郭沫若《杜鹃》 -英语翻译技巧与实例-英汉互译实用教程

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杜鹃

The Cuckoo
郭沫若
Guo Moruo
🔥背景知识:《杜鹃》是郭沫若写于1937年1月13日的一篇散文。作者凭借对杜鹃的精细观察,从描述该鸟在中国文学上所占突出地位开始,转而揭示它的可憎习性,托物寓志,意味明显,深入浅出。

杜鹃,敝同乡的魂,在文学上所占的地位,恐怕任何鸟都比不上。
The cuckoo, the spirit of my native place Sichuan, is probably holding a higher place in Chinese literature than any other bird.
🎈「敝同乡的魂」如按字面直译为the spirit of my fellow provincials意思不够确切。现按「故乡四川之魂」译为the spirit of my native place Sichuan,补充同乡为四川省。
🎈「在文学上所占的地位,恐怕任何鸟都比不上」意为「在中国文学史上,杜鹃的地位比任何鸟的都高」,故译为holding a higher place in Chinese literature than any other bird。

我们一提起杜鹃,心头眼底便好像有说不尽的诗意。
The mere mention of this bird will arouse in our hearts a great deal of poetic feeling.
🎈此句译文中the poet表达一个抽象概念,相当于the poetic sentiment/ feeling。

它本身不用说,已经是望帝的化身了。
To begin with, she is the incarnation of the legendary king of ancient Sichuan named Wang Di.
🎈「望帝」是我国古代传说中的蜀国国王,故译为the legendary king of ancient Sichuan named Wang Di,略有增译,属释义性翻译。
🎈…的化身 the incarnation of 

有时又被认为薄命的佳人,忧国的志士;
She has come to be known sometimes as an ill-fated beauty and sometimes as a patriot concerned over the fate of the nation. 
🎈「薄命的佳人」意即「多病的美人」,故译为an ill-fated beauty。
🎈「忧国的志士」意即「关心国事的爱国人士」,故译为a patriot concerned over the fate of the nation。

声是满腹乡思,血是遍山踯躅;
Her call is full of longings for home; she loiters about the mountains crying and spitting up blood.
🎈「血是遍山踯躅」意即「在山上游荡,啼至血出」,译为she loiters about the mountains crying and spitting up blood. ,其中spitting up意同vomiting。可参阅白居易诗《琵琶行》中的名句:“期间旦暮闻何物?杜鹃啼血猿哀鸣。”

可怜,哀惋,纯洁,至诚……
She is pathetic, sad, pure and sincere …
🎈补充主语she
Q:可以用he吗?
不行,此处表达的情感时积极的,有赞扬的情感,所以用女字旁的她she来表达。

在人们的心目中成为了爱的象征。这爱的象征似乎已经成为了民族的感情。
She is in the eyes of all a symbol of love, which seems to have become a national feeling.
🎈爱的象征分别为一句话的结尾和开头,所以可以将这两句话变成一句,后面which…feeling为非限制性定语从句。

而且,这种感情还超越了民族的范围,东方诸国大都受到了感染。
And this feeling has gone beyond the national boundary to affect most of the eastern countries.
🎈「东方诸国」即「大多数东方国家」,故译为most of the eastern countries。

例如日本,杜鹃在文学上所占的地位,并不亚于中国。
In Japan, for example, the cuckoo is holding a position in literature by no means lower than in China.
🎈by no means 决不,并不

然而,这实在是名实不符的一个最大的例证。
Nevertheless, all that is a typical instance of undeserved reputation.
🎈「名实不符」可用不同方法直译。这里结合上下文译为undeserved reputation。
🎈例证 a typical instance

杜鹃是一种灰黑色的鸟,毛羽并不美,它的习性专横而残忍。
The cuckoo is a grayish-brown bird with none too beautiful feathers. She is characteristically domineering and cruel.
🎈「灰黑色」不是「深灰色」,指「黑中带灰」或「褐中带灰」,未译dark grey,最好译greyish-dark或greyish-brown。
🎈「习性」一词由名词转为副词characteristically。

杜鹃是不营巢的,也不孵卵哺雏。
She doesn’t build her own nest, nor does she hatch or feed her young.
🎈「营巢」即「搭巢」,故译为build her own nest。

到了生殖季节,产卵在莺巢中,让莺替它孵卵哺雏。
During the breeding season, she deposits her eggs in the nests of ori

oles for them to hatch and rear.
🎈生殖季节 the breeding season

雏鹃比雏莺大,到将长成时,甚且比母莺还大。
A baby cuckoo is bigger in size than a baby oriol, and, when full grown, bigger even than the mother oriol.
🎈此处由于主语都是雏鹃,所以后面的主语和谓语动词可以省略。

鹃雏孵化出来之后,每将莺雏挤出巢外,任它啼饥号寒而死,它自己独霸着母莺的哺育。
After she is hatched, she often pushes the baby oriol out of the nest, leaving the poor chick to cry and die of hunger and cold so that she may have the mother oriol’s care all to herself.
🎈「它自己独霸着母莺的哺育」译为she may have the mother oriol’s care all to herself,其中to have… all to oneself意即「独享」或「独占」,和to monopolize意同,但后者不如前者贴切。「哺育」在此未译为to feed and raise,而以care表达,是为切合句法。

莺受鹃欺而不自知,辛辛苦苦地哺育着比自己还大的鹃雏:
The mother bird, however, being treated unfairly without her knowledge, continues laboriously to feed the baby cuckoo who is bigger than herself.
🎈「莺受鹃欺而不自知」译为The mother bird, however, being treated unfairly without her knowledge,其中unfairly为增译成分,莺受到了不公的对待。
🎈being treated unfairly without her knowledge 为独立主格。

真是一件令人不平、令人流泪的情景。
The tragic spectacle is such as to arouse great indignation and draw tears of sympathy!
🎈「令人不平」意即「引起愤怒」,故译为arise great indignation。

想到了这些实际,便觉得杜鹃这种鸟大可以作为欺世盗名者的标本了。
Hence I believe that the cuckoo can best serve as a model of those who win popularity by dishonest means.
🎈「欺世盗名」意即「欺骗的行为」,故译为dishonest means。

然而,杜鹃不能任其咎。
But the cuckoo is not to blame.
🎈回顾blame的固定搭配
blame sb/sth. for sth. 
1)因某事而责备某人
例句
He blamed me for negligence. 
他责备我粗心大意。
2)把某事的责任归咎于某人
例句
He blamed his teacher for his failure. 
他把自己的失败归罪于他的老师。
blame sth on sb/ sth 把某事的责任归咎于某人
例句
The driver blamed the accident on the cyclist. 
司机把事故的责任归咎于骑自行车的人。
be to blame for (doing) sth. 对(做)某事应负责任
例句
You are not to blame for what happened. 
刚刚所发生的事不应由你负责。
put/lay the blame (for sth) on sb. 把(某事)归咎于某人
例句
He put/laid the blame on me. 
他把一切都归咎于我。

杜鹃就只是杜鹃,它并不曾要求人把它认为佳人、志士。
A cuckoo is a cuckoo. She has never asked people to call her a beauty or a patriot.
🎈把它认为佳人、志士 call her a beauty or patriot 

人的智慧和莺也相差不远,全凭主观意象而不顾实际,这样的例证多的是。
Man is no wiser than the oriol. Many act on their own personal imagination regardless of the reality of things.
🎈「人的智慧和莺也相差不远」意即「人和莺同样不明智」,故译为Man is no wiser than the oriol,等于Man is as unwise as the oriol,或Man and the oriol are equally unwise。

因此,过去和现在都有无数的人面杜鹃被人哺育着。
Therefore, we do see, both in history and at present, numerous cuckoo-like men sponging off their compatriots.
🎈「无数的人面杜鹃被人哺育着」意即「无数人像杜鹃一样的人寄生于他人身上」,故译为numerous cuckoo-like men sponging off their compatriots,其中to sponge on(off )和to live off同义,作「依赖……生活」「寄生于……」等。

将来会怎样呢?莺虽然不能解答这个问题,人是应该解答而且能够解答的。
What about in the future? The oriol can’t give an answer, but man should and can.
🎈虽然但是这一组关联词在英文中不可都出现,要么出现although/though;要么出现but。
🔥必背词汇
incarnation     n. 代表某种品质的人;化身 
英义
a person who represents a particular quality, for example, in human form
例句
the incarnation of evil 
邪恶的化身 
legendary     adj. 传奇的;传说的
英义
mentioned in stories from ancient times
例句
legendary heroes 
传奇故事中的英雄 
Ill-fated      adj. 注定要倒霉的;时运不济的;(尤指)结局悲惨的
英义
not lucky and ending sadly, especially in death or failure
例句
an ill-fated expedition 
注定不会成功的探险
loiter      v. 闲站着;闲荡;徘徊
英义
to stand or wait somewhere especially with no obvious reason
例句
Teenagers were loitering in the street outside. 
青少年在外面街上闲荡。
domineering      adj. 专断的
英义
trying to control other people without considering their opinions or feelings
例句
a cold and domineering father 
冷酷而专制的父亲 
deposit      v. 把〔某物〕放在〔某地〕
英义
always + adv / prep formal to put something down in a particular place
例句
The female deposits her eggs directly into the water.
雌性把卵直接产在水中。
rear      v. 养育,抚养〔孩子〕; 饲养〔动物〕
英义
to look after a person or animal until they are fully grown
例句
It’s a good place to rear young children.
这是个抚养年幼孩子的好地方。
laborious     adj. 耗时费力的;辛苦的
英义
taking a lot of time and effort
例句
laborious task / process 
艰巨的任务;艰难的过程 
sponge      v. 白要;白吃;揩油;蹭(饭等) 
英义
to get money, food, etc. regularly from other people without doing anything for them or offering to pay
例句
He spent his life sponging off his relatives. 
他靠在众亲属那儿蹭吃蹭喝过了一辈子。
🔥重点词组
同乡的魂 the spirit of my native place
……的化身 the incarnation of 
薄命的佳人 an ill-fated beauty
吐血 spit up blood
名实不符的一个最大例证 a typical instance of undeserved reputation
超越民族的范围 go beyond the national boundary
令人不平 arise great indignation
令人流泪 draw tears of sympathy
依赖……生活 sponge off/ on= live off 
心头眼底便好像有说不尽的诗意 arise in our hearts a great deal of poetic feeling
忧国的志士 a patriot concerned over the fate of the nation 
一种灰黑色的鸟 a grayish-brown bird
习性专横而残忍 characteristically domineering and cruel 
营巢 build one’s own nest
到了生殖季节 during the breeding season
产卵在莺巢中 deposit one’s eggs in the nests of orioles
将莺雏挤出巢外 push the baby oriol out of the nest
啼饥号寒而死 cry and die of danger and cold
欺世盗名 win popularity by dishonest means
全凭主观意象而不顾实际 act on one’s own personal imagination regardless of the reality of things
🔥复盘测试
同乡的魂
……的化身
薄命的佳人
吐血
名实不符的一个最大例证
超越民族的范围
令人不平
令人流泪
依赖……生活
心头眼底便好像有说不尽的诗意 
忧国的志士 
一种灰黑色的鸟 
习性专横而残忍 
营巢 
到了生殖季节 
产卵在莺巢中 
将莺雏挤出巢外 
啼饥号寒而死 
欺世盗名 
全凭主观意象而不顾实际 
🔥表达对比
关于「哺育」的不同译法
 
鹃雏孵化出来之后,每将莺雏挤出巢外,任它啼饥号寒而死,它自己独霸着母莺的哺育。
After she is hatched, she often pushes the baby oriol out of the nest, leaving the poor chick to cry and die of hunger and cold so that she may have the mother oriol’s care all to herself.
莺受鹃欺而不自知,辛辛苦苦地哺育着比自己还大的鹃雏:
The mother bird, however, being treated unfairly without her knowledge, continues laboriously to feed the baby cuckoo who is bigger than herself.
因此,过去和现在都有无数的人面杜鹃被人哺育着。
Therefore, we do see, both in history and at present, numerous cuckoo-like men sponging off their compatriots.
贫穷剥夺了我童年的幸福,把我关在学校大门的外面,是书本敞开它宽厚的的胸脯,接纳了我,给我以慷慨的哺育。
In my childhood, when I was deprived of happiness and schooling by poverty, books took me to their large bosoms and nurtured me generously.

未经允许不得转载:帕布莉卡 » 郭沫若《杜鹃》 -英语翻译技巧与实例-英汉互译实用教程

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