《夜雨寄北》英譯

 

 

《夜雨寄北》 可以說是李商隱諸多詩作中的一篇白話詩，是作者隨手拈來的一個東西。不知道為什麽那麽多名教授、學者、專家類的，把這首詩搞得那麽累，旁證索引，不厭其煩。特別是英語翻譯，讓人看得一頭霧水，加加減減的零碎特別多。現舉兩例如下：

 

　北大英語係許淵衝教授的譯作：

“You ask me when I can come back but I don't know,

　The pools in western hills with autumn rain o'erflow.

　When by our window can we trim the wicks again

　And talk about this endless, dreary night of rain?”

 

斯坦福大學劉若愚教授的譯作：

“You ask me the date of my return -- no date has been set.

　The night rain over the Pa Mountains swells the autumn pond.

　O when shall we together trim the candle by the west window,

　And talk about the time when the night rain fell on the Pa Mountains?”

 

可以說以上兩首譯稿的後兩句，反譯回來連意思都不準了。我的翻譯不見得是最好，但絕對不會扭曲詩作的原意。現英譯如下：

 

《夜雨寄北》 李商隱

君問歸期未有期，

 巴山夜雨漲秋池。

何當共剪西窗燭，

 卻話巴山夜雨時。

 

《 Night Rain to the North》  Li Shangyin

 

You asked me when I could be back, but still not known yet,

The Autumn pool is overflowing with night rain in the mountain here.

Together,when the time we clip the wick at that west window

Yet, the rain in the mountain tonight would be a good subject to chat..