目的论与戏剧翻译 _ 浅析莎士比亚名剧Measure for Measure的三个中文译本

目的论与戏剧翻译 _ 浅析莎士比亚名剧Measure for
Measure的三个中文译本
提要
众所周知,戏剧作为一种特殊的文学体裁,还同时具有舞台表演的特性,这导致
了戏剧翻译中的一对矛盾:是将源文本的文化特征淋漓尽致地表达出来,还是为舞台
表演牺牲部分文化因素?研究并解决这一矛盾成为当前戏剧翻译研究的重中之重。

而
纵观中外翻译史,翻译界对戏剧翻译所作的研究为数并不多,且缺乏系统的理论指导,
对戏剧中这一矛盾的关注更是不够。

本文尝试从目的论出发来审视这一矛盾,以目的
论为研究的理论框架,试图证明目的论对研究和解决戏剧翻译中的矛盾行之有效,在
戏剧翻译中意义重大。

作为文学艺术和舞台艺术的结合体,戏剧具有双重性。

这种双重性使得传统翻译
理论难以指导或评估戏剧翻译。

而目的论主张翻译目的为翻译活动中的首要决定因
素,这为翻译研究,特别是戏剧翻译研究开拓了新的视野。

只要译文实现了既定翻译
目的,那么该译本就算是成功的译本。

为验证目的论在戏剧翻译中的可行性,本文运
用该理论评价莎士比亚“Measure for Measure”的三个中文译本,以期从成功的翻
译实践中找到有益启示。

全文由五个章节构成。

第一章对戏剧进行全面介绍,总结戏剧语言的特性,进一
步指出戏剧翻译中的矛盾,并回顾了翻译界的相关研究。

第二章引进目的论的理论框
架,阐明其主要概念及其对戏剧翻译的特殊意义。

第三章从目的论影响译者翻译方法
的四个因素出发,介绍原作者莎士比亚、译者梁实秋、朱生豪和英若诚的相关信息。

第四章从目的论的角度,对三个译本进行了详尽分析,进一步验证目的论在戏剧翻译
中的可行性。

第五章总结目的论在戏剧翻译中的重要意义及深远影响。

关键词:戏剧翻译,目的论,文学性,舞台表演 ivTABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I General Introduction to Drama and Drama Translation. 1
1.1 Definition of Drama: Literary Art & Theatrical Art1
1.2 Features of Dramatic Language: Speakability & Individuality.2
1.3 Duality of Drama Translation: Performance-oriented & Reader-oriented..3
1.4 Relevant Study of Drama Translation5
1.4.1 Drama Translation Theories in China..5
1.4.2 Drama Translation Theories in Western Countries7Chapter II The Skopos Theory and Drama Translation. 11
2.1 Development of the Skopos Theory. 11
2.2 Two Rules of the Skopos Theory12
2.3 Five Points of the Skopos Theory..13
2.4 Factors Affecting Translators’ Strategies from the Skopos Theory’s Standpoint..14
2.5 Significance of the Skopos theory for Drama Translation.15Chapter III Researches on Three Chinese Shakespearean translators from the Skopos Theory’s
Standpoint..17
3.1 William Shakespeare and his Measure for Measure.17
3.2 Liang Shiqiu and his Complete Works of Shakespeare18
3.2.1 Initiator or Commissioner18
3.2.2 Translator.19
3.2.3 Source-text Producer and Target-text Receiver21
3.3 Zhu Shenghao and his Translation of Shakespeare..22
3.3.1 Initiator or Commissioner22
3.3.2 Translator.23
3.3.3 Source-text Producer, Target-text Receiver24
3.4 Ying Ruocheng and his Drama Translation..24
3.4.1 Initiator and Translator.24
3.4.2 Source-text Producer and Target-text Receiver26Chapter IV Sample Analysis27
4.1 Characters’ Names.27
4.2 Allusions.28
4.3 Metaphors..31
4.4 Idioms..34
4.5 Puns..37
4.6 Obscene Words40
4.7 Summary42Chapter V Conclusion 44BIBLIOGRAPHY 46vChapter I General Introduction to Drama and Drama Translation
Drama translation is a special and distinctive branch of literary translation due to the
dualistic nature of drama. Then what on earth are the unique features of drama and drama
translation? We may start our discussion with a general introduction to drama and relevant
study of drama translation before going any further1.1 Definition of Drama: Literary Art & Theatrical Art
Originally, the wor d “Drama” comes from a Greek word, “dran”, meaning “thing
done”, “action” or “deed”. To make it clear, the author looks up the word “drama” in
several authoritative dictionaries and collects the following interpretations for further
reference:nd
In the Oxford English Dictionary 2 Edition 1989, “Drama” is “a composition in
prose or verse, adapted to be acted upon a stage, in which a story is related by means of
dialogue and action, and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume, and scenery,
as in real life; a play”In the Encyclopedia Britannica 1964: “Drama” is “a form of art in which the artist
imagines a story concerning persons and incidents without himself describing, narrating or
explaining what is happening”In the Encyclopedia Americana 1986: “Drama” is “a form of literature intended for
performance by actors. In general the subject matter is narrative in character and, in the
type of story traditionally considered suitable for presentation on
the stage”
We may summarize the above interpretations like this: drama is a genre of literature
with a story related by means of dialogue and action, and produced to be acted upon the
stage. The term “drama” is used in an inclusive way that emphasizes both its literary nature
on page for the reader and its potential for performance on stage for the audience. On the
one hand, it is literature whose aesthetic effect depends on a collective endeavor and the
receptor’s response is mostly spontaneous and immediate. Since the play text contains
stage directions and dramatic language which depict the portraits of characters and push
forward the plot, we can still read the play text as any other literary works. On the other1hand, drama is “an audiovisual presentation of time and space, involving music, dance,
fine arts and literary language, with the simultaneous presence of actors and audience” Lin,
1993: 4. The original intention and full potential of drama can only be brought out and
realized by performing on stage. Thus the ultimate receptor of drama is supposed to be the
audience in the theatreAlthough most dramas are produced to be performed, there is an exception. Some
dramatic works are called “closet dramas” or “closet plays”, which are created to be readIn this case the playwright does not need to take theatrical performance into considerationHowever, plays with such a pure purpose are scarce, and here in this thesis, we focus our
attention on stage-oriented drama1.2 Features of Dramatic Language: Speakability & Individuality
As a special form of literature, dramatic writing is largely different from other literary
genres. In Jiao Juyin’s words, the receptor of most literature genres, such as poetry and
prose, is the text reader, while the receiver of drama includes not only the reader of the
playtext, but also the audience in the theatre. Thus the playwright needs to bear reader and
audience in mind at the same time. On this point, Robert Cohen also stated his opinion:
“Because drama is often thought of as a form of literature and because many dramatic
authors begin as poets or novelists, it may be seen as if playwriting is primarily a literary
activity. It is not. Etymology helps here: playwright is not playwrite. Writing for the theatre
entails considerations not common to other literary forms.” Cohen, 2000: 82As a genre of literature, drama is mainly composed of stage directions and dramatic
dialogue
Stage directions refer to the playwright’s imagination of the stage space Barranger,
1986: 290. It is actually a description of intended paralinguistic instructions to direct
actors’ physical action. Stage directions can be divided into several categories, including
environmental description, setting description, description of characters’ facial expressions,
mood and gestures. As a common role, stage directions are formal in style and concise in
language
Dramatic language, as the main content of a drama, is not merely an arrangement of2words on a page. It differs from other literary language in that it is “more than words on a
page?it is the playwright’s blueprint of a special kind of experience, created to appeal as
much to the eye as to the ear” Barranger, 1986: 89-90. It is a conceptualization of the
interactions of myriad elements in the theatrical medium: movement, speech, scenery,
costume, staging, music, spectacle, and silence. As is said in An Introduction to Literature,
drama is “not simply words but words spoken with accompanying gestures by performers
who are usually costumed in a particular setting” Barnet, Berm an and Burto, 1997: 536Dramatic dialogue is of essential importance in developing plots, creating characters,
presenting crisis, describing circumstances and revealing the theme. The relationships
between characters are, for the most time, constructed and developed through the language
they use. Thus the creation of drama language becomes even harder. On the requirements
of dramatic language, many scholars have put forward their opinions, such as Nicoll’s
“economical and artistic” Nicoll, 1985: 95, Backer’s “clear in
meaning, helpful to the
advancement of plots and in accordance with personalities” Backer, 2000: 426, Li
Jianwu’s “colloquial” Li, 1982:153, Lan Fan’s “actable, individual and poetic” Lan,
1992: 474 and so on. Taking all these requirements into account, the most conspicuous
features of dramatic dialogue can be summarized into speakability and individualitySpeakability guarantees the effectiveness of being naturally spoken by actors and quickly
understood by the audience. And individuality defines the characterization of the whole
drama1.3 Duality of Drama Translation: Performance-oriented & Reader-oriented
As has been explored in previous sections, drama differs from other literature genres,
for it is not only a linguistic art with reader-reception as its form of fulfillment, but also a
performing art with the theatre-goers as its ultimate receptor. The peculiarity of drama
results in the duality of drama translation. Other than those general requirements for
literary translation, drama translation bears its own characteristics
As a genre of literature, drama is loaded with the specificity of the culture it is
situated in, like any other literary form. As we know, drama is to reflect real life and the
production of drama is closely related to the life style and ideology of a certain society. To3put it in another way, drama, within hours’ performance, reflects the essence accumulated
in a culture and the seemingly concise dramatic text actually is loaded with plentiful
cultural traits. Thus translator, as his mission determines, has to do his best to transmit the
cultural information embedded in the original drama text, delivering the properties of
source culture and conveying the aesthetic art of the source text as much as possible
While at the same time, drama is to be presented to the audience, the actual
fulfillment of the essentiality of it depends as much on the extra-linguistic situation as on
the linguistic context. As a result, drama should not be translated
simply as the text on the
page. The stage aspect of the play text should also be emphasized in drama translation, that
is, to ensure the performability of the source dramatic text on a foreign stage. According to
Backer 2000: 51-52, performability means that theatrical needs are satisfied, and emotion
is conveyed to audience within a certain time indirectly by actors rather than directly by
the playwright himself. But to naturally perform a foreign drama in a different context is
not an easy thing, for people from different cultures have different conventions and
ideologies. When translating other literary forms, we may resort to footnotes to solve this
problem, but on the stage, it’s impossible for actors to read footnotes to the audienceTherefore adaptations to target language and culture are inevitable in drama translation,
thus to avoid footnotes as well as difficulties in understanding Thus the drama translator is confronted with a central problem: to maintain the
original culture-bound message is a basic requirement for the
translator. However, in order
to ensure the performability, adaptations have to be made and thus source cultural
messages will inevitably be affected. We may get a more thorough understanding of the
dilemma in drama translation from A Text Book of Translation Newmark, 2004: 172:
“The main purpose of translating a play is normally to have it performed successfullyTherefore a translator of drama inevitably has to bear the potential spectator in mind
though, here again, the better written and more significant the text, the fewer compromises
he can make in favor of the reader. Further, he works under certain constraints: unlike the
translator of fiction, he cannot gloss, explain puns or ambiguities or cultural references, nor
transcribe words for the sake of local colour: his text is dramatic, with emphasis on verbs,
rather than descriptive and explanatory.” 4In light of all these factors, due to the peculiarity of drama translation, traditional translation theory, which is mainly based on linguistic equivalence, could hardly help here
in drama translation
1.4 Relevant Study of Drama Translation
Although drama is the oldest genre of literature, academic study on drama translation
only got its start thirty years ago and still leaves much of its territory unexploredCompared with the study of the translation of other literary genres, study of drama
translation lags way behind, and only a few scholars have systematically summarized
theories of drama translation1.4.1 Drama Translation Theories in China
In China, few works have been written on the central issues involved in translating
plays across languages. Yet we do have several scholars who have come up with some
principles or theories concerning drama translation based on their own translation practicesAmong them the most prominent are Zhu Shenghao, Yu Guangzhong, and Ying Ruocheng1.4.1.1 Zhu Shenghao
Mr. Zhu Shenghao, an excellent writer and translator in China, translated most of
Shakespeare’s plays successfully into Chinese.In the preface to his translation of
Shakespeare’s plays, he shared his experience in drama translation:While translating this book, I tried to maintain the verse of the original work to the utmost. When
that could not be achieved, I strained for resemblances, and lucidity and fluency are preferred in
my translated version to faithful reproduction of the original style. As for word-for-word
translation, I personally think poorly of this mechanical rendition. When the original text differs
vastly from the Chinese version in grammatical structure, I’d rather adjust the sentence structure of
my translation for the sake of intelligibility. After I translated a section, I would go through my
translation as if I were a member of the audience and tried to see if there were any ambiguous and
misleading places. I would then act the translated play out as if I were an actor and see if the5translation read smooth and sounded melodious.
A single hard word or sentence often may throw
me into weeks of deliberationZhu, 1984: Preface
Here Zhu Shenghao emphasizes some important aspects of drama translation: first,
translation should try to preserve the original spirit; second,
translation should be clear and
easy to understand; and third, translation should be smooth and easy to be pronounced by
the actors
1.4.1.2 Yu Guangzhong
Yu Guangzhong has also summarized his tri-fold translation principle in the preface to
his translation of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest: Fictional dialogue and dramatic dialogue are different in that readers can read the dialogue in a
fiction again and again for better comprehension, while theatre-goers can only listen to the
dialogues in a play for one time. When certain information is missing, it’s gone for good. I
translated this play not only for Chinese readers, but also for the Chinese spectators and actors,
therefore I adopted a specific translation principle this time: I tried to make sure that my translation
is pleasing to the eye of the readers, and pleasing to the ear of the audience, and easy to deliver by
actors and actresses. I hope that my translated play turns out to be an animated drama-on-stage
rather than a restrained closet-drama. Yu, 1983: Preface
For Yu Guangzhong, dialogues in novel and drama are written for different purposes
so the translation of them should be done with different strategies. He emphasizes that the
dialogue in a drama is to be heard by the audience and spoken by the actors, so a translator
should bear in mind the principle of making his translation “pleasing to the eye of the
readers, pleasing to the ear of the audience, and easy to deliver by actors and actresses”
1.4.1.3 Ying Ruocheng
Ying Ruocheng is a famous drama actor, director as well as translator. As an actor,
Ying Ruocheng emphasizes the colloquialism in drama translation. In the preface to his6series of translated works, he points out some important features of drama translation and
summarizes his own principles for drama translating
A line spoken by an actor is transient; he cannot stop to annotate and explain, and this is the artistic
essence of dramatic language…The dramatic language should be sonorous and forceful, while
obscurity and irrelevance should be avoided, so that an immediate effect can be produ ced…The
performance on stage has its special requirements. What the audience wants to hear is clear and
crisp phrasing, neat and smart dialogue and verbal fights, which are available in a lot of great
works by Oscar Wilde or Bernard Shaw. As a translator, we are responsible for presenting them in
front of the audience. Therefore, colloquialism and brevity are the first and foremost principles in
drama translation. Ying, 2001: Preface
Here we can see, for Ying Ruocheng, colloquialism is important both for the sake of
the actors and the audience, and brevity is to faithfully transfer the dramatic witticism in
the original text into the target languageThese statements on drama translation offer fresh insights into drama translation study, but the absence of a rigorous system of theory prevents them from being a solid foundation
for a systematic study of drama translation
1.4.2 Drama Translation Theories in Western Countries
At present there are mainly two principles prevailing in the field
of drama translationOne is the “performability” standard, which derives from the semiotic ideas of drama. The
other is the “readability” one which is mainly held by Susan Bassnett, a well-known
scholar whose main focus is on the translation of deictic system in dramatic text1.4.2.1 George E. Wellwarth
In his Special Considerations in Drama Translation, George E. Wellwarth
summarized the difficulties in drama translation into two principal points: “speakability”
and style
George defined “speakability” as “the degree of ease with which the words of the7translated text can be enunciated” qtd. in Rose, 1981: 140. The translation should sound
well on stage, and “li。