Transmutation or Transcreation?: A Comparative Study of the Chinese and English Translators' Translation of Cultural Connotations in Classical Tang Poems

「嬗變」還是「創譯」？中國與西方譯者在唐詩中文化詞語意涵翻譯之比較研究

吳怡萍(Yi-ping Wu)

poetry translation ； transcreation ； cultural connotation ； Chinese Tang poetry ； 詩歌翻譯 ； 創譯 ； 文化詞意涵 ； 唐詩

翻譯學研究集刊

23輯（2019 / 11 / 01）

115 - 127

英文

It has been acknowledged that Classical Chinese poetry can hardly be translated literally in terms of sound and sense. Western translation scholars are likely to support the notion of freedom to translate with flexibility and creativity, and the strategy of transcreation is considered useful for the first-language translators to ＂express the poem in the way he or she reads it, and that expression is likely to be more readable for the target audience＂ (Pellatt & Liu 2014). However, in their comment of the Chinese translators whose English as a second language ＂may not have such an extensive stock of nuance and idiom,＂ and their translations are ＂at best pseudo-Byronic, and at worst awkward, ungrammatical and overly sentimental＂ (Pellatt & Liu 2014). This negative comment hardly does justice to the great effort made by the Chinese translators who endeavor to mediate the cultural connotations in their English translation of classical Chinese poetry. This paper aims to show how the Chinese translators, such as Xu Yuanchong and Ho C. K., deliberately mediate and compensate cultural losses in their translations of 300 Tang poems in English. This paper suggests that while concerning the readability of translation, the translators are obligated to convey the culture contained in the poem so that the target readers can better understand the cultural connotation embedded in the Chinese culture and experience.

古典中國詩很難透過直譯來表達全詩的聲響與意境，西方翻譯學者對此贊同採用翻譯具有創意及彈性的「創譯」方式來翻譯中國詩，創譯對英語為母語人士而言不僅「可以在譯文呈現其閱讀的方式，且讓譯文具可讀性」（Pellatt & Liu 2014），然而對於英語非母語人士的譯者評價則呈現負評，主要理由為譯者之英文為第二外語者，對於英語的慣用語及詞彙使用差異無法像母語人士一樣，「翻譯好一點的看起來像偽拜倫式的，差一點的看起來語法有問題，讀起來太多愁善感」（Pellatt & Liu 2014），這些負評對於致力於古典中國詩歌翻譯及文化傳播的中國譯者（如：許淵冲、何中堅等）並不公允，本文以唐詩翻譯之文化內涵為例，比較中西方譯者在文化內涵處理與保留上的差異，文中建議在致力於譯文可讀性的同時，對於文化內涵與中國經驗的呈現也須有所保留。

1. Aixelá, J. F.(1995).Specific cultural items and their translation.Translation and the manipulation of discourse: Selected papers of the CERA research seminars in translation studies 1992-1993
2. Baker, M.(1992).In other words-A coursebook on translation.London:Routledge.
3. Boase-Beier, J.(2011).A critical introduction to translation studies.London:Continuum International Publishing Group.
4. Gambier, Yves(ed.),Shlesinger, Miriam(ed.),Stolze, Radegundis(ed.)(2004).Doubts and directions in translation studies.Amsterdam:John Benjamins.
5. House, J.(2009).Translation.Oxford:Oxford UP.
6. Jones, F. R.(2011).Poetry translating as expert action: Processes, priorities and networks.Amsterdam:John Benjamins.
7. Liu, Y.(2010).Cultural loss in the English translation of Chinese poetry.Babel,56(2),168-185.
8. Luo, X.(ed.),He, Y.(ed.)(2009).Translating China.Bristol:Multilingual Matters.
9. Newmark, P.(1988).A textbook of translation.UK:Prentice Hall.
10. Nida, E. A.,Taber, C. R.(1969).The theory and practice of translation.Leiden:E. J. Brill.
11. Nord, C.(1997).Translating as a purposeful activity: Functionalist approaches Explained.Manchester:St. Jeromes.
12. Pellatt, V.,Liu, E. T.(2010).Thinking Chinese translation: A course in translation method Chinese to English.London:Routledge.
13. Pellatt, V.,Liu, E. T.,Chen, Y. Y.(2014).Translating Chinese culture: The process of Chinese-English translation.London:Routledge.
14. Tobias, S.(2006).Culture-specific items in Japanese-English literary translation: Comparing two Translations of KawabatasIzu no Odoriko.Monash University Linguistics Papers,5,27-35.
15. Zare-Behtash, E.,Firoozkoohi, S.(2009).A diachronic study of domestication and foreignization strategies of cultural-specific items: in English-Persian translations of six of Hemingway’s works.World Applied Sciences Journal,7(12),1576-1582.
16. Zare-Behtash, E.,Firoozkoohi, S.(2010).Culture-specific items in literary translation.Translation Journal,14(1),11.