对《尤利西斯》两版译文的对比鉴赏

Constract:

Before comparing the two translated versions of Ulysses, we should have a thorough understanding of this essay. The reason why people feel differently because they stand in different standpoints that comes from different cultural background and personal experience. So firstly we have to know exactly what reasons make this work readable and acceptable.

Facing the same essay, the translators may not have the same understanding of it. On the basis of understanding the authentic meaning of the original text the translators always have different thinking about the additional meaning shown by obscure expressions. As non-native speakers, without completely knowing the factors that have various influence on the author, such as social context and cultural background, translators will easily misunderstand the meaning expressed ambiguously.

Ulysses,a great work of stream-consciousness, was written by James Joyce in the early 20th century. This essay, in the beginning, mainly shows readers three independent stories that turn out to be one story in the end. The author showed readers the figures by describing their talks and inner thoughts. All these writing techniques make the translation more diversified.

Under a complex background and influenced by Greek mythology, the writer has experienced a lot during his miserable childhood. For instance, James Joyce worshiped the hero Odysseus, also called Ulysses in Latin, when he was a child. At the same time, James was suffered from the wars and Irish nationality. Maybe these experience had inspired James Joyce to create the figures who similarly lead a miserable life. Therefore, in this way, we have to take consideration the writer’s thinking into translating and think as the author did to make the translated version more accurate.

Undoubtedly, the translated version will not be same because of these reasons. However, the two versions we are about to compare are basically comfort to the meaning of the original text. I will compare this two from several perspectives in order to figure out what lead translators translate differently.

Comparison&analysis

Word-choosing

1.Grammatically, for the limit of the original text, the translated version have to largely comfort to the syntactic structure of the original one. However, translators are allowed to choose different words that shows their lexical diversity and writing styles.

Eg. It must be a movement then, an actuality of the possible as possible. Aristotle’s phrase formed itself within the gabbled verses and ......

(Jin’version)那么，一定是一种运动了，可能性因为有可能而成为现实。在急促而含糊的朗