“similarity in form” and “similarity in spirit”

【Abstract】When it comes to the effect of translation， the theory of “similarity in form” and “similarity in spirit” is of necessity， especially similarity in spirit exerts influences on one aspect to another. The thesis focuses on both “similarity in form” and “similarity in spirit”， which is aimed at doing research on significance of two elements in translation.

【Key words】translation； similarity in form； similarity in spirit

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】楊憶晰，山西工商學(xué)院國(guó)際交流學(xué)院。

Introduction

Translation is more than transformation， moreover， it serves as an indication of recreation. But how to recreate remains a question？ When it comes to the effect of translation， the theory of “similarity in form” and “similarity in spirit” is of necessity， especially similarity in spirit exerts influences on one aspect to another.

In Chinese translation theory， a lot of people put forward the theory about“similarity in form” and “similarity in spirit”.Ma Jianzhong（馬建忠）was the first one talking about“spirit”（神似），“Similarity in spirit”theory was firstly brought forward and expatiated by Mao Dun（茅

盾）in 1921.After that Guo Momo（郭沫若），Wen Yiduo（聞一多）advanced that the“spirit”and“tone”（“氣勢(shì)”）should be translated when discussing poetry translation.Chen Xiying

（陳西瀅）pointed out that the key of achieving“faithfulness”is the pursuit of“similarity in spirit”besides“similarity in form”.He also pointed out that the supreme artistic state of literature translation is “similarity in spirit”，which is the embodiment of the highest level of translated literature.Fu Lei（傅雷） put“form”and“spirit”，“similarity in form”and“similarity in spirit”as a pair of contradiction.He advocated“similarity in spirit” not “similarity in form”.Qian Zhongshu（錢(qián)鐘書(shū)）pointed out“consummating”（化境）theory.While Xu Yuanchong

（許淵沖）put forward“the theory of advantage and the of resemblance”（“優(yōu)勢(shì)競(jìng)賽論”）.

Definition

In the 20th century， there are several heated arguments about “similarity in form” and“similarity in spirit” in translation circles.In terms of “form” and “spirit”，there are two groups.One group holds that “similarity in form” should come first ； while the other group holds that it is hard to achieve “similarity in form”.So “similarity in spirit” should be relied on.In the translation system， “similarity in spirit” occupies the leading position.

Definitions vary in terms of “form” and “spirit” in discussion.So it is necessary to have a definite definition.On the basis of Xu Juns （許鈞）viewpoint，there are three levels of “form”.Firstly， the language level， which refers to the pure “l(fā)anguage” defined in linguistics，and the language s systematic structure composed by words and expressions， grammar， syntax and so on.Secondly， the parole level， meaning the subjects creative construction.Thirdly， the style level.Different types of writing have different forms.In terms of popular statement in translation circles，the “spirit” includes not only “romantic charm（神韻）”， “emotional appeal（情調(diào)）”， “vigor（氣勢(shì)）”， and “style（風(fēng)

格）”，also“meaning”，“mind”，and “content” which was said often.In translation， “spirit” can be explained to “similarity in spirit” and “vividness”.

Then whats the relationship between “form” and “spirit” ？ According to Luo Xinzhang（羅新璋），“form” and “spirit” is dialectically united.If there is no“form”， then what does the “spirit” adhere to？ Lin Yutang explained it more concretely.He pointed out that the most important thing in translated literatures is paying equal attention to style and content of the original text. We not only take notice of what it said but how it was said.Every writer has his own style，which is valuable for his works.So the articles beauty depends on its style not content，and style is the central thing of art.So when in the process of translation， we should pay attention to form and spirit all.

To be brief， Lins translation standard call be summed up in one word—lifelikeness. He explained it asword and sentences spirit and implied meaning”.If there is no conflict between”words spirit” and “sentence s spirit”，the exact expression of the main words should be ensured. But if there is conflict between them，what s more important is the expression of the whole sentence.Grasping the meaning of the sentence on the basis of words can convey the original text exactly， namely， lifelikeness，which is the ultimate purpose.Lins translation principle about “l(fā)ifelikeness” is consistent with his character and the view of “personality”literature.He held that people should have a spirit of not being confined，express their own opinion and literature to display their personalities.Since the articles essence is personalitys representation，if it is lost in translation，the charm will be lost.So in the process of translation，translators should attach importance to convey the romantic charm of the original text，thus to move the readers.In translated literatures，he translated literatures according to his own translation theory to achieve the aim of lifelikeness.

Case Study

Personally， I strongly hold Lin Yutangs point of view， for weve stressed similarity in form for too many years during our English study without “l(fā)ifelikeness” understanding and recreation. The best case is that I do find some stiff translation which fails to evoke readers interest and emotion. The translation of Sister Carrie is a good example.

Sister Carrie， written by Theodore Dreiser serving as the representative of American naturalistic writers in 19th century， is a penetrating observer of desire in humanity. To catch a glimpse of the novel， Im deeply overwhelmed by its exquisite psychological and environmental picture， which appropriately mirrors the “spirit” of Sister Carrie. In particular， depiction of complicating metropolis is a perfect mixture of a variety of emotions and desire. Therefore， in terms of translation， “spirit in similarity”occupies leading position， for what we want to convey to readers should be perfect picture of emotions and desire as well as much room for senses.

First，lets take a look at the excerpt from the novel Sister Carrie.

The city has its cunning wiles， no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter. There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human. The gleam of a thousand lights is often as effective as the persuasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye. Half the undoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forces wholly superhuman. A blare of sound， a roar of life， a vast array of human hives， appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counselor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations， what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear！ Unrecognized for what they are， their beauty， like music， too often relaxes， then weakens， then perverts the simpler human perceptions.

Here are two versions of translation of the excerpt.

大城市具有自身種種誘人的花招，并不亞于那些教人學(xué)壞的男男女女，當(dāng)然人比社會(huì)微小得多，也更富于人情味。社會(huì)具有巨大的影響力，能像最老于世故的人才可能想到的甜言蜜語(yǔ)一樣亂人情懷。都市的萬(wàn)點(diǎn)燈火比起情人脈脈含情的迷人眼神來(lái)，那魅力是不差分毫的呢。可以說(shuō)，有一半涉世未深的純潔心靈是被非人為的影響力帶壞的。城市里喧鬧的人聲和熱鬧的生活，加上鱗次櫛比的樓房建筑，在令人驚愕的同時(shí)，又令人怦然心動(dòng)，教給人們模棱兩可的生活意義。這種時(shí)候，如果沒(méi)有人在她們身邊輕聲告誡和解說(shuō)，又有什么謊言和謬誤不會(huì)灌入這些不加提防的耳朵里去呢？頭腦簡(jiǎn)單的年輕人看不清生活中的那些虛假外表，而為它們的美所傾倒，就像音樂(lè)一樣，它們先令人陶醉松弛，繼而令人意志薄弱，最后誘人走上岐路。

城市生活所具有的欺騙性可不比那些誘惑人性弱點(diǎn)的小東西少到那里去。它儼然就是一個(gè)學(xué)識(shí)高深之人，渾身四處散發(fā)著無(wú)窮的魅力。璀璨的點(diǎn)點(diǎn)夜燈就如求愛(ài)者的眼神一樣令人難以拒絕。這里高樓林立，歌舞升平，人聲鼎沸，所有的這些東西無(wú)不都在向年輕人隱隱約約散發(fā)著誘惑力。有一半年輕人的墜落便是這些超自然力的杰作。如果身邊沒(méi)有人給予必要的警示，那些稚嫩的心靈如何能抗拒得了這些東西啊！他們根本無(wú)法對(duì)這些東西進(jìn)行分辨，這些浮華的城市之美就像音樂(lè)一樣，它首先是讓人的警覺(jué)松弛下來(lái)，然后再進(jìn)一步將其削弱，最后把人引入歧途。

Its self-evident that the first version inspires us to resonate with writer while the second version， in spite of similarity in form， is far from lifelikeness.In other words， hidden spirit behind words seems to be of great significance. The priority is that the translator should be the one that fully enjoys the similarity in spirit. Take the excerpt for example， the difference of two versions simply lies in details， maybe a few words could tell. In the first version， the translator conveys more desirable feelings and ambiguous atmosphere through words， like 脈脈含情、怦然心動(dòng)，in comparison， the second version is somewhat similar to exposition which tends to be rigid. Specifically， the expression like 歌舞升平 could hardly reach readers， which appears to be pretentious and out of sympathy with tone of the text.

Besides， according to Lin Yutang， translation is a kind of personality literature. However， the second version is more like a translation assignment without personality. In this way， it leaves a trail of translation instead of literature.

Conclusion

To suffice it， both similarity in form and similarity in spirit should be taken into consideration. However， spirit in similarity is of more significance which tends to be ignored and harder to achieve.

Translation is like the art. Lin Yutang considered that the beauty of translation should be given attention to.An ideal translator should take his work as a fine art.It is obvious that Lin treated translation as a fine art，treated translation with an artistic psychology，and translated works with an artistic skill just like his enjoyment of life and aesthetic psychology.The“beauty”standard advocated by him received perfect unification with his character，temperament and life attitude.

Translation has everything to do with writers and translators spirit. In other words， translation is more about personality than words. The good advice is that we should keep it in mind that form and spirit are inseparable.

References：

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[2]劉慧梅.小議譯詩(shī)的“神似”與“形似”[J].外語(yǔ)與外語(yǔ)教學(xué)， 2004（8）.

[3]李娜.求真求雅形神兼?zhèn)鋄J].湖南文理學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)（社會(huì)科學(xué)版）.