文学专业的毕业论文英文文献及其翻译

1、彼得纽马克理论视角下的中国诗歌的文化翻译【摘要】作为一种有着悠久历史的中国古典文学形式，中国古代诗歌早已引起国内外学者的广泛关注，国外学者还将其翻译成其它语言。本文试图通过彼得纽马克的理论对中国诗歌的文化翻译进行初步探讨，这也证明了此一理论在中国诗歌的文化翻译上起着关键的作用。【关键词】彼得纽马克，交际翻译，语义翻译，诗歌翻译作为一种有着悠久历史的中国古典文学形式，中国古代诗歌早已引起国内外学者的广泛关注，国外学者还将其翻译成其它语言。对于不同的译者，翻译的版本和方法有很大的不同。英国著名的翻译理论家彼得纽马克，基于自己过去的研究和其他一些跨学科的知识，提出了“语义翻译”与“交际翻译”的原则。

2、1.诗歌翻译的特点诗歌翻译完全不同于小说、戏剧、散文以及电影剧本的翻译，这取决于它自身的特点。那么它的特点是什么？一般来说，有三个主要方面。首先，诗强调节奏和韵律的美感。一首美丽的诗在其诗行之间必须有致命的吸引力。当你听到一些迷人的诗歌正在被阅读，似乎你正在听一首美丽的歌谣。其次，从语言的角度看，诗的语言很简洁，每个信息都有一个单元结构。由于其韵律、节奏和形式的要求，它的结构相当不同于一些常见的语言结构。最后，诗是文学的最高级形式。诗歌是韵律、形式和理念的集成，这其中任何一项的缺失都会导致诗歌的崩毁。更重要的是，诗的意义应该在诗行间得到理解。因为当作家写作一首诗时，诗行间便充溢着许多想象的成分

3、。这也就是说，我们总能看到诗的朦胧之美。对一首诗的理解和感受取决于欣赏者、时间和空间。2关于彼得纽马克的翻译理论根据彼得纽马克的理论，交际翻译对读者产生的效果能够尽可能地接近读者的原初理解。语义翻译则试图在第二语言的语义和句法结构允许的条件下，确切地去表达原始环境中的背景意义。从理论上讲，这两种方法之间有着很大的差异。交际翻译必须更强调效果，而不是消息的内容。语义翻译能得到更多的信息，但是效果较差。语义翻译试图重新创建精确的味道和原来的基调，它涉及到语言的“表现”功能。而交际翻译和它的代表性及呼格功能互相照应。因此对于“油漆未干！”，交际翻译的“不要碰未干的油漆”是强制性的，而语义翻译（“油漆

4、未干”）将提供更多的信息，但效果较差。3关于中国诗歌的文化流变3.1称谓文化称谓文化是一个涉及称谓、语言学和文化的双重属性的符号系统。这是一个符号系统，因为它的特点是语言中的单词或短语。中国历史的演变和中国古代民族间的不断融合造成了时至今日复杂的汉文化。称谓文化就是一个很好的例子。称谓可以分为亲属称谓和关联称谓。亲属称谓是通过婚姻系统产生的一种文化象征。经过长期的文化沉淀，它已成为公认。在中国古代，复杂的婚姻系统最终导致一个复杂的亲属称谓系统，这不可避免地将导致在翻译中称谓困难。例如：未谙姑食性，先遣小姑尝。维吉尼亚：我知道，她不是我的婆婆。但是，我丈夫的妹妹必须尝尝这第一次的味道。徐元春：为

5、了迎合我婆婆的口味，我端给她的女儿第一份（食物）。弗莱彻：但是，什么样的味道阿姨喜欢，我不知道，因此端给我的小姑子第一份。在中国古代，有一个传统习俗，这意味着将表亲转化成姻亲。换句话说，一个女孩如果嫁给了她的母亲的兄弟的儿子，她就会称呼她的丈夫的父母，也就是她的公公和婆婆为叔叔和阿姨。弗莱彻显然混淆了“姑”的表面意思，因此他将这个词的语义翻译为“阿姨”。虽然女孩称呼丈夫的母亲为阿姨，但是在结婚后，她必须表现得像一个儿媳，把“阿姨”当成婆婆并且天天服侍她。这是由封建婚姻制度决定的。因此，弗莱彻已经取得了语义翻译。但是这里的“阿姨”只是充当一个“能指”。处理这个问题的一个好办法是揭开它的面纱，使读

6、者清楚地看到它的脸容，露出它的真实面目。在分析和参看了相关的书籍后，这仍然是一项艰巨的任务。最好的办法是采取交际翻译。前面两个译者都是这样做的。“姑”通常被被翻译为“婆婆”。在这种情况下，TL的读者会清楚完全地理解这首诗；否则，他们就会为其中的人物关系感到困惑。现在，让我们看另外一个例子：例如：嫦娥应悔偷灵药，碧海青天夜夜心。张廷臣和卫般思：嫦娥应悔偷了灵丹妙药在蓝色海洋般的天空：无尽的思念，夜复一夜。孙大雨：嫦娥现在应该非常后悔偷了仙女的灵药，所以她独自一人面对湛蓝的天空以及这浩瀚的海，日日夜夜。拜讷：你是否后悔了偷了那本就要给你的药水。在紫色的海洋和湛蓝的天空下，沉思着过了漫漫长夜？嫦娥是

7、一个仙女，在中国的神话传说中，她吞下从她的丈夫那里偷来的仙丹，飞到了月亮上。在这里，为了让TL的读者了解中国文化中的这一传奇人物，中文的译者都应采用语义翻译并将其转译为“嫦娥”，此翻译的“嫦娥”与“嫦娥”的字母对应。由于原来的诗句采用的是叙事形式，在诗里，“嫦娥”的功能只是作为一个人的标志，它很难让读者充分理解这首诗中的人物。所以，这种转译是很合适的。与此同时，班讷从西方的思维方式，通过一种仿佛在与神或其他人对话的方式充分地翻译这首诗。这种基调可能带给TL的读者仁慈的感觉，并让他们感到自己也在参与。但是，这还不能解释得清谁是“嫦娥”。这说明，有时当两种语言之间的差异不能被TL的读者理解，明智的

8、译者就应该剔除它。3.2关于度量衡的文化在秦统一前，度量衡是非常复杂的。每个国都有自己的度量衡系统。在国家统一后，秦也对其进行规范。这样的系统被一代又一代地流传下来。然而，他们是不知道或不熟悉的外国人。 虽然唐代在海外的文化影响力达到高峰，有些文化理念仍不为外国人所了解。现在，让我们来看看下列情况：例如：桃花潭水深千尺，不及汪伦送我情。小畑：桃花湖有1000英寻那么深，但它也比不上，哦汪伦，你对我的爱的深度。例如：一片孤城万仞山。闻俞：在一个陡峭的高山上唯一的驻军镇站张廷臣和卫般思：在一片巨大的山脉中的一个小镇里的孤独战士孙大雨：一个孤独的桩插在有一百英寻那么高的山上许渊冲：孤独的长城淹没在山

9、上引以为傲弗莱彻：如此之高的中峰小镇的视线几乎丧失这些单位为“尺”（古义）、“仞”的词，在英美文化或现代的中国文化没有对等的词语。根据中国古代词的字典，他们是关于长度、高度或深度的量词。在中国古代，1尺0.26米；1仞6.4chi（电流）2.42.5米。因此，“万仞”24000米25000米。即使今天的中国人，可能也不知道这些。我们可以把它们的语义翻译为260米和24000米，但这样的翻译可能会失去其原词的迷人，并变得更加复杂。因此，小畑选择另一种方式，他使原文中的思想和文化内容更适合读者。在他的版本中，“尺”改为“英寻”，一个对于外国人来说熟悉的词。1尺0.26米，那么1000尺260米；1

10、英寻1.8米，那么1000英寻1800米。因此这两个量词虽然极为不同，但毕竟，这里的“千尺”要表达的是其夸张的意义。以这种方式，读者可以深刻地理解原诗所要传达的意义。而在第二个版本中，孙大雨将“仞”语义翻译成“百弗隆”。他用了一个类似的单位，英美文化进行更换。1百弗隆201米，然后100百弗隆的20100米。这几乎是等于“万仞”的高度。这里的度量方法已不只是想让TL的读者明白作者所想传达的雄伟的山脉的意象，还给了他们一个感性的认识。因此，我们可以看到，孙先生确实用心良苦。 至于其他的版本，他们应该被归类在交际翻译之中。尽管重要的文化字眼已经剔除，所有的版本都足够清楚地被TL的读者所接受。从上面

11、的例子中，我们可以看到，语义翻译并不总是唯一有效的方法。有时交际翻译也可以帮助翻译中大量的文化加载。然而，当它被认为是必须保留的文化时就应该使用语义翻译，我们可以添加注释来解释它的字面意思。在旨在介绍中国文化的版本中有必要使用此方法。3.3时间文化时间文化是指一些关于时间或者时间表达的技术的文化。在中国历史的发展过程中，古中国发明自己特殊的方法来表达时间。用农历来计算月份是一个很好的例子。农历是根据24节气来划分一年的时间。通过这种方式，人们可以很容易地描绘一段时间内的气候和风景。例如：烟花三月下扬州杨宪益和杨格拉迪斯：在迷雾和春天的花朵中，他去了扬州。孙大雨：在这如花的4月风土中，对于人烟稠

12、盛的扬州。许渊冲：对于春天的扬州，不外乎绿柳红花。根据最有名的唐宋四言诗，“烟花”是一个用来描绘春天的语汇，充满了薄雾般的柳絮和锦缎般的花朵，描述了一个灿烂的春天。在这首诗里，它是用来修饰“三月”。 “三月”是指农历的第三个月，几乎是从清明到谷雨后不久。这一段时间几乎是等于现在的4月份。在此期间，鲜花盛开，树木开始长出新叶。在这样的背景下，从TL文化的角度出发，孙大雨先生把它翻译成“如花的四月”。因此，TL的读者可以很容易地想象诗中描绘的绚丽风光。同样的策略已经被其他人所采用。从读者的角度，另外两个译者也成功地避免了混乱，使得TL的读者不至于忽略了“三月”。否则，TL的读者会问，为什么它说这是

13、春天和繁花似锦，这显然是寒冷的三月啊？因为忽视了“三月”，这两个版本的意义显得更清晰，更容易理解。从上面的几个例子我们可以得出一个结论，翻译中主要采用交际翻译来进行文化的译介，特别是在称谓文化和度量衡文化，而在一些关于中国诗歌的文化的粉饰上则加入了语义翻译。但无论译者采用哪种翻译方式，他都必须将准确和真实的原文信息传达给TL的读者。总而言之，彼得纽马克的翻译理论可以成功地应用在中国古代诗歌的英文翻译上。事实证明，所有的翻译都必须在一定程度上具有沟通性和语义性。语义翻译和交际翻译在翻译中都是必要的。此一理论在中国诗歌的英文翻译中起着关键的作用。【参考文献】1Graham. A.C. Poems

14、of The Late Tang M. Britain: Penguin Books Ltd, 1965.2Steiner, George. After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1998.3Liu, James. J.Y. Art of Chinese Poetry M. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1970.4Newmark, Peter. Approaches to TranslationM. Shangh

15、ai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 2001.5丛滋杭.中国古典诗歌英译理论研究M.北京：国防工业出版社，2007.6吕叔湘.英译唐人绝句百首M.湖南：湖南人民出版社，1980.7孙大雨.古诗文英译集M.上海：上海外语教育出版社，1996.On the Cultural Translation of Chinese Poetry From the Perspective of Peter Newmarks Theory【Abstract】 As a type of classical Chinese literature with a

16、long history, the ancient Chinese poetry has long attracted the attention of scholars at home and abroad and been translated by them. This paper attempts to make a tentative study on Peter Newmarks theory in the culture translation of Chinese poetry. It proves that the theory plays a key role in the

17、 culture translation of Chinese poems.【Key Words】 Peter Newmark, communicative translation, semantic translation, poem translationAs a type of classical Chinese literature with a long history, the ancient Chinese poetry has long attracted the attention of scholars at home and abroad and been transla

18、ted by them. For different translators, the translated versions and methods are quite different. Based on his own past research and some other transdisciplinary knowledge, Peter Newmark, the famous English translation theorist, has put forward the principles of “semantic translation” and “communicat

19、ive translation”.1. The Characteristics of Poem TranslationPoem translation is quite different from the translations of novels, dramas, proses and film scripts. This is determined by its own characteristics. Then what are its characteristics? Generally speaking, there are three prime aspects.Firstly

20、, poem emphasizes on the beauty of tempo and metre. A beautiful poem must have much attractiveness between the lines. When you hear some reading the charming poem, it seems that you are listening to a beautiful song.Secondly, from a lingual perspective, the languages of poem is quite succinct and th

21、e information in one unit structure. Its structure is rather different from some common lingual structures, due to the requirement of its metre, rhythm and form.Finally, a poem is the most senior form of literature, its metre, form and idea becoming integration. The lack of anyone of them will lead

22、to the destruction of the whole poem. Whats more, the significance should be read between the lines, because the lines consist of many constituents of imagination when the author produces the poem. That is to say, we can always see the beauty of obscurity from poems. The understanding and feeling to

23、wards a poem depends on the appreciator, time and space.2. About Peter Newmarks Translation TheoryAccording to Peter Newmark, communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original. Semantic translation attempts to

24、render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original. In theory, there are wide differences between the two methods.Communicative translation must emphasize the effect rather than the content of the message, and semant

25、ic translation would be more informative but less effective. Semantic translation attempts to recreate the precise flavor and tone of the original and it relates to the “expressive” function of language, whereas communicative translation responds to the representational and vocative functions. Thus

26、for “Wet Paint!” the communicative translation “Dont touch the wet paint” is mandatory; the semantic translation (paint is wet) would be more informative but less effective.3. A Study on the Cultural Transference of Chinese Poetry3.1 Appellation CultureAppellation culture is a dual-property semiotic

27、 system which concerns with appellation and involves both linguistics and culture. It is a semiotic system because it is marked by words or phrases in languages. The evolution of Chinese history and the continuous blending among nationalities in ancient China has given rise to a complex Han culture.

28、 Appellation culture is a good case in point. Appellation can be divided into relative appellation and association. A relative appellation is a cultural symbol produced by marriage system. After long-term cultural sediment, it has become well established. In ancient China, the complex marriage syste

29、m finally led to a complicated relative appellation system, which inevitably causes troubles in translation.E.g. 未谙姑食性，先遣小姑尝。Verginial: I decide that not my mother-in-law.But my husbands young sister shall have the first taste.Xu Yuanchng: To meet my mother-in-laws taste,I send her daughter the firs

30、t share.Fletcher: But what kind of taste auntie likes, I dont know,So send to my sister-in-law the first share.In ancient China, there was a traditional custom, which meant to turn cousinship into marriage ship. In other words, a girl was supposed to marry the son of her mothers brother, thus she wo

31、uld call her husbands parents, i.e. her father-in-law and mother-in-law uncle and aunt or auntie. Fletcher, obviously, has been confused by the surface meaning of “姑”, hence, he translates this word semantically as “auntie”. Although the girl calls her husbands mother aunt, she has to present as a d

32、aughter-in-law and look at the “aunt” as mother-in-law and serve her everyday after the marriage. This is determined by the feudal marriage system. Thus, Fletcher has made a semantic translation.But here the “auntie” only acts as a “signifier”. A good way to deal with it is to uncover its veil and m

33、ake the readers see clearly its face, to reveal the word in its true colors. After analyzing and consulting reference books, this is not a difficult task. The best way is to take a communicative translation. Both the first two translators have done in this way. “姑”is translated communicatively as “m

34、other in law”. Under this condition, the TL readers will understand the poem in a full; otherwise, they must be confused about the relationship.Now lets take another example:E.g. 嫦娥应悔偷灵药，碧海青天夜夜心。Zhang Tingchen & Wei Bosi: Chang E must regret having stolen the magic elixirIn that blue ocean of a

35、sky: endless thoughts, night after night.Sun Dayu: Change should now sorely regretFor stealing the herb of fay,So she hath to face all alone the blue skyAnd the sea immense night and day.Bynner: Are you sorry for having stolenThe potion that has set you.Over purple seas and blue skies,To brood throu

36、gh the long nights?Change is a fairy lady in a Chinese legend who swallowed elixir stolen from her husband and flew to the moon. Here, in order to let the TL readers get to know the legendary figure in Chinese culture, both Chinese translators have taken the semantic translation and transcribed it i

37、nto “Change”, the alphabetic correspondence of “嫦娥”. Since the original verse is a narrative, in which “Change” functions only as a sign of a person, it is hard for readers to fully understand the figure in the poem. So, this kind of transcription is quite all right.Meanwhile, Bynner, starting from

38、the western thinking mode, has communicatively translated the verse by using the second as if in a dialogue with God or someone else. This kind of tone may bring the TL readers kindness and make them feel as if they are participating. But this cant yet explain who “嫦娥”is. This shows that sometimes w

39、hen the differences between the two languages cant be understood by TL readers, they should be eliminated by sensible translators.3.2 Culture about Weights and MeasuresWeights and measures were very complicated before the unity by the Qin Dynasty. Each country followed its own system of weights and

40、measures. After the unity of the country, Qin also standardized them. Such a system is handed down from generation to generation. Nevertheless, they are unknown or unfamiliar to foreigners. Although the Tang Dynasty reached in a peak in cultural influence abroad, some of the cultural concepts are un

41、known to foreigners. Now lets see the following instances:E.g.桃花潭水深千尺，不及汪伦送我情。Obata: The Peach Flower Lake is a thousand fathoms deep,But it cannot compare, O Wang Lun,With the depth of your love for me.E.g.一片孤城万仞山。Wen Shu: On a steep high mountain the lone garrison town standsZhang Tingchen & W

42、ei Bosi: Amid the massive mountains lies the solitary sliver of a townSun Dayu: And a lone pile lies by a mount a hundred furlongs highXu Yuanchong: The lone Great Wall lost amid the mountains proudFletcher: Mid peaks so high our tiny town to sight is almost lostSuch units as “尺” (in its ancient mea

43、ning), “仞”have no equivalence in Anglo-American culture or modern Chinese culture. According to A Dictionary for Ancient Chinese Words, both of them are measures of length, height or depth. In ancient Chinese, 1尺0.26m; 1仞6.4chi(current)2.42.5meter. So “万仞”24000meter25000m. Even people in China today

44、 may not know these. We may translate them semantically as 260m and 24000m, but which may make the translated versions lost their original charming and become more complicated. Therefore, Obata chooses another way, he adapts and makes the thought and cultural content of original more accessible to r

45、eader. In his version, “尺”is replaced by “fathom”, a word familiar to foreigners. 1尺0.26m, then 1000尺260m; 1fathom1.8m, then 1000fathoms1800m. Thus it seems the two figures differ largely from each other, but after all, the “千尺” here is in its exaggerated meaning. In this way, the readers can get th

46、e rough meaning of a great depth conveyed by the original poem.While in the second version, Sun Dayu has semantically translated “仞”into “a hundred furlongs”. He used a similar unit in Anglo-American culture for replacement. 1furlong201m, then 100furlong20100m. This is almost equal to the height of

47、“万仞”. The domesticating method here has not merely made the TL readers understand the grandeur of the mountains the author wanted to convey, but also given them a perceptual knowledge of this point. Thus we can see that Mr. Sun has really given much thought to the matter.As for the other versions, t

48、hey should be categorized under communicative translation. Although the key cultural word has been sacrificed, all the versions have become clear enough to be accepted by TL readers.From the above examples, we see that semantic translation is not always the only valid method. Sometimes communicative

49、 translation may also help to translate those words that are heavily culture-loaded. However, when it is imperative to retain the culture, semantic translation should be considered, that is, we can translate the words literally and then add a note. In versions that aim to introduce Chinese culture,

50、it is necessary to use this method.3.3 Time CultureTime culture refers to some culture that is related to time or the techniques to express time. During the development of Chinese history, ancient Chinese invent their own special methods to express time. Using lunar calendar to calculate months is a

51、 good case in point. That is to divide a year according to the twenty-four solar terms. In this way, people can easily depict what the climate or scenery is like during a period of time.E.g.烟花三月下扬州Yang Xianyi &Gladys Yang: In the mist and flowers of spring,He goes down to Yangzhou.Sun Dayu: In t

52、his flowery April clime,For thickly peopled Yangzhou.Xu Yuanchong: For Yangzhou in spring green with willows and red with flowers.According to Best-Known Tang and Song Four-Line Poems,“烟花” is a phrase to depict the spring that is filled with the mist-like willow catkin and the brocade-like flowers,

53、that is to describe a splendid spring. Here in the verse, it is used to modify “三月”. “三月”in the lunar calendar refers to the third month, the period almost from the pure Brightness till soon after Grain Rain. This period of time is nearly equal to the fourth month of the year, April. During this time, flowers blossom and the trees begin to put forth new leaves.”Against such a background, starting from the TL culture,