If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like,你要是真想听我讲,你想要知道的第一件事可能是我在什么地方出生,我倒楣的童年(语气强调得不够)是怎样度过。 老张重译:如果你真想听听这故事,那你可能得先了解一下我生在哪儿,而且,也得了解一下我小时候日子过得有多操蛋。
语言难点: 1、将来时 you’ll probably want to know…,很多时候等于“你得……”,是“必须”的婉转些的口气。这就是英语口语语感。 2、“lousy”,本意:“虱子一样的”。 等于“extremely bad ”,“extremely poor”。非常非常常用的诅咒用语,属于“俚语”。而“俚语”在英国中的位置,与我们汉语中的“俗语”相差无几。可我们的中学课本里,却一点都没有提及。 3、语气问题。从开始到最后,这部小说的语气都十分口语化,也十分16岁青少年化。但我们所读到的这译本,则是太过“端着”,别称,装相。
and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, 我父母在生我之前干些什么,以及诸如此类的大卫科波菲尔式废话, 张放重译:还得了解一下,我爹妈有我之前那阵子,都全身心地干了些什么,还有就是他们说的那些大卫科波菲尔的老大徒伤悲性质的废话。
语言难点: and all…是小说主人公贯穿全书最喜欢用,却不一定符合英语语法的短语。但从网上提供的译本来看,基本上,都给忽略了。这里忽略一点,那里忽略一句,最后呈现出来的会是最贴近原文的译文吗? “大卫-科伯菲尔式”,根据目前中国读者群的知识结构,我认为,最好在前面加个解释性质的形容词,类似“忆苦思甜”的词。
but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. 可我老实告诉你,我无意告诉你这一切。首先,这类事情叫我腻烦;其次,我要是细谈我父母的个人私事,他们俩淮会大发脾气。 张放重译:你就是真想知道的话,我眼下也没那个心情掰皮说馅地告诉你。首先是说那些事,我烦。还有就是,我要是真把我爹我妈那些相当隐私的事儿给透露出来的话,他们准会大脑出血。
语言难点: Feel like doing something是说,眼下不想做,但不等于“不做”。这是非常有区别的。 Stuff,这个词是十分口语化,也非常非常常用的词。但在我们的中学教材中,却都被thing给替代了。 “他们准会大脑出血”。原文如此,不用转译。
They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. 对于这类事情,他们最容易生气,特别是我父亲。 张放重译:他们,尤其我爸,对那些事特敏感。
语言难点: “touchy”, 汉语中有对应的词,而且很准确。就用就是了。
They're nice and all--I'm not saying that--but they're also touchy as hell.他们为人倒是挺不错——我并不想说他们的坏话——可他们的确很容易生气。 张放重译:他们人很棒,都很棒。我并不是说他们不好。我是说,他们敏感得一塌糊涂。
语言难点: They’re nice and all。不能译成“为人”。不准确。或者说,译多了。这里没有讨论父母“为人品质”问题。 Touchy as hell,原译翻译得口气不够。
Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. 再说,我也不是要告诉你他妈的我整个自传。 张放重译:再说啦,我压根儿就没他妈想告诉你我活到此时的整个故事或什么其他的事儿。
I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy. 我想告诉你的只是我在去年圣诞节前所过的那段荒唐生活,后来我的身体整个儿垮了,不得不离家到这儿来休养一阵。 张放重译:我就跟您说说去年圣诞节前后发生的那事儿,那事几乎把我给弄疯了。当时我快受不了了,所以,干脆跑了出来,让自己轻松下来。
I mean that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all. He's in Hollywood. 我是说这些事情都是我告诉DB的,他是我哥哥,在好莱坞。 张放重译:我是说,这都是我跟DB,就是我哥,说的事情。现在他在好莱坞。
That isn't too far from this crumby place, and he comes over and visits me practically every week end. He's going to drive me home when I go home next month maybe. He just got a Jaguar. One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour. It cost him damn near four thousand bucks. He's got a lot of dough, now.那地方离我目前可怜的住处不远,所以他常常来看我,几乎每个周末都来,我打算在下个月回家,他还要亲自开车送我回去。他刚买了辆“美洲豹”,那是种英国小轿车,一个小时可以驶两百英里左右,买这辆车花了他将近四千块钱。最近他十分有钱。 张放重译:那地方离我这不咋地的地方不远。他总过来,实际上,一到周末,就来看我。要是我下月回家的话,他就拉我回去。他刚买了辆显富的“美洲豹”车,就是英国人干的那种抠抠手手的活儿,百公里能跑两百英里的车。不过,他可是花了近四千大元啊。现在他有钱了。
He didn't use to. He used to be just a regular writer, when he was home. 过去他并不有钱。过去他在家里的时候,只是个普通作家, 张放重译:以前不行。以前,他在家那会儿,就是一写手。
He wrote this terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish, in case you never heard of him. 写过一本了不起的短篇小说集《秘密金鱼》,不知你听说过没有。 张放重译:他写过短篇集子,写得还真不错。你要是没听说过,我告诉你,那集子名叫《秘密金鱼》。
The best one in it was "The Secret Goldfish." It was about this little kid that wouldn't let anybody look at his goldfish because he'd bought it with his own money. It killed me. Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me. 这本书里最好的一篇就是《秘密金鱼》,讲的是一个小孩怎样不肯让人看他的金鱼,因为那鱼是他自己花钱买的。这故事动人极了,简直要了我的命。这会儿他进了好莱坞,当了婊子——这个DB。我最最讨厌电影。最好你连提也不要向我提起。 张放重译:里面写得最棒的,就是“秘密金鱼”那篇。故事是说,有个小孩儿不让任何人看他那条金鱼,因为那鱼是他花自己攒的钱买的。这故事把我给感动够呛。现在这会儿,DB已经跑好莱坞混了,他在那儿是当男妓。要是说,有什么我讨厌的,就是电影了。压根儿就别在我面前提电影。
语言难点: “It killed me”,译成“简直要了我的命”,反而译多了。
Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep. Pencey Prep is this school that's in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. 我打算从我离开潘西中学那天讲起。潘西这学校在宾夕法尼亚州埃杰斯镇。 张放重译:无。
You probably heard of it. You've probably seen the ads, anyway. They advertise in about a thousand magazines, always showing some hotshot guy on a horse jumping over a fence. Like as if all you ever did at Pencey was play polo all the time. 你也许听说过。也许你至少看见过广告。他们差不多在一千份杂志上登了广告,总是一个了不起的小伙子骑着马在跳篱笆。好象在潘西除了比赛马球就没有事可做似的。 张放重译:你肯定听说过这学校的名字。要不至少也可能看过他们的广告。他们往无数杂志上登了广告。那广告上,永远是个看上去光鲜亮丽的家伙,骑个马,在跳栅栏。就好像,人在潘西学校里,什么都不干,就是在一个劲儿地玩马球一样。
I never even once saw a horse anywhere near the place. And underneath the guy on the horse's picture, it always says: "Since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men." 其实我在学校附近连一匹马的影儿也没见过。在这幅跑马图底下,总是这样写着:“自从一八八八年起,我们就把孩子栽培成优秀的、有脑子的年轻人。” 张放重译:可我在学校附近,连马的影子都没见过。而且,那广告最下面,广告词总是这么写着:“自1888年起,我们一直致力于将孩子们打造成极优秀的,思路清晰的年轻人材。”
语言难点: clear-thinking,就是“思路清晰”。不用转译成“有脑子”。
Strictly for the birds. 完全是骗人的鬼话。 张放重译:这简直就是鸟语。
They don't do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school. 在潘西也象在别的学校一样,根本没栽培什么人材。 张放重译:其实,跟别的学校比,潘西压根儿就他妈的没“打造”更多人材。
And I didn't know anybody there that was splendid and clear-thinking and all. Maybe two guys. If that many. And they probably came to Pencey that way. 而且在那里我也没见到任何优秀的、有脑子的人。也许有那么一两个。可他们很可能在进学校时候就是那样的人。 张放重译:而且,我在潘西压根儿就没看到有什么极优秀的,思路清晰的人才。也许有一两个算是人才,如果那也叫多的话。但很有可能的是,人家来潘西之前,就已经极优秀,思路清晰了。