硕士学位论文-许渊冲古诗英译中的创造性叛逆.doc

1 摘要摘要 中国古典诗词不仅是中国文学的瑰宝 还是语言使用的典范 并且是中华 灿烂文化的美丽载体 要让全世界享受这份文化遗产 就必须有效地对它们进 行译介 许渊冲先生在中国文学翻译方面独领风骚 是当代中国译学界的杰出 人物 他的许多译著 尤其是中国古典诗词的英译 被看作是诗歌翻译方面的 典范 文学翻译实绩使许渊冲先生无愧为当代中国文学翻译史上中外著作互译 的杰出开拓者 创造性叛逆为翻译理论提供了一个全新的概念 由于诗歌翻译的特殊性和 复杂性 创造性叛逆在诗歌翻译中表现得尤为明显 本文从译者主体性理论入手 分析许渊冲古典诗词英译中的创造性叛逆 通过深入分析译者的审美意识 接 受美学 文化转向 主体性发挥的局限性等几个方面结合译者的创造性叛逆 对许渊冲古典诗词的翻译进行了研究 文中仔细阐述了译者主体性和创造性叛 逆的辩证关系 译者主体性导致了创造性叛逆的产生 而创造性叛逆又是译者主 体性的表现形式 通过许渊冲诗歌翻译的个案分析 进一步论证了由于中国古 典诗词语言的特殊性 创造性叛逆在英译中是不可避免也是必不可少的 本文主要分为六个部分 首先介绍了古典诗词英译的文化背景及其研究现状 第一章分析了译者主体性的具体内涵 及其在翻译过程中的体现和限制因 素 为后来正确评价许渊冲的翻译理论与实践打下理论基础 第二章对创造性叛逆的概念做了详细的介绍 并分析了在翻译过程中译者 的身份 既是创造者又是主体者 接着进一步阐述了由于文化和语言的障碍 以及中国古典诗词语言的特殊性 创造性叛逆在英译中是不可避免的 第三章介绍了许渊冲的生平以及他的翻译理论 第四章是本文的重点 从译者主体性的角度 结合许渊冲英汉诗歌翻译个案 分析 探讨在诗歌翻译中与创造性叛逆行为相关的问题 旨在挖掘两者间的关系 及其对翻译实践的重要意义 以期更具体 直观地理解其概念 更好地发挥其作 用 2 最后一部分是对本文的总结 关键词 译者主体性 创造性叛逆 许渊冲 诗歌翻译 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 同源词 57 4 2 1 4 Repetition 59 4 2 1 4 1 Reduplicative Words 叠词 叠字 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 词牌名 72 4 3 1 3 Idiom 73 4 3 2 Generalization 浅化 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 诗词曲 赋 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