论人名的翻译（英文）

论人名的翻译（英文）
第8卷第5期
2010年10月
红河学院
JournalofHongheUniversity
V o1.8No.5
Oct.20lO
TRANSLATIONOFPERSoNALNAMES
LeCongThin
(VinhUniversity,Vietnam)
Abstract:ThisresearchstudiedtheTranslationofPersonalnames.Translationasaphenomen onissuchallincrediblybroadideathat itcanbeunderstoodinmanydifferentways.Thefocusofthisstudylieswithintranslationofper sonalnsJnes,whichareasubclassofprop—
ernouns.Notwithstandingthefactthatachallengethattranslatorsoftenencounterintheirwor kcomesfrompersonalnames,thispaper presentssometranslationtechniquesproposedbyvariousresearchersinthisregard.Itshould bementionedthatthispaperdoesnotintend
toprescribeanyspecialrules.Findingsrevealedthattranslatorsmustbefamiliarwithcultureo fboththesourceandtargetlanguages,
sinceawarenessoftheseculture—boundnamescanleadtothemostappropriatetranslation.Basedontheforegoinginformation, itissig- nificanttostressthattheinfluenceofcultureontranslationofpersonalnamesisundeniable. Keywords:translation;personalname;translator;culture
中图分类号:H059文献标识码:A文章编号:1008—9128(2010)05—0076一o4 Introduction
Translationasaphenomenonissuchanincredibly broadideathatitcanbeunderstoodinmanydifferent ways.Therefore,notsurprisingly,manydifferentdefini—tionshavebeenoffered,eachreflectingaparticularun—derlyingtheoreticalmode1.TheAmericantheoristLaw—renceVenuti,forexample,definestranslationas"a processbywhichthechainofsignifiersthatconstitutes thesource—languagetext(SL)isreplacedbyachain ofsignifiersinthetargetlanguage(TL)whichthetrans—latorprovidesonthestrengthofallinterpretation".
InV enutiview.theviabilityofatranslationises—tablishedbyitsrelationshiptotheculturalandsocial conditionsunderwhichthetranslationisproducedand read.Hebelievesthataforeigntextisthesiteofmany differentsemanticpossibilitiesthatarefixed,onlyprovi—sionally,inanyonetranslationonthebasisofvarying culturalassumptionsandinterpretivechoicesinspecific socialsituationsandduringdifferenthistoricalperiods. Oneofthecommonchallengesistheproblemof translatingpropernouns(propernames)adequately fromonelanguagetoanother.Thefocusofthisstudylies withintranslationofpersonalnames.whichareasub- classofpropernouns.Notwithstandingthefactthata challengethattranslatorsoftenencounterintheirwork comesfrompersonalnames,thispaperpresentssome translationtechniquesproposedbyvariousresearchersin thisregard
notintendto Itshouldbementionedthatthispaperdoes prescribeanyspecialrules.
Propernouns
Basically,nounsareclassifiedascommonand
monnounsrefertoaclassofentitiesorin—
dividuals(e.g.man,woman,house,room,bird,
squirrel…),whilepropernounshaveauniquereferent
(Hanoi,Vietnam,John,London,CharlesTownley…) andservetodistinguishaparticularindividualfromoth—
ers.
AccordingtoWikipedia,theon—lineencyclopedi—
a,apropernounis"awordthatservesthepurposeof showingwhatthingitisthatwearetalkingabout,but notoftellinganythingaboutit.".neydonotaccept demonstrativepronounsasdeterminers(Onewouldnot normallysay"ThisJohnjustboughtaear".However, supposingthereareseveralJohnsoutofwhomyouwish tosingleaparticularone,youareakeadyusingJohnas acommonnounmeaninganypemoncalledJohn). MerriamWebstersDictionarydefinestheproper
收稿日期:2010—04—15
作者简介:黎功辰(1952一),男,博士,越南荣市大学国际合作与交流处处长. 黎功辰:论人名的翻译77 nounas"anounthatdesignatesaparticularbeingor
thing,doesnottakealimitingmodifier,andisusually capitalizedinEnglish—calledalsopropername."The OxfordAdvancedLearnergDictionarysaysthataproper
noun(orpropername)is"awordthatisthenameofa
person,aplace,aninstitution,etc.andiswrittenwith
acapitalletter".
Generallyspeaking,apropernounhasthesedis—tinetivefeaturesinEnglish:
一
Itwillbecapitalized,nomatterwhereitoccurs inasentence.
一Apropernameisamono—referentialname,i.
e.,itreferstoaparticularperson,thing,orplace.
—- Itisnotregularlyprecededbyadefiniteorin—definitearticle.
一
Itisnotusedwithlimitingmodifiers,like"alot
of''or"any".
Propernames(usedhereinterchangeablywiththe expression"propernouns")canbedividedintodifferent subgroupsaccordingtothetypeofreferent. Placenames
—-
Namesofcountriesandregions
—.
Settlementnames
——Namesofbuildingsandstreetsandsubdi—visionsoftowns
——
Namesofworksofarts
——
Namesoforganizations
includingbookdries
andinstitutions
Propernouns
Wikipediadefineshumanpersonalnameinthefo1.
1owingway: Apersonalnameisthepropernameidenti~ingin—dividualperson,andusuallycomprisesagivennamebe—stowedatbirthoratayoungage.Itisnearlyuniversal forahumantohaveaname;therareexceptionsoccurin thecasesofmentallydisturbedparents,orferalchildren growingupinisolation." TheWorldBookEncyclopediatalksaboutpersonal nameinthisway:"Practicallyeveryonesincethebegin—ningofhistoryhashadanalTle.Almostallnameshave meanings.Earlypeoplebestowedanamewithadefinite consciousnessofitsmeaning.Buttoday,peoplegivelit—tiethoughttothemeanings.Mostpeoplehaveagiven nameandfamilymarne.Manyalsohaveamiddlename, andsomehaveanicknalnet' Thereareseveralcategoriesofpersonalnames.Itis importanttostressthatnotalltypesofpersonalnames existinalllanguages.Moreover,wemusttakecogni—zanceofthesedifferentcategories,sincefamiliaritywith themhelpsinthetranslationprocess. Inrelationtothetranslationofpersonalnames.we shouldtakethispointintoconsiderationwhetherornotit ispossibleornecessarytoshowthattheseclassifications aredifferentinthesourceandtargetlanguages. Personalnamescanbedividedintovariouscatego—tiesasfollows:
Giyenname:Agivennameisananlethatisas—sumedbyapersonatorafterbirth.Asopposedtoa familyname,itisgenerallynotinherited.
FirstnameorChristianname:InEuropeandN0rth America,wherethegivennameprecedesthefamily name,givennamesarecalledfirstnamesorforenames. Praenomen:ThepraenomenwastheancientRoman givenname.Withanomenandacognomenitformeda completeRomanname.InRoman nomenwasoftenabbreviatedtoone
Middlename:IntheEnglish～documentstheprae—
ortwoletters.
speakingworld, middlenameisasecondarygivenname.Whenthefull nameispresented,itisplacedbetweenthefirstnanle andthesurname.Peoplecanhavemorethanonemiddle name,thoughitisunusualtohavenone. Familynameorlastnameorsurname:Itisaname passedfromonegenerationtothenext.Inmanycultures awomanadop~herhusbandgfamilynanlewhentheyare married.
Nomen:ThenomenwastheRomangenname.In thetypicalRomannameitwasprecededbythepraeno—menandfollowedbythecognomen
Cognomen:Thecognomenwasoneofthethree partsofthetypicalRomanname.Itfollowedthepraeno—menandnomen.Originallycognominawerenicknames, butbythetimeoftheRomanEmpiretheywereinherited fromfathertoson.Thusthecognomenincombination withthenomenfunctionedasasurname,breakingfami. 1iesintosmaUergroupsthanjustthenomenalone. Nickname:Anicknameisasubstituteforapersong
realname.Itmaybeusedbecauseitismorefamiliar, moredescriptive,orshorterthantherealname.Forex—ample,SueisthenicknameofSusan.
78红河学院2010.5/语言
Agnomen:Theagnomenformedanadditionalpart ofsomeRomannames,usuallyfollowingthecognomen. Usuallytheywerenicknamesacquiredatsomepointdur- ingthelifetime,but,rarely,someagnomniawereinher. ited.
Petname:Apetnameofagivennameisashort
and/oraffectionateform.Oftentheyareonlyusedby friendsandrelatives.
Diminutive:Itisthesameasapetname.Theycan beformedthroughvariousmethodsindifferentlangua—ges.TwoofmosttypicalwaysinEnglisharepresented here:
a)arethosethatareshortformsoftheoriginal
name,veryoftenfromthefirstsyllableorsoundofthe name.Forexample,AlexisfromAlexander;
b)theycanalsoobminedbyaddingasuffix,tothe originalnameorshortformofaname.InEnglish,the
—
y/一iesuffixmakediminutivessuchas,Debbie, Byname:Abynameisasecondarynameusedto furtheridenti~aperson.Theywereoftennicknames (forexampleEriktheRed)orpatronyms(forexample John,sonofWilliam).Bynamescanbeconsideredsur' nameswhentheyareinheritedfromonegenerationtothe next.
Generationname:Thegenerationnameisusedby
someChineseandKoreanfamilies.Itisanamegivento
a11newbornsofthesamegenerationofanextendedfami一1y.
Patronym:Apatronym(orpatronymic)isaname derivedfromthenameofthefatheroranotherpaternal ancestor.Somesurnamesarepatronymicinorigin,like Peterson="Petergson".Somecultures,suchasIce—land,useuninheritedpatronymsinsteadofsurnames. Matronym:Amatronym(alsomatronymic)isa namederivedfromthenameofthemotheroranother maternalancestor.
Filiation:Afiliationattachedtoanamedescribes thebearer~paternaldescent.ThecompleteRomanname snmetimeshadafiliation. TranslationofPersonalNames Thebasicruleconcerningpe~onalnamesisthat theyareleftuntranslated.Insomecasestransliteration ortranscriptionmaybeneededdependingonthelan—guageTherearehowever,exceptionstothisbasicrule. Atrivialoneisthatincertainlanguages(Chinese,Ja【pa—nese…,theorderoftheperson"sfirstandlastnameis oppositetotl1emostcomYflonWesternorderoffirstname +lastname.InEuropeHungarianlastnamescomebe—forefirstnames.珊1atmentionedhereoftencausesa problemintranslation.Fortranslatingpersonalnames, differentmodelsaresuggested
HerveyandHiggins(1986)presentthesestrate—giesfortranslatingPNs:
一Exotism:Thenameshouldremainunchanged
fromtheSLtotheTL.Inthismethodnoeuhuraltrans—positionisoccu~ed.
一
Transliteration:ThenameisshiftedtoconforlTlto thephonicorgraphicrulesoftheTL..
一
Cuhuraltransplantation:TheSLnameisre—placedbytheTLnainethathasthesanleculturalconno—tationastheoriginalone(P.29).
PeterNewmark(1988)holdsthatpeoplesnames should.asarule,notbetranslatedwhentheirhaines hayenoconnotationin山etext.Headdssomeexeep—tionssuchasnamesofknownsaints,monarchs,and popes,whichareknowninthetranslatedforminthe TL.Healsorecommendsthat,incommunicativetrans—lation,apemonalname,alongwithitsconnotation, shouldbetranslatedwherepropernamesaretreatedcon—notatively.Inspiteofthat,thepersonalnamesmustbe transferredinsemantictranslation.
Inaddition.withregardtonamesthathaveconno—tationsint}leimaginativeliteraturesuchasincomedies, allegories,fairytales,andsomechildren~stories,New—markrecommendsthattheybetranslated.Headdsthat theDreviousruleshouldbefollowedunless,likeinfolk tales,nationalityisasignificantaspect.Incaseswhere bothnationalityandconnotationaresignificantaspects, themostappropriatemethod,inNewmark"sopinion,is rSttotranslatethenametotheTL,thentonaturalize thetranslatedwordintoanewpropernameprovidedthat thepersonalnameisnotyetcurrentamongtheeducated
rcadersoftheTL.Hermans(1988)believesthattllere areatleastfourstrategiesfortranslationofnames.He phrasesthem,"Theycanbecopied,i.e.reproducedin thetargettextexactlyastheywereinthesourcetext? Thevcanbetranscribed,i.e.transliteratedoradapted
黎功辰:论人名的翻译79 onthelevelofspelling,phonology,ere.Aformallyun. relatednamecanbesubstitutedinthetargettextforany givennameinthesourcetext.
FarzanneFarahzad(1995)statesthattranslitera—tionandtranscriptionareusedfortranslationofpersonal names.Thelatteristhereplacementofoneletterofthe alphabetinthesourcelanguage(SL)byanotherletter inthetargetlanguage(TL).Theformeroccurswhen theletterofthetargetlanguageshowsthepronunciation 0fthepersonalnameinthesourcelanguage.Sheex—poundsthattranscriptionsuffersfromthefollowingde. leers:
—. Therearenoestablishedrulesfortranscription.
—- Thetranscriptionofpersonalnamesvariesonthe basisofvariousaccentssuchasAmericanandBritish. —. Thetranscriptionmaybeinfluencedbythe translatorgpronunciation,whichmayleadtoanincorrect transcription.
一Theexacttranscriptionofpersonalnamesisnot alwayspossible;thatis,all
sameconsonantsorvowels.
1anguagesdonothavethe
—Thepronunciationofpersonalnamestranscrip. tionismoredifficult￡han出atof出eirtranslation.. Inviewoftheforegoingreasons,sheconcludesthat transliterationisabetterstrategytobeusedbytransla- tors.
AnthonyPyre(2004)proposesthatpersonal namesnotbetranslated.Healsodefinestheresultof transliterationoperationsashbsoluteequivalenceinthat itresultsintheexactquantitativeequalitybetweeninput andoutput(P.90).Inhisview,themostproblematic aspectof"absoluteequivalenceisthatitisoftenunac—ceptableequivalence,unlessmuchlanguagelearningis involved.Inthisregard,Pymcontendsthatalternatives areimperative.
HeikkiSfirkkfi(2007)reportsthattherearefour strategiesfortranslatingPNs;'_-——Theycanbetranspor.? tedcompletelyfromtheTLtotheSL(allowancebeing madeforpossibletransliterationortranscription,depen. dingontheSL).
——TheycanbepartlytransportedfromtheSLand partlytranslated.
—- Theycanbereplacedwithmoreorlessdifferent nanesintheTL.
——
Theycanbedispensedwithaltogether.
Conclusion
Generally,personalnamesrepresentarealchal—lengeforbothprofessionalandnovicetranslators;there—fore.thevmeritattentionfromresearchersandscholars inthefieldoftranslationstudies.Newmark(1993)re—portsthatpropernames,whichincludepersonalnames, representatranslationdifficultyindifferenttexttypes (P.15).
Beingfamiliarwiththeculture,translatorssome- timescaninfersomeimpliedinformationsuchasgender, nationality,race,class,orreligionfrompersonal names.Itisclearthattranslatorsmustbefamiliarwith cultureofboththesourceandtargetlanguages,since awarenessoftheseculture—boundnamescatllcadtothe mostappropriatetranslation.Basedontheforegoingin—formation.itissignificanttostressthattheinfluenceof cuhureontranslationofpersonalnamesisundeniable. Differenttranslationproceduresfortranslatingper- sonalnameshavebeenpresented.Ingeneral,itshould benotedthattranslatorsdonotalwaysusethesame strategyfortranslationofallpersonalnamesinallkinds oftexts.Forexample.Farahzad(1995)believesthat translatorsshouldusetranscriptionandtransliteration techniqueswhentranslatingpersonalnames; Havingbrieflydiscussedsomeofthetranslationpro—ceduresinthisrespect.werecommendthatwhatever strategiestranslatorsuse,especiallyinscientifictexts, theyshouldmentiontheoriginalnamewithtIleSLalpha- betsinthefootnotesorendnotesinordertofacilitatefur_ therresearchforreadersinthetargetlanguage
Thechoicebetweenthevariousalternativeswillbe alsodeterminedpragmaticfactors,paramountamong whichoverarchingpurposeofthetextandthetranslatorg assessmentofhis/herintendedaudience.
References
[1]Albin,V.What'sinanalBe:Juliet"sQuestionRefisi~d?In TranslationJournal7(4),October2003.http://aceurapid. com/joumal/26names.htm
[2]Campel,M.Personalname.Accessed1March,2009from /glossary/view/name
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