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【Abstract】I have translated the introduction of some red scenic spots from the perspective of the Skopos Theory, taking Jinggang Mountain introduction as example which is one of the typical red tourism areas witnessing major parts of Chinese revolution history by CPC. My source text is abstracted from the website of Jiangxi Red tourism. And some translation strategies I employed are described as well.
【Key words】red scenic spots introduction; C-E translation; Skopos Theory; translation strategies
I. Project introduction
Jiangxi Province enjoys numerous red tourism resources because specific historic events took place there. Those red tourist sites stretch widely among Jiangxi province, for instance, Nanchang City, Jinggang Mountain in Ji’an City and Ruijin City which are famous as the “cradle of the people’s army”, the “cradle of the Chinese revolution” and the “cradle of the republic of China” respectively. Communist Party of China left footprints on this land which now becomes the best places to cherish the memory of our revolutionary martyrs and refresh this past history.
I have translated the introduction of some red scenic spots in Jinggang Mountain to carry out my study and analysis. Besides, I incorporate Skopos Theory into my translation vision.
II. Theoretical Basis
Simplified as “the end justifies the means,” the Skopos Theory expresses that the purpose of the target text is the most important criterion in translation. The Skopos theory includes three rules: the Skopos rule, the coherence rule, and the fidelity rule; it also includes three purposes: the general purpose, the communicative purpose, and the purpose aimed at through a particular translation strategy or procedure.
The purpose of my translation version is to find out more normative, historically accurate and positive translation. In addition, the majority of readers of the English introductions of these scenic spots are foreigners, so that to meet the so-called communicative purpose that oversea visitors can completely and clear understand Chinese revolutionary history needs objective description without ambiguity. Finally and most importantly, how to employ specific translation strategies and skills to handle practice problem, for instance, literal translation or free translation, addition or reduction, or transliteration plus annotation, is the main body of this paper.
III. Case Analysis
3.1 Free Translation of Poem ST:“四面重峦障,五溪曲水萦。红根已深植,今日正繁荣。”老一辈无产阶级革命家董必武1960年访问井冈山时对井冈山发展的评价。
TT: “Encompassed by rolling mountains, entangled by numerous streams, where revolutionary culture rooted, Jinggang Mountain is booming nowadays” praised for the development of Jinggang Mountain by Dong Biwu, a revolutionary of the older generation, who visited Jinggang Mountain in 1960.
ST: 当年郭沫若游览井冈山时曾感慨万千,挥毫留下了“井冈山下后,万岭不思游”的赞美诗句。
TT: Famous poet Guo Moruo has written laudatory lines: “After downhill from Jinggang Mountain, no mountain could evocate desire” while he appreciated Jinggang Mountain.
【Analysis】As for these five-character quatrain or poem, all meanings are compressed into 20 words or 10 words with strict matching form and metre, which is untranslatable to some extent. I choose free translation so that the oversea visitors can easily understand the meaning. And the Skopos rule and fidelity rule are observed.
3.2 Literal Translation of a List of Four Character Structures
ST: 这里巍峨群峰矗立,万壑争流,苍茫林海,飞瀑流泉,有气势磅礴的云海,瑰丽灿烂的日出,十里绵延的杜鹃长廊和蜚声中外的井冈山主峰。
TT: You can sight towering mountains, ongoing streams in thousands ravines, immerse forests, plunging waterfalls, magnificent clouds sea, glorious sunrise, sprawling azalea porch for 10 miles and the prominent peak of the Jianggang Mountain renowned at home and abroad.
【Analysis】Although I could not remain the four-character structure form, but I use modifier-core structure with an adjective and a noun to translate them, which is a literal translation strategy, keeping the forms and contents of ST in TT.
3.3 Omission and annotation in Translation
ST: 茨坪东山脚下:在这里,你可以感悟到半个世纪以前领袖的音容;在这里,你可以倾听伟人们共商大计的声音;在这里,你可以看到那铸造历史的精神光辉。
茨坪毛泽东同志旧居是毛泽东同志率领秋收起义部队抵达井冈山茨坪后居住和工作的地方。在这里,他起草了《井冈山的斗争》一文,从理论上全面系统地总结了创建井冈山革命根据地的经验,阐明了“工农武装割据”的崭新思想。也留下了关于为了节省只用一根灯芯的革命佳话。
TT: We can cherish the memory of Chair Mao Zedong.
The Mao Zedong’s former residence in Ciping is a place where Chairman Mao lived after the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Jinggang Mountain. Mao zedong drafted the Struggle in Jinggang Mountain; summarized comprehensively the experience on the establishment of Jinggang Mountain Revolutionary base theoretically, expounded the new thought of armed independent regime of workers and peasants, and produced the “one lampwick” story. (As stipulated, Chairman Mao could use three wicks to illuminate at night for working, but at that time, the army lacked oil seriously. Chairman Mao stuck to only use one wick and finished two significant articles: the Struggle in Jinggang Mountain and Why Could the Red Political Power Exist in China?) 【Analysis】The first part of the ST is a hero worship for Chairman Mao, but foreign tourists wound not produce such an emotion, so I translate it curtly and emphasize the later part of several stories about Chairman Mao and the history background. And in the ST, a title of a story was written straightly. For us who have received patriotism education are familiar with this story, but to those oversea visitors, I must give an annotation in translation so that they can realize the cause and effect.
Example 5 Translation method on rhetorical Level
ST:从1927红色的铁流融汇在井冈山之后,井冈山的生命力得到了焕发,“星星之火”不仅燃遍了神州,同时,凝聚成了不朽的井冈山革命精神。
TT: Since 1927, when the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army thronged together on Jinggang Mountain, the vitality of Jinggang Mountain begun to glow as a single spark and fired through China later, at the same time condensed out the eternal Jinggang Mountain spirit.
【Analysis】Through the whole sentence, we can find out three kinds of rhetoric, which are metaphor, personification and reference. That “红色的铁流” means the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. The purpose of this metaphor is to praise the Red Army’s spirit of sacrifice and fortitude, but I prefer to translate it freely for accessible translation to foreigners. This sentence “井冈山的生命力得到了焕发” with a figure of speech of personification makes Jinggang Mountain more vivifying, and I translate it literally following the common proceeding method. “神州” refers to China that is a common sense to Chinese, but not to overseas visitors, so I present its meaning directly.
Conclusion
From the perspective of Skopos Theory, we should flexibly use literal translation and free translation strategies according to the conditions of ST and meet the ultimate purpose. Besides, we could do some omission and addition (for example annotation) to improve the readability and understandability of the TT.
References:
[1]Lee,Geun Heui.Translation Criticism Based on the Skopos Theory: Case Study of Hoodwinked[J].The Journal of Translation Studies,2009.(2):61-82.
[2]Nord,Christiane.Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explaines[M].Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,2001.
[3]陆国飞.旅游景点汉语介绍英译的功能观[J].外语教学,2006,(5):78-81.
[4]肖群.功能主义视角下的红色旅游外宣资料英译: 问题与对策[D].上海外国语大学,2011.
[5]仲伟合,钟钰.德国的功能派翻译理论[J].中国翻译,1999.3.
*本文为江西师范大学2015年研究生创新基金课题项目,项目编号YJS2015052。
【Key words】red scenic spots introduction; C-E translation; Skopos Theory; translation strategies
I. Project introduction
Jiangxi Province enjoys numerous red tourism resources because specific historic events took place there. Those red tourist sites stretch widely among Jiangxi province, for instance, Nanchang City, Jinggang Mountain in Ji’an City and Ruijin City which are famous as the “cradle of the people’s army”, the “cradle of the Chinese revolution” and the “cradle of the republic of China” respectively. Communist Party of China left footprints on this land which now becomes the best places to cherish the memory of our revolutionary martyrs and refresh this past history.
I have translated the introduction of some red scenic spots in Jinggang Mountain to carry out my study and analysis. Besides, I incorporate Skopos Theory into my translation vision.
II. Theoretical Basis
Simplified as “the end justifies the means,” the Skopos Theory expresses that the purpose of the target text is the most important criterion in translation. The Skopos theory includes three rules: the Skopos rule, the coherence rule, and the fidelity rule; it also includes three purposes: the general purpose, the communicative purpose, and the purpose aimed at through a particular translation strategy or procedure.
The purpose of my translation version is to find out more normative, historically accurate and positive translation. In addition, the majority of readers of the English introductions of these scenic spots are foreigners, so that to meet the so-called communicative purpose that oversea visitors can completely and clear understand Chinese revolutionary history needs objective description without ambiguity. Finally and most importantly, how to employ specific translation strategies and skills to handle practice problem, for instance, literal translation or free translation, addition or reduction, or transliteration plus annotation, is the main body of this paper.
III. Case Analysis
3.1 Free Translation of Poem ST:“四面重峦障,五溪曲水萦。红根已深植,今日正繁荣。”老一辈无产阶级革命家董必武1960年访问井冈山时对井冈山发展的评价。
TT: “Encompassed by rolling mountains, entangled by numerous streams, where revolutionary culture rooted, Jinggang Mountain is booming nowadays” praised for the development of Jinggang Mountain by Dong Biwu, a revolutionary of the older generation, who visited Jinggang Mountain in 1960.
ST: 当年郭沫若游览井冈山时曾感慨万千,挥毫留下了“井冈山下后,万岭不思游”的赞美诗句。
TT: Famous poet Guo Moruo has written laudatory lines: “After downhill from Jinggang Mountain, no mountain could evocate desire” while he appreciated Jinggang Mountain.
【Analysis】As for these five-character quatrain or poem, all meanings are compressed into 20 words or 10 words with strict matching form and metre, which is untranslatable to some extent. I choose free translation so that the oversea visitors can easily understand the meaning. And the Skopos rule and fidelity rule are observed.
3.2 Literal Translation of a List of Four Character Structures
ST: 这里巍峨群峰矗立,万壑争流,苍茫林海,飞瀑流泉,有气势磅礴的云海,瑰丽灿烂的日出,十里绵延的杜鹃长廊和蜚声中外的井冈山主峰。
TT: You can sight towering mountains, ongoing streams in thousands ravines, immerse forests, plunging waterfalls, magnificent clouds sea, glorious sunrise, sprawling azalea porch for 10 miles and the prominent peak of the Jianggang Mountain renowned at home and abroad.
【Analysis】Although I could not remain the four-character structure form, but I use modifier-core structure with an adjective and a noun to translate them, which is a literal translation strategy, keeping the forms and contents of ST in TT.
3.3 Omission and annotation in Translation
ST: 茨坪东山脚下:在这里,你可以感悟到半个世纪以前领袖的音容;在这里,你可以倾听伟人们共商大计的声音;在这里,你可以看到那铸造历史的精神光辉。
茨坪毛泽东同志旧居是毛泽东同志率领秋收起义部队抵达井冈山茨坪后居住和工作的地方。在这里,他起草了《井冈山的斗争》一文,从理论上全面系统地总结了创建井冈山革命根据地的经验,阐明了“工农武装割据”的崭新思想。也留下了关于为了节省只用一根灯芯的革命佳话。
TT: We can cherish the memory of Chair Mao Zedong.
The Mao Zedong’s former residence in Ciping is a place where Chairman Mao lived after the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Jinggang Mountain. Mao zedong drafted the Struggle in Jinggang Mountain; summarized comprehensively the experience on the establishment of Jinggang Mountain Revolutionary base theoretically, expounded the new thought of armed independent regime of workers and peasants, and produced the “one lampwick” story. (As stipulated, Chairman Mao could use three wicks to illuminate at night for working, but at that time, the army lacked oil seriously. Chairman Mao stuck to only use one wick and finished two significant articles: the Struggle in Jinggang Mountain and Why Could the Red Political Power Exist in China?) 【Analysis】The first part of the ST is a hero worship for Chairman Mao, but foreign tourists wound not produce such an emotion, so I translate it curtly and emphasize the later part of several stories about Chairman Mao and the history background. And in the ST, a title of a story was written straightly. For us who have received patriotism education are familiar with this story, but to those oversea visitors, I must give an annotation in translation so that they can realize the cause and effect.
Example 5 Translation method on rhetorical Level
ST:从1927红色的铁流融汇在井冈山之后,井冈山的生命力得到了焕发,“星星之火”不仅燃遍了神州,同时,凝聚成了不朽的井冈山革命精神。
TT: Since 1927, when the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army thronged together on Jinggang Mountain, the vitality of Jinggang Mountain begun to glow as a single spark and fired through China later, at the same time condensed out the eternal Jinggang Mountain spirit.
【Analysis】Through the whole sentence, we can find out three kinds of rhetoric, which are metaphor, personification and reference. That “红色的铁流” means the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. The purpose of this metaphor is to praise the Red Army’s spirit of sacrifice and fortitude, but I prefer to translate it freely for accessible translation to foreigners. This sentence “井冈山的生命力得到了焕发” with a figure of speech of personification makes Jinggang Mountain more vivifying, and I translate it literally following the common proceeding method. “神州” refers to China that is a common sense to Chinese, but not to overseas visitors, so I present its meaning directly.
Conclusion
From the perspective of Skopos Theory, we should flexibly use literal translation and free translation strategies according to the conditions of ST and meet the ultimate purpose. Besides, we could do some omission and addition (for example annotation) to improve the readability and understandability of the TT.
References:
[1]Lee,Geun Heui.Translation Criticism Based on the Skopos Theory: Case Study of Hoodwinked[J].The Journal of Translation Studies,2009.(2):61-82.
[2]Nord,Christiane.Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explaines[M].Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,2001.
[3]陆国飞.旅游景点汉语介绍英译的功能观[J].外语教学,2006,(5):78-81.
[4]肖群.功能主义视角下的红色旅游外宣资料英译: 问题与对策[D].上海外国语大学,2011.
[5]仲伟合,钟钰.德国的功能派翻译理论[J].中国翻译,1999.3.
*本文为江西师范大学2015年研究生创新基金课题项目,项目编号YJS2015052。