《黃金屋》的翻譯實踐與分析

張旖桐

摘 要：本論文是一篇翻譯實踐報告，節選自印度裔英國作家薩爾曼？拉什迪（Salman Rushdie）于2017年新出版的小說《黃金屋》（the Golden House）的第一二篇?！饵S金屋》回歸了傳統的現實主義風格，涵蓋了奧巴馬執政八年的時間里所涉及的政治、文化事件。結合翻譯實踐，譯者主要通過兩方面進行了翻譯分析，其一為社會文化語境不同的情況下對外來文化詞語的翻譯分析及處理，其二為如何在保留原文風格且符合本國讀者閱讀習慣的基礎上處理英文長難句的翻譯。

關鍵詞：拉什迪;現實主義;翻譯分析;多文化;社會文化語境;長難句

一、研究背景Introduction

The excerpt is chosen from the novel The Golden House， a modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture， written by the outstanding British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie（1947-）. Rushdie is known for his experiments on magic realism， most famous of which are Midnight's Children （1981） and The Satanic Verses （1988）. His works always examine historical and philosophical issues through surreal characters and melodramatic prose style. However， The Golden House returns to a more conventional mode of realism， in which the young， ambitious narrator/filmmaker chronicles his mysterious neighbors experiences in Greenwich Village， New York.

Rushdie maintains his usual tactic of narrating through the first-person point of view in The Golden House. “I，” as an aspiring filmmaker， am intrigued by my neighbors， who have come from a faraway country under mysterious circumstances： an old billionaire who calls himself by the name of Nero Golden， and his three sons， Petronius， Lucius Apuleius and Dionysus. They settle their roots down in a downtown mansion， where Nero meets his second Russian wife and establishes their own respective places in the society soon after. As the story moves forward， “I” gradually discover the secrets hidden behind the family. The familys quarrels， their identities， their crimes are thus revealed through “my” perspective from which readers are able to perceive the collision of cultures and ideologies from ancient Greece， India， and New York as well.

The storyline starts from Obamas inauguration in 2009 to Trump taking over the White Office， covering the political and social events during the course of eight years， including the rise of the ultra-conservative Tea party， the “GamerGate” as well as the political debate about identity politics.

二、翻譯過程中的挑戰與對策Challenges and Corresponding Solutions in the Translation Process

Example1： （Source Text=ST Target Text=TT）

ST： “so we assumed that some Russian oligarch or oil sheikh must be involved，”

TT： 所以，我們猜測這棟住宅說不定屬于某位俄羅斯壟斷行業的大資本家或是擁有大量石油的阿拉伯酋長。

Analysis： If translating the words “oligarch” and “sheikh” faithfully as “寡頭” and “族長”，Chinese readers may feel confused since “oligarch” and “sheikh” are mostly used in the western capitalistic society. Oligarch means someone who has monopolized certain industrial field， therefore， the translator chose to translate “寡頭” into a relatively detailed and similar explanation “壟斷行業的大資本家”. As for sheikh， the translator added “阿拉伯” to assist readers in reading.

Example 2：

ST： There was one other person attached to the house， a sweet-natured Hispanic handyman named Gonzalo who was employed by the two guardian dragons to look after the place.

TT： 還有一個修理工會踏足此間住宅，他叫岡薩洛，拉美裔，脾氣非常好，受雇于兩位“守護神”，負責維修整棟宅子。

Analysis： The image of dragon is completely different in the eastern and western societies. In China， especially Han nationality， dragon is always regarded as the divinity， sacred and powerful. Therefore， combined with the meaning of source text， the translator chose to translate “guardian dragons” as “守護神”.

Example 3：

ST： It had been designed in the French Renaissance manner to be both fancy and fashionable， a style in which Hoppin & Koen had considerable experience， gained both at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and， afterwards， during their time working for McKim， Mead & White.

TT： 默里公館是法國文藝復興時期那種別致又時髦的建筑風格，兩位建筑師對此都經驗豐富——他們曾在巴黎美術學院學習，畢業后在美國的大型建筑師事務所做過相似風格的設計。

Analysis： After internet searching， McKim， Mead & White was the top firm at the architecture field in America， however， it is not necessary information for foreigners to know about， so the translator chose to explain the firm as “大型建筑師事務所”.

Example 4：

ST： The very word goodness has been emptied of meaning and needs， perhaps， to be set aside for a time， like all the other poisoned words， spirituality， for example， final solution， for example， and （at least when applied to skyscrapers and fried potatoes） freedom.

TT： “善良”這個正能量的詞沒有了意義也不再被需要，被人們所遺忘，就如其他一些被毒害的“好詞”，就如靈性、自由等等。

Analysis： It takes the translator much time to consider how to translate these “poisoned” English words into Chinese， like the phrase “final solution”， it also means Nazi's plan during World War II to systematically exterminate the Jewish population in Nazi occupied Europe through genocide. Apparently， the corresponding translated phrase “最終解決方案” is a normal phrase in Chinses culture. Under this circumstance， the translator chose to abandon the phrase “final solution” when it did not really influence the integrity and whole meaning. Moreover， considering that here Rushdie is being sarcastic——kindness， freedom of the poor are deprived by the rich and power， the translator added “好詞” to underline that all the other poisoned words were very words before.

Example 5：

ST： His fondness for prostitutes， Whiskey and Deviled eggs…

TT： 他對妓女、威士忌、魔鬼蛋的熱衷

魔鬼蛋 with endnote： “芥末蘸蛋”

Analysis： At the beginning， the translator intended to directly translate deviled eggs as “芥末蘸蛋” because it is a kind of unfamiliar western appetizer. However， later the translator thought deviled egg may be a metaphor which also implies the devil figure of Nero Golden： Devil eats the deviled eggs. Therefore， the translator uses the endnote to describe the deviled egg but translates the phrase as “魔鬼蛋”.

三、結論Conclusion

The report focuses on the analysis of translation practice of Rushdies novel the Golden House. The translator chose the first two chapters as the material after finishing the reading since the opening contents involved multi-cultural elements with complex structures， which were both interesting and challenging for the translator.

Firstly， the translator truly realized how talented Rushdie is as the master in language performance. Though there are long sentences making people confused， all the expressions are delicate， necessary and proper， which never let readers feel bored. Especially when readers slow down the reading speed， the sarcastic style is much more apprehensible. People are supposed to take time to read Rushdies work， they need to be patient， and as the translator， I strongly suggest readers to read the original text， combining with the specific social cultural context.

As for the whole translating process， unlike learning certain translation methods at class， the translator always need to utilize various translation methods to cope with multiple difficulties in one sentence. How to translate the ironic tone， how to separate the sentences， how to maintain the original flavor but be intelligible to the foreign readers， how to let the work possess aesthetics in the target cultural environment…it takes time to create comparatively perfect translating work by careful researching， long-time thinking and modifying over and over again. The translator would always have the space for improvement.

（上海外國語大學國際關系與公共事務學院 ?北京市 ?100091）