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诗歌的翻译

时间:2022-04-03 理论教育 版权反馈
【摘要】:第十节 诗歌的翻译在中英文互译中,诗词翻译备受推崇。北京大学外国语学院辜正坤教授认为诗歌翻译大体上分成四种情形:①全可译因素;②大半可译因素;③小半可译因素;④不可译因素。我们认为这是对诗歌翻译比较客观的认识。每个人对诗的认识和喜爱程度是不一致的。

第十节 诗歌的翻译

在中英文互译中,诗词翻译备受推崇。一方面,诗的语言高度精练,具有渗透力;另一方面,诗又代表理想,是人类思想交流的写照。

诗,可不可译,能不能译,在翻译界历来莫衷一是,各执一词。暂且不顾及问题争论的结果,从无数翻译家翻译的大量诗歌作品,并且对我们产生了很大影响的现实状况来看,诗歌的翻译是可为的,是有积极意义的。正如诗歌翻译前辈钱春绮先生所说:“今天要读莎士比亚和拜伦,就去学好英文,明天要读歌德和海涅,又要去学好德文,后天要读雨果和波德莱尔,又得学习法文,谁有这么多的精力和时间?如果要读哈菲兹,还得学波斯文,那不是更难的事?……如果照这种要求,那么,爱好外国诗的读者,一辈子也不能欣赏到各国名诗人的作品。因此,尽管诗是无法翻译或难译,我们还是要知难而进,把世界各国诗人的诗作译成汉语,介绍给我国的读者。”

关于这个问题,不仅仅涉及到诗。就文学作品翻译的可译与不可译,不少人发表了自己的看法。人们试图在翻译中寻求“等值”、“等效”,然而从目前看,这只是一种理想。巴尔胡达罗夫说:“百分之百的等值,只是翻译工作者应当力求达到、但永远也达不到的最高标准。”“完全的等值翻译与其说是现实,不如说是理想”。纽马克说:“在我看来,‘等值’与其说是任何翻译的目的,还不如说是一种可取的结果。”“一个文本的文化色彩越浓、时空距离越远,等效就越不可思议”。奈达也说:“信息流失是任何交流过程中必然会有的。”“翻译中绝对的对等是永远不可能的。”朱光潜先生说:“有些文学作品根本不可翻译,尤其是诗(说诗可翻译的人大概不懂诗)。大部分文学作品虽可翻译,译文也只能得原文的近似。绝对的‘信’只是一个理想,事实上很不易做到”。也许,诗是既可译,又不可译的最好的例证。

我们对诗的翻译有这样的认识:第一,诗是可以翻译的,但未必能全译;第二,诗是不可以随便翻译的,更不是什么人都能翻译的。北京大学外国语学院辜正坤教授认为诗歌翻译大体上分成四种情形:①全可译因素;②大半可译因素;③小半可译因素;④不可译因素。我们认为这是对诗歌翻译比较客观的认识。

我们之所以认为诗是可译的,但未必能全译,有这么两点理由:第一,诗有独特的构成因素,如格律、诗韵、节奏等,这些因素在中西文化中是大体相同的,至少是可以通过变通获得的。第二,诗的语言高度精练,达意往往在语言之外,尤其是诗的神韵,或者说味道;中西语言表意各有所不同,例如,英语严密,句子组织常靠形合;汉语简练,句子组织常靠意合。像元曲大家马致远的《天净沙·秋思》就是一个典型的例子:“枯藤老树昏鸦,小桥流水人家,古道西风瘦马。夕阳西下,断肠人在天涯。”在语言相互转换过程中,无论从形式上还是意义上失去一些信息都是可能的,故未必能全译。诗又是不可以随便译的,更不是什么人都能译的,这种观点可能招致一些人的批评,甚至我们在翻译课中也在教授学生译诗。其实,如果从学术的观点来谈这个问题的,或许有这样两个原因:第一,对于诗的理解仁者见仁、智者见智,如果不深入研究,用心感受,信手拈来就译,容易误译并导致误读,产生不良后果;第二,译诗者须有深厚的中西语言文化功底和语言驾驭的能力,如不如此,见诗就译,那只是把玩诗,而非译诗。翻译家黄杲炘在《从柔巴依到坎特伯雷——英语诗汉译研究》一书中有这样的观点:诗,“译难,评更难”。真正的译诗,要接受评论,其难度可以想象。再者,随便译诗,也容易造成对文化瑰宝的损害。英国汉学家格雷厄姆就曾以一些具体的译例的失败为由证明中国人不能搞汉籍英译,这虽然是谬论,但也是由于我们某些译例的不成功所造成的。

每个人对诗的认识和喜爱程度是不一致的。我们一些编者对翻译的兴趣,源自四川师范大学的老师黄新渠教授的一本《英诗欣赏》。黄先生以英译《鲁迅诗歌》在港澳和欧洲享有盛誉,又以《红楼梦》简本英译誉传美洲。1981年,欧中协会推举中国黄新渠、英国李约瑟为该会荣誉会员,以表彰二人为中外文化交流所做出的卓越贡献。辜正坤教授在为黄教授的新作《译海浪花》所作的序中是这样评价黄新渠教授的:“新渠先生译文,以清丽畅达为旨归,或协韵或白体,因声就律,因势力造词,不泥信以硬涩为自美,不削义以合韵为方规;崇尚自然之道,力劈斧凿之痕。以余翻译标准多元互补论观之,可谓开译界自然门一洞天也。”请看黄教授译莎士比亚十四行诗第18首:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’slease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed,

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,

Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

我是否可以把你比作夏天?

你却比夏天更加可爱、更加温婉;

狂风会吹落五月的嫩蕊,

夏季的租期未免又太短暂;

有时苍天的巨眼照得炽热,

他那金色的容颜常被乌云遮暗;

受到机缘或自然变化的践踏,

每一个芳颜难免也会零落凋残;

但你永恒的夏季决不会消逝,

也不会失去你典雅秀丽的容颜;

死神也难夸口你在他的魔影里游荡,

你将在不朽的诗篇里与时间共存。

只要人类还在呼吸,还能用眼鉴赏,
我这诗就活着,并赐给你生命。

再看顾子欣先生、屠岸先生的译文:

我不知能否将你比作夏天?

你比夏天更温和也更可爱。

狂风有时将五月的娇蕾摧残,

而夏天的尽期很快就会到来。

有时苍天的巨眼照得太热,

有时他金色的脸庞又黯淡无光;

每一种美都会凋零,或夭折,

或随着时序代谢自然衰亡。

但你的夏天永远不会消陨,

永远不会丧失你赋有的美貌,

死亡也不能夸耀你徘徊其影,

你将在我诗中与时光共存不老;

只要还有人呼吸,眼睛能看见,
我的诗就活着,使你生命绵延。

(顾子欣编译:《英诗300首》,国际文化出版公司,1996年)

能不能让我来把你比拟作夏天?

你可是更加温和,更加可爱:

狂风会吹落五月里开的好花儿,

夏季的生命又未免结束得太快:

有时候苍天的巨眼照得太灼热,

他那金彩的脸色也会被遮暗;

每一样美呀,总会离开美而凋落,

被时机或者自然的代谢所摧残;

但是你永久的夏天决不会凋枯,

你永远不会失去你美的仪态;

死神夸不着你在他影子里踯躅,

你将在不朽的诗中与时间同在;

只要人类在呼吸,眼睛看得见,
我这诗就活着,使你的生命绵延。

(屠岸译:《十四行诗集》,上海译文出版社,1981年)

稍加比较,就会发现黄新渠先生“开译界自然门一洞天”的译风跃然纸上。

一、以诗译诗

诗歌是文学作品中感情最强烈和语言高度凝炼的一种形式,中英文诗词的互译很难,因为汉英两种语言在词法、句法、文化背景等方面都存在着极大的差异。17世纪英国诗歌翻译家约翰·邓汉姆爵士有句名言:“Poetry is of so subtle a spirit, that in the pouring out of one language into another, it will evaporate.”他说:“翻译诗不单是从一种语言译成另一种语言,而是从一种语言里的诗译成另一种语言里的诗。诗具有一种微妙的精神,当你把他从一种语言移入另一种语言的时候,那种精神会完全消失。你如果不把一种新的精神加入译文,那么,译出来的东西除了一堆渣滓外就什么也没有了。每种语言都有其特殊的风韵与神采,它的词汇之所以有生命与生气,就是这个缘故。”意大利有句著名的谚语:“译者,叛逆也。”我国著名翻译家翁显良先生有个观点:“文学翻译必须有打破原文表层结构的自由”,“如果没有艺术效果,那还算什么文学翻译?”在诗歌翻译中,不但要充分理解原诗的内容,还要领会诗人的思想感情和言外之意,传达原作的意境,译者必须通过探索和实践,找到诗歌翻译的途径。

美国著名诗人弗罗斯特认为:诗就是“在翻译中失去的东西”(what gets lost in translation)。他说:“什么是诗?不能翻译的东西就是诗。”这句话未免太绝对,但充分表明了诗歌翻译的困难。究竟我们应如何译诗?许渊冲先生在《如何译毛主席诗词》和《翻译的标准》两篇文章中提出,“要尽可能传达原诗的意美、音美和形美,以及忠实和通顺是翻译的必需条件”。辜正坤教授在《中西诗鉴赏与翻译》一书中提出了汉诗的“五象美”理论,并分析了汉诗的视象美、音象美、义象美、事象美和味象美。我们认为这些是诗歌翻译的基本目标。

近年来,诗歌和译诗形成了一些派别,如散体派(采用自由诗体和白描手法,又称直译派)、诗体派(强调“以诗译诗”,将汉语格律诗译为英语格律诗,又称意译派)、仿译派(又称改译派)、意象派(强调诗的意象和节奏)。自由体的优点是便于做到语言高度准确、凝练、流畅,不受格律的限制,不足之处是容易译成分行的散文,缺乏诗词的音乐美、节奏美;格律体的优点是容易做到形式美、音韵美、节奏感强,但不足的是束缚性大,在翻译中往往因过分追求格律体的形式而削足适履,因韵害意的情况容易发生。

吕叔湘先生在《中诗英译比录》序中指出:“以诗体译诗之弊,约有三端。一曰趁韵……二曰颠倒词序以求协律……三曰增删及更易原诗意义。”诗体翻译“即令达意,风格以殊,稍一不慎,流弊丛生”。刘英凯先生更是撰文列举了韵体译诗的六个弊端:①超码翻译,添枝加叶;②减码翻译,削足适履;③破坏原诗的含蓄美;④抑义就辞,更易原文;⑤译文重复累赘;⑥译文风格同原文背道而驰。

诚然,以诗译诗会导致一定程度上的“因韵害义”,这基本上是无法回避的。但是“以诗译诗”,从翻译实践的角度来看,仍然是一种很好的方法。因为诗词及诗词的翻译都要讲究一定的形式、格律和音韵,以诗译诗能够从形式上保证诗体的基本形式不受到损害,使这种文学形式不至于经过翻译后在形式上有大的改变。例如在译英语格律诗上,黄杲昕就倾向于使用一种与原作格律相对应的标准。他说:“要取得译诗的成功,只有在忠实于原作内容的前提下,让译诗的形式与原作格律特点有一种对应关系,而且这种关系越密切越好。”相反,“如果译诗中置原作的形式于不顾,那么译文即使对原作的内容反映得再充分,其缺陷也是极大的,因为格律可以说是诗的一半,丧失了这样的一半,译诗就很难说成功。”他打比方说“格律之于诗歌,一如衣着或戏装之于穿衣人或舞台演员。”至于如何避免所出现的问题,鲁迅先生对诗歌的理论阐述也许会对我们有所帮助。他是这样认为的:“……先要有节调,押大致相近的韵……”(《书信·致窦隐夫》);“诗须有形式,要易记、易懂、易唱、动听,但格式不要太严。要有韵,但不必依旧诗韵,只要顺口就好。”(《书信·致蔡斐君》)黄新渠教授认为:“今天的汉诗英译主要是给当代的读者看的,译文是否也可以现代化一点?我认为不妨用现代英语甚至口语来译中国诗词,不一定要用古体诗译。”(黄新渠:《汉译英基本技巧》,四川人民出版社,1998年)可见诗词的翻译也是发展着的,需要我们在一个基本的准则下多方面进行探索和实践,其目的是更好地弘扬文化,促进交流。

下面,我们通过对一些诗词的翻译的对比来体会诗词翻译中的形美、音美和意美,同时,来比较诗词翻译中格律和音韵的得失。先看唐代诗人崔护的《题都城南庄》:

去年今日此门中,

人面桃花相映红,

人面不知何处去,

桃花依旧笑春风。

Giles的诗体译文是这样的:

On this day last year what a party were we!

Pink cheeks and pink peachblossoms smiled upon me;

But alas the pink cheeks are now far far away,

Though the peachblossoms smile as they smiled on that day.

许渊冲先生对这首诗有两种译文:

In this house on this day last year, a pink face vied

In beauty with the pink peach blossoms side by side.

I do not know today where the pink face has gone,

In vernal wind still smile pink peach blossoms fullblown.

(摘自《翻译的艺术》)

This very day last year, oh, at this very place,

A pretty face outshone the flowers of peach trees.

I do not know today where shines the pretty face;

Only the pretty flowers still smile in vernal breeze.

(摘自《唐宋诗一百五十首》)

孙大雨先生的诗体译文:

On this same day last year within this door,

A comely face and peach blooms together did glow.

She I’ve admired has gone I know not where,

Th’peach blooms are smiling in th’breeze to blow.

(摘自《古诗文英译集》)

马红军是这样译的:

Within this gate on this same day last year,

Cheeks and peachflowers outbloomed each other here;

Her very cheeks can now be found no more,

Tho’ peachflowers smile in spring winds as before.

(摘自《翻译批评散论》)

陈清贵译:

On this day last year within this gate,

Peach flowers out bloomed your pink cheeks;

Who knows today where you have gone,

Only the flowers still smile in the breeze.

(摘自《翻译与翻译教学》)

Giles是诗人,以诗译诗,自然流畅,韵味十足,充分表现出原诗的节奏、意境。但美中不足的是,由于Giles无法逾越文化的差异,不具备理解中国传统文化尤其是诗词的底蕴,对原诗的理解出现了偏差,如将第一句的含蓄委婉译得直截了当,破坏了诗的风格和意境,第二句太直白,又未能表现出该句传递的意境,终究留下遗憾。

许渊冲先生是译诗高手,有着深厚的中国传统文化的积累,对于该诗的理解和文字的选择要更贴近原诗。但是第一种译文中的第一、第二句译文从诗的形式上略显冗长、平淡,full-blown似乎有专为押韵而选用之嫌,有不确切之感。

孙大雨先生的译文很直白,贴近原诗,但最后一句“in th’ breeze to blow”中的to blow略显多余,似乎是为了押第二句“did glow”的韵,有“因韵害义”之感。

马红军的译文采众家之长,用一个“outbloomed”将“相映红”译得传神。但第二句中的“here”仍有为押韵之嫌,略显多余。

中国诗词含蓄,或寓景于情,或见景抒情,往往言有尽而意无穷。为了表现原诗的意境、神韵,或为了谐韵,往往需要对译文进行增添。陈清贵译文力求在形式和意义上对等,并尽量尝试避免超码和减码现象。

下面再看杜秋娘的《金缕衣》:

劝君莫惜金缕衣,

劝君惜取少年时。

花开堪折直须折,

莫待无花空折枝。

杜秋娘的《金缕衣》被人们广为传诵,具有劝诫人们爱惜光阴的积极意义。下面我们来看三种译文:

(1)Wise Age to Youth

Wear your gold and silken garments;

Store not one of them away;

Flaunt them in your years of beauty,

Ere the world grows old and gray.

Pluck the blossoms in the springtime,

When they open to the sun,

For you’ll find but withered branches,

Then bright youth and love done.

(Tr. Henry H. Hart)

(2)The Goldthreaded Robe

Covet not a gold threaded robe,

Cherish only your young days!

If a bud open gather it,

Lest you but wait for an empty bough.

(Tr. Witter Bynner)

(3)Advice to the Young(Ancient tune:Jin Lu Yi)Du Qiuniang

Value not the old tune and while your time away;

Cherish the prime of youth before your hair turns grey.

When flowers are in full bloom,

Pluck them as you may.

Do not wait until they fade;

You’ll only take a twig away!

(Tr. Huang Xinqu)

第一种翻译的译者是美国加州大学的哈特教授,他曾将我国古典文学名著《西厢记》译成英文(Romance of West Chamber)。《金缕衣》是中国古代的曲调名。第一句“劝君莫惜金缕衣”是劝诫人们不要沉溺于《金缕衣》一类的歌曲,玩物丧志。哈特教授将其误解为“爱惜华美的衣服”,译为“Wear your gold and silken garments”,实为误译。第四句“莫待无花空折枝”喻要珍惜年轻时如花的时光(an idle youth, a needy age),以免“少壮不努力,老大徒伤悲”。哈特教授的这句译文表意含糊,不明朗。

第二种译文由威特尔·宾纳翻译。宾纳以自由体译中国古诗闻名,他曾与一华人学者合译《唐诗三百首》,于1929年在美国纽约出版。宾纳的译文发挥了以自由体诗译诗的优势,译文简洁明快,但综观全诗,译得较直白,缺乏节奏感、音乐感。

第三种译文由黄新渠教授所译。黄教授精通中英两种语言和文化,对诗的把握恰如其分。根据他自己对该诗的理解,将标题译为“Advice to the Young”,又加一个副标题“Ancient tune:Jin Lu Yi”做说明,使英文读者容易理解《金缕衣》的含义。译文通过增加一部分词,在表意和谐韵上更加合理、传神,自然流畅,与原文相得益彰。

二、透彻理解

中国古诗词的表意含蓄,往往意在言外。作者常运用语言的表面含义抒发情怀;运用艺术手法拓展词语的意义,以激发读者的想像,增添作品的魅力。双关语、隐喻、典故等的使用在中国古诗词中就大量存在。这些艺术手法一方面增加了作品的感染力,另一方面也加深了作者抒发感情的力度。要传达这些弦外之音,除了要熟谙中国的传统文化,透彻理解作品中艺术手法的内在表意,还必须有对于两种语言的对比和运用能力。本来,汉语和英语这两种语言从语音、语法到意义都存在极大的差异,语言的变更必然造成语言韵律感的流失,而诗词是讲究内在的情绪和韵味的,随着它们在无可奈何中失去,原作中的精神气韵必然受到影响。对于中国人译诗词尚且可能如此,对于处于完全不同语言文化背景下的外国译者,其难度可想而知。这涉及到“译入”和“译出”的问题。以李商隐的《无题》和陆游的《钗头凤》为例加以比较分析,也可以发现中国古诗翻译中译入和译出都面临困难。

先看李商隐的“春蚕到死丝方尽”。

相见时难别亦难,
东风无力百花残。
春蚕到死丝方尽,
蜡炬成灰泪始干。
晓镜但愁云鬓改,
夜吟应觉月光寒。
蓬山此去无多路,
青鸟殷勤为探看。

先列出收集到的几种译文:

(1)Hard it was to see each other--

harder still to part!

The east wind has no force,

the hundred flowers wither.

The silkworms die in spring,

when her thread is spun;

The candle dries its tears,

only when burnt to the end.

Grief at the morning mirror—

cloudlike hair must change;

Verses hummed at night,

feeling the chill of moonlight…

Yet from here to Paradise,

the way is not so far:

Helpful bluebird,

bring me news of her!

(Tr. Innes Herdan,《中诗英韵探胜》)

(2)Difficult it was for us to meet, and difficult to part.

Now the east wind has failed, and all the flowers wither.

The silkworm labors until death its fine thread severs;

The candle’s tears are dried when it itself consumes.

Before the mirror, you will fred to find those cloudlik trees changing,

Making rhymes at night, you’ll find the moonlight has grown chill.

The fairy mountain Peng is not so far from here:

Might the Blue Bird become our gobetween?

(Tr.张廷深、魏博思,《唐诗一百首》)

(3)For ever hard to meet, and as hard to part.

Each flower spoils in the failing East wind.

Spring’s silkworms wind till death their heart’s threads:

The wick of the candle turns to ash before its tears dry.

Morning mirror’s only care, a change at her cloudy temples:

Saying over a poem in the night, does she sense the chill in the moon beams?

Not far, from here to Fairy Hi

Bluebird, be quick now, spy me out the road.

(Tr.A. C. Graham,《朝圣者的灵魂》

(4)Meeting chance is hard to get and parting time’s hard to bear;

The east wind languid, faded flowers appear everywhere.

Silkworm’s threads, like men’s longing thought, end only when death comes;

Candles shed tears like men till they burn to their bottoms.

In the morning mirror you grieve at your dishevelled hair;

In the moonlight, humming poems, you stand in the cold air.

From here to Mount Penglai it is not a long way to go;

Let Bluebird be my messenger to tell you all my woe.

(Tr. 曾炳衡,《唐诗三百首》)

(5)It’s difficult for us to meet and hard to part,

The east wind is too weak to revive flowers dead.

The silkworm till its death spins silk from love sick heart;

The candle burned to ashes has no tears to shed.

At dawn she’d be saddened to see mirrored hair grey;

At dusk she would feel cold while crooning by moonlight.

To the three fairy hills it is not a long way.

Would the blue bird oft fly to see her on the height?

(Tr.许渊冲,《翻译的艺术》)

(6)So rarely do we meet,

Our parting never sweet.

The eastern winds now fail,

And all the flowers pale.

Till silkworms their threads expend,

Their labor o’love won’t end;

Till candles burn out and die,

Their tears will never dry.

At dawn in the glass I’d stare,

And grieve for your changing hair;

By night when I sadly croon,

You’d feel the chilly moon.

And I could wish’tere near,

To Mount Penglai from here;

And Bluebird oft flew o’erhead

To see you in my stead.

(Tr.马红军,《翻译批评散论》)

该诗前四句浅显易懂,第三句中“丝”同“思”为双关,指诗人的思念之情;后四句中隐含典故,如“青鸟”为王母跟前的信使,专司音讯往返。

Innes Herdan的翻译,前四句处理较好,但第三句的双关语未充分传达,第五、六句指代不清,与原诗相比,感染力降低。

张廷深、魏博思的译文较忠实于原作,但韵味略感不足,节奏感不强。第三句双关未传递出。

A. C. Graham的译文,对于诗的理解存在一定的差异,如最后一句译为“Bluebird, be quick now, spy me out the road.”和原文就有差距。同样对双关的传递未能很好地解决。

曾炳衡的翻译十分注重对双关的传递,明确译出了第三句中的双重含义。但译文在风格上与原诗的含蓄有很大差别,显得过于直白。

许渊冲先生的翻译采取了较为灵活变通的方法,效果较好。他自己对其译文有一段说明:

第一句“相见时难别亦难”中有两个“难”字,前一个是“难得”,后一个是“难舍难分”,译文用了两个不同的词,两个都是用了“等化”的译法。第二句“东风无力”和“百花残”之间加了一个动词,译成东风无力使凋残的百花复活的意思,这是原句表层所无而原句深层可有的内容,用的是“深化”的译法。第三句的“丝”译成silk,同时又把“思”译成love sick,而sick和silk不但音似,而且形近,可以说是通过“音美”和“形美”来传达原文双关的“意美”,用的也是“深化”的译法。第五、六句对仗工整,译文通过“形似”来传达原句的“意美”。第七、八句中有两个神话故事,这就只好用“浅化”的译法了。

(《翻译的艺术》)

后来,许先生在其《唐宋诗一百五十首》中,对原译作了修改:

It’s difficult for us to meet and hard to part,

The east wind is too weak to revive flowers dead.

Spring silkworm till its death spins silk from lovesick heart;

And candles but when burned up have no tears to shed.

At dawn I’m grieved to think your mirrored hair turns grey;

At night you would feel cold while I croon by moonlight.

To the three fairy mountains it’s not a long way.

Would the blue bird oft fly to see you on the height?

(Tr.许渊冲,《唐宋诗一百五十首》)

从对比中可以看出许渊冲先生对该诗所做的深层次的思考,以及对于诗译的精雕细琢。

最后一种诗译,马红军增强了译文的节奏感,同时也注意双关语的翻译,整个诗译处理得较为恰当。

我们来看陆游的《钗头凤》:

 钗头凤 
   陆游
红酥手,黄藤酒,
满城春色宫墙柳,
东风恶,欢情薄,
一怀愁绪,
几年离索。
错,错,错!
春如旧,人空瘦,
泪痕红邑鲛绡透。
桃花落,闲池阁。
山盟虽在,
锦书难托。
莫,莫,莫!

以下是三种译文:

(1)Tune:Phoenix Hairpin(Ch’at’oufang)

Pink creamy hands,

Yellowlabeled wine,

Spring colors filling the city,

Willows by the Palace walls.

East wind hateful,

One heart full of sad thoughts,

How many years of separation!

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Spring is the same as before,

She grows thin in vain;

Red are the stains of tears

that have soaked the mermaid silk scarf.

Peach blossoms fall,

Pond and pavilions quiet:

Though mountain vows remain;

Letters of brocade can’t be sent.

No more, no more, no more!

(Tr. James J. Y. Liu,Sunflowers Splendor 1975)

(2)Phoenix Hairpins

Pink and white hands likes roses and rice cake!

Cups full of golden pools of wine!

Today the willows are blooming

By the palace wall. The Spring wind

Brings me no pleasure and I

Hate it, My bowels are knotted

With bitterness. I cannot

Lossen the cord of the years

Which has bound us together.

The Spring is still the Spring

Of other days, but I am

Empty, withered with pain.

My rouge is streaked with tears, my

Dress is stained with tear drops.

I no longer have the strength

To finish this letter and

Wrap it in cloth of gold. When

You receive it, everything

Will be over forever.

(Tr. Kenneth Rexroth,One hundred poems from the Chinese,1971)

(3)To the tune Chai Tou Feng(tune:Phoenix Hairpin)

You offered me a cup of golden wine,

With your pink creamy hands,

The whole town was flooded with spring,

Palace walls were covered with willows green.

Alas! The cruel east wind broke our love!

Full of deep sorrow,

I’ve tasted the separation,

For long years after our parting,

A great error, a great error,

It’s a great error beyond repair!

The beauty of Spring remains,

Yet you’re thinner with lovesickness.

And your kerchief is soaked through

With tears stained with rouge.

Now peach blossoms have fallen;

Deserted are the ponds and pavilions.

Only our love pledges remain true,

But no way to pass our love letters through.

Everything’s over, everything’s over,

My everlasting regret is beyond cure!

(Tr.Huang Xinqu)

第一种翻译是美国芝加哥大学刘若愚教授(Prof. James J. Y.Liu)的译文,收录在美国印第安那大学1975年出版的《睽华集》中。译文选词简洁明了,句子流畅,读来易上口。但有几处译文不太妥帖,如将“山盟”译为mountain vows,“锦书”译为letters of brocade就十分不妥。

第二种译文是由美国诗人肯尼斯·瑞克索斯所译,录于其翻译出版的《中国诗一百首》之中。该书印刷次数很多,说明有一定的影响。但是,就这首《钗头凤》来看,译者对中国古诗理解尚不够准确、透彻,也缺乏一定的文化底蕴,误译错译现象很多。如:“一怀愁绪,几年离索”误译为“My bowels are knotted / With bitterness. I cannot / Lossen the cord of the years / Which has bound us together.”就不知所云。再如将“桃花落,闲池阁”误认为是陆游家中的桃花和池榭无人观赏,译为:“The peach trees are in blossom / Over my room”就显得错误了。因为,这里的桃花、闲池指的是沈园的亭台楼阁与桃树无人观赏。这首诗译中还有几处因理解有误导致的翻译错误,就不一一列举了。

第三种译文是由黄新渠教授所译。黄教授采用一贯的“增词传意”的手法,来传达原文中字面所无,但字里行间却有的含蕴。如将“错,错,错!”与“莫,莫,莫!”翻译为“A great error, / a great error, / It’s a great error beyond repair!”和“Everything’s over, / everything’s over, / My everlasting regret is beyond cure!”就是在翻译中注入了一种精神,一种对原文深层次的理解。

诗词,需要用心感受和理解;诗词的翻译,也需要认真地感悟和表达。正如数学家出身的翻译家周克希在《译边草》中写到的:“翻译要靠感受。”他认为“文学翻译是感觉和表达感觉的历程。”下面,给出李白的《静夜思》和李清照的《声声慢》的多种翻译文本,留出空间让读者自己来感受、比较。

 静夜思
  李白
床前明月光,
疑是地上霜。
举头望明月,
低头思故乡。

(1)I descry bright moonlight in front of my bed.

I suspect it to be hoary frost on the floor.

I watch the bright moon, as I tilt back my head.

I yearn, while stooping, for my homeland more.

Tr.徐忠杰

(2)Abed, I see a silver light,

I wonder if it’s frost aground.

Looking up, I find the moon bright;

Bowing, in homesickness I’m drowned.

Tr.许渊冲

(3)So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed—

Could there have been a frost already?

Lifting up my head to look, I found that it was moonlight.

Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.

Tr. Witter Bynner

(4)I wake, and moonbeams play around my bed,

Glittering like hoar-frost to my wandering eyes;

Up towards the glorious moon I raise my head.

Then lay me down—and thoughts of home arise.Tr. Herbert A. Giles

(5)I saw the moonlight before my couch,

And wondered if it were not the frost on the ground.

I raised my head and looked out on the mountain moon,

I bowed my head and thought of my faroff home.

Tr. S. Obata

(6)Seeing the Moon before my couch so bright

I thought hoar frost had fallen from the night.

On her clear face I gaze with lifted eyes:

Then hide them full of Youth’s sweet memories.

Tr. Fletcher

(7)In front of my bed the moonlight is very bright.

I wonder if that can be frost on the floor?

I lift up my head and look at the full moon, the dazzling moon.

I drop my head, and think of the home of old days.

Tr. Amy Lowell

(8)Athwart the bed

I watch the moonbeams cast a trail

So bright, so cold, so frail,

That for a space it gleams

Like hoarfrost on the margin of my dreams.

I raise my head, —

The splendid moon I see:

Then droop my head,

And sink to dreams of thee—

My fatherland, of thee!

Tr. Cranmer—Byng

(9)A gleam of light streams down over my bed,

I wonder if it’s the frost on the ground.

Raising my eyes, I gaze at the bright moon,

Lowering my head, I miss my hometown.

Tr黄新渠

(10)Before my bed the silver moonbeams spread—

I wonder if it is the frost upon the ground.

I see the moon so bright when raising my head,

Withdrawing my eyes my nostalgia comes around.

Tr屠笛、屠岸

(11)The luminous moonshine before my bed,

Is thought to be the frost fallen on the ground.

I lift my head to gaze at the cliff moon.

And then bow down to muse on my distant home.

Tr.孙大雨

(12)Before my bed

there is bright moonlight

So that is seems

like frost on the ground;

Lifting my head

I watch the bright moon,

Lowing my head

I dream that

I’m home.

Tr. Arthur Cooper

(13)Moonlight before my bed,

Could it be frost instead?

Head up,I watch the moon;

Head down, I think of home.

Tr. 赵甄陶

(14)Before my bed the moon gleams bright,

And frosts the floor with a hoary light.

My eyes to the fair moon o’erhead roam—

Head bent, I’m lost in dreams of home.

Tr.马红军

(15)I saw the moonlight before my bed,

I wondered if it were the frost on the ground.

I raised my head and looked at the full moon; and then

I dropped my head and thought of my faraway home.

Tr. 金惠康

(16)Before my bed a pool of light—

Can it be hoarfrost on the ground?

Looking up, I find the moon bright;

Bowing, in homesickness I’m drowned.

Tr.许渊冲

 声声慢 
   李清照
寻寻觅觅,冷冷清清,
凄凄惨惨戚戚。
乍暖还寒时候,
最难将息。
三杯两盏淡酒,
怎敌它、晚来风急?
雁过也,正伤心,
却是旧时相识。
满地黄花堆积,
憔悴损,
如今有谁堪摘?
守着窗儿,
独自怎生得黑?
梧桐更兼细雨,
到黄昏,点点滴滴。
这次第,
怎一个愁字了得?

(1)To the tune Sheng Sheng Man

Seeking,seeking.

Chilly and quiet,

Desolate, painful and miserable.

Even when it’s warmer there is still a chill,

It is most difficult to keep well.

Three or two cups of light wine,

How can they ward off the strong morning wind?

Wild geese fly past, while

I’m brokenhearted;

But I recognize they are my old friends.

Fallen chrysanthemums piled up on the ground,

So withered. Who would pluck them?

Leaning on the window.

How can I pass the time till night alone?

The drizzle falls on the wutong trees.

Rain drops down at dusk.

At a time like this

What immense sorrow I must bear!

Tr.戴乃迭

(2)A Slow, Slow Tune

I look for what I miss,

I know not what it is.

I feel so sad, so drear,

So lonely, without cheer

How hard is it

To keep me fit

In this lingering cold!

Hardly wanned up

By cup on cup

Of wind so dry,

Oh! How can I

Endure at dusk the drift

Of wind so swift?

It breaks my heart, alas!

To see the wild geese pass,

For they are my acquaintances of old.

The ground is covered with yellow flowers

Faded and fallen in showers.

Who will pick them up now?

Sitting alone at the window, how

Could I but quicken

The pace of darkness which won’t thicken?

On parasol trees a fine rain drizzles

As twilling grizzles,

Oh! What can I do with grief.

Beyond belief!

Tr.许渊冲

(3)To the Tune Sheng Sheng Man(Tune:“A Slow, Slow Tune”)

Li Qing Zhao(1084—about1151)

I am out of sorts, seeking

As if I had lost something

In this chilly evening,

So sad, so dreary, so lonely.

It’s warm, it’s cold,

How can I keep fit at this moment?

Two or three cups light wine.

Can never chase out this chilly dusk wind!

The wild geese fly past; my heart breaks,

Ah, but they are my old friends!

The ground is thick with golden flowers,

But the fallen petals are withered.

Who would like to pluck them now?

Leaning by the window here,

How can I wait alone until dusk falls!

There the drizzle falls on the parasol trees,

Rustling and dripping as twilight unfolds.

Facing all this scene,

How can I find one word

To express my sorrow?

Tr.黄新渠

(4)Melancholy

Li Qingzhao(1084-1151)

Lonely and lonely, sad and sad, cold and cold,

It turns suddenly warm, but is still cold.

It is hard to keep oneself from catching cold.

Two or three cups of weak wine can hardly withstand the strong wind.

Wild geese have passed by in the sky, making me grieved and sigh.

Yet they are old acquaintances of mine.

The ground is all covered with chrysanthemum withered and dry.

Now, who has the zest to pluck these dear flowers of mine.

Sitting by the window all day long, how can I endure till dusk alone?

It is drizzling outside, making Phoenix trees drip, drip, dusk until.

Facing such scenes, how can I define my sentiment with the word melancholy?

Tr. 张炳星

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