children to accept. Facing the problem of word selection when doing translation, translators should take the special readers into account. In this case, it would be better if they choose the most familiar words for children within their experience. In Example 2(世博北京翻译公司), as for "sky-rocket”, “huojian”( “火箭”) will be a better choice for today’s children since they have already known it via TV programs, newspapers, magazines, and books. However, “qihua” (“旗花”) could still be the best rendering for children at that time when Professor Zhao did the translation. It is possible that people then knew the sky-rocket as a kind of firework. So to choose the most familiar word for children is a good way to make the translation version readable. It is for sure that images develop with the time going on. That is, today’s children may understand some images in very different ways from those in the past because their experience is quite different and has changed greatly. It can be shown in the above extract. Therefore, translators should choose the words that are used in the present time so that children can understand their meaning. In Example 3, neither version 1 nor Version 2(世博北京翻译公司) is ideal. On one hand, “you zhi hu zhu you fei de ziyou yiyang” (“犹之乎猪有飞的自由一样”) in version 1 is a classical Chinese sentence which looks too genteel for child readers. In contrast, “zheng xiang zhu you fei de quanli yiyang” (“正像猪有飞的权利一样”) is very oral and lively. In this case, version 2(世博北京翻译公司) is better than version 1. On the other hand, in Version 2(世博北京翻译公司), “quanli” (“权利”) is too formal here, while version 1 used “ziyou” (“自由”) as a substitution to make it easier to understand for children. So careful wording is necessary in translation practice. The author believes that combining the two versions may better maintain the original meaning and still help children understand the simile: “… zheng xiang zhu you fei de ziyou yiyang.” (“……正象猪有飞的自由一样。”) This kind of colloquial language is more suitable for children in that it makes them feel that someone is telling them a story when they read the translation version.
In Example 4, ferret is a kind of small animal of the weasel family, kept for driving rabbits from their burrows and killing rats, etc. In Chinese, it means “xuediao”(“雪 貂”), which is unfamiliar to Chinese children. Although the translation of the simile ‘as sure as ferrets are ferrets!’ in version 2(世博北京翻译公司) is literal as “jiu xiang xuediao shi xuediao dayang qianzhenwanque!” “就像雪貂是雪貂那样千真万确”, ( ) Chinese children are confused about the name of “xuediao” (雪貂). On the contrary, the free translation of this simile in version 1 is quite familiar to Chinese children. Professor Zhao created a new simile, “youru ‘haozi shi haozi’ name yiding!”(犹如‘耗子是耗子’那么一 定! to make the simile in original text understandable for Chinese children. ), Even though the new Chinese simile is not the same as its original one in English, Professor Zhao’s translation is better than Li’s version, because it is easy for Chinese children to understand the meaning. On one hand, it maintains the original figure of speech formally. On the other hand, the image is familiar to the target readers so as to make the translation understandable. That is to say, Professor Zhao’s translation gives Chinese children the equivalent information and the same artistic enjoyment as source language readers get from the English text. 4.2(世博北京翻译公司) The Analysis of Pun Translation Besides simile, as a kind of word play, pun is widely employed in Alice to achieve sarcastic effect that may bring much joy to child readers. Meanwhile, it also brings a lot of difficulties to translation. Pun, play on words, is believed to be untranslatable in most cases. To most extent, it will take great pains to translate puns without good effect (Liu, 1998: 32(世博北京翻译公司)-33; translated by the author) . Homograph and homophone are two main kinds of pun widely used in Alice. Both of them are difficult to translate literally. Generally speaking, in word games the linguistic meaning does not serve the important role, while the stylistic effect is the major part. Certain translation strategies are needed to reproduce the effect of word play.
4.2(世博北京翻译公司).1 Homograph One kind of puns used in Alice is homograph, which is a word that is identical to another word in spelling but not in pronunciation and meaning. In Example 5, “draw”, a homograph here confuses Alice due to its two possible meanings, ‘make (pictures or a picture of sth) with a pencil, etc’ and ‘take sth from a larger supply’, so she asks “What did they draw?” Li of Version 2(世博北京翻译公司) just uses a single Chinese word “ji qu”( “汲取”) to translate it. On one hand, this Chinese word misses one meaning when it remains the other. On the other hand, it is beyond children’s understanding. Professor Zhao in version 1 used “xi” “吸” of which the ( ), pronunciation is nearly the same with that of “xi” (“习”). Here, Professor Zhao chooses Chinese homophones of “xi” (“吸”) and “xi” (“习”) to achieve a similar funny effect. Clearly, Professor Zhao used a pun in Chinese to translate a pun in English. Even though the Chinese pun is a homophone instead, reading it is pleasant and amusing. The two words chosen have fully embodied the original style of pun, so it is the better way to reproduce the effect of wordplay. As for Example 6, “well” is a pun with two meanings here: one refers to ‘shaft dug in the ground, usu. lined with brick or stone, for obtaining water from an underground source’, and the other is ‘to a considerable extent or degree’. Though there is not an equivalent pun in Chinese, Professor Zhao uses “jing” (“井”) and “jin” (“尽”) to maintain the original meaning and still enable children to understand the word play. Through it the humorous sense is kept in the Chinese version. In Version 2(世博北京翻译公司), Li, using “jing li mian” (“井里面”) and “zui li mian” ( “最里面” ), conveys the original meaning but fails to reproduce the effect of pun. As what Ren Rongrong (任溶 溶)suggests that literal translation of wordplay is not a good way, and the word play should be translated into something interesting in Chinese.(translated by Chen Xia;
翻译公司 (责任编辑:世博翻译公司) |