用功能对等理论解读许渊冲的英译诗——以《李白诗选》的部分诗歌为例

1、摘 要本文拟用奈达的功能对等翻译理论解读许渊冲的译作英文版李白诗选，选取许渊冲译作李白诗选中部分典型的研究个例，从语音，语义，语篇，语用的角度出发，运用功能对等理论的翻译原则对译作进行分析，品位许渊冲先生唯美的翻译艺术，同时证明奈达的功能对等理论对中国的翻译实践，特别是诗歌的翻译具有重要意义，其翻译的原则对衡量译作的优劣具有指导作用。关键词：功能对等，李白诗选，许渊冲ABSTRACTThis paper aims to apply Nida's functional equivalence theory to the study of the English version of Se

2、lected Poems of Li Bai, translated by the well-known Chinese professor Xu Yuanzhong. Some typical poems will be taken as research examples, and be analyzed from phonetic, semantic, contextual, and pragmatic perspectives. The aesthetic art of Xu Yuanzhong's translation will be appreciated in this

3、 way, and it will be proved that Nida's functional equivalence theory is significant to Chinese translation practice too, especially to poetry translation; its principles of translation also provide a clear guidance to the evaluation of translated works.Key words: functional equivalence; Selecte

4、d Poems of Li Bai; Xu YuanzhongContents1.Introduction12.Introductions of Xu Yuanzhong and His Translated Work Selected Poems of Li Bai22.1Brief introduction of Xu Yuanzhong22.2Xu Yuanzhong's Poetry Translation Selected Poems of Li Bai23.The brief introduction of Function Equivalence of Nida43.1I

5、ntroduction of Nida43.2Introduction of Functional Equivalence44.Analysis of Xu's Translation of Selected Poems of Li Bai from Functional Equivalence Perspective64.1Functional Equivalence in Sound6Rhyme6Meter74.2Functional Equivalence in Meaning8Word meaning11Sentence meaning124.3Functional Equiv

6、alence of Context13Linguistic Context.13Non - linguistic Context134.4Functional Equivalence in Pragmatics14Functional Equivalence in Reading Habits14Functional Equivalence in Cultural Transmission155.Conclusion16Acknowledgements17References181. Introduction Functional equivalence follows the princip

7、le of equivalent effect, that is, translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language, first in terms of meaning, and secondly in terms of style. It attempts to render texts from one language to another, and caters to the receptor's

8、linguistic competence and cultural needs.Classic Chinese poetry is the gem in the history of Chinese civilization. Chinese language is not burdened with cases, genders, moods, tenses, etc., neither is the classical Chinese poetry. The poets intentionally omitted some parts to break away from the lim

9、itation of time and space and leave more room for imagination, turning the individual experience into something that invites people's resonance, which is imbued with artistic characteristics. Many scholars home and abroad have studied Li Bai's poems, and there is no doubt that Xu Yuanzhong i

10、s one of the masters of translating classic Chinese poems into English. Different scholars have different views, and we can not judge them in an arbitrary way. However, impersonally, most of Xu Yuanzhong's translations are always considered as classic. He built a bridge of appreciation between w

11、estern readers and ancient Chinese poets such as Li Bai.2. Introductions of Xu Yuanzhong and His Translated Work Selected Poems of Li Bai2.1 Brief introduction of Xu YuanzhongXu Yuanzhong (1921- ) is the translator and professor of Beijing University. His works are published in Chinese, English, and

12、 French, including The Book of Poetry, Songs of the South, Selected Poems of Li Bai, The West Chamber, Red and Black, Madame Bovary, and other famous works in the world. In 1999 he was nominated as candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Xu Yuanzhong is also an outstanding representative in tr

13、anslation circle and he translates poetry in the poetic way. Not only has he made brilliant contributions to cultural exchanges, but his innovative translation theories and thinking have pointed out the future direction and way-out for translation. Prof. Xu's theory of poetry translation has a s

14、ignificant status in the framework of Chinese poetry translation. He has a unique opinion about poetry translation, which can be summed up in one sentence: art of beautification and creation of the best as in rivalry. It is further expressed in five aspects: (1) the principle of beauty in sense, sou

15、nd and form. (2) the principle of similarity in sense, sound and form. (3) the principle of generalization, equalization and particularization. (4) the theory of comprehension, appreciation and admiration. (5) the theory of advantage and rivalry.However, the question of how to treat his theory scien

16、tifically has not been solved in a convincing way. Some scholars point out that there are too many unspecific expressions in his theory. It is no uniform standard when they use his theory to translate. It seems that the theory lack of scientific foundation and logicality.Every theory can not be perf

17、ect, and no one can deny Xu Yuanzhong's contribution to the poetry translation theory and practice. As a fact, he is a productive translator with high-quality works.2.2 Xu Yuanzhong's Poetry Translation Selected Poems of Li BaiLi Bai is one of the best-known Chinese poets in the world. He is

18、 regarded as the greatest romantic poet of the Tang Dynasty and of China of all times. The first English version of his poetry is The Work of Li Po translated by Shigeyoshi Obata and published in 1922 by Dutton in New York, on which Professor Wen Yiduo wrote a critical essay in 1926. Selected Poems

19、of Li Bai contains 111 poems, and it has almost covered poems in Li Bais whole life. Some of poems reveal his deep love of nature as well as his native land, such as The Moon over the Eyebrow Mountains and the most famous poem Thoughts on a Silent Night; some are for the emperor and his favorite lov

20、er, such as The Beautiful Lady Yang; others express his political ideal, Hard is the Way of the World and Hard is the Road to Shu are supposed to be important works of this theme. Xu Yuanzhong's Selected Poems of Li Bai was first published in1987. Because of his authority in translation, his tra

21、nslation is always quoted as an example in many scholars' articles. We can find a lot of favorable remarks on Xu Yuanzhong's poetry translation. Qian Zhongshu evaluated Xu's Selected Poems of Li Bai: "If Li Po lived in the same age as you (Prof. Xu), he would surely regard you as hi

22、s sworn friend!" (“与君苟并世,必莫逆于心耳。”) Yang Zhenning, Xu's schoolmate and good friend, praised that Xu's poetry translation was like an elegant dance without bonds. A British professor, after finishing reading his work, said that his translation was a wonder that can even be compared favora

23、bly with Shakespeare's sonnets. Still, some scholars criticized that his translation was not faithful enough to the original text. The current researches mainly focus on his translation principle of "beauty in conception, sound and form". The majority of the scholars think that his the

24、ory of "Three Beauties" is the guiding principle in poetry translation. He makes great contribution to the practice of poem translation. Based on his extensive practice and experience, Professor Xu puts forward systematic theories on translation, a combination of traditional translation th

25、eories in China from ancient times and his own creative insights.Few scholars have systematically commented on Professor Xu's translation of Selected Poems of Li Bai. None has ever tried to apply any western translation theory to his practice of poem translation. Therefore I will make a research

26、 from this perspective on the basis of current researches.3. The brief introduction of Function Equivalence of Nida3.1 Introduction of NidaEugene A. Nida (1914- ) is a distinguished American translation theorist as well as linguist. His translation theory has exerted a tremendous influence on transl

27、ation studies in western countries. His works on translation set off the study of modern translation as an academic field (Snell-Hornby 1988: 1; Heylen 1993: 4; Baker 1998: 277), and he is regarded as the most influential one among all contemporary translation theorists (Newmark 1993: 133).From the

28、early 1960s to the 1980s, Nida's theory has great impact on western translation theorists, and enjoys great popularity both in Germany and in the United States. Nida's scientific approach to translation has heavily influenced German translation studies and “the science of translation” has pr

29、edominated the teaching of translation in German.Nida's influence upon Chinese translation studies is greater still. Before his theory was introduced into China in the 1980s, people mainly focused attention on tradition Chinese theories on translation, especially Yan Fu's three-character pri

30、nciple of translation, i.e. faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. Since Nida's theory was based solidly on contemporary developments of linguistics, communication theory, information theory, semiotics and anthropology, Chinese translation scholars took great interest in his theory. As time

31、went by, Nida's theory was questioned and challenged. As a matter of fact, there are quite some misunderstandings and misconceptions about certain aspects of his theory. Take "dynamic equivalence" for example. Some Chinese scholars regard Nida's "dynamic equivalence" the

32、same as the concept of "equivalence" in western translation theories. To a certain degree they have concealed the real nature of his theory, and created confusion in the field of Chinese translation study. Therefore, it is necessary to re-examine Nida's theory and get a true picture of

33、 it.3.2 Introduction of Functional Equivalence"Equivalence" in Nida's theory, however, never means absolute sameness. In his view, translating was not to get something completely identical, but to reproduce “the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message” in the receptor

34、 language (1969: 12) "Dynamic equivalence" is a key concept in Nida's translation theory. It was first put forward in Toward a Science of Translating (1969) and elaborated in The Theory and Practice of Translation (1969) in great details. Since the expression "dynamic equivalence&

35、quot; has been misunderstood by some translators as referring to "anything which might have special impact and appeal for receptors", Nida replaced it with "functional equivalence" in his 1986 work From One Language to Another (with De Waard). Meanwhile, by adopting this expressi

36、on "functional equivalence", he hopes to emphasize "the communicative functions of translating". Despite the change, Nida expresses clearly that "the substitution of 'functional equivalence' is not designated by the phrase 'dynamic equivalence'" (De Waar

37、d and Nida 1986: vii).Nida further develops "functional equivalence" by dividing it into two levels: the minimal level and the maximal level. The former is defined as "the reader of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the origin

38、al readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it". The latter is described as "the readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did". A good translation always lies in between the two l

39、evels (Nida 1995). In comparison with some translation theories which attempt to pinpoint a single standard, "functional equivalence" allows a wide range of diversity in transiting.4. Analysis of Xu's Translation of Selected Poems of Li Bai from Functional Equivalence Perspective4.1 Fu

40、nctional Equivalence in Sound 4.1.1 RhymeA rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words. Rhyme is important in a poem, especially in classic Chinese poems. Because of the rhyme, the poem becomes more concise and soul-stirring. Professor Xu never forgets the principle of "beauty

41、in sound", though it is hard to make balance between form and conception. When translating, he pays attention to the rhyme, and the fact proves that it not only enjoys the readers' physical senses but clarifies the author's mental feelings, and it is one representation of the functional

42、 equivalence. Take an example of Li Bai's poem: Original text： “望天门山”天门中断楚江开，碧水东流至此回。两岸青山相对出，孤帆一片日边来。Xu's version: Mount Heaven's Gate Viewed from Afar Breaking Mount Heaven's Gate, the great River rolls through,Its east-flowing green billows, hurled back here, turn north.From the tw

43、o river banks thrust out the mountains blue,Leaving the sun behind, a lonely sail comes forth.The original Chinese text has metrical feet of "ai" in the first, second and forth line, Xu's version use one of the most common forms of quatrain, "abab". Someone may argue that the

44、 position of metrical feet has been changed, and the frequency is different. According to Nida's theory, "equivalence" does not mean "sameness", but to reproduce the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message. Chinese classic poems have the feature of using rhy

45、mes, so should translation version, so that the readers have the strong sense of strict structures in the poems. It is also one of the differences between the poem and prose. In addition, the foreign readers can not understand some skills and principles of using rhyme in Chinese classic poems, i.e.

46、level and oblique tone (平仄). To meet their reading habits (further discussion in ), Xu's version is suitable.4.1.2 MeterIn poetry, meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. It is formed by the phonological effects of stress and non-stress. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specifi

47、c verse meter, or a certain set of meters alternating in a particular order. The scansion of a poem is the analysis of its metrical structure. The Chinese characters are single-syllable, so the meter of Chinese poetry is based on the rhyme and the principle of level and oblique tone (平仄) contrast. I

48、n comparison, English poetry is focused on the stress. Strictly speaking, it hardly makes functional equivalence in this aspect. However, Li Bais poetry is not only beautiful in conception, but also in sound and form. That is why it can be passed on for generations. So when we try to show the charm

49、of his work to the foreign readers, we can not neglect the meter. And we should make full use of the advantages of English poems, finding a particular way to achieve functional equivalence in meter. Xu yuanzhong is a master to find a balance between form and conception. Look at one poem of Li Bai ca

50、lled “秋浦歌” and two versions from Xu yuanzhong and Red Pine-Bill Porter. Original text：“秋浦歌” 白发三千丈， 缘愁似个长。 不知明镜里， 何处的秋霜？Red Pine-Bill Porter's version: Qiupu River SongMy white hair extends three miles.The sorrow of parting made it this long,Looking in a mirror who would guess,Where autumn frost

51、comes from. Xu's version: Songs of Autumn PoolLong, long is my whitening hair,Long, long is it laden with care.I look into my mirror bright;From where comes autumn frost in sight? In the original text, the first and second line is one union, the third and forth line is another. The first two wor

52、ds in the first two lines rhyme in "level" tone, and the rest words in the poem are in the contrast of "level and oblique tone" in respective union. It has strong sense of rhythm. And we can feel it is in a sad mood. When we read this poem, we use a drawl tone.In the Red Pine-Bil

53、l Porter's version, the rhyme pattern is "abab", straight and narrow. We can neither feel strong sense of rhythm nor the distress mood. In Xu's version, he uses repetition in the first two lines; the word "long" appears four times, which first win in the impression. And t

54、he two lines also use alliteration, which is equivalent to the rhetoric of the original text. He also makes it in dealing with the meter. The first two lines are in the same meter structure. The stress and non-stress words are used interlaced. It achieves functional equivalence to the "level an

55、d oblique tone" in original text.4.2 Functional Equivalence in Meaning As we all know, the Chinese language, rich in musical sounds, homophones, rhyme schemes and tonal patterns is by nature a most melodious and poetic language. In classic Chinese poetry, words are employed flexibly and the par

56、ts of speech are transformed freely. The same word can be used as noun, verb, adjective, etc, decided by the context. One word may arouse various imaginations. Moreover, the conception of a poem is transformed by words. Almost every word is irreplaceable. Sometimes the misunderstandings will lead to

57、 the improper translations. It is said that translation is a language-exchange activity. When translating, the translator should continuously make the comparison between the source language and target language, and find the proper words. If the translators use the inherent expression of target langu

58、age to translate the peculiar culture or thought in the source language, it will reduce the charm of the original text and confuses the readers.The translation of poetry is most difficult and needs most consideration. On translating, the translator should try to achieve functional equivalence of the

59、 message from source language to target language. Here are two versions about Li Bai's poem “长干行”, one is from professor Xu, the other is from Ezra Pound. From the comparison, we can find some significances of functional equivalence in translation.Original text： 长干行妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅。同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开。低头向暗壁，千唤不一回。十五始展眉，愿同尘与灰。常存抱柱信，岂上望夫台！十六君远行，瞿塘滟预堆。五月不可触，猿声天上哀！门前迟行迹，一一生绿苔。苔深不能扫，落叶秋风早。八月蝴蝶来，双飞西园草。感此伤妾心，坐愁红颜老！早晚下三巴，预将书报家。相迎不道远，直至长风沙。Xu's version: Ballads of a Mer