(本讲座每周分享英语学习和英汉翻译的独有经验,欢迎关注和分享。)
引言
文学翻译贵在“传神”。所谓“传神”,就是把原文的意思表达得非常准确,意境展现得非常逼真、鲜活,让人读后产生一种拍案叫绝的冲动。 要实现这一目标,除了具备深厚的语言功底,学习和掌握一定的翻译技巧也是非常有益的。
怎样翻译下面的英语句子?怎样翻译才比较传神?
Beep, beep, your ass!
Beep-beep, his ass.
相关段落和背景信息:
(1)塞尔南是谢泼德的后备指令长,他们后备乘组总是喜欢嘲讽一下主乘组。以下是作者尤金·塞尔南的描述:
Every flight has a personalized crew patch, and Apollo 14 was no different, except for one thing--we were the first and only backup crew to have a mission patch, too! This loony idea was a "gotcha" on Alan Shepard, for it depicted a gray-bearded Wile E. "Three Rookies" Coyote coming up from Earth only to find a "First Team" Roadrunner already standing on the Moon, chirping his famous "Beep-beep!"
Every time we would give him a "beep-beep" jab, Shepard would shoot right back, " Beep, beep, your ass! " This time, by God, the coyote was going to win.
(2)飞船升空前,驾驶舱的准备是由后备乘组完成的,塞尔南他们不仅为主乘组设置各种开关,还偷偷地把他们后备乘组的任务徽章塞进了飞船的各个地方:
Ron, Joe and I, as the backup crew, had final access to the spacecraft, and while we set the switches and checked the gauges, we also stuffed our Roadrunner patches into every nook and cranny, setting up a future mini-blizzard of "gotchas" for the Three Rookies. Perhaps the most repeated phrase on the private radio loop during the flight of Apollo 14 was Shepard's annoyance when still another patch would suddenly appear. "Tell Cernan," he growled, " Beep-beep, his ass. "
难点分析和翻译技巧:
这是一句脏话,这里的关键是怎样把这句脏话传神地展现出来。
语言和文学源于生活,不管是中文还是外文作品,我们都会遇到脏话和骂人的话,作为译者我们有责任把这样的话传神地展现出来。
一说到翻译,总有人会搬出“信达雅”。其实,“信达雅”中的“雅”作为翻译的评判标准之一,是有争议的,因为要是原文不雅,你翻译得雅了,那就不“信”了(也就是说和“信”发生了矛盾)。请看下面的例子:
Damn , this thing was small. Memories of the USS Roanoke.
试译: 妈的 ,飞船太小了。这让我想起了我在罗诺克巡洋舰上的情况。
如果你把骂人的话雅化了,翻译成“ 该死 ,飞船太小了”,你就活生生把一位彪悍的军人变成了娘炮。
翻译脏话需要深厚的汉语功底,否则很难传神。
试译:
(1)
每个飞行任务都有一个个性化的乘组徽章,“阿波罗”14号也一样,只是有一点例外——我们是第一个、也是唯一一个同样拥有任务徽章的后备乘组!这个奇特的主意就是想把艾伦嘲弄一下,因为我们的徽章描绘的是,代表“三个新手”、长着灰白胡子的北美草原狼从地球来到月球,结果发现代表“第一团队”的走鹃已经站在月球上,并不停地发出著名的鸣叫声——“哔哔,哔哔!”
我们每次用“哔哔,哔哔”刺激艾伦的时候,他都会立刻回击道:“ 你哔哔个球! ”这一次草原狼真的要赢了。
(2)
罗恩、乔和我作为后备乘组,最后进入了飞船;我们在设置开关,检查仪表的同时,也把我们的“走鹃”任务徽章塞进了每个角落和缝隙,为的是在他们飞往月球的路上,设定一场嘲弄“三个新手”的迷你风暴。在“阿波罗”14号的飞行期间,内部通信系统中重复率最高的内容也许是谢泼德不耐烦的低声叫骂;每当又一个任务徽章突然出现时,他就低声吼道:“告诉塞尔南, 哔哔他大爷! ”
试译中的“ 你哔哔个球!” 和“ 哔哔他大爷!” 都比较传神地展现了原文的意境。
下期预告:
怎样翻译下面的英语句子才比较传神?
I was thankful for those long hours I had spent in a gym, building muscles and staying in shape.
(最近译事繁忙,有时更新不及时,见谅。)
作者简介 :从事英汉口译和笔译38年(译审),出版译著6部;全国第一届和第二届“韩素音青年翻译奖”竞赛一等奖获得者;地道英语和传神翻译的倡导者和实践者。最新译著《我的两次月球之旅》由上海交通大学出版社出版;明年出版译著——《携火奔月》(上海交通大学出版社)。

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