectivity its embodiment in the process of translation and restrictions on translator s subjectivity This analysis lays a theoretical foundation for later evaluation on Xu Yuanchong s translation theory and practice Chapter Two introduces the concept of creative treason and analyses the status of translator in the translation process both the creative person and subject Then this chapter further elaborates creative treason is inevitable in the translation of classical Chinese poetry due to cultural and linguistic barriers as well as the unique qualities of classical Chinese poetry language Chapter Three describes Xu Yuanzhong s life and his translation theory Chapter Four is the focus of this thesis From the perspective of translator s subjectivity the author makes case studies of Xu Yuanchong s classical Chinese poetry translation attempts to explore the acts of creative treason related issues in the process of classical Chinese poetry translation and aims to probe into their relationship which exerts great influence on translation practice The last part is a summary for this thesis Key words translator s subjectivity creative treason Xu Yuanchong classical Chinese poetry translation 5 CONTENTS 摘要 1 ABSTRACT 3 CONTENTS 5 INTRODUCTION 7 CHAPTER ONE THE THEORY OF TRANSLATOR S SUBJECTIVITY 10 1 1 The Connotation of Translator s Subjectivity 10 1 1 1 Definition of Translator s Subjectivity 10 1 1 2 The Creativity of the Translator 12 1 1 3 The Personality of Translator 13 1 1 4 The Aesthetic Concept of Translation 15 1 1 5 From the Perspective of Reception Aesthetics 17 1 2 The Cultural Turn in Translation Studies 18 1 3 Manifestation of the Translator s Subjectivity 21 1 3 1 The Translator s Subjectivity in the Source Language Text 21 1 3 2 The Translator s Subjectivity in the Target Language Text 22 1 4 Restrictions on Translator s Subjectivity 23 1 4 1 Restriction from the History of the Translator 24 1 4 2 Restrictions of the Original Text 25 1 4 3 Restrictions of the Target Reader 26 CHAPTER TWO THE TRANSLATOR S CREATIVE TREASON 29 2 1 What is Creative Treason 29 2 2 The Translator as a Creative Person and as a Subject in the Translation Process 31 2 3 The Necessity of Creative Treason in the Translation of Classical Chinese Poetry 33 2 3 1 The Barriers of Culture and Language 33 2 3 2 The Uniqueness of Language of Classical Chinese Poetry 34 2 3 2 1 Uniqueness in Form 34 2 3 2 2 Uniqueness in Sound 35 2 3 3 Summary 37 CHAPTER THREE ABOUT XU YUANCHONG 39 3 1 The Life and Experience of Xu Yuanchong As a Translator and Translation Theorist 39 3 2 Achievements in His Translation Theories 45 3 2 1 The Three Beauties Beauty in Sound Form and Meaning 45 3 2 2 San Hua Equalization Generalization and Particularization 46 3 2 3 San Zhi Comprehension Appreciation and Admiration 48 6 CHAPTER FOUR CASE STUDY CREATIVE TREASON IN XU YUANCHONG S TRANSLATION OF CLASSICAL CHINESE POETRY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRANSLATOR S SUBJECTIVITY 50 4 1 Dialectical Relations between Subjectivity and Creative Treason 50 4 2 Creative Treason on Linguistic Form and Structure Level 51 4 2 1 Creative Treason on Lexicon Level 51 4 2 1 1 Creative Translation 52 4 2 1 1 1 Creating words 53 4 2 1 2 Adding Words for Better Rhyme 54 4 2 1 2 1 Auxiliary Word 55 4 2 1 2 2 Ending Words 56 4 2 1 2 2 1 Adding End word 56 4 2 1 2 2 2 Repeating the End words 57 4 2 1 3 Paregmenon 同源詞 57 4 2 1 4 Repetition 59 4 2 1 4 1 Reduplicative Words 疊詞 疊字 59 4 2 1 5 Pun 61 4 2 2 Creative Treason on Sentence and Content Level 63 4 2 2 1 Parallel Structure 63 4 2 2 2 Subordinate Clause 64 4 2 2 3 Translating One Sentence into Two 65 4 2 2 4 Run on line 66 4 3 Creative Treason on Culture Level 68 4 3 1 Particularization 深化 70 4 3 1 1 Proper Nouns 70 4 3 1 2 Type Names of Ci Poetry 詞牌名 72 4 3 1 3 Idiom 73 4 3 2 Generalization 淺化 74 4 3 3 Transliteration 75 4 4 Summary 75 CONCLUSION 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY 79 7 Introduction For China s civilization classical Chinese poetry can undoubtedly be said to be a shining pearl in the Chinese literature The Chinese people can appreciate the profound conception of classical poetry the beautiful rhythm catchy sound of loud reading etc However due to culture and language barriers very few foreigners are really able to understand and appreciate these classical poems Therefore it is an urgent that more and more classical Chinese poems should be translated to allow more foreigners to understand China and the Chinese culture Classical Chinese poetry is not only a treasure of Chinese literature a model of the use of language but also the beautiful carriers of splendid Chinese culture Only with effectively carry out the translation can the cultural heritage be appreciated by the rest of the world In addition more and more foreigners come to realize the artistic charm of the Chinese classical poetry and also made a lot of commendable attempts Since the 18th century lots of classical Chinese poems have been translated into English by many famous foreign translators such as Herbert A Giles Ezra Pound and Witter Bynner However the translations of these poems tend to be distorted or to lose a lot of aesthetic ingredients At the same time numerous Chinese translators are making great efforts as well to carry forward this brilliant Chinese culture Professor Xu Yuanchong contributes a lot to the translation of Chinese literature with his comprehensive and systematic translation works covering Shi Ci Qu and Fu 詩詞曲 賦 poetry almost of all dynasties The three core concepts of translation theories nature of translation translatability and translation equivalence Cai Yi 1995 6 7 are deeply held by thousands of scholars While the translation of classical Chinese poetry appears to be more challenging due to its uniqueness in sound form and meaning How to better convey its essence and beauty in the target language and whether classical Chinese poetry is translatable remain controversial in the world literati In general traditional translation theories are source oriented so the early 8 researches took the comparison between original texts and translated versions as the research object Researches on translation have long focused on such principles as faithfulness and equivalence at the linguistic level and the product of translation and also have considered translation as a static product The faithfulness oriented translation criteria highlight the status of the original texts However translation is not simply a product but a complex process Modern translation studies have already established translation as a process Roger T Bell defined the translation process as the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a second language Bell 1991 6 Eugene Nida maintains that translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style Nida 1969 12 However in 1970 a significant shift in translation studies when the prescriptive research approach gave way to the descriptive one when the source text faded in front of the target one and when translation was reevaluated at the cultural level rather than at the linguistic one The cultural approach sees translation in a much broader view and maintains that translation contains many social cultural factors and should be studied in the whole social cultural system The modern translation studies although differ in many ways have generally accepted translation as a dynamic process The breakthroughs of cultural turn happened in 1990 when Bassnett and Lefevere edited Translation History Culture and called for the culture turn in translation studies Pen Wenguo 2002 Scholars like Even Zohar Andre Lefevere Gideon Toury and Susan Bassnett attach great importance to cultural factors Translation is a kind of creative treason which is particularly prominent in the translation of classical Chinese poetry because of its refined form and richness in imagery Creative treason was first brought forward by Robert Escarpit The French writer Valery using creative misunderstanding pointed out this phenomenon before Robert Escarpit In China Xie Tianzhen the well known scholar 1992 first proposed the creative rebellion and elaborated separately from the media recipients and acceptance given to the environment After that many scholars such as Xu Jun 9 Sun Zhili Yang Wuneng Yuan Li etc made great contributions in this area For the Untranslatability of Poetry Xu Yuanchong put forward the re creation theory When talking about creative treason Sun Jianchang said that the main value of creative treason in translation is its creation Both views are affirmed creative value in translation Sun Jianchang also pointed out that treason is a by product of creative treason successful creative treason is a value added translation It is precisely because of the translator creative treason that the art life of the original work can last the cultural exchange can be achieved thus producing a certain influence on the literary system of target language culture and participating in the construction of the source language culture system This is why this thesis is to study the creative treason in the translation of classical Chinese poetry 10 Chapter One The Theory of Translator s Subjectivity Throughout history both translation and interpretation have played a crucial role in the cultural exchanges among different countries However the study of translation as an academic subject has only really begun in the past fifty years Munday 2001 5 For a long time theorists attached great importance to translation at the linguistic level but translators as one of the subjects in translation activity have always been regarded as matchmakers servants stonemason traitor dancer with fetters cultural porter translation machine and so on In traditional theories translator s subjectivity is seldom discussed and suffers from invisibility caused by traditional translation views And it is obvious that translators subjectivity have scarcely been acknowledged Serious studies on this problem did not appear on considerable scale until 1980s when a significant shift of focus in the literary field was introduced to translation studies namely the cultural turn In the past thirty years translation studies have shifted the focus from the object of translation to the translator as the manipulator of translation from one to multi faceted approach Therefore the subjectivity of the translator is reached from invisibility to being completely recognized So more and more attention has been paid to comprehensive thinking on the relationship between translation and politics the level of culture and ideology Under these circumstances translation is no longer regarded as a simple inter linguistic transfer but a literal act and a peculiar cultural act Accordingly translations are recognized to be the consequences of the influence of many factors such as translators subjectivity 1 1 The Connotation of Translator s Subjectivity 1 1 1 Definition of Translator s Subjectivity The translator as a subject of translation effectively displays his subjectivity in the process of his reading and representing and his personal characteristics are to 11 some extent reproduced in his version Recently lots of translation theorists have been paying more attention to the study of translator s subjectivity and they have given various definitions of it In A Dictionary of Translation Studies a more specific definition to translators subjectivity is given as follows It is also regarded as the subjectivity of translating if the translating subject refers to translators It refers to the essential idiosyncrasy of translators in translation activity that is to say the translating subject plays his or her dynamic role in manipulating or transferring the original text the object Such idiosyncrasy makes the essential energy show out in translation activity Translators subjectivity is also the subjective dynamics of translators which finds expression in overcoming the objective conditionality Fang Mengzhi 2004 83 In 1997 Gao Ning proposed in his paper On the Subjective Status of the Translator that The translator is not an obedient receptor he or she is in reality a dynamic and active receptor and an aesthetic re creator The translator changes the values held by the author and transforms the source text making it either better or worse in the effect The translator s subjectivity is reflected from two aspects one is the subjectivity in interpreting the source text and the other is the subjectivity in the aesthetic re creation in the formation of the target text Gao Ning 1997 7 8 Zha Mingjian and Tian Yu once defined translators subjectivity in an article as follows The translator s subjectivity is the initiative the translator undertakes in the process of translation on the premise that he or she respects the source text The basic features of the translator s subjectivity are his or her cultural consciousness personal characters and cultural and aesthetic creativities Zha Mingjian which has been fully played in literary translation Treason means that literary translation puts the original text in a new unexpected linguistic system and creative means it bestows the original text with a new appearance so that it can be communicated with readers in a new culture system and gains a prolonged life In the history of world literature it is creative treason that makes many literary works get across culture communication and accepted by new cultural systems As creative treason is unavoidable in the process of translation a translator should be a good creative author In literary translation the translator should reproduce the spirit of the original text as if the original author wrote his works in another language This is the zenith of perfection in translation that many translators have pursued 1 1 3 The Personality of Translator Personality is a person s stable psychological characteristic that differentiates any other people Since no translator can avoid a certain degree of personal involvement in his work Nida 1964 154 attitude of the translator towards the source text inevitably intrudes in the expression process Although most of the translations have something in common they convey slightly different sense The attitude of the translators decides the choice of different words and forms It is in this 14 sense that the translator enjoys great freedom Understanding original text writer s personality normally helps understand what he or she wants to express in the source text Nevertheless the capability character belief ideal and world view can be ranked to the uniqueness of personality However whether a translator should maintain his her personality or not has been argued for a long time Some believe translators should recurrence source text writer s style and avoid forming translators own style others insist translator as the translation subject should have some cre