Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 2 The Reappearance of the Preface Style Is the Essence of the Translation of Classic Works (2)
3.With this answer Elizabeth was forced to be content; but her own opinion Continued the same, and she left him disappointed and sorry. It was not in her nature, however, to increase her vexations, by dwelling on them. of having performed her duty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or augmenting them by anxiety, was no part of her disposition.
Translation by Mr. Wang Keyi:
"Elizabeth didn't change her mind when she heard her father's answer, but she could only express her satisfaction and walked away sullenly. A person with her character would not worry about these things. She believed that she had done her best. She has neglected her own responsibilities, and it is impossible for her to worry about the inevitable harm, or to be too anxious."

Translation by Mr. Sun Zhili:

"Hearing her father's answer, Elizabeth had no choice but to agree, but she didn't change her mind, and left her father in despair. However, she didn't like to think too much about troubles by nature, so as not to worry more and more. She Convinced that I have done my duty, I will never worry about unavoidable misfortunes, or add to them by worrying."

My translation:

"After hearing these answers, Elizabeth could do nothing; but she did not change her mind, and left her father disappointed and unhappy. But it was not she She is confident that she has done her part, and it is not in her nature to worry about inevitable dangers, or to water them with undue anxiety."

In the translations of Mr. Wang and Sun, there are several words in the original text that are not expressed in their translations, such as "indrease", "augment them", "no part of her disposition" in the original text, etc., and two The symmetrical structures "...not in her disposition" and "...no part of her disposition" were not represented in their translations either.In such a translation, the elegant and delicate style of the original text will inevitably be lost.It is inevitable that this will not affect the slight change in meaning. Elizabeth is the kind of character that goes with nature, and she didn't think about doing it like that, not "it can't be done".

4. "But why should you wish to persuade me that I feel more than I acknowledge?"

“This is a puzzle which I hardly know how to answer. We all love to instruct, though we can teach only what is not worth knowing. Forgive me, and if you persist in indifference, do not make me your Confidante.”

Translation by Mr. Wang Keyi:
"But why do you insist on forcing me to think that I haven't told the whole truth?"

"That puts me at a loss for an answer. We all like to give advice, but they don't appreciate it. I'm sorry for you. Don't convince me if you keep saying you don't mean anything to him." .”

Sun Zhili's translation:

"Then why do you want me to admit that I didn't say everything in my heart?"

"That's a question I can't answer. We all like to point and point, and pointing isn't worth listening to. With all due respect, if you insist on saying you're not interested in him, you can't convince me. "

My translation:

"But why do you insist on persuading me to admit that I haven't said all that is in my heart?"

"I hardly know how to answer this question of yours. Each of us enjoys persuading, even if our words are not pleasant. Forgive my frankness; if you insist on putting on an If nothing happened, then don't want me to be your confidant."

Jiying and Elizabeth are a pair of sisters who are deeply affectionate, and they are also the most confidant friends. Now it is difficult for Jiying to talk about this extremely delicate affair. Elizabeth, out of concern for her sister, wants to tease her to tell the truth. The tone of the conversation remains tender.The author thinks that the tone of the underlined part in this translation is a bit heavier than that of the original text.The question of literal translation and free translation is raised here. Fanneng Literal Translation Office insists that literal translation is the principle I follow, but looking at the translations of Mr. Wang Keyi and Mr. Sun Zhili, they basically follow the principle of free translation.The principles of the two translations have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as far as the underlined part is concerned, their free translation deviates from the tone of the original text.The author believes that literal translation can better reproduce the language, form and style characteristics of the original text, although if the translator does not handle it well, it may make the translation appear less lively.

5. But at length, by Etizabeth′s persuasion, he was prevailed on to overlook the offense, and seek a reconciliation; after a little farther resistance on the part of his aunt, her resentment gave away, either to her affection for him, or her curiosity to see how his wife conducted herself; and she comdescended to wait on them at pemberley, in spite of that pollution which its woods had received, not merely from the presence of such a mistress, but the visits of her uncle and aunt from the city.
Translation by Mr. Wang Keyi:

". . . Pemberley condescends to visit Pemberley in spite of the fact that Pemberley has stained the house by having such a mistress, and that both of her aunt's aunts and uncles in town have been there."

Translation by Mr. Sun Zhili:

". . . and though the woods have been polluted by the presence of such a mistress at Pemberley, and the many visits of her aunt's aunt and aunt in town, Lady Catherine condescends to visit the couple."

My translation:

". . . she dropped her airs and came to Pemberley, not minding the stale air of the estate which had been made by the hostess and by her several visits from her aunt and aunt."

Mrs. Catherine is a very proud and conceited woman. She relies on her property and status to give orders to people everywhere. The author tries her best to ridicule her.The author's sarcasm permeates between the lines, that is, this sarcasm is expressed through the choice of words and the arrangement of sentence patterns.Here I think, translated according to the word order of the original text, it seems to be able to reflect more of the author's sarcasm.The same is true in the translation of words. "Pollution" generally refers to the pollution of a specific environment. Here, the literal translation of this word, that is, its original meaning, can better reflect the style and tone of the original text.Translated as "defilement" seems to have lost a metaphor in the original text here. ?
Due to space limitations, I cannot give more examples for comparison.I hope readers can get a glimpse of the whole picture of the thoughts I want to express from this spot.The author believes that, generally speaking, the translation of our works does not do enough to reproduce the "magnificence" of the original work. Popularity and readability without giving this issue the attention it deserves.We know that a specific artistic content always has a form in itself, or that the content is content because it contains a specific form. Therefore, in the translation of literary works, if we ignore the language combination of the original characteristics, then what is damaged in the translation is not only the artistic form (such as color, atmosphere, symmetry, rhythm, momentum, style, various rhetorical techniques, etc.) that emerges from this specific language combination, but also It will inevitably affect the reproduction of the unique content of the original work, and finally affect the "unique style and appearance in the unity of content and form", that is, the reproduction of style.Based on this kind of thinking, I think we should pay more attention to the words and sentences of the original works, not only to study their characteristics in words and sentences, but also to reproduce the original author's use of words and sentence patterns as much as possible. feature.The author believes that achieving this step is a prerequisite for reproducing the original style.Of course, the translator's literary accomplishment, language accomplishment, aesthetic theory and other accomplishments are also very important for the reproduction of style.

In short, in the specific translation practice, I basically follow a translation principle of retaining the characteristics of the words used and the sentence structure of the original text as much as possible.I think that because my translation principles are different from those of Mr. Wang and Sun, my translation seems to be quite different from theirs in terms of overall style.Of course, their translations also have their own strengths. Mr. Wang Keyi's translation is vivid and delicate, and Mr. Sun Zhili's translation is popular and catchy, but in terms of delicacy, Mr. Wang's translation seems to be slightly better.Fundamentally speaking, Mr. Wang and Sun almost follow the same principle of translation, so from the overall appearance, their translations are similar.

(End of this chapter)