文学翻译中的语言风格再现——以《围城》英译本为例.pdf

学号：2009020624 姓名：王珍妮 所在学院：山东师范大学外国语学院 联系电话电子邮箱: 单位代码单位代码 1044510445 学号学号 20090206200902062424 分类号分类号 h315.9h315.9 研究生类别研究生类别 全日制全日制硕士硕士 论论 文文 题题 目目: reproduction of style in literary translation - a case study of fortress besieged 文学翻译中文学翻译中的的语言风格再现语言风格再现 以围城英译本为例以围城英译本为例 学科专业名称学科专业名称 英语语言文学英语语言文学 申申 请人请人 姓名姓名 王珍妮王珍妮 指指 导导 教教 师师 徐彬徐彬 副教授副教授 论文提交时间论文提交时间 20122012 年年 0606 月月 0606 日日 reproduction of style in literary translation - a case study of fortress besieged 文文学翻译中学翻译中的的语言风格再现语言风格再现 以围城英译本为例以围城英译本为例 by wang zhenni under the supervision of associate prof. xu bin a thesis submitted to school of foreign languages in candidacy for the degree of master of arts shandong normal university jinan, shandong, china june, 2012 独独 创创 声声 明明 本人声明所呈交的学位论文是本人在导师指导下进行的研究工作及取得的研究成果。 据我所知，除了文中特别加以标注和致谢的地方外，论文中不包含其他人已经发表或撰写 过的研究成果，也不包含为获得 （注：如没有其他需要特别声明的，本 栏可空）或其他教育机构的学位或证书使用过的材料。与我一同工作的同志对本研究所做 的任何贡献均已在论文中作了明确的说明并表示谢意。 学位论文作者签名： 学位论文版权使用授权书学位论文版权使用授权书 本学位论文作者完全了解 学校学校 有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，有权保留并向国 家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和磁盘，允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权 学校学校 可 以将学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等 复制手段保存、汇编学位论文。 （保密的学位论文在解密后适用本授权书） 学位论文作者签名： 导师签字： 签字日期：20 年 月 日 签字日期：20 年 月 日 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 contents abstract i 摘要 . iii introduction . 1 chapter one literature review . 5 1.1 the definition of style . 5 1.1.1 linguistic perspective 5 1.1.2 literary perspective 6 1.2 significance of the reproduction of style in literary translation 7 1.3 the translatability and untranslatability of style . 9 1.3.1 translatability of style from linguistic perspective 9 1.3.2 translatability of style from literary perspective . 11 1.4 summary 12 chapter two theoretical framework 15 2.1 a brief introduction to functional equivalence 15 2.2 stylistic marker theory by liu miqing . 16 2.2.1 formal markers 16 phonological markers 16 register markers 17 syntactic markers . 17 lexical markers 17 textual markers 18 markers of figures of speech 18 2.2.2 non-formal marker . 19 manners of expression . 19 inner quality of the original 19 inherent disposition . 19 2.2.3 summary 20 chapter three introduction of fortress besieged . 21 3.1 introduction to chien chung-shu and his fortress besieged . 21 3.2 style and literary characteristics of fortress besieged 22 3.3 comments on the english version . 23 chapter four the reproduction of literary style and the corresponding compensatory strategies . 25 4.1 formal marker 25 4.1.1 lexical marker . 25 4.1.2 register marker 27 4.1.3 syntactic marker 30 4.1.4 figures of speech . 31 hyperbole . 31 metaphor 33 simile . 36 irony . 37 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 sarcasm 40 pun 43 4.2 non-formal marker . 45 4.2.1 manners of expression . 46 4.2.2 inherent disposition . 48 4.3 summary 50 conclusion . 53 bibliography 57 acknowledgements . 59 publications . 60 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 i abstract great importance has been attached to the reproduction of style in literary translation for a long time. style is the spirit of literary works through which the internal thought of the original author can be traced. there is no doubt that style reproduction is an important and indispensible part in literary translation and the successful recognition and reproduction of literary style has been a criterion to judge whether the original literary works is successfully carried over . style reproduction has always been a focus in literary translation which evokes a series of discussions such as translatability and untranslatability, how to reproduce the original literary style in the target language, etc. this thesis, based on the english version of fortress besieged, conducts a case study on the translatability of literary style and puts up the reciprocal compensatory translating strategies. the thesis begins with the introduction of the previous research achievements about the definitions of style, translatability and untranslatability of style as well as the limits of translatability. as people in the world actually share similar life experiences and cultures, style can be translatedthis is also a fact that has been proved by translation practice. however, as an intercultural activity, translation is bound to be influenced by the original culture. besides, other complicated factors can also exert great influence on the reproduction of literary style, such as diachronic of translation activity, the translator himself and the target language readers, etc. all of these factors give rise to the failure of the reproduction of original literary style. the target language (tl) texts are not able to achieve functional equivalence with the source language (sl) text and the original artistic value is damaged. emphasis is attached to the elaboration of stylistic marker theory in this thesis, which analyzes literary style from different levels. the theory, which is characterized by micro-analysis and overall view, is able to guide literary translation practice. the thesis conducts a comparative analysis on chinese and english version of fortress besieged, which is characterized by the incisive language, the sarcastic humor and the underlying meaning, etc. the brief description gave the readers a vivid impression on the portraits, psychological activities, emotional attitudes as well as personalities of the characters. 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 ii what made the novel a success is the colorful language. the readers can reflect on themselves and explore the internal world while appreciating the underlying sarcastic humor of the novel. under the direction of stylistic markers theory, the thesis conducts a comparative analysis on the chinese and english versions of fortress besieged, and in the process, both the strong points and defects of the translated version are analyzed on the aspect of style reproduction. the techniques of style reproduction is explored and summarized. whats more, reciprocal compensatory strategies are put up to perfect those defects. the thesis tries to put up with compensatory strategies which can help to reproduce the original literary style to a great extent in literary translation. the ultimate purpose is to prove the important part that stylistic marker theory plays in reproducing the original literary style with case study. literary translators should attach great importance to literary style in translation practice and be able to recognize and overcome various complicated factors that may exert influence on literary style. key words: stylistic marker; translatability of style; limits of translatability; compensatory strategy category number: h315.9 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 iii 摘要摘要 文学作品翻译过程中的风格再现问题，一直备受翻译界的关注。风格是一部文学作品 的灵魂，透过它可以洞悉作者的内心世界。毋庸置疑，翻译中的风格再现，或曰“风格翻 译”是文学作品翻译过程重要且不可或缺的一部分，风格的成功识别和再现逐渐成为衡量 文学作品翻译质量的一个标准。风格翻译一直是文学翻译的焦点，存在着可译和不可译以 及如何再现原作文学风格等争论。本文以围城的英译本为研究对象进行个案研究，讨 论文学风格的可译性以及相应的补偿策略。 本文从风格的概念入手，总结回顾前人的研究成果，探讨翻译界关于风格的可译性、 不可译性以及可译性限度等问题。由于人类相似的生活经验以及文化的相似性，风格是可 译的，这也是翻译实践得出的事实。但是作为一种跨文化活动，翻译必定会受到译入语文 化的影响。除此之外，翻译的跨越时空性、译者本身以及目标语读者等一些复杂因素都会 对原作的风格再现产生影响。这就造成译作在各个层次上不能再现原文的文体风格，与原 作不能达到最佳功能对等，原作的美学艺术效果和艺术价值遭受损害。本文重点阐述了刘 宓庆的风格标记理论，该理论从不同的层次来认识文体风格，具有微观分析和总体把握的 特点，能够更加全面地指导文学翻译实践。 本文将钱锺书的围城及其英译本 fortress besieged 进行对比研究。 围城语言犀 利，讽刺尖露，诙谐幽默，妙语连珠，耐人寻味。作者寥寥几笔，人物形象、心理活动、 感情态度以及性格特点等均跃然纸上。 围城中的精言妙语是小说最成功之处。读者在 体会其语言文字中的讽刺幽默、蕴含意味时，实现了对人性的解剖与探索。本文在风格标 记理论的指导下，通过围城中英译本的对比分析，评价英译本中风格再现方面的得与 失，探索珍妮凯利和茅国权英译本中的风格传达技巧，并在不足的地方提出相应的补偿 策略，试图最大程度地在译作中再现原文的文体风格。本文的最终目的在于用实例证明风 格标记理论在风格再现中的作用，以及风格再现在文学翻译中的重要地位。促使文学翻译 者在实践中提高对文体风格的敏感性和洞察力，对影响文体风格的各种复杂因素具有清醒 的认识并予以克服，从而最大限度地传译原作的文体风格，再现原作的美学艺术价值。 关键词关键词：风格标记；风格可译性；可译性限度；补偿策略 分类号：分类号：h315.9 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 iv 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 1 introduction translating is a kind of sophisticated cross-cultural communication, a process in which the source language and the target language interchange, collide, assimilate and merge with each other. it is a process that involves a number of other factors, such as social-cultural elements. hence, as far as literary translation is concerned, a scientific, systemic, theoretical directing translating principle is in great demand. literature touches upon a number of invisible factors, for instance, style. according to theodore savory, “style is the essential characteristics of every piece of writing, the outcome of the writers personality and his emotions at the moment, and no single paragraph can be out together without revealing in some degree the nature of its authors.” (theodore savory, 1957: 54) literary style relates not only to language feature, but also to the writers personality, contemporary environment as well as regional culture that the writer belongs to. the literary style involves not only the writers subjective factors but also the social-cultural context that the author belongs to. identically, the style of the tl text is not only determined by the original works, but also the translators personal writing style, the socio-cultural context and a series of other factors in the target culture. besides, the readers aesthetic value poses an important influence on the appreciation of the original literary style. consequently, in the process of translation, besides the source language, the translator should have a comprehensive understanding of the factors both of the source culture and the target culture that might influence the style of the tl text. however, it is due to these series of complicated factors, for example, the asynchronism between creation and translation, the difference between target language and source language, the reproduction of the original style will be affected inevitably, and fail to achieve the best functional equivalence, which will cause great damage to the esthetic effect and thematic significance of the original works. a great many scholars argue that literary style, distinctive from other features of a text, has no visible entity; therefore, it is intangible. accordingly, in the translating field, whether style can be reproduced in the tl text has been an issue in the limelight. while some scholars put up with definitions of style from various perspectives, liu miqing is among the first scholars that have devised a “stylistic system” for specific study. he holds that style is manifested with style markers which can be further divided into formal markers and non-formal markers. 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 2 however, few studies have been conducted on style reproduction. this is the problem this thesis tries to resolve. this thesis employs the english version of weicheng, or fortress beseiged, as the research object. although, there have been a number of researches on this book, which mainly focused on the humor analysis, the conversational implicature of the language, the employment of figures of speech, etc., there is scarcely any study on the reproduction of the original literary style in the english version, let alone relatively comprehensive, systemic and scientific relative compensatory strategies. this thesis, directed by the theory of the functional equivalence put forward by eugene albert nida and stylistic markers theory by liu miqing, will focus on style reproduction in the english version, which will analyze the translatability and untranslatability of the literary style, and come up with the respective compensatory strategies to reproduce the literary style to a maximum extent. as for literary translation, the reproduction of the original literary style is one of the core issues; it is vital for preserving the aesthetic and artistic values of the original works. as far as literary style is concerned, there is no denying that it can be reproduced in some ways, however, owing to the instinctive differences between two social environments and many other complicated factors, literary style may fail to reproduce in the target language and the tl readers may not be able to grasp the essence of the original works which is available for the source language readers. while discussing the nature of translation in his book the theory and practice of translation (1982), eugene albert nida suggests 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. (eugene albert nida, 1982: 42)therefore, in the process of translation, the translators have to employ all kinds of strategies to reproduce the original literary style in the tl text to the extreme extent. if the tl text doesnt reproduce the original style, the original contents, the implicature, the information and the innate feelings of the characters, the artistic and aesthetic value of the original works will disappear, i.e. this literary translation turns out to be a futile effort. wei cheng, or fortress besieged, is a popular novel which is full of comic exuberance and satire. this book involves multifaceted things beyond the mirth and liveliness, and tries to make readers sense the follies and vices of the characters; when the readers realize and appreciate this kind of relentless satire, the artistic value of this book is revealed. a large variety of figures of 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 3 speech are adopted in the book. the vivid language as well as the underlying satire makes the readers ponder over themselves. this book takes shape a unique literary style with the help of all kinds of figure of speech and vivid language, most of which will set people to think. the author employed a good number of chinese idioms, classical chinese, and pidgins english to present the characters vividly to the readers. whether the english version fortress besieged can successfully reproduce the vividness of the original language, such as the idioms and classical chinese into english, is still a question to discuss. the thesis, based on the english version of fortress besieged by kelly. j. n. 2. the features of a book, etc. that make it typical of a particular author, artist, historian; period, etc.; 3. the correct use of language.” (2004:1758) according to the revised edition of a dictionary of literary terms, style is “the characteristic manner of expression in prose or verse; how a particular writer says things. the analysis and assessment of style involves examination of a writers choice of words, his figures of speech, the devices (rhetorical and otherwise), the shape of his sentence (whether they be loose or periodic), the shape of paragraphs, indeed, of every conceivable aspect of his language and the way in which he uses it. ” (j.a. cuddon, 1991:663) style may be compared to the tone and voice of the writer himself, which is as much peculiar to him as his laugh, his walk, his handwriting and expressions on his face. just as geoffrey n. leech proposes: “the word style has 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 6 an uncontroversial meaning: it refers to the way in which the language is used in a given context, by a given person, for a given purpose and so on.” (geoffrey n. leech, 1981: 10) jin li and zhang jian, in the book elements of literature, hold that style refers to the distinctive manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects. in general, style is comprised of two elements: diction and syntax. the former refers to the writers choice of words that comprise an authors basic vocabulary by which the author reveals characters, describes events, creates atmosphere and conveys themes. syntax, another important element of style, involves the ways the author arranges words into phrases, clauses and finally sentences to achieve particular effects. (jin li and zhang jian, 2003:99-100) 1.1.2 literary perspective the definitions of style from the literary perspective focus on image, sentiment, feeling and atmosphere that are embodied in the text. liu miqing argues that style is a rather vague temperament or quality of writing (liu miqing 1999: 220). due to different life experiences, standpoints, artistic accomplishments and personalities, authors and artists have distinctive features in handling themes, image portrait, language use and techniques of expressions, and thus various literary styles takes shape. style is reflected in all the elements of both the form and content of the literary works. just as theodore savory argues: “style is the essential characteristics of every piece of writing, the outcome of the writers personality and his emotions at the moment, and no single paragraph can be out together without revealing in some degree the nature of its authors.”(theodore savory, 1957: 54). style is the reflection of the nature of the writer, just as george-louis buffon, a thinker and writer in france in the 18th century, puts that style is the man himself, which incarnates the writers personality and life. while some argue that style refers to the features of literary works, including the language forms and expressions. literary style varies from different writers, some features elegance, some characterizes profundity and others are marked with vulgar. in the article a review on the studies of the definition of language style since 1949（ 1949 年以来语言风格定义研究述评 ）, li yunhan points out that “language style is the result of communication, and it refers to the atmosphere and characteristics that are revealed in the process of communication which concerns 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 7 with nation, times, regions and even individual factors.” zhu guangqian argues that each work possesses literary style that cannot be separated from its content, and each author in its excessive works possesses common characteristics that relates to its individual personality, and this is called “style”. all the definitions mentioned above are reasonable to some extent, and have been valued by scholars, researchers as well as language learners. a full research about the definition of style has been introduced in details from both linguistic and literary perspective. during the process o