中國(guó)文學(xué)英譯絮談

沙楓

《紅樓夢(mèng)》英譯的錯(cuò)誤例子

張振玉寫的《譯學(xué)概論》一書，有一章是專談?wù)`譯的，并列舉了一些名著譯文的誤譯例子，其中有幾個(gè)是《紅樓夢(mèng)》書中英譯的錯(cuò)誤。

例一，為第二十七回《葬花詩(shī)》中的兩句，原文為：

“柳絲榆莢自芳菲，不管桃飄與李飛。”

英人翟理士（Giles）譯成如下：

They are willow-sprays and flowers of elm,
And these have scent enow,
I care not if the peach and plum
Are stripped from every bough.

錯(cuò)在哪里呢？書中說：

黛玉葬花自是在暮春，已是綠肥紅瘦時(shí)候?！傲z榆莢自芳菲”，芳菲，盛也，非芳香也，柳絲榆莢并無香味。柳絲榆莢既綠肥而正盛，桃飄李飛則紅瘦而已衰，正是盛者自盛，不管衰殘者之可憫可憐。故不管桃李飄落者乃柳絲榆莢也。而 乃對(duì)此二句不但誤解其意，亦誤解其文法。若謂先誤解其文法，后始誤解其意，亦未為不可。蓋“柳絲榆莢自芳菲”已自有主詞，“不管桃飄與李飛”則無主詞，究竟誰“不管”？譯者誤以為第一人稱主詞省去，乃黛玉自道之意，遂譯為“柳絲榆莢既有芳香可愛，我林黛玉便不管桃李飄落，且由它去”之意，已忘記黛玉系為傷花惜花而葬花也。

例二，是第二十六回中的“鳳尾森森，龍吟細(xì)細(xì)”。原文是：

說著，順著腳一徑來至一個(gè)院門前，只見鳳尾森森，龍吟細(xì)細(xì)。舉目望門上一看，只見匾上寫著“瀟湘館”三字。

英人 Florence and Isabel McHugh 的英譯是這樣的：

At last he came to a secret door which was hidden away behind a thicket of high ferns by the edge of a quiet pond. A mysterious humming, which seemed to come from a water dragon lying, at the bottom of the pond, filled the air.

英譯又錯(cuò)在哪里呢？書中說：

“鳳尾森森，龍吟細(xì)細(xì)”兩句，不但平仄和諧，且亦對(duì)仗工穩(wěn)。英譯真荒唐萬分，可謂胡說八道。第一、“鳳尾”系竹之一種，名為“鳳尾竹”。第二、“龍吟”系用以寫鳳尾竹所發(fā)出之柔和和低細(xì)之聲，微風(fēng)吹來，竹聲蕭蕭是也。譯者把“鳳尾”躲過未譯?！褒堃鳌奔葻o法躲過，乃胡思亂想道：“院旁有池，池中有水，水底有龍，龍必吟嘯”。嗚呼！西方之漢學(xué)家！

英人 David Hawkes 后來卻譯對(duì)了，譯文如下：

Moving on, without much thinking where he was going, he came presently to the gate of a courtyard. Denser than patters on the phoenix tail, the stirred leaves murmured with a pent dragon's moan. The multitudinous bamboos and the board above the gate confirmed that his feet had, without conscious direction, carried him to the Naiad's House.

又上引《葬花詩(shī)》那兩句，王際真也是譯對(duì)的，譯文如下：

The willow threads and elm blossoms
Still flaunt their luxuriance.
They care not that the peach petals dance
Nor that the plums are flown.

譯文中的“They”字，自是柳同榆，當(dāng)非林黛玉了。

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