• 沒有找到結果。

第四章     譯本翻譯技巧比較

第二節   語言魅力的掌握

 

一、通俗淺顯的語言風格

文學是語言的藝術,文學作品中的語言是為整體表現內容、描寫人物和塑造形象 服務。李漁在語言方面的掌握是相當出色的,他認為文學語言貴淺而不貴深,要富「尖 新」、「機趣」,反對「迂腐」、「艱深」,在藝術的辯證上也努力達到對立統一的整體美:

悲與喜、動與靜、冷與熱、藏與露及張與弛,故語言魅力的成功展現便是作品值得傳 誦千古的關鍵之一。

李漁作品的語言特色在於通俗幽默,雖然有人批評李漁作品缺乏辭采,但也點出 他「意在通俗」的創作目的。李漁善於汲取民間語言,大量使用俗語、方言,在案頭 化的文章上增添通俗的趣味,更成為他對語言貴淺顯的實踐典範,例如:「窮不與富 敵,賤不與貴爭」(〈萃雅樓〉)、「親不親,故鄉人」(〈生我樓〉)、「不要文章中天下,

只要文章中試官」(〈鶴歸樓〉)等等文句俯拾即是。他對通俗作品與正統作品進行比 較:

傳奇不比文章,文章做與讀書人看,故不怪其深, 戲文做與讀書人與不讀書人 同看,又與不讀書之婦人小兒同看,故貴淺不貴深。使文章之設,亦為與讀書 人、不讀書人及婦人小兒同看,則古來聖賢所作之經傳,亦 只淺而不深,如今 世之為小說矣。191

他深信戲曲和小說所娛樂的對象是最大範圍的庶民,無論知識水平高低的所有百 姓。民間俗語是群眾語言的精髓所在,聚積了歷年來的生活經驗,形成思想智慧的結 晶,語言精煉、哲理性高。大量巧妙地從市井口語提煉文學語言,體現他在《閒情偶 寄》中「其事不取幽深,其人不搜隱僻,其句則采街談巷議。即有時偶涉詩書,亦係 耳根聽熟之語,舌端調慣之文,雖出詩書,實與街談巷議無別者。」192追求通俗的理                                                                                                                

191   李漁:《閒情偶寄.詞采》,見《李漁全集》,第三卷(杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1992),頁 24。

192 同前註,頁 24。

論,更可見他和整個時代社會在思想感情上保持著緊密連繫,不僅增加作品的語言美,

更加強他作品的思想和藝術成就。例如:〈拂雲樓〉描寫其醜無比的封氏在眾人面前 跌跤後,兩位絕世美人適時出現,瞬間吸引所有圍觀者的目光,「這一班輕薄少年,

遇了絕色,竟像餓鷹見兔,饑犬聞腥,哪裡還丟得下她?」193語言通俗直白,表現少 年郎對佳人的傾心與愛慕,茅氏譯為The men immediately turned their attention to these two and enthusiastically complimented them on their looks.194,雖未逐字翻譯,但也掌握 了箇中要義,指出韋家小姐與能紅的姿色頓時成為眾所矚目的焦點;韓氏本著原者翻 譯如下:The frivolous young men, now that they had found some outstanding beauties, were like hungry hawks at the sight of a hare or starving dogs at the smell of meat.195,一字 一句對照翻譯,文字流利自然,呈現在場青年男子對少女美貌的瘋狂與激動,契合原 著語言藝術的表現。簡言之,兩則譯文皆維持淺顯通俗的語言風格。

又如〈鶴歸樓〉的入話部分,李漁企圖傳達他個人關於「人間死別勝於天上生離」

獨特的思維模式:

骨肉分離,是人間最慘的事,有何好處,倒以「樂」 字加之?要曉得「別離」

二字,雖不是樂,但從別離之下,又深入一層,想到那別無可別、離不能離的 苦處,就覺得天涯海角,勝似同堂,枕冷衾寒,反為清福。第十八層地獄之人,

羨慕十七層的受用,就像三十二天的活佛,想望著三十三天,總是一種道理。

(略) 若還世上的苦人都用了這個法子,把地獄認做天堂,逆旅翻為順境,黃連 樹下也好彈琴,陋巷之中盡堪行樂,不但容顏不老,鬚鬢難皤,連那禍患休嘉,

也會潛消暗長。196

茅氏譯文:

While the separation of loved ones is one of life’s most sorrowful experiences, it is definitely not the worst that can happen. If one only thinks about those who wish to                                                                                                                

193   浙江古籍出版社編:《李漁全集》,第九卷(杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1992),頁 157。

194 Nathan Mao, trans., Twelve Towers (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1979), 68.

195 Patrick Hanan, trans., A Tower for the Summer Heat (New York: Ballantine Books, 1992), 126-127。

196 浙江古籍出版社編:《李漁全集》,第九卷(杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1992),頁 204-205。  

separate but cannot, it becomes obvious that on occasion even separation had its own peculiar blessing. (91)… If all the people in the world had this poor man’s philosophy of life, they could turn Hell into Heaven, adversity into prosperity, and find happiness living in a slum. No one would ever need to look distressed and prematurely old, and misery would in time disappear.197

韓氏譯文:

Now, parting from one’s own flesh and blood is the most heartrending experience in life. What could possibly justify my association it with the word pleasure? You must understand that parting will not of itself bring pleasure, but if we look beneath the surface and think of those torments from which there is absolutely no escape, we will actually prefer to be off in some remote corner of the world than in the bosom of own families, convinced that a lonely pillow will bring us the blessings of a quite life. The condemned sinner in the Eighteenth Hell who envies the sinners in the Seventeenth is observing the same principle as the living Buddhas in the

Thirty-second Heaven who long for the Thirty-third. …If only the wretched of the earth would utilize this method, they would come to see their hells as heavens and their inns as pleasure domes and enjoy playing the lute beneath the gold thread or living in a slum. Their faces wouldn’t wither nor their hair turn prematurely white, and their troubles would shrink as their blessings grew.198

李漁傳授世人安身立命之方,教導世人在困境中想像更困窘的處境,畢竟比上不 足,比下有餘,這樣一來較能化解精神上的痛苦,透過轉念獲得解脫,通篇文章正是 李漁人生哲學的集中反映,以「退一步法」作為生活感情的辯證。由上述中英對照,

茅國權以文句流暢為主進行意譯,著重在句意連貫通順,至於內容則有所簡省,僅選 擇其中幾個例子且以質樸的語言譯之,如:他將「黃連樹下也好彈琴,陋巷之中盡堪 行樂」譯為find happiness living in a slum,化用顏回居陋巷不改其樂的典故,省略前 句苦中作樂之意;韓南採取忠於原文又不背棄目標語文法的方式進行忠實翻譯,如:

                                                                                                               

197   Nathan Mao, trans., Twelve Towers (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1979), 91-92。

198 Patrick Hanan, trans., A Tower for the Summer Heat (New York: Ballantine Books, 1992), 174-175.

將「倒以『樂』字加之?」譯為What could possibly justify my association it with the word

pleasure? 把中文說話行文習於省略的部分以合乎英文語法的句子表示出來。又將「枕

冷衾寒,反為清福」譯為lonely pillow will bring us the blessings of a quite life,不以逐 字譯,省略衾寒部分,關注在意義的傳達。

縱觀全書,兩位譯者恰到好處地掌握通俗風格的呈現,不使用生難字詞或華麗句 型,在簡單質樸、自然流利的文字下,呼應李漁創作的理念:他認為小說戲曲是做給 讀書人和不讀書人共同閱讀的,故語言貴淺顯。

二、描寫語言的精準度

語言的掌握恰是李漁創作的強項,他在追求語言藝術的魅力下,靈活有深度且生 動活潑,飽含尚奇美、風格美、諧趣美和哲理美。對譯者而言,文字經過再度編碼後,

語言是否精準傳達以及興味是否仍然維持,便是充滿挑戰性的考驗。如:〈夏宜樓〉

中,瞿佶內心盤算女主角收信後的神情:待我把這位神仙索性假充到底,等她一面落 稿,我一面和將出來,即刻央人送去,不怕此女見了不驚斷香魂,吐翻絳舌。199茅氏 將此部分心理狀態的描繪於譯本中刪除了,韓氏則譯為I may as well play the immortal to the limit. I'll write a matching poem and send someone around with it as soon as she finishes hers. That’ll take her breath away!200 不僅保留瞿佶的內心獨白,並示現嫻嫻的 驚慌失措。再者,原文第三回中對嫻嫻收信後,因未明究理而嚇得驚魂未定的描摩極 為傳神:(筆者按:嫻嫻)就叫取出來看,及至見了四句新詩,驚出一身冷汗。果然 不出吉人所料,竟把絳舌一條吐出在朱唇之外,香魂半縷直飛到碧漢之間,呆了半個 時辰不曾說話。201茅氏譯文為Hsien-hsien read Ch’ü’s lines and a few minutes later, when she had calmed down.202;韓氏譯文則為She asked to see the poem and then, on reading it, broke out into a cold sweat. As Jiren had anticipated, the poem took her breath away.203。                                                                                                                

199 浙江古籍出版社編:《李漁全集》,第九卷(杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1992),頁 87。

200 Patrick Hanan, trans., A Tower for the Summer Heat (New York: Ballantine Books, 1992), 24.

201 浙江古籍出版社編:《李漁全集》,第九卷(杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1992),頁 89。

202 Patrick Hanan, trans., A Tower for the Summer Heat (New York: Ballantine Books, 1992), 33.

203   同前註,頁 27。

〈夏宜樓〉通篇以望遠鏡為經緯敷衍而成一篇曲折離奇的科學小說,瞿佶在遠方高居 臨下以千里鏡窺見嫻嫻所書寫的半首詩後,趕緊完成另一半詩作,並派遣媒人立刻送 至嫻嫻手裡,目的是為了強調他「神眼」的力量勢不可擋,藉以深化嫻嫻忠貞不二的 心。此段文字精彩描述原先花容月貌的嫻嫻在收到信後不禁花容失色、魂飛魄散,舌 頭都誇張地掉到櫻桃小口之外,韓南以take (took) her breath away 表現嫻嫻的驚慌失 措,保持女主人公的優雅形象,乍看之下,雖然不夠震撼,但實則已完整傳達原作對 嫻嫻大吃一驚的描摩;兩者相較之下,茅氏譯文則過於簡省,僅譯出她讀信與試圖冷 靜兩個動作,描寫語言的精準度有待提昇,略遜一籌。又如〈歸正樓〉中貝去戎一日 在路上閒逛竟遭挾持一節,原文鋪陳流暢、生動有趣,設置懸念巧妙:

(筆者按:貝去戎)問他(筆者按:四五個大漢)什麼緣故,又不肯講,都說:

「你見了冤家,自然明白。」貝去戎甚是驚慌,心上思量道:「看這光景,一 定是些捕快。所謂冤家者,就是受害之人,被他緝訪出來,如今拿去送官的了。

難道我一向作惡,反沒有半毫災晦,方才起了善念,倒把從前之事敗露出來,

拿我去了命不成?」正在疑惑之際,只見扯到一處,把他關在空屋之中,一齊 去號召冤家,好來與他作對。貝去戎坐了一會兒,想出個不遁自遁之法,好拐 騙脫身。只見門環一響,擁進許多人來,不是受害之人,反是受恩之輩。原來 都是嫖過的姐妹,從各處搬到南京,做了歌院中的名妓。終日思念他,各人吩 咐蒼頭,叫在路上遇著之時,千萬不可放過。故此一見了面,就拉他回來。所 謂「冤家」者,乃是「俏冤家」,並不是取命索債的冤家;「作對」的「對」字,

乃是「配對」之對,不是「抵對」、「質對」之「對」也。204

茅氏譯文:

Without any explanation they forced Pei to go with them. They took Pei to an empty house and locked him in. After sitting for a while wondering why he was there, Pei saw the door open and in an instant several women had rushed inside.

                                                                                                               

204 浙江古籍出版社編:《李漁全集》,第九卷(杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1992),頁 112-113。

Who were they? What did they want of Pei? They were prostitutes now in Nanking who had received favors from him elsewhere in bygone days. Because of his generosity, they remembered him well and wished to pay him back either in money

Who were they? What did they want of Pei? They were prostitutes now in Nanking who had received favors from him elsewhere in bygone days. Because of his generosity, they remembered him well and wished to pay him back either in money