严复的《天演论译例言》翻译

严复的《天演论译例言》原文译事三难：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。海通已来，象寄之才，随地多有，而任取一书，责其能与于斯二者则已寡矣。其故在浅尝，一也；偏至，二也；辨之者少，三也。今是书所言，本五十年来西人新得之学，又为作者晩出之书。译文取明深义，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。题曰达旨，不云笔译，取便发挥，实非正法。什法师有云：学我者病。来者方多，幸勿以是书为口实也。Translationinvolvesthreerequirementsdifficulttofulfill:faithfulness,comprehensibilityandelegance.Faithfulnessisdifficultenoughtoattainbutatranslationthatisfaithfulbutnotcomprehensibleisnotranslationatall.Comprehensibilityisthereforeofprimeimportance.SinceChina’sopeningtoforeigntradebysea,therehasbeennolackofinterpretersandtranslators.Butifyouassignthemanybooktotranslateandtellthemtomeetthesetworequirements,fewcandoso.Thereasonsfortheirinabilityaresuperficiality,partialityandlackofdiscrimination.ThisbookisbasedonthenewknowledgeoftheWestacquiredduringthelastfiftyyearsandwasoneoftheauthor’slaterworks.Mytranslationattemptstopresentitsprofoundthought.Itdoesnotfollowtheexactorderofwordsandsentencesoftheoriginaltextbutreorganizesandelaborates.However,itdoesnotdeviatefromtheoriginalideas.Itismoreanexpositionthanatranslationasitseekstoelaborate–anunorthodoxwayoftranslation.Kumarajivasaid:“Whoeverimitatesmewouldfall.”Therewillbemanyotherscomingaftermeintranslationwork;Isincerelyhopethattheywillnotusethisbookasanexcusefortheirfallings.(TranslatedbyC.Y.Hsu)注评：1.“虽译犹不译也”译为“…notranslation”较为合适，no放在名词前能起到加强语气的作用。2.则尚达也：尚，尊崇、重视；主要在于。译为“ofprimeimportance”。3.象寄之才：《礼记.王制》中记载：五方之民，言语不同，嗜欲不同。达其志，通其欲：东方曰寄，南方曰象，西方曰狄鞮，北方曰译。所以译员在古代又可称为“象寄之才”，译为“translatorsandinterpreters”4.其故在浅尝，一也；偏至，二也；辨之者少，三也。此句合并译为“Thereasonsfortheirinabilityaresuperficiality,partialityandlackofdiscrimination.”比较简练，符合英语的习惯。如果译为“firstly，…secondly…,andthirdly…”则显起来冗余。5.今是书所言：译为“Thisbook”即可，不必译为原书名。因为“是书”在此既可指“原著”也可指“你面前的这本书”。6.而意义则不倍本文：倍，通“背”，违背。此处是指不违背原文主旨大意，故译为“…itdoesnotdeviatefromtheoriginalideas.”7.达旨：表达主旨。8.取便发挥：取便，取其方便。发挥，阐发，把意思或道理充分表达出来。故译为“Itismoreanexpositionthanatranslationasitseekstoelaborate…”9.什法师有云：学我者病。什法师，指鸠摩罗什，姚秦时期佛经翻译大师，其翻译较为随意，据近代陈寅恪考证，“罗译删掉原文的繁复之处，而且不拘原文体制，经常变易原文。”此处严复在引用鸠摩罗什的话来阐明自己的观点。鸠摩罗什不能译为拼音“Jiumoluoshi”,应译为“Kumarajiva”。学我者病：病，指失败。故译为“fall”较好。10.来者方多，幸勿以是书为口实也。此句为严复所言，而非鸠摩罗什所言。口实，借口。故译为“Isincerelyhopethattheywillnotusethisbookasanexcusefortheirfallings.”