背影The Sight of Father’s Back

朱自清Zhu Ziqing

| 譯文摘自張培基《英譯中國散文選一》

我與父親不相見已二年余了，我最不能忘記的是他的背影。那年冬天，祖母死了，父親的差使也交卸了，正是禍不單行的日子，我從北京到徐州，打算跟著父親奔喪回家。到了徐州見著父親，看見滿院狼藉的東西，又想起祖母，不禁簌簌地流下眼淚。
It is more than two years since I last saw father, and what I can never forget is the sight of his back. Misfortunes never come singly. In the winter of more than two years ago, grandma died and father lost his job. I left Beijing for Xuzhou to join father in hastening home to attend grandma’s funeral. When I met father in Xuzhou, the sight of the disorderly mess in his courtyard and the thought of grandma started tears trickling down my cheeks.

要點：
1、“禍不單行”= Misfortunes never come singly.關于災難，災禍的說法有好幾種，文學翻譯中常用“misfortune, mishap, suffering”表自然災害時有disaster, catastrophe, calamity
2、”那年冬天“親們的第一反應一定是in that winter,然而并，不，是，因為前文并沒有提及那一年具體是哪一年，而that 只指代前面提到過的事物，所以要在winter后面解釋一下。
3、join sb in dong sth=和某人一起做某事，join通常表示參加某種集體活動，也可以指參加軍隊，社團，是翻譯中很常見的一個詞，對于這種用法多多的詞，親們找一本權威詞典把他的直系血親（變形，意思，用法）和旁系血親（同義詞，辨析）全部摸透。
4、hasten通常意為“催促，加速”但后面加了地名就是“趕往某地”了
5、“到了徐州見著父親”這是一個多動詞的句子，在文學翻譯中很常見，翻之前要先確定主要動詞，將其定為謂語動詞，其他不重要的降級為從句或非謂語結構，再不重要譯為介詞?！暗搅恕焙汀耙姷健倍疾皇侵饕獎釉~，所以他倆的出場方式就是“從句+介詞短語“
6、“看見滿院狼藉的東西，又想起祖母，不禁簌簌地流下眼淚。”對于這半部分的處理也值得學習，將動詞轉(zhuǎn)換成名詞，使行文更加流暢
7、trickle意為“使緩慢流淌，使慢慢移動“，很好地體現(xiàn)了“簌簌”之意，文學翻譯對于這種小詞的運用是其區(qū)別于非文學翻譯的一大特征，,使人感覺那個流淚之人就在眼前。要做好文學翻譯，平時就要多積累這類小詞，比如“看”也分很多種：squint是“斜視，瞇著眼看“，goggle是”瞪視“他們所表達的韻味是單單用see 和 look無法達到的。

綜述：本段注意多動詞的句的譯法，join的用法，以及譯者對于動詞的選用，動詞選得好，，整篇文章都會“活”起來。

父親說：“事已如此，不必難過，好在天無絕人之路!”
Father said, “Now that things‘ve come to such a pass, it’s no use crying. Fortunately, Heaven always leaves one a way out.”

1、”天無絕人之路“采用反語正譯法，意為”上天總會給人一條出路“

綜述：“反語正譯”應該是首次粗線，意思是源語言從反面表達（即表達一個否定的意思），由于二者語言習慣的差異，翻譯過來后采用正面表達。有時為了使語氣更加強烈，表述更加準確到位，也會采用這種方法。如“男兒有淚不輕彈”譯為?Men only weep when deeply hurt.

回家變賣典質(zhì)，父親還了虧空；又借了錢辦了喪事。這些日子，家中光景很是慘淡，一半為了喪事，一半為了父親的賦閑。喪事完畢，父親要到南京謀事，我也要回到北京念書，我們便同行。
After arriving home in Yangzhou, father paid off debts by selling or pawning things. He also borrowed money to meet the funeral expenses. Between grandma’s funeral and father’s unemployment, our family was then in reduced circumstances. After the funeral was over, father was to go to Nanjing to look for a job and I was to return to Beijing to study, so we started out together.

要點：
1、“一半為了喪事，一半為了父親的賦閑“譯為” Between grandma’s funeral and father’s unemployment“，”between…and…”意為“半因…，半因…”
2、start out意為“起初，最初，開始時“”開始（生活，職業(yè)或重要階段）“”出發(fā)，啟程“，start也是一個出鏡率很高的詞~要把他的七大姑八大姨統(tǒng)統(tǒng)搞明白~
3、pawn“典當，抵押品“，他的小伙伴是pledge有木有很驚訝,，
4、“光景慘淡“譯為be in reduced circumstances“，可以按固定搭配來記，意為”境況不濟，生活拮據(jù)“，此外 reduce有很多用法也值得大家注意，比如葉圣陶《我坐了木船》中”無可奈何只好出此下策“就用了be reduced to sth 這個用法，意為“被迫從事…”

綜述：本段重點關注start, reduce的多種用法，有時候你以為你對某個詞很熟悉，其實并沒有，老老實實查字典，套用一句話“你以為你以為的就是你以為的嗎“看看張爺爺?shù)纳⑽陌蓗\(≧▽≦)/~

到南京時，有朋友約去游逛，勾留了一日；第二日上午便須渡江到浦口，下午上車北去。
I spent the first day in Nanjing strolling about with some friends at their invitation, and was ferrying across the Yangtse River to Pukou the next morning and thence taking a train for Beijing on the afternoon of the same day.

1、stroll about 意為“散步，漫步“
如Strolling about these gardens , with the tree shadows swaying on the white wall.
白墻上樹影婆娑，池塘中柳枝起舞。
意思相近的詞還有amble ,wander ,ramble
2、at their invitation意為“接受某人邀請“，譯文將原文中的動詞轉(zhuǎn)譯為名詞，這種詞性轉(zhuǎn)換也是翻譯中常用的手段
比如：“我們不承諾放棄使用武力“=”our non-commitment to renouncing the use of force”中”承諾“和”放棄“都做了名詞化處理
3、ferry 原意“渡船，擺渡“，ferry across the river 譯為”渡江“
4、thence，這個陌生的兄弟是副詞~，意為“從那里，然后，隨之“，比如He hitched south towards Italy, and thence into France. 他搭乘便車往南去意大利，然后從那里進入法國。有點類似于thereafter（此后），therefrom（由此，從那兒）,
說到副詞們，他們也是一個奇妙的世界，它們對于文學翻譯的貢獻也是功不可沒。

綜述：這短短的一句包含的信息量很大，因此我們花了比較大的篇幅來講，主要是因為它使用的詞匯，如果不使用這些詞匯，譯文的篇幅可能還要長。。。

父親因為事忙，本已說定不送我，叫旅館里一個熟識的茶房陪我同去。他再三囑咐茶房，甚是仔細。但他終于不放心，怕茶房不妥貼，頗躊躇了一會。其實那年我已二十歲，北京來往過兩三次，是沒有甚么要緊的了。他躊躇了一會，終于決定還是自己送我去。我兩三回勸他不必去；他只說，“不要緊，他們?nèi)ゲ缓?”
Father said he was too busy to go and see me off at the railway station, but would ask a hotel waiter that he knew to accompany me there instead. He urged the waiter again and again to take good care of me, but still did not quite trust him. He hesitated for quite a while about what to do. As a matter of fact, nothing would matter at all because I was then twenty and had already travelled on Beijing-Pukou Railway a couple of times. After some wavering, he finally decided that he himself would accompany me to the station. I repeatedly tried to talk him out of it, but he only said, “Never mind! It won’t do to trust guys like those hotel boys!”

1、“urged the waiter again and again“意為”再三叮囑“，表示”再三“的詞組還有“repeatedly, over and over again, time after time”
2、這段出現(xiàn)了兩個“猶豫，躊躇“，分別用了hesitate（強調(diào)遲疑，顧慮，常與about, over一起用） 和 waver（常與between, on, over連用，意思和hesitate差不多）,其他表猶豫的詞還有”boggle(畏縮不前，因膽怯而猶豫)，falter(因缺乏信心而猶豫)，用時要分清語境
3、“勸某人不要做某事“=talk sb out of sth,新表述get√
4、”兩三回”就是“再三“，用到了上面提到過的repeatedly
5、本段“怕他不妥帖”和“他們?nèi)ゲ缓谩敝械摹巴滋薄ⅰ叭ゲ缓谩逼渖顚雍x都是“不相信”，都表達了對茶房的不信任感，因此，譯文兩處都用了trust。

綜述：有些詞帶有強烈的中國色彩，而英文中并沒有十分對應的詞，常用方法就是結合背景分析他的具體含義和感情色彩。

我們過了江，進了車站。我買票，他忙著照看行李。行李太多了，得向腳夫行些小費，才可過去。他便又忙著和他們講價錢。我那時真是太聰明過分，總覺得他說話不大漂亮，非得自己插嘴不可。但他終于講定了價錢；就送我上車。他給我揀定了靠車門的一張椅子；我將他給我做的紫毛大衣鋪好坐位。
We entered the railway station after crossing the River. While I was at the booking office buying a ticket, father saw to my luggage. There was quite a bit of luggage and he had to bargain with the porter over the fee. I was then such a smart aleck that I frowned upon the way father was haggling and was on the verge of chipping in a few words when the bargain was finally clinched. Getting on the train with me, he picked me a seat close to the carriage door. I spread on the seat the brownish fur-lined overcoat he had got tailor made for me.

要點：
1、 ?See to意為“注意，照看照料，保證”
2、 “小費”在這里并譯作了fee而非tip, 前者主要指專門職業(yè)的傭金，后者指給服務生額外的費用。
3、 smart aleck 意為“自作聰明的人”，這句話中的“聰明”是反話哦。
4、 “總覺得他說話不大漂亮”即嫌父親不會講價錢，frown upon 意為“不贊成，反對”
5、 Verge 作名詞時意為“瀕于…,即將…”常用于on the verge of (接近于，瀕于),此外verge還有動詞意思”接近，瀕于“
6、 Chip 這個詞大家可能經(jīng)常看到他的名詞形式“薯片~“（吃貨們，沸騰起來），他的動詞形式我們也要注意起來”打破，鏟掉，清除“，而chip in 意為”插嘴，湊錢”,chip away=削弱，這也屬于一個小詞~表示”插嘴”的詞還有interrupt ,cut in ,break in~

綜述：本段關注譯者精準的用詞和靈活的句式。

聲明：本雙語文章的中文評析系滬江英語原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容，轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處。中文評析僅代表作者個人觀點，僅供參考。如有不妥之處，歡迎指正。
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