養(yǎng) 花On Growing Flowers?

老舍Lao She

| 譯文摘自張培基《英譯中國(guó)散文選一》

我愛(ài)花，所以也愛(ài)養(yǎng)花(1)。我可還沒(méi)成為養(yǎng)花專(zhuān)家，因?yàn)闆](méi)有工夫去作研究與試驗(yàn)。我只把養(yǎng)花當(dāng)作生活中的一種樂(lè)趣，花開(kāi)的大小好壞都不計(jì)較，只要開(kāi)花我就高興。在我的小院中，到夏天，滿是花草，小貓兒們只好上房去玩耍(2)，地上沒(méi)有它們的運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)。
I love flowers and hence have taken to growing them. But, short of time to do research and experiment in flower cultivation, I am no gardener at all. I merely take flower cultivation as a pleasure of life. I really don’t care whether or not my flowers will put forth plump and nice-looking blossom. I’ll be delighted as long as they can blossom. In summer, flowers and plants growing in luxuriance in my small courtyard will leave little open space as a playground for the little cats, so they have to sport about in our rooms instead.

要點(diǎn)：
1， 先說(shuō)標(biāo)題，此處并沒(méi)有單純譯為Growing flowers，而是加了on（此處表“關(guān)于”），因?yàn)楸疚牟⒉粏螁问钦f(shuō)養(yǎng)花這家事情，而是通過(guò)寫(xiě)“養(yǎng)花”表達(dá)自己對(duì)于知識(shí)的重視
2， “所以也愛(ài)養(yǎng)花“譯為hence have taken to growing them，其中動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)to take to的意思是“開(kāi)始喜歡”。此句也可譯為are therefore fond of growing flowers。
3， Put forth在這里重提一下，意為“長(zhǎng)出（花葉芽）”已經(jīng)是老朋友了哦~
4， “只好上房去玩?！弊g為they have to sport about in our rooms instead，其中動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)to sport about的意思是“嬉戲”（to play and jump about happily）。

綜述：我們這次重點(diǎn)說(shuō)下文中的比喻，第一個(gè)是把地比喻成了“運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)”，二是說(shuō)小貓?jiān)凇巴嫠！?。譯文中，譯者也如實(shí)地把原文中的運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)譯成playground，保留了原義的形象。而第二個(gè)“玩耍”并沒(méi)有處理成我們常用的play about或have fun…而是譯成了sport about，鮮明地展現(xiàn)了貓兒在運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)玩耍的英姿，真可謂妙譯。大家好好體會(huì)~

花雖多，但無(wú)奇花異草。珍貴的花草不易養(yǎng)活，看著一棵好花生病欲死是件難過(guò)的事。我不愿時(shí)時(shí)落淚。北京的氣候，對(duì)養(yǎng)花來(lái)說(shuō)，不算很好。冬天冷，春天多風(fēng)，夏天不是干旱就是大雨傾盆；秋天最好，可是忽然會(huì)鬧霜凍。在這種氣候里，想把南方的好花養(yǎng)活，我還沒(méi)有那么大的本事。因此，我只養(yǎng)些好種易活、自己會(huì)奮斗的花草(3)。
I grow many flowers, but none of them are exotic or rare ones. It is difficult to grow a precious flower species. And I feel bad to see a good flower dying of illness. I don’t want often to shed tears over that. But Beijing’s climate is more or less unfit for the growing of flowers. Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorms in summer. While autumn is the best of all, it is often plagued by a sudden frost. In a climate like this, it is far beyond my capacity to grow precious flowers of southern breed. Therefore, I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate.?

要點(diǎn)：
1，“花雖多，但無(wú)奇花異草?！弊⒁獯司涞闹髡Z(yǔ)的選取，譯文選取“我”作為主語(yǔ)來(lái)串句子，還是找共同部分，看選哪個(gè)主語(yǔ)有助于行文~“奇花異草”意為“指稀奇少見(jiàn)的花草”因此譯為exotic or rare flowers
2，“我只養(yǎng)些好種易活、自己會(huì)奮斗的花草”譯時(shí)稍作靈活處理：I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate，其中用enjoy a high survival rate（成活率高）表達(dá)“好種易活”；用hardy（耐寒、耐勞、能吃苦）表達(dá)“會(huì)奮斗的”。行文生動(dòng)活潑~
3，“冬天冷，春天多風(fēng)，夏天不是干旱就是大雨傾盆；秋天最好，可是忽然會(huì)鬧霜凍?！弊g為Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorms in summer. While autumn is the best of all, it is often plagued by a sudden frost.原文語(yǔ)言簡(jiǎn)潔生動(dòng)，而譯者用平行結(jié)構(gòu)也是寥寥幾筆就將原文意思表達(dá)清楚了。另外，原文中的“鬧”運(yùn)用擬人的修辭，譯文也用visit生動(dòng)地體現(xiàn)了出來(lái)~

綜述：根據(jù)散文的行文特點(diǎn)——偏書(shū)面化，用詞考究，譯文在選詞等方面也體現(xiàn)了深思熟慮的特征~

不過(guò)，盡管花草自己會(huì)奮斗(4)，我若置之不理，任其自生自滅(5)，它們多數(shù)還是會(huì)死了的。我得天天照管它們，像好朋友似的關(guān)切他們。一來(lái)二去(6)，我摸著一些門(mén)道：有的喜陰，就別放在太陽(yáng)地里，有的喜干，就別多澆水。
Although such flowers are able to weather through by themselves, I, however never ignore them or abandon them to their own fate, for otherwise most of them will probably end up dead. I have to care for them every day as if they were my close friends. Thus, in the course of time, I’ve somehow got the hang of flower cultivation, some flowers which are accustomed to growing in the shade should not be too much exposed to the sun. Those which prefer dryness should not be watered too often.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“自己會(huì)奮斗”即“自力更生”譯為able to weather through by themselves，其中動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)to weather（表示平安地度過(guò)，比go高級(jí)一大截~） through的意思是“對(duì)付困難”、“渡過(guò)風(fēng)暴”等。此句也可譯為able to carry on the struggle for existence by themselves，但意思太大，不太符合本文的語(yǔ)言風(fēng)格，也比較啰嗦
2，“任其自生自滅”中的“自生自滅”意為“自然地發(fā)生，生長(zhǎng)，又自然地消滅”，此處不宜按字面直譯，現(xiàn)意譯為abandon them to their own fate。
3，“一來(lái)二去”的意思是“經(jīng)過(guò)一定的時(shí)間”，故譯為in the course of time，course又一次出現(xiàn)~是翻譯中常用的梗~具體用法見(jiàn)《艱難的國(guó)運(yùn)與雄健的國(guó)民》
4，got the hang of意為“找到…的竅門(mén)”如；The Eurozone authorities seem to have finally got the hang of an effective communications strategy, and this has paid off.（歐元區(qū)當(dāng)局看來(lái)已最終掌握了溝通策略，而這已見(jiàn)效。）
5，“喜陰。喜干”意為“適應(yīng)潮濕/干燥的環(huán)境”因此譯者分別用了accustom to和prefer來(lái)表達(dá)此意

綜述：注意對(duì)于不好翻譯的表述，一定要把握其實(shí)質(zhì)含義~

這是個(gè)樂(lè)趣，摸住門(mén)道花草養(yǎng)活了，而且三年五載(7)老活著、開(kāi)花，多么有意思呀！不是亂吹，這就是知識(shí)呀！多得些知識(shí)，一定不是壞事。
It gives me much pleasure to know the right way of handling them. How interesting it is to be able to keep my flowers and plants alive and watch them thrive and bloom year in year out! It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this! And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“三年五載”以靈活的辦法譯為year in year out（每年），類(lèi)似的表達(dá)還有day in(and) day out（每天）~相較于every year, everyday,前者更加適合文學(xué)翻譯
2，“不是亂吹，這就是知識(shí)呀”意即“我可沒(méi)有夸張哦，這的確有很多知識(shí)在里面！”故譯為It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this!要知道，老舍寫(xiě)這篇文章的目的是通過(guò)養(yǎng)花這件事說(shuō)明知識(shí)的重要性~翻譯時(shí)一定不要按字面意思來(lái)譯
3，“多得些知識(shí)，一定不是壞事”譯為And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course.采用反話正說(shuō)的手法，巧妙地將作者重視知識(shí)的語(yǔ)氣表現(xiàn)地淋漓盡致~

綜述：說(shuō)理性散文，要把握作者的真實(shí)意圖，譯文要盡量貼合原文的氛圍和背景~

我不是有腿病嗎，不但不利于行，也不利于久坐。我不知道花草們受我的照顧，感謝我不感謝；我可得感謝它們。在我工作的時(shí)候，我總是寫(xiě)了幾十個(gè)字，就到院中去看看，澆澆這棵，搬搬那盆，然后回到屋中再寫(xiě)一點(diǎn)，然后再出去，如此循環(huán)(8)，把腦力勞動(dòng)與體力勞動(dòng)結(jié)合到一起，有益身心(9)，勝于吃藥。
As I have some trouble with my leg, I can’t move around easily, nor can I sit too long. I don’t know if the flowers under my care are grateful to me or not. However, I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them. I often leave off sedentary work after writing a few dozen words and go to the courtyard to take a look at the flowers, watering them and moving about the potted ones. Then I’ll return to my room to write a bit more. I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again, thus combining mental with manual labour. This is a better way to keep me fit in mind and body than taking medicine.

要點(diǎn)：
1， “我不是有腿病嗎”即“我有腿病”，譯為 I have some trouble with my leg，此處用疑問(wèn)的句式表達(dá)肯定的觀點(diǎn)，譯為陳述句~
2， “不但不利于行，也不利于久坐”運(yùn)用“否定+nor”的結(jié)構(gòu)，這個(gè)之前在《我坐了木船》中有詳細(xì)介紹，忘記的童鞋請(qǐng)穿越~~另外，此句和前面的分句有邏輯上的因果關(guān)系，下面的“不知…我可得感謝它們”也有邏輯上的轉(zhuǎn)折，翻譯時(shí)要體現(xiàn)體現(xiàn)體現(xiàn)出來(lái)~！
3， “我可得感謝它們”譯為I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them，其中for my part是插入語(yǔ)，意為“就我而言”；“感謝”譯為acknowledge thanks to，這個(gè)句型在領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人們的講話上也常用~
4，“然后再出去，如此循環(huán)”不宜按字面直譯，現(xiàn)譯為I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again，其中定語(yǔ)back-and-forth作“來(lái)來(lái)往往”解；go through the same process作“重復(fù)同一過(guò)程”解。
5，“有益身心”可有兩種譯法：to keep me fit in mind and body或to keep me mentally and physically fit。

綜述：依舊注意語(yǔ)言選詞的運(yùn)用要貼合背景，原文語(yǔ)言簡(jiǎn)潔活潑，譯文也不宜過(guò)于死板~

要是趕上狂風(fēng)暴雨或天氣突變哪，就得全家動(dòng)員(10)，搶救花草，十分緊張(11)。幾百盆花，都要很快地?fù)尩轿堇锶?，使人腰酸腿疼，熱汗直流?/strong>
In case of a violent storm or a sudden change of weather, however, the whole family will have to turn out to salvage the flowers and plants. Everybody will then feel keyed up. By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“就得全家動(dòng)員”譯為the whole family will have to turn out，其中動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)to turn out的意思是“出動(dòng)”或“出來(lái)參加”。
2，“十分緊張”譯為feel keyed up，其中動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)to key up的意思是“使緊張”，因此keyed up和excited、tense等同義
3，“幾百盆花，都要很快地?fù)尩轿堇锶?，使人腰酸腿疼，熱汗直流”譯為By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration.其中譯者并沒(méi)有具體地翻譯這兩個(gè)四字格，而譯成了dog-tired（極度疲乏，像狗一樣累）和wet with perspiration（汗珠，汗）。不僅傳達(dá)了原文信息，又保留生動(dòng)的形象~

綜述：原文風(fēng)格俏皮幽默，張爺爺很好地把握了這點(diǎn)，從dog-tired，key up等詞就可以看出，因此我們需要進(jìn)行各種風(fēng)格的翻譯和閱讀時(shí)，加強(qiáng)自己對(duì)于語(yǔ)境的把握~

第二天，天氣好轉(zhuǎn)，又得把花兒都搬出去，就又一次腰酸腿疼，熱汗直流。可是，這多么有意思！不勞動(dòng)，連棵花兒也養(yǎng)不活，這難道不是真理么？
The next day, when the weather is fine, we will have another round of being dog-tired and wet with perspiration in taking all the flowers out to the courtyard again. How interesting it is! Isn’t it true that without doing manual labour, we couldn’t even keep a single flower alive?

要點(diǎn)：
1，“又…”譯為have another round of doing
2,“不勞動(dòng)，連棵花兒也養(yǎng)不活，這難道不是真理么？”反問(wèn)句，譯為一般疑問(wèn)句Isn’t it true that without doing manual labour, we couldn’t even keep a single flower alive? 將語(yǔ)言的運(yùn)用發(fā)揮到淋漓盡致~

綜述：跟我念，積累表達(dá)~

送牛奶的同志，進(jìn)門(mén)就夸“好香”！這使我們?nèi)叶几械津湴?。趕到曇花開(kāi)放的時(shí)候，約幾位朋友來(lái)看看，更有秉燭夜游的神氣(12)——曇花總在夜里放蕊?；▋悍指?，一棵分為數(shù)棵，就贈(zèng)給朋友們一些；看著友人拿走自己的勞動(dòng)果實(shí)，心里自然特別喜歡。
It filled the whole family with pride whenever the milkman exclaims on entering our gate, “What a sweet smell!” When the night-blooming cereuses are about to be in flower, we will invite some friends to visit us in the evening to feast their eyes on them—in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights. When the cereuses have branched out, we will pick some of the flowers and give them as a present to our friends. We are of course especially happy to see them take away our fruits of labour.

要點(diǎn)：
1， 又出現(xiàn)了表示“使某人感到…”的句子了，這次是fill sb with,迄今為止，我們已經(jīng)見(jiàn)過(guò)的表達(dá)有：generate in sb a feeling/sensation of ;give sb great pleasure(使某人愉悅);inspire sb by(使某人振奮)~
2,“更有秉燭夜游的神氣”中的“秉燈夜游”是成語(yǔ)，比喻“及時(shí)行樂(lè)”，今結(jié)合上下文按“夜間秉燭作樂(lè)”的意思譯為nocturnal(夜間活動(dòng)的，夜間發(fā)生的) merry-making（作樂(lè)） under candle lights。又“更有……神氣”意即“帶有……的味道”，故全句譯為in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights.

當(dāng)然，也有傷心的時(shí)候，今年夏天這有這么一回。三百株菊秧還在地上（沒(méi)有移入盆中的時(shí)候），下了暴雨。鄰家的墻倒了下來(lái)，菊秧被砸死者約三十多種，一百多棵！全家都幾天沒(méi)有笑容！

有喜有憂，有笑有淚，有花有實(shí)，有香有色，既須勞動(dòng)，又長(zhǎng)見(jiàn)識(shí)，這就是養(yǎng)花的樂(lè)趣。

?
Of course, there is a time to feel sad too. Last summer, a rainstorm hit us when 300 chrysanthemum seedlings in the courtyard were about to be transplanted to pots. Suddenly, the wall of our neighbour collapsed and crushed more than 100 seedlings of 30 varieties. The whole family were sad-faced for quiet a few days!

Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, flowers and fruit, fragrance and colour, manual labour and increased knowledge—all these make up the joy of flower cultivation.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“有喜有憂，有笑有淚，有花有實(shí)，有香有色”譯為Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, flowers and fruit, fragrance and colour, 譯文在翻譯“有…,有…”句式時(shí)采用直接列舉的方式，更簡(jiǎn)潔更符合原文輕快的氣氛~
2，“既須勞動(dòng)，又長(zhǎng)見(jiàn)識(shí)”運(yùn)用詞性轉(zhuǎn)換，譯為manual labour and increased knowledge，也是為了貼合原文的氛圍~

綜述：之所以選這篇是希望大家在翻譯時(shí)要注意文章風(fēng)格，譯時(shí)一定要結(jié)合思考語(yǔ)言背景，作者意圖，以表現(xiàn)出翻譯深思熟慮的特征~

聲明：本雙語(yǔ)文章的中文評(píng)析系滬江英語(yǔ)原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容，轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處。中文評(píng)析僅代表作者個(gè)人觀點(diǎn)，僅供參考。如有不妥之處，歡迎指正。