浅析文化视角下的显性翻译-以《北京折叠》英译为例_英语论文

The Analysis of Explication in Translation from Cultural Perspective——A Case Study of Folding Beijing

摘要

中国女作家郝景芳去年凭借其出色的科幻小说《北京折叠》摘得雨果奖。该小说的巨大成功在很大程度上要归功于刘宇昆精彩的英语译文。刘宇昆熟谙中英双语，他力图在英译本中运用恰当的翻译策略，弥合中英文化的鸿沟。其策略之一便是显性翻译。

显性翻译作为一种翻译技巧，常为译者所采用以揭露隐藏在源文本内的信息。显性翻译使译作更为易读易懂，提高目标语读者对文本的理解与接受能力，避免因语言和文化差异而产生理解偏差。

Klaudy 和 Karoly（2005）曾表示，“显性”是一个涵括性的辞汇，针对在翻译研究中普遍而明显

存在的信息重构行为。克劳迪认为，显性翻译可以分为四大类：强制性显化，非强制性显化，语用显化以及翻译固有显化。受前人研究的鼓舞，本文作者试图对《北京折叠》英译本中的显化翻译进行系统研究，对不同类型的显化现象进行范例分析。

该研究采用文献研究法，范例分析法和综合分析法来解读刘宇昆的译文。研究结果表明，《北京折叠》英译本的确有使用显性翻译的倾向，也证实了“显性化是英语翻译的常态”这一猜想。从文化角度也不难发现，刘宇昆保留了源文本中的文化意象，通过直译、意译，并辅以一定的解释说明，使得目标语读者和源语读者获得相同的阅读体验。刘宇昆对显性策略的合理利用正是他的译文广受好评的重要原因。

关键词：显性，文化翻译，语境，《北京折叠》

Abstract

Last year, Chinese writer Hao Jingfang won the Hugo Prize by her marvelous science fiction Folding Beijing. The success of this novel largely attributes to the decent translation by Ken Liu, a bilingual writer and translator. Ken Liu manages to bridge the gap between Chinese and western cultures with proper translation methods, one of which is explicitation translation.

As a translation technique, explicitation is always employed by translators to reveal the hidden information in the source text, make the translating works more readable, and facilitate target readers’ comprehension and acceptability, in case of the target language readers misunderstand the texts because of the differences between languages and cultures. 

Explicitation, as highlighted by Klaudy and Karoly (2005), serves as a cover term for a raft of distinct reformulation operations in translation studies. According to Klaudy, there are four major types of explicitation: obligatory explicitation, optional explicitation, pragmatic explicitation and translation-inherent explicitation. Inspired by previous studies on this phenomenon, the author of this paper attempts a systematic investigation of explicitation in the English version of Folding Beijing, with different types of explicitation as case study. 

The current study adopts documentary research method, case study and overall analysis to decode Ken Liu’s translation. The results of this study testifies Ken Liu’s tendency to employ explicitation in his rendition and confirms the prediction of explicitation as a recurrent feature in English translations. From the cultural perspective, it could be found that Liu retains cultural images of source text and manages to make target readers receive the same aesthetic effects as the original readers perceive. Liu’s appropriate utilization of explicitation justifies the praise and popularity of his translation.

Key Words: explicitation; cultural translation; context; Folding Beijing

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction to Folding Beijing 1

1.2 Rationale and Significance of this Paper 1

1.2.1 Problems in Science Fiction Translation in China 1

1.2.2 The Prominence of the English Version of Folding Beijing 2

1.3 Main Content and Originalities 3

1.3.1 Layout of the Paper 3

1.3.2 Originalities 3

2. Literature Review 4

2.1 The Definition of Science Fiction 4

2.2 Previous Researches on Science Fiction Translation 4

2.2.1 Domestic Researches on the Science Fiction Translation 5

2.2.2 Foreign Researches on Science Fiction Translation 6

2.2.3 Limitations and Problems 7

2.3 Affirmation of Ken’s Translation from Different Perspectives 7

2.3.1 The Cross-Cultural Communication Perspective 7

2.3.2 The Aesthetic Reflection Theory Perspective 7

2.3.3 The Translating Strategy Perspective 8

3. Theoretical Framework 9

3.1 The Development of Cultural Translation Theory 9

3.1.1 The Development of Culture Translation Theory 9

3.1.2 Susan Bassnett’s Cultural Translation Theory 10

3.1.3 Cultural Translation Researches in China 11

3.2 Guiding Significance of Cultural Translation Theory in Translation Practice 12

3.2.1 Cultural Translation Theory in Science Fiction Translation 12

3.2.2 Cultural Translation Theory in Translation Strategy 12

3.3 Explicitation Translation 13

3.3.1 Concept of Explicitation 13

3.3.2 Explicitation Hypothesis 14

3.3.3 Types of Explicitation 14

3.3.4 Functions of Explicitation 15

4. An Investigation of Folding Beijing 16

4.1 Cultural Factors in Folding Beijing 16

4.2 Explicitation in Folding Beijing 17

4.2.1 Obligatory Explicitation in Translation 17

4.2.2 Optional Explicitation in Translation 18

4.2.3 Pragmatic Explicitation in Translation 21

5. Conclusion 24

5.1 Major Findings 24

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research 24

References 26