目的论与戏剧翻译 _ 浅析莎士比亚名剧Measure for Measure的三个中文译本

,

还< /p>

是为舞台

表演牺牲部分文化因素

?

研究并解决这一矛盾成为当前戏剧翻译研究的重中

< br>之重。而

纵观中外翻译史

,< /p>

翻译界对戏剧翻译所作的研究为数并不多

,

且缺乏系统的

理论指导

,

对戏剧中 这一矛盾的关注更是不够。

本文尝试从目的论出发来审视这一矛盾

,

以目的

论为研究的理论框架

,

试图证明目的论对研究和解决戏剧翻译中的矛盾行之

有效

,

在

戏剧翻译中意义重大。

作为文学艺 术和舞台艺术的结合体

,

戏剧具有双重性。这种双重性使得传统

翻译

理论难以指导或评估戏剧翻译。

而目的论主张翻译目的为翻译活动中的首要

决定因

素

,

这为翻译研究

,

特别是戏剧翻译研究开拓了新的视野。

只要 译文实现了既

定翻译

目的

那么该译本就算是成功的译本。

为验证目的论在 戏剧翻译中的可行性

,

本文运

用该理论评价莎士比亚“

Measure

for

Measure

”的三个中文 译本

,

以期从成

功的翻

译实践中找到有益启示。

全文由五个章节构成。第一章对戏剧进行全面介绍

,

总结戏剧 语言的特性

,

进一

< br>步指出戏剧翻译中的矛盾

,

并回顾了翻译界的相关研究。 第二章引进目的论

的理论框

架

,

阐明其主要概念及其对戏剧翻译的特殊意义。第三章从目的论影响译 者

翻译方法

的四个因素出发

,

介绍原作者莎士比亚、译者梁实秋、朱生豪和英若诚的相

关信息。

第四章从目的论的角度

< br>,

对三个译本进行了详尽分析

,

进一步验证目的论在

戏剧翻译

中的可 行性。第五章总结目的论在戏剧翻译中的重要意义及深远影响。

关键词

:

戏剧翻译

,

目的论

,

文学性

,

ivTABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter I General Introduction to Drama and Drama Translation. 1

1.1 Definition of Drama: Literary Art & Theatrical Art1

1.2 Features of Dramatic Language: Speakability & Individuality.2

1.3

Duality

of

Drama

Translation:

Performance-oriented

&

Reader-oriented..3

1.4 Relevant Study of Drama Translation5

1.4.1 Drama Translation Theories in China..5

1.4.2

Drama

Translation

Theories

in

Western

Countries7Chapter

II

The

Skopos Theory and Drama Translation. 11

2.1 Development of the Skopos Theory. 11

2.2 Two Rules of the Skopos Theory12

2.3 Five Points of the Skopos Theory..13

2.4

Factors

Affecting

Translators’

Strategies

from

the

Skopos

Theory’s Standpoint..14

2.5

Significance

of

the

Skopos

theory

for

Drama

Translation.15Chapter

III

Researches

on

Three

Chinese

Shakespearean

translators

from

the

Skopos

Theory’s

Standpoint..17

3.1 William Shakespeare and his Measure for Measure.17

3.2 Liang Shiqiu and his Complete Works of Shakespeare18

3.2.1 Initiator or Commissioner18

3.2.2 Translator.19

3.2.3 Source-text Producer and Target- text Receiver21

3.3 Zhu Shenghao and his Translation of Shakespeare..22

3.3.1 Initiator or Commissioner22

3.3.2 Translator.23

3.3.3 Source-text Producer, Target-text Receiver24

3.4 Ying Ruocheng and his Drama Translation..24

3.4.1 Initiator and Translator.24

3.4.2

Source- text

Producer

and

Target-text

Receiver26Chapter

IV

Sample Analysis27

4.1 Characters’ Names.27

4.2 Allusions.28

4.3 Metaphors..31

4.4 Idioms..34

4.5 Puns..37

4.6 Obscene Words40

4.7

Summary42Chapter

V

Conclusion

44BIBLIOGRAPHY

46vChapter

I

General Introduction to Drama and Drama Translation

Drama translation is a special and distinctive branch of literary

translation due to the

dualistic

nature

of

drama.

Then

what

on

earth

are

the

unique

features

of drama and drama

translation?

We

may

start

our

discussion

with

a

general

introduction

to drama and relevant

study

of

drama

translation

before

going

any

further1.1

Definition

of

Drama: Literary Art & Theatrical Art

Originally, the wor

d “Drama” comes from a Greek word, “dran”,

meaning “thing

done”, “action” or “deed”. To make it clear, the author looks

up the word “drama” in

several

authoritative

dictionaries

and

collects

the

following

interpretations for further

reference:nd

In the

Oxford English Dictionary 2 Edition 1989, “Drama” is “a

composition in

prose or verse, adapted to be acted upon a stage, in which a story

is related by means of

dialogue and action, and is represented with accompanying gesture,

costume, and scenery,

as

in

real

life;

a

play”In

the

Encyclopedia

Britannica

1964:

“Drama” is “a form of art in which the artist

imagines a story concerning persons and incidents without himself

describing, narrating or

explaining what is happening”In the Encyclopedia Americana

1986:

“Drama” is “a form of literature intended for

performance

by

actors.

In

general

the

subject

matter

is

narrative

in

character and, in the

type of story traditionally considered suitable for presentation on

the stage”

We

may

summarize

the

above

interpretations

like

this:

drama

is

a

genre

of literature

with a story related by means of dialogue and action, and produced

to be acted upon the

stage.

The

term

“drama”

is

used

in

an

inclusive

way

that

emphasizes

both its literary nature

on

page

for

the

reader

and

its

potential

for

performance

on

stage

for

the audience. On the

one

hand,

it

is

literature

whose

aesthetic

effect

depends

on

a

collective endeavor and the

receptor’s response is mostly spontaneous and immediate. Since the

play text contains

stage

directions

and

dramatic

language

which

depict

the

portraits

of

characters and push

forward

the

plot,

we

can

still

read

the

play

text

as

any

other

literary

works.

On

the

other1hand,

drama

is

“an

audiovisual

presentation

of

time

and space, involving music, dance,

fine arts and literary language, with the simultaneous presence of

actors and audience” Lin,

1993:

4.

The

original

intention

and

full

potential

of

drama

can

only

be brought out and

realized

by

performing

on

stage.

Thus

the

ultimate

receptor

of

drama

is supposed to be the

audience

in

the

theatreAlthough

most

dramas

are

produced

to

be

performed, there is an exception. Some

dramatic works are called “closet dramas” or “closet plays”,

which are created to be readIn this case the playwright does not need to

take theatrical performance into considerationHowever, plays with such

a pure purpose are scarce, and here in this thesis, we focus our

attention

on

stage-oriented

drama1.2 Features

of

Dramatic

Language:

Speakability & Individuality

As

a

special

form

of

literature,

dramatic

writing

is

largely

different

from other literary

genres.

In

Jiao

Juyin’s

words,

the

receptor

of

most

literature

genres,

such as poetry and

prose, is the text reader, while the receiver of drama includes not

only the reader of the

playtext, but also the audience in the theatre. Thus the playwright

needs to bear reader and

audience in mind at the same time. On this point, Robert Cohen also

stated his opinion:

“

Because

drama

is

often

thought

of

as

a

form

of

literature

and

because

many dramatic

authors

begin

as

poets

or

novelists,

it

may

be

seen

as

if

playwriting

is primarily a literary

activity.

It

is

not.

Etymology

helps

here:

playwright

is

not

playwrite.

Writing for the theatre

entails considerations not common to other

literary forms.” Cohen,

2000: 82As a genre of literature, drama is mainly composed of stage

directions and dramatic

dialogue

Stage

directions

refer

to

the

playwright’s

imagination

of

the

stage

space Barranger,

1986: 290. It is actually a description of intended paralinguistic

instructions to direct

actors’

physical

action.

Stage

directions

can

be

divided

into

several categories, including

environmental

description,

setting

description,

description

of

characters’ facial expressions,

mood and gestures. As a common role, stage directions are formal in

style and concise in

language

Dramatic language, as the main content of a drama, is not merely an

arrangement of2words on a page. It differs from other literary language

in that it is “more than words on a

page?it

is

the

playwright’s

blueprint

of

a

special

kind

of

experience,

created to appeal as

much to the eye as to the ear” Barranger, 1986: 89

-90. It is a

conceptualization of the

interactions of myriad elements in the theatrical medium: movement,

speech, scenery,

costume, staging, music, spectacle, and silence. As is said in An

Introduction to Literature,

drama

is

“not

simply

words

but

words

spoken

with

accompanying

gestures by performers

who

are

usually

costumed

in

a

particular

setting”

Barnet,

Berm

an

and

Burto,

1997:

536Dramatic

dialogue

is

of

essential

importance

in

developing plots, creating characters,

presenting

crisis,

describing

circumstances

and

revealing

the

theme.

The relationships

between

characters

are,

for

the

most

time,

constructed

and

developed

through the language

they use. Thus the creation of drama language becomes even harder.

On the requirements

of

dramatic

language,

many

scholars

have

put

forward

their

opinions,

such as Nicoll’s

“economical and artistic” Nicoll, 1985: 95, Backer’s “clear in

meaning, helpful to the

advancement of plots and in accordance with personalities” Backer,

2000: 426, Li

Jianwu’s

“colloquial”

Li,

1982:153,

Lan

Fan’s

“actable,

individual and poetic” Lan,

1992:

474

and

so

on.

Taking

all

these

requirements

into

account,

the

most conspicuous

features

of

dramatic

dialogue

can

be

summarized

into

speakability

and

individualitySpeakability

guarantees

the

effectiveness

of

being

naturally spoken by actors and quickly

understood

by

the

audience.

And

individuality

defines

the

characterization of the whole

drama1.3

Duality

of

Drama

Translation:

Performance- oriented

&

Reader-oriented

As has been explored in previous sections, drama differs from other

literature genres,

for

it

is

not

only

a

linguistic

art

with

reader- reception

as

its

form

of fulfillment, but also a

performing art with the theatre-goers as its ultimate receptor. The

peculiarity of drama

results

in

the

duality

of

drama

translation.

Other

than

those

general

requirements for