張培基英譯散文賞析之《欣賞自己》

欣賞自己
On Self-Appreciation
英培安
Ying Pei’an
| 譯文摘自張培基《英譯中國散文選二》

不怕直說，我是相當欣賞自己的。我承認自己有許多不如人的地方，但也知道並不老是這樣差勁。所以，我做了一件事，寫了一篇文章，只要自覺還不錯我可以樂上幾天，遇有人贊，更飄飄然得不像話；甚至還會忘其所以，插上幾句自誇的話。
Frankly, I very much appreciate myself. Yes, I admit I’m in many respects not as good as other people, but I don’t think I’m always no good. When I find what I’ve done or written is okay, I’ll remain pleased with myself for quite a few days, and, in case I receive praise for it, I’ll even become so swollen-headed as to add a few words to glorify myself.
要點：
1，“不怕直說”即“坦白來講，坦白來說”，譯爲Frankly
2，“我做了一件事，寫了一篇文章，只要自覺還不錯我可以樂上幾天”前兩個分句依舊可以看成時間狀語“當我做了一件事，寫了一篇文章”，並且爲了避免句式囉嗦譯者將“只要自覺不錯”與前句合譯，即“當我做了一件自覺不錯的事或寫了一篇自覺不錯的文”譯爲When I find what I’ve done or written is okay, I’ll remain pleased with myself for quite a few days
3，“飄飄然”“ 忘其所以”都是作“思想上自我膨脹”之意，譯爲swollen-headed

綜述：
有時合譯就像是合併同類項~

記住簡潔流暢是王道真的，我一點也不謙虛。或者這就是自負吧，恐怕要給人罵了。但有什麼不對呢？
True, I’m not modest at all. People may call me conceited. But I think otherwise.
要點：
“但有什麼不對呢？”此處反問句譯爲陳述句，即“我並沒有覺得有什麼不對”或“我並不以爲然”= I think otherwise. 此處表示“估測”，即一種心理揣摩活動，表示一種自我斟酌、不能決斷的心理狀態，實際上是自我思維的一種輔助活動，因此譯爲肯定句也是解釋的通的

我也欣賞別人，凡是好的東西我都欣賞。只懂得欣賞別人而忘了欣賞自己，豈不是太不公平了？
I also appreciate other people. I appreciate anything good. Isn’t it unfair to forget appreciating myself while appreciating others?
要點：
本處反問句譯爲了否定開頭的一般疑問句~
但是我們華人總是比較謙虛，而且引以爲榮。自己的太太叫拙荊，文章曰拙作。如果你當真叫他的太太山芭婆，文章如狗屁，他保證勃然大怒，和你拍桌子絕交。其實，你所說的，和他說的，可能並沒什麼兩樣。
We Chinese are generally inclined to be modest, and we take pride in being so. For example, a Chinese will call his own wife zhuojing, meaning “my humble wife”, and his own writings zhuozuo, meaning “my poor writings”. But if you should call his wife a “rustic women” or his writings “trash”, he would, I’m sure, slap the table in a rage and declare he would make a clean break with you. As a matter of fact, there is probably no difference at all between what is said by him and you respectively.
要點：
1，“引以爲榮”即“爲這樣做感到驕傲”= take pride in being so
2，“自己的太太叫拙荊，文章曰拙作”譯爲For example, a Chinese will call his own wife zhuojing, meaning “my humble wife”, and his own writings zhuozuo, meaning “my poor writings”.其中“拙荊”“拙作”都是中國特有的謙辭，翻譯時要在後面進行補譯
3，“山芭婆”意即“村夫”，譯作rustic women
4,”勃然大怒“=fall into rage/be in a rage
“絕交“=break off / make a clean break with you
5，“他保證勃然大怒，和你拍桌子絕交”一般我們會譯爲he would, I ‘m sure ,fall into a rage,, striking the table and say he would break off with you,譯者以 in a rage 代替 fall into,少了一個動詞，句式就簡潔多了

綜述：
對於英漢習語，我們常用的方法的有異化，歸化，補譯（即釋義法），直譯加註，還有省去不譯，補譯和加註是比較常見也比較保險的方法~

我認爲，如果你的東西確是好的，直接說它好，沒有什麼不對。老王賣瓜，只要賣的是好瓜，爲什麼不能自賣自誇？老兄，老王是靠賣瓜吃飯的，叫他也學我們書生扭扭捏捏，對自己的瓜謙虛一番，生意還用做麼？他保證餓死大吉。
I don’t think it’s wrong for you to freely praise yourself if you’re really worthy of praise. As we know, there is an old Chinese saying disparaging a melon peddler, named Lao Wang, who keeps praising his own goods. Well, why can’t he praise his melons if they are really sweet and juicy? Friends, Lao Wang sells melons for a living. How could he carry on business if he, by imitating the affectations of us intellectuals, were to show false modesty about his melons? He would sure enough die of starvation.
要點：
1，“老王賣瓜”即“老王賣瓜，自賣自誇”，譯爲As we know, there is an old Chinese saying disparaging a melon peddler, named Lao Wang, who keeps praising his own goods.這又是一個習語，譯者對其進行了適當的增益,即As we know, there is an old Chinese saying…，起到了承上啓下的作用，便於讀者更好的理解
2，“叫他也學我們書生扭扭捏捏，對自己的瓜謙虛一番，生意還用做麼？”譯爲How could he carry on business if he, by imitating the affectations of us intellectuals, were to show false modesty about his melons.其中”學”作“模仿”講，譯爲immitate更合適；“我們書生扭扭捏捏”即“我們知識分子裝模作樣”，故譯爲the affectations of us intellectuals；“對自己的瓜謙虛一番”即“對自己的瓜表示謙虛”，故譯爲show false modesty about his melons

要點：
依舊是習語的翻譯，對於有文化意蘊的習語，除了保持準確，還要力求保證其風格一致

能欣賞自己，才能敬業樂業，寫文章的人，若老是覺得自己的文章不行，我不相信他有信心塗下去。賣文的，更不必說了。
Self-appreciation is therefore the key to professional dedication and enjoyment of work. One will lose confidence in continuing with writing when he ceases to admire his own less to say, the same is true of those who make a living with their pen.
要點：
1，“若老是覺得自己的文章不行，我不相信他有信心塗下去。“意即”若是一個人不再欣賞自己的作品，他將沒有信心繼續寫作“譯爲One will lose confidence in continuing with writing when he ceases to admire his own essays.同時要注意的還有，中文行文時，習慣先因後果，而英文有先果後因的習慣
2，“更不必說“採取反語正譯的方法，即”…也一樣“，譯爲the same is true of…

綜述：本文語言簡潔，雖然篇幅短小，卻多處使用習語，給翻譯帶來了一定難度，譯時需要多加註意~平時要注意多積累習語的譯法