摘 要

威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆的《月亮与六便士》享誉全球，在中国也有众多拥趸。近两年来该书的国内译本渐多，翻译风格各有不同。傅惟慈先生是国内第一位将此书中译的译者，译本行文严谨，语言紧紧贴合原著。而去年出版的徐淳刚先生的译本由于其语言简洁明了，用词多诗化，颇受欢迎，二者翻译风格有明显差异。作为翻译活动中的一项综合原则，翻译策略的使用与译本行文风格紧紧相连。翻译策略主要分为两种，即异化与归化。使用以异化为主的翻译策略，译本会更忠实地反应译出语的文化信息；使用以归化为主的翻译策略，译本则会给读者更自然的阅读体验。本文试图从句法、语义及文化层面对比两位译者的翻译策略的具体使用，探讨归化与异化对傅、徐两译本语言风格的不同效果。初步研究发现，尽管二者语言风格大相径庭，所用到的主要的翻译手法却相差不多，使用时机略有差别，而且由于译者个人翻译习惯等因素的影响使二者有明显差异。

关键词：《月亮与六便士》；翻译策略；归化；异化

Abstract

William Somerset Maugham's novel, The Moon and Sixpence gains great fame in the world as well as in China. In the latest years, more domestic translation versions of the novel are published which show various translating styles. The translators, such as Fu Weici precisely translated the first Chinese version of The Moon and Sixpence in China; Xu Chungang, another translator, published the new Chinese version in last year (2017) which showed concise translation style. Because the Fu’s and Xu’s translation versions have significantly distinctive translation styles, this paper selects the two versions to compare their translation strategies. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the use of translation strategies and translation styles, the different reading experiences produced by different translation strategies and so on. Translation strategies can be divided into two categories, foreignization and domestication. Using the strategy of foreignization, the translation will be more faithful to the cultural information of the target language, and using the strategy of domestication, the translation will give the reader a more natural reading experience. This paper also makes the specific comparison on the aspects of linguistic, cultural level and language styles of the two Chinese versions. The paper finds that in one translation activity, the translators may prefer a certain translation strategy, but they would use other translation strategies, methods, and techniques to keep the integrity of the translation.

Key Words: The Moon and Sixpence; Translation; Strategies; Domestication; Foreignization

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Literature Review 3

2.1 Introduction of Chinese Versions of The Moon and Sixpence 3

2.2 The Translation Study on Chinese Versions of Maugham’s Works 4

3 Analysis on the Translation Strategies of Two Chinese Versions 6

3.1 An Overview of Translation Strategies of Two Chinese Versions 6

3.2 Linguistic Considerations on Translation Strategies 8

3.2.1 Lexical Level 8

3.2.2 Syntactic Level 10

3.2.3 Textual Level 12

4 The Influence of Other Factors on Application of Translation Strategies 15

4.1 The Influence of Translator’s Subjectivity 15

4.2 The Influence of Culture 16

5 Conclusion 18

References 19

Acknowledgement 20

A Study on Translation Strategies of Two Chinese Versions of The Moon and Sixpence

1 Introduction

According to Xiong Bing, Translation strategies are the principles and schemes adopted in translating activities to achieve specific translation purposes. (Xiong, 2014:83). Translation strategies can be divided into two categories, one is domestication and the other is foreignization. When applying one certain translation strategy, some relevant translation methods and techniques would also be adopted by translators. In fact, translating is a mixture translation of domestication and foreignization, and there is neither one hundred percent foreignization nor one hundred percent domestication of translation.

Best seller The Moon and Sixpence has a dozen Chinese versions. Some versions are endowed with great fame while others are withering away. Fu Weici is the first person to translate the novel, and his version is considered hardly to be surpassed. The comments of the readers, such as “there is a kind of old-fashioned elegance and restraint in the translation, which is also in line with the age of creation of this book”; Li Jihong’s version, as recommended by most readers, actually causes controversy, someone think that “the translation obeys the language habits of the contemporary young people”, “the translation is of oral and arbitrary effect”; the new version of Xu Chungang’s which exerts more succinct and poetic expression gains amount of praises in short time. There are also some other translators who devotes their intelligence and wisdom to the translation of The Moon and Sixpence.

A systematic study on different Chinese versions of The Moon and Sixpence can be meaningful for further practice of translation. To study practical application of the two translation strategies, the paper would compare the lexical, semantical and context meaning of the translation works. Actually, the general principle, a translator bears in mind, will lead to significantly diversified translating of the source language. Generally, Fu Weici tends to do literal translation. So at the front of the translation, Fu used foreignization to show the exotic plot of the novel, and later he also used Chinese cultural-loaded expression. Xu's words are more refined for his temperament as a poet. The paper doesn’t consider the social background of the translators which may affect the usage of translation strategy, method, and technique.

2 Literature Review

William Somerset Maugham was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was the most popular writers during the first half of the twentieth Century and was once the highest-paid author. The Moon and Sixpence is one of Maugham’ work, which is first published in 1919. In the first-person narration, the story tells a middle-aged English stockbroker, Charles Strickland, who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to be an artist, which is based on the life of the prototype—the painter Paul Gauguin. The theme of this novel is usually considered as the contradiction between ideal and reality. The moon incarnates lofty ideal and sixpence represents the mundane reality.

2.1 Introduction of Chinese Versions of The Moon and Sixpence