翻译的标准、过程

Analysis of Yan Fu’s Translation Criteria

Yan Fu’s “faithfulness” means the full and complete conveying or transmission of the original content or thought.
Commonly Accepted Criteria for translation:

Criteria for translation constitute the yardstick for measuring a piece of translated work.
Faithfulness（忠实） Smoothness （通顺）


1. “Faithfulness” refers to the keeping of the content of the original work. The translator must bring out the original meaning both comprehensively and accurately without any distortion or casual addition or deletion of the original thought. Faithfulness also includes the keeping of the original style, as Mr. Lu Xun put it, “keep the full flavor of the original work.” Sometimes, even the original emotions or feelings such as anger or distress, satire or irony, joy or happiness should not pass unnoticed. P8: 1;
The former lays emphasis on the translator, while the latter on the reader or critic, who may use the criteria to evaluate translation works.
Various ideas on criteria for translation

I. Comprehension （理解）

1. linguistic analysis（语言分析）: (P13, sentence 2) 2. contextual analysis（语境分析）: (P14, sentence 5) 3. logical analysis（逻辑分析）: (P15, sentence 6) 4. Comprehend the specific objects, historical background, and terminology, etc. (P16-17)

The most popular and accepted sayings by some Chinese scholars 严复 鲁迅 傅雷 钱钟书

严复：“信、达、雅”

“译”事三难：信、达、雅。求其信，已大难矣。 顾信矣不达，虽译犹不译也，则达尚焉。……译 文取明深意，故词句之间，时有所颠倒附益，不 斤斤于字比句次，而意义则不倍本文。……至原 文词理本深，难于共喻，则当前思后衬，以显其 意。凡此经营，皆以为达：为达，即以为信也。 《易》曰：“修辞立诚”。子曰“辞达而已！” 又曰：“言之无文，行之不远”。三者乃文章正 轨，亦即为译事楷模。故信达而外，求其尔雅。 ―――《天演论* 译例言》



George Campbell (乔治· 坎贝尔) Alexander Fraser Tytler (泰特勒) 的三原则 Eugene A. Nida (奈达) 的对等 (equivalence)

Criteria for translation were first proposed by English Scholar and translator George Campbell in 1789: The first thing … is to give a just representation of the sense of the original 首先，准确地再现原作的意思 The second thing is, to convey into his version, as much as possible, in a consistency with the genius of the language which he writes, the author’s spirit and manner 第二，在符合译作语言特征的前提下，尽可能地移 植作者的精神和风格 The third and last thing is, to take care, the version have at least, so far the quality of an original performance, as to appear natural and easy 第三，也是最后，使译作至少 具有原创作品的特性，显得自然流畅
• obtain a clear idea about the
process of translation
Principles of / Criteria for Translation
The so-called principles of/ criteria for translation are actually the two sides of the same thing, from different angles.
(Page 9, 初学翻译的人，在掌握翻译的标准上，容 易出现两个极端：一是过分拘泥于原文的字面， “照葫芦画瓢”，作出生硬拗口、“貌似神离”的 翻译；二是滥用译语的习惯语，特别是四字结构， 生搬硬套，导致陈腐俗滥、走腔变调的翻译。)


Process of translation
Comprehension （理解） Reproduction / Expression（表达） Checking / Proofreading（审校）

I. Some views by Western scholars
II. The most popular and accepted views by some Chinese scholars III. Commonly Accepted Criteria for translation

Some views by Western scholars:
3) A translation should have all the ease of the original composition.
Eugene A. Nida’s translation principle:

dynamic equivalence “动态对等” ； functional equivalence “功能对等” The main idea is that the translator is to produce as nearly possible the same effect on his readers as was produced on the readers of the original.
Lቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱcture Two
Principles of / Criteria for Translation; Process of Translation
Instructor: Wu Hui
Objectives:
This lecture is designed for students to
•
get familiar with translation criteria



---- Alexander Fraser Tytler（泰特勒）
1) A translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work, 2) The style and manner of writing should be of the same character as that of the original, and




2. “Smoothness” requires that version must be clear and distinct, flowing and easy to read without signs of the mechanical word-for-word translation, of obscure and crabbed (难懂) language, of grammatical mistakes, confused structure and turbid(混乱) logic. Eg: page 9, sentence 5
His “expressiveness” demands that the version must be clear and flowing without any grammatical mistakes or confused logic and sense.


But his “elegance” is un-adoptable because it refers to the use of classical Chinese before the Han Dynasty. Yan Fu held that only the language before the Han Dynasty could be considered elegant and that old vocabulary, old structure of Chinese must be used in order to represent the original fully and adequately.

鲁迅：“宁信不顺”

“凡是翻译，必须兼顾两方面，一则当然 是其易解，一则保存着原作的丰姿。” ―― 鲁迅 “必须有异国情调，就是所谓洋气” ―― 鲁迅

傅雷：“神似” (similarity in spirit)

以效果而论，翻译应像临画一样，所求 的不在形似，而是神似。
钱钟书：“化境” (sublimation)




II. Reproduction / Expression（表达）
– – –
忠实与通顺 内容和形式 克己意识与创造意识

(P17-23) (翻译腔问题) III. Checking / Proofreading（审校） (P23-26) (翻译腔问题)

Exercises / Assignments:
Translation correction / improvement

1. He is easily the best student in the class. （他很容易地成了班上最好的学生。） 2. The stranger robbed his wife. （那个陌生人抢了他的妻子。） 3. I can’t agree more. （我不能同意更多的了。）

文学翻译的最高理想可以说是“化“。把作 品从一国文字转变成另一国文字，既不能因 语言习惯的差异而露出生硬牵强的痕迹，又 能完全保存原作的风味，那就算得入于“化 境”。
瞿秋白：在翻译中大胆地运用新的表现方式方法，
新的字眼，新的句法
刘重德：“信、达、切”
谭载喜：“东张西望”法、“瞻前顾后”法
许渊冲： “三美”