The English Translation of Personal Names in The Story of the Stone《红楼梦》中人物姓名的翻译

1、衡阳师范学院 毕业论文（设计）题 目：the translation of personal names in the story of the stone 红楼梦中人物姓名的 翻译 所 在 系： 外语系 专 业： 英 语 学 号： 07080923 作者姓名： 指导教师： 2011年 4 月目 录任务书.i开题报告.iv开题报告会纪要 .vii成绩评定表（一）.viii成绩评定表（二）.ix成绩评定表（三）.xoutline.1论文正文.2衡阳师范学院毕业论文（设计）任务书论文题目the translation of personal names in the story of the st

2、one红楼梦中人物姓名的翻译 学生姓名 学 号07080923专 业英语班 级2007级9班指导教师 职 称副教授起止时间2010年9月27日 至2011 年4月30日一、毕业论文（设计）的研究内容（或任务、目标）：研究内容：红楼梦是我国的经典名著，是我国古典小说描写人物的典范之作，全书不仅冠姓命名的“小说人物”有三四百人之众，而且其姓名之繁，命名之巧，字号之妙，寓意之深，影响之广，都是有口皆碑的。论文将从原著出发，对比戴维霍克斯的英译本“the story of the stone”和杨宪益夫妇的译本“a dream of red mansions”中人名的翻译，分析两译作译者所采取的不同翻

3、译方法，所采用方法的原因以及产生的效果。并通过中国人名的传统文化分析对比出两译本人物翻译各自的优点与不足。通过研究学习，得出自己的结论与见解。本文将大致分为六个部分：一、议论和铺垫。名著中人物姓名对名著有重要作用并反映人物性格。二、从文化的角度来看人名的翻译。三、简析归化和异化的理论常识。四、从音、形和意方面分析红楼梦中的姓名。五、译本对比同时结合原著，从语用角度看人名的翻译。六、讨论不同作者中选择不同的翻译方法的原因，以及所产生的不同效果。七、总结与思考。总结研究的结果，并提出自己的观点。 二、论文进度安排：2010年9月27日开始 收集资料2010年11月13日前 完成开题报告2010年1

4、1月28日前 参加开题答辩 2011年1月3月 交论文初稿及修改论文2011年4月9日前 交论文定稿2011年5月前 参加答辩三、主要参考文献与资料：1liuxi. the exploration of the chinese pun in hong lou meng( a dream of red mansions) d.电子科技大学, 2005.2david hawkes. the story of the stonem. penguinbooks, 1977.3yang hsienyi & gladys yang. a dream of red mansionsm. foreign la

5、nguage press, beijing, china, 1994.4yangying. study of the translation of personal names in hawkes version of“ the story of the stone” d.陕西师范大学, 2001.5卜爱会.浅析人名文化与翻译j.科技信息(学术研究),2007,(21):174.6曹雪芹.红楼梦m.长春出版社,2001.7龚群.浅析比较红楼梦杨译本和霍译本对人名翻译的处理j.华商,2008,(07):132-133.8胡晓梅,许之所.论中国人名的文化内涵j.理论月刊,2006,(11):70-

6、72.9李涛.肖维青.红楼梦人名艺术及英译方法浅探j.江西师范大学学报,2001,(02):109-112.10潘宝明.红楼梦人物起名艺术j.华夏文化,2003,(02):37-39.11谢四四.从红楼梦双关语翻译看其译者的翻译策略j.科技信息,2008,(33):42-43.12庄卫国.红楼梦人名翻译人名翻译中的归化与异化j.中共桂林市党委校学报,2007,(02):45-46.指导教师签名： 年 月 日教研室意见：负责人签名： 年 月 日系审核意见：负责人签名： 年 月 日衡阳师范学院本科生毕业论文（设计）开题报告论文题目the translation of personal names

7、in the story of the stone 红楼梦中人物姓名的翻译学生姓名 学 号07080923专 业英语班 级2007级9班指导教师 职 称副教授一、选题的目的、意义及国内外研究动态： 选题的目的：红楼梦一书中人物名字大都引自古诗或谐音寓意。本文将从人物名字入手，结合人物个性与背景，讨论其意义与翻译办法并简析用怎样的办法可以将人物名字翻译得达意并美观。 选题的意义：红楼梦是一部很卓越的小说，它在各个细节处都匠心独运，因此有很多地方是值得探究并讨论的。小说中众多人物名字往往与人物性格、命运甚至是小说故事情节发展脉络有着至关重要的联系，这更使其人物性格的翻译值得推敲。中文的姓名翻译成英

8、文往往面临众多问题，例如：如何翻译姓名本身的内涵，如何在达意的基础上使名字读起来朗朗上口并且在视觉上美观。研究之后，将对中国古代名著的人名翻译问题有一个较为深入的解析。 国内外研究动态：红楼梦的英文翻译是可追溯到1830年，至今已170多年。全译本中最为公众认可的是杨宪益夫妇和霍克斯的译本。近年来，国内著名红学专家常将目标锁定在红楼梦中具有双关修辞作用的人物姓名进行研究，目的在于探索人名中所暗指的意义以及对后事发展的铺垫，与此同时国内外研究者从归化与异化的角度来分析此名著中人名翻译的方法。二、主要研究内容、创新之处：主要研究内容：红楼梦是我国的经典名著，是我国古典小说描写人物的典范之作，全书不

9、仅冠姓命名的“小说人物”有三四百人之众，而且其姓名之繁，命名之巧，字号之妙，寓意之深，影响之广，都是有口皆碑的。论文将从原著出发，对比戴维霍克斯的英译本“the story of the stone”和杨宪益夫妇的英译本“a dream of red mansions”中人名的翻译，分析两译作译者所采取得不同翻译方法，所采用方法的原因以及产生的效果。并通过中国姓名的传统文化分析对比出两译本人物翻译各自的优点与不足。通过研究学习，探究译者选择其翻译方法的目的与产生的效果。创新之处：本文将从原著内容出发，结合文献分析人物姓名与原著之间的微妙关联，同时从音、形、意等方面分析原著人物姓名的美感及其语用

10、价值。使探究的过程变得有趣而充满新奇。文中运用实例对比在归化和异化的条件下英译人物姓名的不同，并结合双关、反语等修辞方式以及中国传统文化等，对比分析霍克斯和杨宪益夫妇译本中人物姓名的不同翻译所产生的不同效果。三、研究方法、设计方案或论文提纲：i. 引言ii. 从文化的角度来看人名的翻译iii. 简析归化和异化的理论常识iv. 红楼梦中的姓名的分析 4.1. 红楼梦中人物姓名的音美 4.2. 红楼梦中人物姓名的形美 4.3. 红楼梦中人物姓名的意美v. 译本对比同时结合原著，从语用角度看人名的翻译 5.1. 两译本中人物姓名翻译中的音美、形美、以及意美 5.2. 原著与译作中人物姓名中的双关 5

11、.3. 原著与译作中人物姓名中的反语 5.4. 译作对原文的忠实vi. 讨论不同作者中选择不同的翻译方法的原因，以及所产生的不同效果vii. 结语四、完成期限和预期进度：2010年11月28日前 参加开题答辩 2011年1月3月 交论文初稿及修改论文2011年4月9日前 交论文定稿2011年5月前 参加答辩五、主要参考资料：1david hawkes. the story of the stonem. penguinbooks, 1977.2liuxi. the exploration of the chinese pun in hong lou meng( a dream of red ma

12、nsions) d.电子科技大学, 2005.3yang hsienyi & gladys yang. a dream of red mansionsm. foreign language press, beijing, china, 1994.4yangying. study of the translation of personal names in hawkes version of“ the story of the stone” d.陕西师范大学, 2001.5曹雪芹.红楼梦m.长春出版社,2001.6龚群.浅析比较红楼梦杨译本和霍译本对人名翻译的处理j.华商,2008,(07):

13、132-133.7李涛.肖维青.红楼梦人名艺术及英译方法浅探j.江西师范大学学报,2001,(02):109-112.8潘宝明.红楼梦人物起名艺术j.华夏文化,2003,(02):37-39.六、指导教师意见：签名： 年 月 日 开 题 报 告 会 纪 要时间地点与会人员姓 名职务（职称）姓 名职务（职称）姓 名职务（职称）会议记录摘要：会议主持人：记 录 人：年 月 日教研室（或开题报告评审小组）意见：负责人签名： 年 月 日系工作小组意见：负责人签名： 年 月 日 viiioutlineabstractkey wordsi. introductionii. the differences

14、between the english and the chinese cultures reflected in name translationiii. the introduction of domestication and foreignization iv. an analysis of the names in the story of the stone4.1. artistic beauty in sound4.2. artistic beauty in form4.3. artistic beauty in sensev. comparison between the tr

15、anslations of david hawkes, yangs hsienyi & gladys yangs 5.1. beauties in sound, form and sense in the two versions5.2. puns in the original and the translations5.3. irony in the original and the translations.5.4. faithfulness to the originalvi. contrasts between the two translations for purpose and

16、 functionvii. conclusionbibliography中文标题、摘要、关键词the english translation of personal names in the story of the stone abstract: we chinese always have names with special meanings, such as good wishes for the futures, great personalities and so on. there are so many names for the characters in the book

17、of the story of the stone. different names may have different connotations to convey the owners dispositions. compared with the english names, chinese names are more complicated in many ways in sound, vision, form, and sense. the great translators such as hawkes david and yang hsienyi & gladys yang

18、translated this great chinese classics, the story of the stone. david applies domestication to translating the names and the yangs applied foreignization. both methods have their respective advantages and disadvantages when adopted in translation like that. this study tries to compare the two transl

19、ated works and consider what problem from different perspectives. keywords: names in the story of the stone; domestication; foreignization; pun红楼梦中人物姓名的翻译 摘 要：中国人的姓名和欧美国家人们的姓名不同。中文的姓名常常包含着各种的寓意，比如长辈的期待，亲人们的祝福，或者希望子女所拥有的品格或特点。中文的姓名也常常和中国的国学有联系，如儒家思想，五行，风水，周易以及古代文学等。中国人起名还与辈分有关，什么辈分姓名中便有固定的字或偏旁。繁琐的起名文

20、化更是体现了中国五千年传统文化的博大精深与源远流长。据红楼梦人物辞典所言，红楼梦一共涉及有名有姓的人1121多人，其中分为两个来源：贾家子孙或与贾家有关系的人以及来自神话传说的人，其姓名之繁，命名之巧，字号之妙，寓意之深，影响之广，都是有口皆碑的。在红楼梦的英文译作中，比较出名的是汤姆霍克斯和杨宪益夫妇的译本。霍克斯采用归化的方式处理人名的翻译问题，是名字可以被外国友人读懂。而杨宪益夫妇则相反，选取异化再加注解的方式保证了姓名的“中国味儿”。在这篇论文中，我们将讨论红楼梦中人物姓名的英译问题，并结合霍译本和杨译本，分析归化和异化对人名翻译的不同作用以及产生的不同效果。关键字：红楼梦人名；归化；

21、异化；中国传统文化；双关语i. introductiondifferent cultures have their own background and contents. because of its long history, the chinese language has become one of the most complex and imaginative languages in the world. our chinese names always contain many senses such as good wishes. and also, they have so

22、me esthetic value, some of them are short but condensed, meaningful and pleasant to ears. it is hard to translate the chinese names into english. translating the names of the story of the stone has big significance for the culture communication of the chinese and the foreign languages. novel transla

23、tors pay much emphasis on creation of their characters, so name translation is crucial to the translating of the whole work. referring to the dictionary of the characters in the book of the story of the stone, we can see that there are more than 1100 characters in that work. such multitudinous amoun

24、t of people with their unique names, their names embody the feature of the characters. some names tell something about the features of the characters, and some give clues of the story or reflect the society. by translating the names in the work, we get closed to the author of the story of the stone,

25、 and have a chance to take a glance at the profoundness of chinese.nowadays, scholars often focus on the using of ironies and puns in the names in the story of the stone. we can easily find some articles or videos which with the ironies or puns used in the names, such as bu guxiu, jiaoxing, daiquan(

26、卜顾修, 娇杏, 戴权), and so on. by studying this, we find a lot of joys. they are just word games in some ways.but there are also some shortages in translating the names. because of the difference of the cultures, we can find that there are untouched areas in translation. chinese names always contain great

27、 sense with short words, so if we want to translate the meaning well, we should use sentences. but sentences cannot be a name. and also, some chinese cannot be expressed in english, for example, “鸳鸯”, was translated as “faithful goose”. in this article, we will try to discuss name translation in the

28、 story of the stone. as a special form of chinese, names give us an opportunity to feel the splendid chinese literature. being a bridge for cultural communication, translation requires us to have a good command of the two different cultures and languages. the story of the stone, as a model for class

29、ical character writing, gave us challenges in name translation.ii. the differences between the english and the chinese cultures reflected in name translationvocabulary, as the smallest unit in language, though may has the same meanings in different languages, usually makes different inner reflection

30、s because of different culture. and it always has the meaning of the same word is completely not the same in different languages. both english and chinese have some vocabularies about some special kinds of creatures, colors, and objects which have some meanings under given conditions. we have an exa

31、mple from the fifth chapter.the original : 水溶见他语言清楚,谈吐有致,一面又向贾政道:“令郎真乃龙驹凤雏”。the yangs : (the prince)turned to observe to jiazheng,”your son is truly a dragons colt or young phoenix?”hawkes : the prince observed to jia zheng that “the young phoenix was worthy of his sire.”both translations relate to

32、these two kinds of animals: 龙 and 凤. they both have rich cultural connotations. the animal dragon in english means the devil incarnate, but in chinese the animal symbols auspicious. and phoenix, means rebirth in english, at the same time means auspicious in chinese, too. so hawkes remained the meani

33、ng of phoenix and left the dragon out. and as the offspring of 龙, the yangs wanted to introduce the chinese traditional culture to the english spoken countries. so they translated into “a dragons colt or young phoenix”. we can find that the translations were taking different sense of culture.religio

34、n, as the representative of a basic standard of moral and behavior in one culture, occupies the central position of the culture. it passes through the whole life of society, the art, even the traditional custom. and language brands its particular marks deeply on the culture during the process. buddh

35、ism has a great influence with the chinese culture. many of the chinese vocabularies which have relations to buddhism are well used by people. we have some examples in the work from the first chapter: the original: 世人都晓神仙好。the yangs: all men long to be immortals.hawkes: men all know that salvation s

36、hould be won.“神仙” is a notion from taoism. referring to taoism, everyone wants to have a chance to be immortals after death. but in the western countries, many people believe in god. and the bible teaches people that everyone is guilty in this world. they should expiate their guilt continuously and

37、beg the god for their salvations. so from the translation above, we can find that the yangs reflected the culture both in buddhism and taoism, but the translation of hawkes had an obvious value of christian religion. iii. the introduction of domestication and foreignizationdomestication and foreigni

38、zation are the two terminologies of translation studies. they were first raised by lawrence venuti in the work of the translators invisibility: a history of translation in 1995. but they were from an article written by a germanic scholar, schleiermacher, in 1813. schleiermacher emphasized the indivi

39、sible relationship between translation and comprehension. he pointed that there were two states of translation: one was getting the readers close to the author; the other was making the author closed to the readers. (lawrence venuti, 2008:92) then, if readers are close to the author, they will have

40、chances to feel the exotic atmosphere. domestication is a method which can be accepted by the readers more easily, while foreignization is more faithful to the original translation. the most important feature of domestication is using the real english to translate the original. so the differences be

41、tween the two languages become invisible. on the other hand, foreignization remains the differences.we cannot only focus on how to change one language to the other, but to find the deep cultural connotations under the surface of the languages when we are doing translation. translators should have kn

42、own the culture of the language we translate, and have a thorough understanding of difference between the languages and handle the two methods of translation skillfully and flexibly.as the two translation strategies, domestication and foreignization are not two extremes, actually, foreignization or

43、domestication doesnt exist in absolute sense. in practice translator should be in accord with specific characteristics of different language, the purpose of language, the source language and target language features, such as proper use of the two national cultural policies. an example from the work

44、gone with the wind, mr. 傅东华 translates the name scarlett o hara as 郝思嘉. it is superior than other translations like 斯嘉丽 or 斯卡里特. the name has both the cultures from west and east. it seems both from chinese and english. 贾雨村and 甄士隐, are examples from the story of the stone. the two names sound like “

45、 假语存, 真事隐” in chinese. the meanings of them are “remain the lies and hide the truths “. the yangs translated them with the webster phonetic alphabets as “chenshih yin and “ chiayu tsun”. and hawkes were “jiayu cun” and “zhenshi yin”.iv. an analysis of the names in the story of the stone 4.1. artisti

46、c beauty in soundchinese names are always beautiful in sound. we want the name pleasant to ears and readable, also, easy to remember. for example, the twelve actresses who perform opera in family贾. their names are meaningless, which have two characters, one for sound, and the other for their jobs. s

47、uch as 芳官, 龄官, 艾官, 宝官, 豆官, 葵官, 蕊官, 文官, 营官, 玉官, 药官, 藕官. 4.2. artistic beauty in formchinese names are always beautiful in form. in china, families usually have books named genealogies, which are about the family trees. the genealogy regulates the names with the order of generation. the same generatio

48、n has the same symbol. it can be a word or just a part of the word. it is a common naming way for the one family members, in other words, the names of the same generation in the same family may look alike. as examples in the story of the stone, the symbol of the heros generation is “玉” . so, the nam

49、e of the hero is 贾宝玉, and his brothers are called 贾环, 贾琼, 贾瑞, 贾琏, 贾璎, and so on. another example in this book is the next generation of the hero. their symbol is “草” . so, their names are 贾蓉, 贾芹, 贾芳, 贾芬, 贾范, 贾萍, 贾蔷, etc. 4.3. artistic beauty in sensechinese names are always beautiful in sense. in ch

50、ina, names often express the good wishes for the children. we wish them to have splendid futures or be all-rounders. sometimes they reflect the love we give to the children. 板儿, as the grandson of 刘姥姥, a remote relative of the family of 贾: “板儿” means coins or small amount of money. 刘姥姥, give the nam

51、e to him to wish he will be rich when he grows up. 来旺, 来喜, 兴儿, 隆儿, and小吉祥儿 are some servants in the big family. their masters think they will bring good luck to the family.take a special example of the four sisters names and their servants names. the sisters in the family of 贾the servants贾元春抱琴贾迎春司棋贾

52、探春侍书贾惜春入画from the form above, we can see that only the middle chinese character in the four sisters are different. when we read them together as “元迎探惜”, it sounds like “原应叹息” . and the second chinese characters in the four servants names, we can read as “琴棋书画” . we can find the author, cao xueqin, r

53、acked his brains to find names for the characters in his book.v. comparison between the translations of hawkes david, yang hsienyi & gladys yang hawkes david was a great scholar in england and was a professor at oxford university. he studied chinese in beijing university at the end of 40th last cent

54、ury. he translated the great work, 红楼梦, with his son- in-law john minford. the couple of yang were the giants on english literature in china. they made great contributions to the communication of culture between english and chinese. first, the translations of the title of the work are not the same. hawkes translated it as “the story of the stone”. but the yangs was “a dream of red mansions”. as we all known, this work was named “ 石头记” before. and the story is about a immortal stone, which turned into 贾宝玉 as it came on earth. as the hero of the tale, all the clues