Neighbour Rosicky (Excerpt IX)《鄰居羅西基》（節選九）

Mary very soon got into town to see Doctor Ed， and then she had a talk with her boys and set a guard over Rosicky. Even John， the youngest， had his father on his mind. If Rosicky went to throw hay down from the loft， one of the boys ran up the ladder and took the fork from him. He sometimes complained that though he was getting to be an old man， he wasn’t an old woman yet.

瑪麗很快就到鎮上見過了埃德醫生，回來后跟孩子們談過一次話，叫他們時時盯住羅西基。就連最小的約翰也把父親掛在心上。一見羅西基從谷倉樓上往下叉干草，就有孩子急步爬上樓梯從他手中奪過草叉。他不時會抱怨兩句，說自己雖然上了點年紀，但畢竟不是老太太。

That winter he stayed in the house in the afternoons and carpentered， or sat in the chair between the window full of plants and the wooden bench where the two pails of drinking-water stood. This spot was called “Father’s Corner，” though it was not a corner at all. He had a shelf there， where he kept his Bohemian papers and his pipes and tobacco， and his shears and needles and thread and tailor’s thimble. Having been a tailor in his youth， he couldn’t bear to see a woman patching at his clothes， or at the boys’. He liked tailoring， and always patched all the overalls and jackets and work shirts. Occasionally he made over a pair of pants one of the older boys had outgrown， for the little fellow.

那年冬天羅西基沒出家門，下午就在屋里做些木工活，或是坐在窗戶和木凳之間的一把椅子上，窗臺上滿是花草，木凳上并排放著兩個盛飲水的木桶。那里被孩子們叫做“老爸角落”，盡管那兒壓根兒就不是個角落。他在那兒立了個木架子，上面放著他訂閱的波希米亞文報紙，還有他的煙斗、煙草、剪刀、針線和頂針。他年輕時當過裁縫，所以不忍心看一個女人替自己和孩子們縫縫補補。他喜歡做針線活，家里所有的工裝褲、夾克衫和襯衫都由他縫補，有時還把某個大孩子嫌小的褲子改給小孩子穿。

While he sewed， he let his mind run back over his life. He had a good deal to remember， really; life in three countries. The only part of his youth he didn’t like to remember was the two years he had spent in London， in Cheapside， working for a German tailor who was wretchedly poor. Those days， when he was nearly always hungry， when his clothes were dropping off him for dirt， and the sound of a strange language kept him in continual bewilderment， had left a sore spot in his mind that wouldn’t bear touching.

干縫補活時他愛回憶過去。實際上他有許多值得回憶的往事，畢竟他一生闖蕩過三個國家。對他青年時代的生活，他最不愿回想的是在倫敦度過的那兩年，在齊普賽街為一個窮途潦倒的德國裁縫當幫工的那兩年。那時他常常忍饑挨餓，沒有換洗衣服，而且異國語言的聲音總令他感到困惑。那些日子在他心中留下了一個他不愿去觸碰的痛處。

He was twenty when he landed at Castle Garden1 in New York， and he had a protector who got him work in a tailor shop in Vesey Street， down near the Washington Market. He looked upon that part of his life as very happy. He became a good workman， he was industrious， and his wages were increased from time to time. He minded his own business and envied nobody’s good fortune. He went to night school and learned to read English. He often did overtime work and was well paid for it， but somehow he never saved anything. He couldn’t refuse a loan to a friend， and he was self-indulgent. He liked a good dinner， and a little went for beer， a little for tobacco; a good deal went to the girls. He often stood through an opera on Saturday nights; he could get standing-room for a dollar. Those were the great days of opera in New York， and it gave a fellow something to think about for the rest of the week. Rosicky had a quick ear， and a childish love of all the stage splendour; the scenery， the costumes， the ballet. He usually went with a chum， and after the performance they had beer and maybe some oysters somewhere. It was a fine life; for the first five years or so it satisfied him completely. He was never hungry or cold or dirty， and everything amused him： a fire， a dog fight， a parade， a storm， a ferry ride. He thought New York the finest， richest， friendliest city in the world.

他到達紐約城堡花園那年才二十歲。那年他遇上了一位保護人，那人替他在一家服裝廠謀了份差事，那家服裝廠位于華盛頓市場附近的維希街。他覺得那段日子過得很快活。他成了一名出色的工人，工作勤奮，工資不斷增加。他專心于自己的工作，從不羨慕別人的好運。他上夜校學英語。他經常加班，加班費也不少，但不知咋的就是存不下錢。他沒法拒絕借錢給朋友，自己花錢也很隨意。他喜歡吃可口的飯菜，喜歡喝點酒，抽點煙，還喜歡花許多錢去找姑娘玩。星期六晚上，他常花一美元買張站票，站著聽完整場歌劇。當時正值歌劇風靡紐約的日子，聽一場歌劇能讓人回味一個星期。羅西基對音樂有雙敏銳的耳朵，對舞臺上的燈光、服裝、布景有種孩子氣的迷戀，而且還喜歡芭蕾。他通常都會帶上一個密友，聽完歌劇后便去喝啤酒，也許還會吃一頓牡蠣。那真是一種美好的生活，所以他到紐約后的頭五年完全心滿意足，不再受凍挨餓，不再衣著邋遢，所見所聞都令他開心：一場煙火、一場斗狗，一場游行、一場暴雨，甚至乘一次渡輪都覺得有趣。那時候他認為，紐約是天底下最美麗、最富有、最友善的城市。

【背景知識】《鄰居羅西基》是美國女作家薇拉·凱瑟（1873—1947）于1830年發表的一篇重要短篇小說。小說通過回憶和追述的手法，講述了波希米亞移民羅西基樸素而充實的一生，展現了拓荒者及其后代善良、樸素、勤勞、熱愛生活、眷念土地的可貴品質。小說主題深刻，結構勻稱，筆觸細膩，文字優美，人物性格刻畫清晰，翻譯時應注意描摹。

【第1段】注意三點：（1）譯文省略了第一句中第一個and后的人稱代詞she，意思依然清楚，語句更加清爽；（2）譯文把had a talk with her boys翻譯成“跟孩子們談過一次話”，而非“跟她的孩子們談過一次話”（省略了原文中的物主代詞her）；（3）不要一見if就對應“如果”，須知if還有whenever的意思。例如：If I feel any doubt， I inquire. 我一有疑惑就隨時問人。（《英漢大詞典》第2版第939頁）又如：She glares at me if I go near her desk. 我一走近她的辦公桌，她就對我瞪眼。（《牛津高階英漢雙解詞典》第9版第1082頁）

【第2段】有人把“Father’s Corner”譯成了“爸爸的角落”，比較參考譯文“老爸角落”。

【第3段】有人把第二句翻譯成了“年輕時代的生活他最不愿提及的是在倫敦，在齊普賽街度過的，給一個窮途潦倒的德國裁縫幫傭的那兩年”。請將此句與參考譯文比較。參考譯文把先行詞the two years（那兩年）重復了一遍，把后面較長的定語從句分為兩截，分別置于兩個“那兩年”前面，使譯文句子和原文一樣清爽（關于這種譯法，可參見商務印書館2013年版《英漢翻譯二十講》第234—235頁）。

【第4段】有人把Castle Garden翻譯成“堡壘園”，且未加注釋，這可能會給不少譯文讀者造成困惑。加注說明“紐約城堡花園”是美國第一個移民接納中心，不僅避免了這種困惑，而且與后文的敘述吻合。我曾在《譯者的注釋意識和譯文的注釋原則》一文中說“譯者的注釋意識取決于譯者對翻譯目的之認識，譯文的注釋原則取決于譯者對譯文讀者之認知語境和認知能力的正確判斷”，并總結了為譯文添加注釋的六條原則，其中第一條就是“當注必注，不偷懶懈怠”（參見商務印書館2013年版《英漢翻譯二十講》第72—80頁）。

【小結】本次譯析再次強調了英譯漢時應注意省略譯文中不宜出現的人稱代詞和物主代詞；再次介紹了翻譯英語長定語的一種方法（重復先行詞，然后把原文長定語按層次劃分成若干截，再把劃分后的定語分別置于被重復的先行詞前面）；首次強調了為譯文添加必要注釋的重要性，因為正如呂叔湘先生所說：“必要的注釋應該包括在翻譯工作之內。”（商務印書館1984年版《翻譯論集》第530頁）

1美國第一個移民接納中心，位于紐約曼哈頓島南端的炮臺公園（Battery Park），從1855年至1890年，這里共接納了800萬移民，其功能后來被埃利斯島（Ellis Island）接替。