A Co mparative St udy of Chinese and Englis h Address Ter m s
Co mm ent on Outlaw of theM ars h Translated by Sidney Shapir o
Xu Y a ji ng
(Inner M ongo lia N or mal University ,H uhhot ,Inner M ongolia,010022)
[Abst ract] T hrough t he ana l y si s o f address ter m s based on t
w o pr i nciples i n both Ch i nese versi on and Eng li sh one ,the autho r tr i es to find ou t whethe r the translator re -express t he pragm atic meaning of the source tex t i n target l anguag e successfull y .
[K ey words] O utl a w of theM arsh ; address ter m s
; pow er-orien ted pri nc i p l e ; so lida rity-or i ented pr i nciple [中图分类号]H 315.9 [文献标识码]A [文章编号]1672 8610(2010)02 0048 02
I .Introduction
A s one of the four g rea test Ch i nese classics ,ShuiH u Zhuan
by Sh iN a i an i s not on l y a v i v id descr i pti on of t he l ow est class s uprisi ngs i n Song D ynasty ,but also a profuse accoun t of address ter m s o f t hat age .[1]H av i ng d isti nguishing features o f the na ti on and o f that spec ific age ,such co l o rf u l address term s appea red in this nove l can exhi b it brillian t Chinese cu lt ures wh ich are al w ays ad m ired by people overseas .Consequentl y ,consi derable Chi nese classics have been translated i nto m any f o re i gn languages ,and Shui H u Zhuan is no excepti on .T ranslated by S i dney Shap i ro ,
this e m i nen t m asterpiece has been acc l a i m ed ove rseas .[2]
Can these Chinese characte ristics sho w ed by address ter m s be re-ex pressed successf u ll y i n its Eng lis h versi on ?T he purpose o f this paper is try i ng to comm ent on the address te r m s i n O utla w of the M arsh .
G enera ll y speak i ng ,the syste m o f Chinese address ter m s is based on t w o basic pri nc i p l es ,.i e .,power -o riented princ i p l e and soli dar i ty -orien ted one .The for m er wh ich is or i g i nated by H ans pa tr i archa l syste m,mo ra l pr i nciples and soc i a l cus
to m s [3]5,m an ifests itse lf i n Shu i H u Zhuan m ainl y in socia l ter m s and other w ays of show i ng respec t to others and humb l e ness to oneself or one s fa m ily m e m bers etc ..The latter wh i ch is based on Ch i nese traditiona l va l ues attaching g rea t i m portance to hu m an relations ,can be demonstrated i n k i nship ter m s and the w ay of usi ng k i nsh i p ter m s to address non-relati ves .
N o one could neg l ect the fact t hat there are nu m erous of such address ter m s or i ented by the t wo pri nc i ples i n this excel lent c l assi ca l nove l w hich can sho w t he soc i a l positions of the characters and the socia l d i stances among peop le .H ad s uch cul t u re-l o aded address ter m s been transl a ted in a si m p listi c w ay ,the d i sti nct fl avor of Ch i nese cu lt ure w ou l d have not been tasted any mo re .T he purpose o f translati on is to re -construct the source language s pragm atic m ean i ng i n target language wh i ch can be enjoyed by target readers just i n t he sa m e w ay as source
readers .[4]44Consequentl y ,the translator plays an i m po rtant ro le
in creating a communicati ve channel bet w een t he autho r and the target readers ,and t he translato r s translation stra tegy is based
on his translation i nten tion .[5]17
A ccordi ng to Shapiro ,what the target readers w ant fo r m a fore i gn c lassic ,i n add iti on to t he sto ry itsel,f is t he feel o f an ancient peop l e i n a d istant l and ,a sense of t he sty l e o f the o ri g ina l [2]2147,wh ich w ill infl uence the w ay how he translate the st o ry . .Co m parative study of m an ifestation of po w er -or i ented address term s
A s one o f Chinese literal p i nnacle ,Shu iH u Zhuan has not on l y recorded so m e parts of h isto ry ro m anti ca lly bu t a lso depicted v iv i d pictures of Song Dynasty w it h a mp le address ter m s .T he fo llo w i ng parts w ill focus on powe r-o riented address te r m s on both Chinese v ers i on and Eng lish one .
Soc i a l ter m s ,as its na m e suggests ,revea l so cial positions of peop le in soc i e t y.Th is pro m i nen t nove l deals w i th all trades of soc i ety fro m t he m ost e m i nent sou ls to the m ost humb l e ones .H av i ng the ir own pos iti ons i n soc i ety ,all o f the characters i n the novel shou l d be addressed w i th different socia l ter m s .
A t the r i sk of sound i ng too si m pli stic ,soc ial ter m s o f the novel can be rough l y div i ded i nto t wo types ,.i e .,the address ter m s of o ffi c ial duties and tha t o f occupa ti ons .A s t wo splendid hu m an cultures ,Eng lis h and Ch i nese i nev itably share so m e si m i lar ities wh ich also demonstrate
them se l ves i n soc i a l ter m s ,tha t is to say ,most of such address ter m s can be found expressions w hich have equ i va lent m ean i ng in bo t h languages ,for exa m ple ，太尉(M arsha l)，皇帝(Empero r)，府尹(Prefecture )，提辖(M ajor )，都头(Constab l e )，教头(Instruc t o r )，员外(Squ ire)，长老(A bbot)，当案孔目(Scr i be)，管营(W ard en)，差拨(H ead keeper)，虞侯(Capta i n)，押司(C lerk)e tc ..If translati ng such kind o f address ter m s i n a litera l w ay can hard l y change t he understandi ng o f target reade rs ,it w ou l d be the best way to translate ,because it can not only introduce m any
48 语文学刊 外语教育教学 2010年第2期
co lorful address ter m s w i th Ch i nese character i sti cs to the ta rget language,but a lso o ffer the w ay f o r targe t reade rs to apprec i ate Ch i nese cu lt ure,wh ich is acco rd w it h t he transl a t o r s i n tenti on.
T here is still ano t her notable facto r wo rt h thorough conside r a ti on.A lt hough m any address ter m s a re still i n use i n M odern Ch i nese(M C),t he denota ti ons o f som e address term s have changed dra m atica ll y w ith t he past centur i es since Song Dynasty (SD).For ex a m ple，博士(M C:do ctor;S D:w orker o f ce rtain 茶博士W a iter)，学士(M C:bache l or;S D:a title of o fficia l
du t 小苏学士Su Junior,the Court Scholar)，教授(M C:professor;SD:teache r of old-sty le private schoo 教授teacher)，夫子(M C:pedant;SD:夫子po rter )etc..If t he translation w ere on l y based on t he m ode rn Ch i nese, severe m i stakes would have been made.T ranslati on is to trans late the spec ific m ean i ng o f the ter m s i n the contex t w ithout wh ich t he meaning w ou l d chang e consi derab l y.F ro m this po i nt, w e can see that Shapiro successfully re-expresses the m ean i ng o f such ter m s.
Pow er-o riented pr i nciple can also be m an ifested i n other w ays of addressi ng.T raditi onal Chinese culture a ttaches g reat i m po rtance to show i ng respect to o t hers and humb l eness to one self or one s fam il y m e m bers wh ich can find t he ir good expres si ons i n t he address syste m of t hat specific age,t ha t is to say,in address i ng onese lf and one s re lati ves,one shou l d show h i s o r her hu m bleness or deprec i ation,wh ile respect must be showed in address i ng o thers o r the ir relatives.
R espectf u l address te r m s are most expected i n fo llo w i ng sit uati ons:w hen o fficia l s address the e m pero r(万岁Em peror); when the i n ferior o fficia l s address t he ir supe ri o r(恩相Y our H on o r);when t he comm on clay address o ffic i a l s(大人Lo rd);when one addresses the li stene r s relatives usi ng 令 reg ardless of the ir ag e(令甥Y our nephew)etc..D eprec iatory address ter m s in th
is nove l can be f ound i n fo llo w i ng sit uations:show i ng hu m b l eness o f onese lf by add i ng 鄙 , 不 , 小 , 奴 , 卑 , 贫 etc.;sho w i ng depreciation o f one s re lati ves(拙夫M y husband；拙荆M y w ife；小儿M y son e tc.).
T hese t w o ki nds of address te r m s a re o ften used tog ether in spec ifi c sit uation t o crea te specific m ean i ng.For exa m ple，薛霸道: 不敢动问大人高姓? 二人道: 小人素不识尊官，何与我金子? 那人道: 二位莫不投沧州去? (ShuiH u Zhuan Chapter8)
M ay I have your nam e,S ir? que ried Xue Ba. But we don t kno w Y our H onor.W hy should you g i ve us go l d? they as ked. A ren t you go i ng to C angzhou?
In the ex a m ple above, 大人，尊官，二位 are a ll respect f u l address ter m s w it h different deg ree,so t hese ter m s a re trans lated i n different ways,w hich can show the transl a tor s exce llent comm and of targe t l anguag e. 小人 i s a se lf-deprec i ato ry ad dress ter m wh ich is d ifficu lt to translate i nto Eng lish.A ttach i ng g reat i m portance to confidence,peop l e o fEng lish speak i ng coun tr i es se l do m sho w t he ir respect to o t hers through usi ng deprec i a tory terms.[6]4A s a res u lt,such Ch i nese culture-l oaded ad dress ter m s hardly fi nd a suitable equivalent in Eng lish,and such pheno m ena i s ca lled zero o f equ i va lent w ord.[7]13Conse quentl y, 小人 can on l y be transl
ated as w e .A lt hough the targ et reader can understand t he litera l meaning,the pragm atic m ean i ng i s l ost. .Co m parative study of m an ifestation of so li darity
or i en ted address ter m s
D ifferent fro m po w er-or i ented address ter m s,so lidar ity-o riented ones l ay tre m endous e m phasis on hu m an re lati ons.Nu m erous examp l es o f k i nsh i p ter m s and usi ng such ter m s to ad dress non-re lati ves can be found i n ShuiH u Zhuan.
T he usage o f ki nsh i p te r m s is very com pli cated.T ak i ng ad dress ter m s bet w een husband and w if e fo r ex a m ple,the re are 丈夫 , 老公 , 相公 and 大哥 to express the meaning of husband and 妻子 , 妻 , 宅眷 , 老小 , 浑家 , 老婆 , 拙荆 , 荆妇 , 拙妇 , , 大嫂 , 大 and 娘子 to ca ll one s w ife.In mo st cases,such Ch i nese ter m s are translated as Husband and W ife wh ich can not express the deep m ean i ng,that i s,i n traditi onal Chinese culture m en are superior than wom en.T hrough t he flex i b le us i ng o f address ter m s,so cial po siti ons of the characters and the soc ial d i stances a m ong people can be ill ustra ted.A lt hough the i dea l relati onship bet w een husband and w ife shou l d be equa,l w e can still fi nd e i ther m an or his w ife is i n i n ferior conditi on espec iall y because of so m e spec i a l reasons.For exa m ple，蔡夫人道: 相公自从出身，今日为一统帅，掌握国徐佳莹 失落沙洲
家重任，这功名富贵从何而来? 梁中书道: 世杰自幼读书，颇知经书，人非草木，岂不知泰山之恩，提携之力感激不尽。 蔡夫人道: 丈夫既知我父亲之恩德，如何忘了他生辰? 梁中书道: 下官如何不记得 (ShuiH u Zhuan Chapte r13)
Lady C ai asked a question. T oday Y our Exce llency i s a comm ander-in-ch i e f and ho l ds an i m portant post in the gov e rn m en t.W here does this honor and high rank co m e from? Since chil dhood I have al w ays st udied.I ve learned h isto ry and the classics, L iang rep lied. But I m a m an o f fee li ng.O f course I kno w ho w much I ow e your nob l e father i n the E astern Capita.l I can never thank h i m enough f o r his he l p. T ha t be i ng so,ho w could you f o rge t his b irthday? I re m e m ber it perfectl y
In t he examp l e above,L ady Ca i addresses his husband as 相公 and 丈夫 transl a ted as Y our Exce llency and Y ou , w hich can show t he change o f attitudes,wh il e L iang addresses h i m se lf as 世杰 and 下官 transl a ted as I ,i n wh i ch the re spect and deprec i a ti on i n source l anguage have been lost.In such cases,what the translator has to do is to translate the gene r a lm eani ng,w hich is an unsatisfac t o ry issue i n c ross-culture comm un i cation.
So li dar ity-or i ented pr i nciple can a l so be illustra ted in an o t her w ay o f addressi ng,.i e.,usi ng k
i nsh i p ter m to address non -relati ves.Such phenom ena are very co mmon i n Ch i nese,wh ile it i s rare i n English.It w ill be consi dered to be odd t o address non-re lati ves by usi ng k i nship ter m s.Ex tension o f k i nship ter m s i n Shui H u Zhuan can be f ound m a i n l y i n addressing a strange r as 哥哥 or 兄弟 translated as Brothe r ,wh i ch can be accepted by targe t readers re lati ve l y eas il y.
.Con clusi on
G enerall y speak i ng,translati on is to trans l ate the m eani ng, so cultural backg round,contex t,and the re lati ons a m ong partic i pators s hould a ll be taken into consi derati on.T he translato r,the br i dg e li nk i ng t w o cu ltures, (下转第67页)
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TRANSLAT I O N Xu Y aji n g/A Co m parative Study o f Chinese and Eng lish A ddress Ter m s
思巧妙，语言抒情，具有浓厚的民族特，是研究蒙古族文学、历史、民俗和语言的珍贵史料。有蒙文抄本和托忒文抄本。这些抄本部分已被整理出版，并已译成汉文。不少章节还分别被译成俄文、日文、德文、乌克兰文和格鲁吉亚文等。近年来在新疆蒙古族聚居区又搜集到许多新篇章，为推动 江格尔 研究提供了良好的条件并具有强烈的艺术感染力。
3.音乐、舞蹈方面。大蒙古国盛时，其礼乐不但保留着许多本民族固有的传统，同时还吸收金朝、西夏和南宋的部分器乐，一起参用。 元史 礼乐志 载: 若其为乐，则自太祖征用旧乐于西夏，太宗征金太常遗乐于燕京。及宪宗始用登歌乐。 而世祖命宋周臣典领乐工。又用登歌乐享祖宗于中书省 。不久复命王镛作 大成乐 ，括民间所藏金朝乐器。
1266年(至元三年)，又以宫县、登歌文武二舞于太庙，各配以乐章。成宗铁穆耳时，又制郊庙曲舞。直至爱育黎拔力八达统治时, 大抵于祭祀，率用雅乐，朝令飨燕，则用燕乐，盖雅俗兼用者也 。叶子奇 草木子 指出: 大朝会用雅乐，盖宋徽宗所制大晨乐也；曲宴用细乐胡乐；驾行，前部用胡乐，驾前用清乐大乐。其部队遵依金制。驾后用马军、栲栲队。其俗有十六天魔舞，盖以朱缨盛饬(饰)美女十六人，为佛菩萨相而舞 。乐器也有筝、琵琶、胡琴、火不思等多种。乐曲有大曲(18种)、小曲(12种)之分。元代流行的戏曲、杂剧，不仅受到广大蒙古族人民的欢迎，甚至还产生了本民族的剧作家，如杨景贤，就著有 西游记 、 盗红绡 等杂剧18种。
15世纪以后，以乐器伴奏的说唱形式在社会上流行，往往边饮宴、边弹唱，边舞蹈。至高潮时，参加饮宴的人，还一起齐声按拍歌唱。例如明英宗朱祁镇被俘至瓦剌时，也先为宴请英宗，就曾 自弹虎拨思儿(火不思)唱曲 ，并令妻妾舞蹈助兴。
蒙古族人民因长期生活于草原，其歌词曲调，高亢雄浑，洋溢着浓烈的草原生活气息。他们利用说唱活动，赞美草原风光，述说部落兴废，诉说男女之间情爱，生动感人。
此外，随着宫殿、邸宅、园林、寺院建筑的发展，绘画、雕塑等也有不少创新。有些艺术品，即使在现在，也足以令人叹为观止!
参考文献
[1]朋.乌恩.蒙古文化研究[M].内蒙古教育出版社,2007.
[2]巴.格日勒图.蒙古族作家论文选[M].内蒙古教育出版
社,2006.
(上接第49页)
should tho roughly understand the source tex t,and t hen use
fl ex i b l e m eans to re-express the pragma ti c m eani ng i n t he ta rget language.F rom t h is ang l e,Shapiro s version has achiev ed the goa l of translati on basica ll y.
References
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中英文称谓比较研究
评西德里 沙博里翻译的 水浒传
徐雅婧
(内蒙古师范大学外国语学院，内蒙古 呼和浩特 010022)
[摘 要] 基于权威、礼貌两项翻译原则，对中、英文版的 水浒传 中的称谓进行分析，笔者试图出翻译
者是否成功地以目标语表达文本的内涵。
[关键词] 水浒传; 称谓; 权威原则; 礼貌原则
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文化研究 桂兰/简析蒙古族文化与习俗
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