On the Untranslatability of Tang Poems in English Translation.doc

毕业论文(设计)AcknowledgementsMany thanks and appreciation, I wish to express to my tutor, Ms. Li Weihong, whose careful reading and suggestions have been of a great help to me during my whole thesis-writing process. Thanks should also be sincerely given to all the teachers who have taught me my B.A. courses, Ms. Lin Lan and Ms. Tang Simin in particular, who have been my teachers delivering the translation course. Without their enthusiasm and support, this work would not have been possible.I am also very grateful to my classmates, especially my roommates, for their psychological support and encouragement. In particular, I own a special debt of thanks to Kong Huirong who is so generous to lend me the computer for my thesis typing.Many thanks, too, to the authors by whose books or articles I have been greatly inspired, and from whose books or articles I have quoted a lot. In addition, thanks to the Tian Jiabing Library of our college and the Reference Room of our department, from which I have found enough materials for my thesis writing.AbstractTang poetry is so excellent and of such a large sum that it is a precious cultural heritage of Chinese civilization in ancient time. It appeals so many people all over the world that more and more Tang poems have been translated into other languages, mostly into English. Nevertheless, since the translatability of poetry has been the most controversial issue in the translation circle, whether a Tang poem is translatable or not is now still in debate.An American poet Robert Frost ever said, “Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” In this sense, something in Tang poetry will get lost after being translated into English. Here comes the untranslatability of Tang poems in English translation. Tang poetry is the harmonious unity of beautiful sound, well-balanced form and implicit sense so that it is very difficult to translate them into other languages satisfactorily. English is intonation language while Chinese is tone language so that they are dissimilar in sound; English spelling words are alphabetic writing while Chinese square characters are ideographic so that they are dissimilar in form; English was born and develops in western cultural background while Chinese in oriental so that they are dissimilar in sense. Based on the differences above, a conclusion is made naturally in the article that in the process of translating Tang poems into English, there is some untranslatability, namely, sound untranslatability, form untranslatability and sense untranslatability.In fact, the study on the untranslatability of Tang poetry still has a great room for development, as it remains an unsolved problem. In this thsis, however, talking about the untranslatability of Tang poems in English translation is not against the translation work of Tang poems but for the better translations of them.Key Words: Tang poems untranslatability sound untranslatabilityform untranslatability sense untranslatability摘 要唐诗作品数量巨大，质量优秀，是中国古代文明珍贵的文化遗产。世界上无数的人为它所吸引，并且将越来越多的唐诗翻译成其它语言，尤其是翻译成英语。然而尽管如此，由于诗歌的可译性一直以来都是翻译界最有争议的问题，唐诗是否可译在今天仍然存在值得斟酌的地方。一位美国诗人罗伯特弗罗斯特曾经说过，“诗是在翻译中失去的东西。”从这个意义上来说，唐诗被翻译成英语之后，其中的某些东西会有所丢失。这就是唐诗英译的不可译性。唐诗音韵优美，结构匀称，意义含蓄，是音、形、意三者的和谐统一体，因此将唐诗翻译成其它语言，很难做到令人满意。英语是语调语言而汉语是音调语言，因此二者音不同；英语单词属拼音文字而汉语方块字属表意文字，因此二者形相异；英语在西方文化背景中诞生并发展，而汉语则是在东方文化背景中，因此二者意有别。基于以上几个不同点，文中便自然作出了如下总结：唐诗在英译过程中存在着不可译性，即音不可译，形不可译和意不可译。事实上，关于唐诗的不可译性方面的研究，发展空间依然很大，因为这是一个尚未得到解决的问题。然而，作者在本论文中谈论唐诗英译的不可译性，并非要反对唐诗的翻译工作，而恰恰是为了让译者更好地翻译唐诗。关键词：唐诗 不可译性 音不可译 形不可译 意不可译ContentsAcknowledgements.iAbstract (English).iiAbstract (Chinese).iv1. Introduction.12. Untranslatability.32.1 Definition of untranslatability.32.2 Untranslatability in literature.43. Untranslatability of Tang poems.63.1 Characteristics of Tang poems.6 3.1.1 Beauty in sound.7 3.1.2 Beauty in form.9 3.1.3 Beauty in sense.103.2 Causes of untranslatability of Tang poems in English translation.12 3.2.1 Cause in sound.12 3.2.2 Cause in form.14 3.2.3 Cause in sense.144. Analysis on the untranslatability of Tang poems in English translation.164.1 Analysis on sound untranslatability.164.2 Analysis on form untranslatability.194.3 Analysis on sense untranslatability.215. Conclusion22References.2425On the Untranslatability of Tang Poems in English Translation1. Introduction China has one of the earliest civilizations in the world. The brilliance of Chinese literature, with its long history and diversified genres and forms, rivals any great literature in the world. In terms of genres, Chinese literature includes Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan dramas, and novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Among them, Tang poetry wins universal praise due to its unique modes of expression and artistic charm, and many of them have been handed down to this day.Tang poetry, as the inheritance of Chinese culture in Tang Dynasty, interests a great number of people around the world. Therefore, a plenty of them have been being rendered into another language, especially into English, since English is an international language and enjoys widespread using. Up to now, there have been lots of translation works of Tang poems, such as Selections from the 300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty and A Further Selections from the 300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty by S.Jenyns; The Jade Mountain, a Chinese Anthology Being Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty by W.Bynner and Jiang Kanghu; Chinese Poetry in English Verse by H.A.Giles; A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems by A.Waley; Gems of Chinese Verse Translated into English Verse by W.J.Fletcher; and Chinese Poems in English Rhyme by Cai Tinggan. Yet poetry translation is not an easy case, Tang poetry in particular.Compared with other forms of literary works, it is far more difficult to translate poems; sometimes it is even impossible to do it. Whether a poem can be translated or not is still in debate in the translation circle. There are some opinions that favor the untranslatability of poetry. An American poet Robert Frost maintained, “Poetry is what gets lost in translation” (Net.1). And P.B.Shelley, a famous British poet has a similar explanation to this in Defense of Poetry. He said, “it were as wise to cast a violet into a crucible that you might discover the formal principles of its color and odor, as seek to transfuse from one language into another the creations of a poet” (Net.2). In the Chinese translation circle, there are also similar views on the untranslatability of poetry. Lin Yutang in his On Translation once quoted Croces words “all the pure artistic works are untranslatable,” and he also added “the top poems (especially lyric poems) are untranslatable, be it Chinese or western, ancient or modern” (Net.2).So far as Chinese Tang poetry is concerned, it is characterized by brevity and implicitness with elite Chinese characters, expressing infinite interest with a series of magnificent artistic conceptions. It is harmonious in sound, well-balanced in form and beautiful in sense. As a matter of fact, in the English translation process, something in Tang poetry is untranslatable to some extent. As is known to all, Tang poetry strives for a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme and that must be the most difficult thing for translation. In addition, since Chinese is an ideographic language, the form and the meaning of a poem are so often integrated with the Chinese characters that it is not possible to translate them into another language accurately. Moreover, Chinese poets of ancient times were used to implying their meaning rather than making it explicit. This is of some difference from the practice of English poets.Now even though a great number of scholars and translators, home and abroad, who are interested in Chinese culture, have endeavored to recreate the beauty of Chinese Tang poems in other languages, it should be admitted that in the translation process of those poems, some sticky problems or barriers would be encountered. These problems or barriers are going to be discussed in the following parts of the thesis, falling into three categories, namely, sound untranslatability, form untranslatability and sense untranslatability.2. Untranslatability2.1 Definition of untranslatabilityTalking about the untranslatability of Tang poems in English translation, one thing must be firstly made clear: what untranslatability is. One definition is that “it is impossible for the translators to find the exact equivalents for some certain language phenomena, such as the internal beauty, mental conception, thinking methods, inner feeling, different culture, and so on. We can not convey all the elements the same as the source of the text, the aim of the primary author. Therefore here comes the issue of untranslatability” (Net.2).Another similar saying is: “Untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any utterance, in one language, for which no equivalent text or utterance can be found in another language” (Net.3).According to J.Catford, an English theorist of linguistic translation, the property of untranslatability can be separated into two types: linguistic untranslatability and cultural untranslatability (Pu Hongying, 2006). On the one hand, the untranslatability caused by language itself such as the language structures, is called linguistic untranslatability. For example, the Chinese expression “我姓张, 弓长张” is not translatable, because in the Chinese semiotic system, the characters “弓” and “长” are the two elements of the character “张(in pinyin: Zhang, a family name in Chinese)”, but in the English semiotic system, “张” is written in pinyin “Zhang” which can no longer be seperated into two meaningful elements like “弓(bow)” and “长(long)”. One more example is: “客上天然居 / 居然天上客”. In Chinese, the ten characters of the two lines are arranged in the same order from left to right as that from right to left. Such a kind of text with a so ingenious language structure is undoubtedly a headache for translators. On the other hand, the untranslatability caused by the culture of the nation who speaks the language is named cultural untranslatability. Take “杜鹃”(cuckoo) and “龙”(dragon) for examples. Since the association meanings of “杜鹃”, “龙” in Chinese culture and “cuckoo”, “dragon” in English culture are quite different, there is scarcely equivalence between them in translation when they are used for expressing not only a referential meaning but also an associative meaning, although they can be literally equivalent.To sum up, from one language to another, there is a language nature that is referred to as untranslatability, which is a big problem in the process of translation.2.2 Untranslatability in literatureAs to the untranslatability in literature, there have been many discussions on it.First of all, to translate is to find equivalence. Nida emphasizes on the “functional equivalence” and states a minimal, realistic definition of functional equivalence as “The readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it” (2001: 118). In terms of literature translation, there is a saying that the target language text should produce the same kind of literary effect as the source language text. In the words of Mao Dun, literary translation is to express the artistic meaning in another language and give the target language reader the same enlightenment, passion and aesthetic feeling as the source language text would give the source language reader; in a similar manner, Russian theorists also hold that literary translation should convey the entire intentions of the author (including not only his carefully thought out but also his unconscious intentions), that is, intentions that are aimed at producing an artistic effect on the mind and heart of the reader (Tan Zaixi, 2000: 279).In fact, however, many literary translation theorists such as Humboldt strongly believe that “all translation seems to be simply an attempt to solve an impossible task. Every translator is doomed to be done in by one of two stumbling blocks: he will either stay too close to the original, at the cost of taste and the language of his nation, or he will adhere too closely to characteristics peculiar to his nation, at the cost of the original”(Tan Zaixi, 2000: 279-80). Some other important figures also have expressed the same view of untranslatability. For example, Dante points out that translation of literary works, especially those of poetry, is impossible, for every work is unique and cannot be transferred into other languages; while in the words of Denham of 17th century England, “poetry is of so subtle a spirit that in the pouring out of one language into another it will all evaporate ” (Tan Zaixi, 2000: 280).Now that the translatability of literary works is so disputed, there is no wonder that the poetry of untranslatability is still in debate.3. Untranslatability of Tang poemsIn Chinese literary works, poetry is one of the areas which most nearly approach total untranslatability. Tang poetry has a great reliance on the distinctive sound, form, and sometimes sense of Chinese language. It is just the reliance that has made the characteristics of Tang poems which greatly differ from those of other kinds of poems, and then has caused untranslatability in translation process.3.1 Characteristics of Tang poemsChinese classical poetry belongs to Chinese ancient literature, which is a precious cultural heritage of Chinas several thousand years of civilization. It went gloriously and came to its flowering in Tang Dynasty, having made a great artistic achievement. Tang poetry, the main stream of Chinese poetic works, is the most refined and delicate form of literature. It is famous for the magnificent poetic effect, neat and fresh poetic terms, deep and profound emotions of the poets.What is to be discussed below is just about the beauty of Chinese classical poetry during the Tang Dynasty, marked by strict tonal patterns and rhyming schemes. Lshi (a poem of eight lines, each containing five or seven characters with a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme) and Jueju (a poem of four lines, each containing five or seven characters with a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme) are the two components of Tang poems.3.1.1 Beauty in soundIn the first place, Tang poetry sounds musical and beautiful. It is composed with a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme so that there is a particular sound harmony in it.Chinese language is tone language, and there are four tones in the pronunciation system of Chinese characters in modern time. They are firstly the high and level tone (), secondly the rising tone (/), thirdly the falling-rising tone () and lastly the falling tone (). Generally speaking, however, in the classical Chinese pronunciation system, there are merely two tones of the Chinese characters, namely, the level tones and the oblique tones. The level tones include the first tone (the high and level tone) and the second tone (the rising tone) while the oblique tones include the third tone (the falling-rising tone) and the forth tone (the falling tone).Much often, Tang poetry rhymes at every last word of even verses with the same rhyme from the very beginning to the end of the poem, without any change on half-way. The first verse may rhyme or may not, but the rhyming words in a Tang poem have to be of level tones, not of oblique tones.The following poem of Du Fu, Wen Guanjun Shou Henan Hebei, can be taken as an example:剑外忽传收蓟北，初闻涕泪满衣裳。却看妻子愁何在，漫卷诗书喜欲狂。白日放歌须纵酒，青春作伴好还乡。即从巴峡穿巫峡，便下襄阳向洛阳。In this poem, the four rhyming words裳(in Chinese pinyin: shang), 狂(in Chinese pinyin: kuang), 乡(in Chinese pinyin: xiang) and 阳(in Chinese pinyin: yang), are all pronounced in the vowel sound of “ang (Chinese pronunciation)”. Moreover, level tones(“” or “/”) are put on the phonetic spellings of the four characters: 裳(shng); 乡(xing); 狂(kung); 阳(yng).According to the rules of creating Chinese classical poetic compositions, five-character and seven-character metrical poems have respectively four basic tonal patterns to follow (Yang Zhongyi, Liang Baoli, 2000: 115). They are listed as below:Five-character poems: 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 国(gu) 破(p) 山(shn) 河(h) 在(zi) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 城(chng) 春(chn) 草(co) 木(m) 深(shn) 平(level) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique)夕(x) 阳(yng) 无(w) 限(xin) 好(ho) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 平(level) 只(zh) 是(sh) 近(jn) 黄(hung) 昏(hn)Seven-character poems: 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique)浓(nng) 阴(yn) 似(s) 帐(zhng) 红(hng) 薇(wi) 晚(wn) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 细(x) 雨(y) 如(r) 烟(yn) 碧(b) 草(co) 新(xn) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique)两(ling) 岸(n) 青(qng) 山(shn) 相(xing) 对(du) 出(ch) 平(level) 平(level) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 仄(oblique) 平(level) 平(level)孤(