隐喻与翻译：一项关于《围城》英译本的个案调查

王 磊　上海外国语大学
 

摘　要：翻译界对隐喻的更多关注始于20世纪70年代。钱钟书所著的唯一一部小说《围城》可谓是进行隐喻研究的绝佳的语料库。珍妮·凯利和美籍华人茅国权所译的该小说的英译本堪称佳译，但其中对隐喻的处理多采取直译。此种翻译的优点不言而喻，但能否为目的语的受众所接受尚不得知。故此，笔者做了一项小型的调查，得出了对隐喻，特别是“文化负荷”隐喻的翻译切忌一味直译，而应灵活处理、因“喻”而变的结论。
 

Metaphor and Its Translation: With English Translation of Fortress Besieged as a Case Study
by Wang Lei （Shanghai International Studies University） p.75
 

Abstract: Not until the 1970s, however, did the field of translation start turning its attention to this topic, and the translation of metaphor remains under-thematized even today. While much has been said about Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao's masterfully executed English translation of Qian Zhongshu's novel Fortress Besieged, for example, its tendency to depend on literal translation as a means of rendering metaphors has so far managed to escape a critical examination. To find out whether this approach is acceptable to the translation's target readers, the author conducted a survey among native speakers of English. His findings suggest that in translating metaphors, especially those which are culturally loaded, excessive literal translation would not always be effective. Flexibility should be exercised in dealing with different kinds of metaphors in different contexts.