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“三生三世,十裏桃花”譯成英文如此驚豔

(2017-03-02 19:33:59) 下一個

《三生三世,十裏桃花》原小說其實是有英文版的,去年 8 月 23 日在美國亞馬遜上市。小範圍來看,賣得還不錯,現在已經是 Asian Literature 門類的暢銷榜的 TOP 3,不過在英語世界裏也還隻能算是小眾讀物。

 

  粗粗看了下簡介以及亞馬遜上放出的序言,譯者是學過中文的英國人,譯文風格算是比較直白,以講清楚故事為主,但沒有表達出東方文字裏的那種回環旖旎,或者用作者的話來說,“煙煙霞霞”,哈哈。

 

  為數不多的評價,大多還不錯。想不到真有外國人對中國仙俠小說感興趣。其中有個評價對“三生”可謂是盛讚,說它是“gorgeous, lyrical, and ambitious novel based in Chinese mythology”(一部華麗,抒情,且富含野心的神話小說)。

 

  要從詞匯和韻律兩個層麵還原原文的詩性並不容易,所以今天我們請了英國文學的專家幫我們用英語複刻原作的詩意,有意思的是,除了用詞保留了原作的美感,一些段落的斷句,譯者也非常講究,還刻意起了一些韻腳,你讀讀看,能讀出詩的節奏感來。

  “三生三世,十裏桃花”

  Life After Life, Blooms Over Blooms

 

  累世情緣,誰撿起,誰拋下,誰忘前塵,誰總牽掛。

  憶當時年華,誰點相思,誰種桃花。

  This fated love of forever and a day—

  Who has picked it up? Who has thrown it away?

  Who has forgotten it all? Who yearns for it to stay?

  Those days bygone and labyrinthine—

  Who was the one that made the other sigh and pine?

  Who was in the peach orchard, raising flowers divine?

  這段譯文,沒有複雜的用詞,但在音律的鋪設上明顯很用心思,頗顯功力。Labyrinthine(迷宮似的,曲折的)尤其用得妙,一來起韻腳為後麵的 pine 和 divine 開道,同時也意喻情緣之糾纏迷醉,一箭雙雕。

 

  你父君是我的心,我的肝,我的寶貝甜蜜餞兒,我又怎會不要他。

  His highness your father is my heart, my soul, my precious, my sweet. How would I not want him?

  讀這句總是能想起莎劇中那些毫不遮掩的愛的表達呢,自動腦補了羅密歐與朱麗葉陽台私會一幕。

 

  這正是桃花盛開的季節,十裏桃林,十裏桃花,漫山遍野的灼灼芳華。

  It is the season when peach trees come into full bloom. Over hills, over vales, acres of peach trees parade acres of peach blossoms, radiant and sweet.

  這句譯者為了豐富畫麵感,是明顯的意譯。“Over hills, over vales” 直譯應該是滿山滿穀,豐富了“十裏”的意象。“parade” 是“展覽、招搖過市”的意思,此處用作動詞,可以想見桃花在枝頭爛漫招搖的畫麵。“灼灼”就是“明亮”的意思,所以用了 “radiant”。“Sweet”有“芳香”的意思。

 

  三月春盛,煙煙霞霞,灼灼桃花雖有十裏,但一朵放在心上,足矣。

  In the lush spring of March, the radiant peach blossoms bloom, like rosy mists and blushing clouds. However many blossoms there are, it is enough to have just one, to be cherished in one's heart.

  煙煙霞霞用的是“rosy mists and blushing clouds”, 意即瑰色的氤氳和緋紅的雲霞,見字如見景。第二句中得“are”與“heart”押韻,中間斷了一句,成了一個玲瓏的三行詩,也呼應了原句的結構。

 

  桃花灼灼,枝葉蓁蓁,妖嬈傷眼。

  The peach blossoms are radiant, the leaves luxuriant, their allure stunning.

  句式簡約有力。“Allure”:魅力,誘惑力。可以理解成魅惑吧,也算符合“妖嬈”的內涵。原文中“傷眼”細讀其實並非是個貶義形容,美得過度總是震懾人心,用 “stunning” 比較合理。

 

  我自是百般推脫,他自是千般盛情。

  I, of course, did my best to excuse myself, while he, naturally, pressed on with all graciousness and courtesy.

  這句也很妙,原文是兩句,譯者斷成了八個部分,營造了節奏感,“naturally”也跟“courtesy”押韻。

 

  風月裏的計謀不算計謀,情趣罷了;風月裏的情趣不算情趣,計謀罷了。

  In affairs of the heart, scheming is not at all scheming, only part of the play; while playfulness is never just playfulness, but part of the scheme.

  把風月翻譯成 “affairs of the heart” (心的風流韻事)簡單又恰當。情趣翻成“playfulness”也極聰明。

 

  四海八荒,總是會有一個人,一定會有這麽一個人,他會把你的名字叫得婉轉溫柔,蕩氣回腸。

  In the vast universe (Four Seas and Eight Deserts), there will—there must—be someone who, when he calls your name, gives it such delight, such tenderness, such soul-stirring pathos.

  “Pathos” ,形容悲愴、哀婉,淒楚,契合蕩氣回腸的意境,用得好高級。

 

  光暈一層一層,打出斑駁的印記。桃林十裏,嬌爛漫紅,千朵濃芳,一枝枝綴亂雲霞。那煙霞底下立著的玄衣青年,眉如潑墨,鬢若刀裁。

  Halos of light rippled and splashed. In the acres of peach trees, pink blossoms bloomed, breathing out sweet perfume. Beneath the rosy clouds and scented mists stood the young man, all dressed in black, his eyebrows as dark as if painted with ink, the hair above his temples as sharply outlined as if cut with a knife.

  “眉如潑墨,鬢若刀裁”出自《紅樓夢》,原為對寶玉容貌的描述。此處沿用楊憲益、戴乃迭譯本中的譯法。

 

  方才夜華(角色名)行色匆匆,淡薄之間隱含親切,疏離之間暗藏婉約,如此神態,以我十多萬年所見的風月經驗,定是會佳人去了。

  Ye Hua went off in a hurry just now. He looked nonchalant and distant, but there was a heartiness to that nonchalance and a coyness to that distance. I know, from my observations of romantic affairs—accumulated, I may add, over a hundred thousand years—that with that air and look, he must have been on his way to meet a fair lady.

  鐺鐺鐺,紅寶書時間,GRE 詞匯背起來。“nonchalant”:漫不經心的,漠不關心的,又指恬然的。形容“淡薄”感覺恰如其分。“coyness”:怕羞、羞澀。婉約本身的意思就是委婉含蓄,有羞澀之意。

  看了這些翻譯,表示深深拜服!

  與君共勉!

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