三、概念意义不同,语用意义不同
1.一见面是寒暄,寒暄之后说我“胖了”,说我“胖了”之后大骂其新党。(鲁迅《祝福》)
When we met, after exchanging a few polite remarks he said I was fatter, and after saying that immediately started a violent attack on the revolutionaries.(Foreign Languages Press,1972)
分析:中国读者对于“说我胖了”容易理解,这是中国人重逢时的寒暄语之一。英美人士不明个中缘由,且忌讳肥胖,很容易以为是一种规劝和告诫。因此应增添解释性词语。试改译如下:
After exchanging a few polite remarks when we met, he observed that I looked "fat",and having made that complimentary remark he launched a violent attack on the revolutionaries.
2.(凤姐:)“这通身的气派竟不像老祖宗的外孙女儿,竟是嫡亲的孙女儿似的。”(《红楼梦》)
译文I:"And everything about her so distingue! She doesn't take after your side of the family, Grannie, she's more like a Jia."(Tr. David Hawkes)
译文II:"Her whole air is so distinguished! She doesn't take after her father, son-in-law of our Old Ancestress, but more like a Jia."(Tr. Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang)
分析:凤姐在贾母面前称赞林黛玉,又说她不像贾母的外孙女,而像亲孙女,是在借黛玉恭维贾母。译文I中的“your
side”讲的虽然也是真话,却并不中听,不讨贾母的欢喜,也不是凤姐的用意。译文II用“her
father”替代了贾母,既澄清了“外孙女”所含的语义关系,又达到了原文语用的目的。
翻译时要特别小心英语某些词语的负面联想意义,注意避免无意间产生的有悖于原文用意的意思。下面的英译文在英语文化中可能引起不好的联想,试改译:
(1)“蓝天”牌牙膏 - “Blue Sky” brand tooth paste
(2)“白象”牌电池 - “White elephant” brand battery
(3)“金龙”牌电扇 - “Golden Dragon” brand electric fan
(4)“芳芳”牌牙膏 - “Fang Fang” brand tooth paste
(5)“金鸡”牌鞋油 - “Gold Cock” brand shoe blacking
(6)“银耳”汤 - “white fungus” soup
(7)“金三角”经济开发区 - a special economic development zone: a “Golden Triangle”