《黄金屋》的翻译实践与分析

张旖桐

摘 要：本论文是一篇翻译实践报告，节选自印度裔英国作家萨尔曼？拉什迪（Salman Rushdie）于2017年新出版的小说《黄金屋》（the Golden House）的第一二篇。《黄金屋》回归了传统的现实主义风格，涵盖了奥巴马执政八年的时间里所涉及的政治、文化事件。结合翻译实践，译者主要通过两方面进行了翻译分析，其一为社会文化语境不同的情况下对外来文化词语的翻译分析及处理，其二为如何在保留原文风格且符合本国读者阅读习惯的基础上处理英文长难句的翻译。

关键词：拉什迪;现实主义;翻译分析;多文化;社会文化语境;长难句

一、研究背景Introduction

The excerpt is chosen from the novel The Golden House， a modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture， written by the outstanding British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie（1947-）. Rushdie is known for his experiments on magic realism， most famous of which are Midnight's Children （1981） and The Satanic Verses （1988）. His works always examine historical and philosophical issues through surreal characters and melodramatic prose style. However， The Golden House returns to a more conventional mode of realism， in which the young， ambitious narrator/filmmaker chronicles his mysterious neighbors experiences in Greenwich Village， New York.

Rushdie maintains his usual tactic of narrating through the first-person point of view in The Golden House. “I，” as an aspiring filmmaker， am intrigued by my neighbors， who have come from a faraway country under mysterious circumstances： an old billionaire who calls himself by the name of Nero Golden， and his three sons， Petronius， Lucius Apuleius and Dionysus. They settle their roots down in a downtown mansion， where Nero meets his second Russian wife and establishes their own respective places in the society soon after. As the story moves forward， “I” gradually discover the secrets hidden behind the family. The familys quarrels， their identities， their crimes are thus revealed through “my” perspective from which readers are able to perceive the collision of cultures and ideologies from ancient Greece， India， and New York as well.

The storyline starts from Obamas inauguration in 2009 to Trump taking over the White Office， covering the political and social events during the course of eight years， including the rise of the ultra-conservative Tea party， the “GamerGate” as well as the political debate about identity politics.

二、翻譯过程中的挑战与对策Challenges and Corresponding Solutions in the Translation Process

Example1： （Source Text=ST Target Text=TT）

ST： “so we assumed that some Russian oligarch or oil sheikh must be involved，”

TT： 所以，我们猜测这栋住宅说不定属于某位俄罗斯垄断行业的大资本家或是拥有大量石油的阿拉伯酋长。

Analysis： If translating the words “oligarch” and “sheikh” faithfully as “寡头” and “族长”，Chinese readers may feel confused since “oligarch” and “sheikh” are mostly used in the western capitalistic society. Oligarch means someone who has monopolized certain industrial field， therefore， the translator chose to translate “寡头” into a relatively detailed and similar explanation “垄断行业的大资本家”. As for sheikh， the translator added “阿拉伯” to assist readers in reading.

Example 2：

ST： There was one other person attached to the house， a sweet-natured Hispanic handyman named Gonzalo who was employed by the two guardian dragons to look after the place.

TT： 还有一个修理工会踏足此间住宅，他叫冈萨洛，拉美裔，脾气非常好，受雇于两位“守护神”，负责维修整栋宅子。

Analysis： The image of dragon is completely different in the eastern and western societies. In China， especially Han nationality， dragon is always regarded as the divinity， sacred and powerful. Therefore， combined with the meaning of source text， the translator chose to translate “guardian dragons” as “守护神”.

Example 3：

ST： It had been designed in the French Renaissance manner to be both fancy and fashionable， a style in which Hoppin & Koen had considerable experience， gained both at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and， afterwards， during their time working for McKim， Mead & White.

TT： 默里公館是法国文艺复兴时期那种别致又时髦的建筑风格，两位建筑师对此都经验丰富——他们曾在巴黎美术学院学习，毕业后在美国的大型建筑师事务所做过相似风格的设计。

Analysis： After internet searching， McKim， Mead & White was the top firm at the architecture field in America， however， it is not necessary information for foreigners to know about， so the translator chose to explain the firm as “大型建筑师事务所”.

Example 4：

ST： The very word goodness has been emptied of meaning and needs， perhaps， to be set aside for a time， like all the other poisoned words， spirituality， for example， final solution， for example， and （at least when applied to skyscrapers and fried potatoes） freedom.

TT： “善良”这个正能量的词没有了意义也不再被需要，被人们所遗忘，就如其他一些被毒害的“好词”，就如灵性、自由等等。

Analysis： It takes the translator much time to consider how to translate these “poisoned” English words into Chinese， like the phrase “final solution”， it also means Nazi's plan during World War II to systematically exterminate the Jewish population in Nazi occupied Europe through genocide. Apparently， the corresponding translated phrase “最终解决方案” is a normal phrase in Chinses culture. Under this circumstance， the translator chose to abandon the phrase “final solution” when it did not really influence the integrity and whole meaning. Moreover， considering that here Rushdie is being sarcastic——kindness， freedom of the poor are deprived by the rich and power， the translator added “好词” to underline that all the other poisoned words were very words before.

Example 5：

ST： His fondness for prostitutes， Whiskey and Deviled eggs…

TT： 他对妓女、威士忌、魔鬼蛋的热衷

魔鬼蛋 with endnote： “芥末蘸蛋”

Analysis： At the beginning， the translator intended to directly translate deviled eggs as “芥末蘸蛋” because it is a kind of unfamiliar western appetizer. However， later the translator thought deviled egg may be a metaphor which also implies the devil figure of Nero Golden： Devil eats the deviled eggs. Therefore， the translator uses the endnote to describe the deviled egg but translates the phrase as “魔鬼蛋”.

三、结论Conclusion

The report focuses on the analysis of translation practice of Rushdies novel the Golden House. The translator chose the first two chapters as the material after finishing the reading since the opening contents involved multi-cultural elements with complex structures， which were both interesting and challenging for the translator.

Firstly， the translator truly realized how talented Rushdie is as the master in language performance. Though there are long sentences making people confused， all the expressions are delicate， necessary and proper， which never let readers feel bored. Especially when readers slow down the reading speed， the sarcastic style is much more apprehensible. People are supposed to take time to read Rushdies work， they need to be patient， and as the translator， I strongly suggest readers to read the original text， combining with the specific social cultural context.

As for the whole translating process， unlike learning certain translation methods at class， the translator always need to utilize various translation methods to cope with multiple difficulties in one sentence. How to translate the ironic tone， how to separate the sentences， how to maintain the original flavor but be intelligible to the foreign readers， how to let the work possess aesthetics in the target cultural environment…it takes time to create comparatively perfect translating work by careful researching， long-time thinking and modifying over and over again. The translator would always have the space for improvement.

（上海外國语大学国际关系与公共事务学院  北京市  100091）