#1 翻译出版中的两大雷区
一本旨在进军白宫的自传,因中译本出现删改和误译爆发了一场风波。美国民主党第一女强人为之震怒,扬言要中方译文出版社收回全部中译本云云。贵为前第一夫人现国会参议员的喜莱莉克林顿却不了解这删改和误译乃家常便饭,未免有点过于一惊一咋。从现在由此上推几十年,此等事可说是见怪不怪,小菜一碟,并且可以予测并非后无来者。有机会看到海外出版的原本再对照国内出版的译本可以发现翻译出版中的两大雷区。凡触犯此两大雷区的最常用的手法是大刀阔斧毫不留情的删节。
翻译出版中的第一雷区是政治。
英国著名作家富莱德利克福赛思是一位著名的描写国际事务的悬念小说作家。以其所写的《第四议定书》为例。
贝塔姆书社与维京出版社签约出版的1985年袖珍版第10页中第二段的后半部分被去掉:
It was all a lie, and he had been smart enough to see through it.
He had spent his youth and manhood serving a lie,
lying for the lie, betraying for the lie,
abandoning that “green and pleasant land” and all for a lie.
对照陕西人民出版社1987年出版发行由包振南张明陈敏铮三人合译的译本,这一段仅翻译出版了头二句:“最糟糕的还不止于此。到达莫斯科后还不到七年,他最后的一线政治希望也完全破灭了。”这两句替代了原来的一整段,构成了新的一整段,使你看了后丈二和尚摸不着头脑。最糟糕的是什么呢?为什么他最后的一线政治希望也完全破灭了?只有把缺损的那部分补起来才是完整的面目。
试译如下:
那全是谎言,他早已足够清醒把这一切完全看透。为了一个谎言,浪掷虚耗了大好青春半世人生。为了个谎言而埋葬,信了个骗子而背叛,抛弃了那个繁荣国土欢乐家园,统统是源于一个弥天大谎。
连接在一起就可明白作为小说中的一个重要人物叛逃到苏联的原英国双重间谍菲尔比内心的痛苦和悔恨。然而这涉及到曾是社会主义老大哥的苏联,尽管早已被骂成修正主义,说其编造“谎言”仍然是禁忌。推人及已,心有顾忌,怎能让读者由此及彼由表及里联想类比?实在有点象阿Q忌讳“秃” 忌讳“癞”甚至忌讳 “光”。
这与网载另一有关LIE(谎言)的删节别无二致。戈尔巴乔夫在《往事与随想----戈尔巴乔夫回忆录》中谈到自己的心路历程时说:“苏共声称,它代表了最广人民的利益,但是,人人都知道这是谎言”。在中国社会科学文献出版社中译本缩编本《往事与随想》第一版中已然译出的这句话,在再版时及全译本中都不翼而飞。著作被删节并不是美国喜莱莉一家,苏联戈尔巴乔夫也一视同仁。前已见诸网文提及将布什发明的“妖魔政权”故意改译成“妖魔国家”等等。这也属于翻译中的第一雷区。凡涉及政治路线意识形态可来不得半点儿差池。
使人惊奇的是甚至于连“马克思列宁主义”这样的字样也在劫难逃。同样一本《第四议定书》第四章开头是菲尔比写给苏共总书记的一封密信。在第63页信的第三段第一句被略去不译。
这一句是:
Even though the bedrock of Marxism- Leninism in Britain has always been in the trade union movement,
true believers were excluded from the Labour Party itself.
接着在第65,66,70等页同一封信中凡提及马列主义和马列主义者的部分都难逃一把剪子。细细一想,原文原信的意思是揭露早没有人真正信仰所谓马列主义,这可不得了!断不容许有人知晓实实在在是挂羊头卖狗肉,于是乎通通死拉死拉的,给毙啦。
翻译出版中的第二雷区是性。
同样以福赛思的成名作《豺狼的日子》(又曾译作《查克尔的末日》)为例。 维京出版公司1971年版第286页中的一整段被砍掉:
Her thigh was pressed against him below the belly and through the satin of her dress she felt the rigid arrogance
of his prick. For a second she withdrew her leg,
then pushed it back again. There was no conscious moment of decision-taking;
the realisation came without effort that she wanted him badly,
between her thighs, inside her belly, all night.
第289页有一整段被砍掉:
He had been good, this English primitive, hard but skilled,
knowing how to use fingers and tongue and prick to bring her on five times and himself three.
She could still feel the blazing heat going into her when he came,
and she knew how badly she had needed a night like this for so long when she responded as she had
not for years.
同一页又有几段被砍掉:
The Englishman muttered, half asleep.
They were both lying naked among the disordered sheets,
but the central heating kept the room comfortably warm.
The blond head disengaged itself from her hand and slid between her thighs.
She could feel the tickle of the hot breath and the tongue flickering in search again.
"No, no more.”
She closed her thighs quickly,
sat up and grabbed the hair, raising his face until she could look at him. He eased himself up the bed,
plunged his face onto one of her full heavy breasts and started to kiss.
"I said no.”
由于被砍掉好几段的原故,再加上诲盗诲淫的宗旨,下面的这一问句就被故意误译成“睡得好吗?”。
"It was good?”
实际上对照上下文,不言而喻这里问的是对作爱的评价和感受。
第311页又有一整段被砍掉:
She pushed his shoulder so that he rolled back onto the bed, then gripped his wrists and pinned them against the pillow as she climbed over him.
He stared back up at her as she knelt above him,
her thighs gripping his ribs hard.
She smiled down at him,
two curing strands of hair falling down to the nipples.
"Bon, mon primitif, now let’s see you perform."
He eased his head forward as her bottom rose off his chest, and started.
似可译为:
她按住他的肩膀让他仰面躺回床上,然后边爬上来边抓住他手腕压向枕头。当她跪坐在他上方时,大腿有力地蹭着他的肋骨使他再次兴奋起来。她微笑地俯视着他,两束卷发垂在奶头上。
“好,我的野蛮人,现在让我们来看看你的表现。”
当她将胯部脱开他胸脯抬起的同时,他自在地昂首向前开始动作起来。
相比于现在那些美女作家惯用身体语言创作情色文学,并不多多少淫秽文字,但是一概不留通同删除。此种例子俯拾皆是不胜枚举。
只许州官放火,不许百姓点灯。能和姘头一起在床上研究素女经,却不能让民众接触这些被删节的文字。在巴金的《家》里老不死的冯乐山要讨鸣凤做小老婆,是男女居室人之大伦;而青年男女自由恋爱则是越轨便是万恶淫为首。
专制与封建亦是一对双生子,有第一雷区就有第二雷区,有政治写作上的禁锢便有生活描写上的禁忌。翻译须做到“达信雅”的宗旨被阻挡在这两大雷区之外,多少翻译人士被关在笼子里不得越雷池一步。广大外国文学译著读者被蒙在鼓里云山雾障不知所以。
回过头来检点那本《亲历历史》,喜莱莉应当感激涕零才是。洋洋多少万言这样厚厚的一本自传,总共才删改和误译了那么几小段,还毫不含糊地保留了有关比尔克林顿花边新闻的全部内容,一点都不用担心泄露什么国家机密,也不用顾忌为尊者韪。真正是与时俱进至今日才有的成果。
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