今天是中国共产党成立100周年纪念日,我们以学习优秀党史展陈文字翻译的特殊方式,为党庆生。
*以下原文、译文和图片均来自中共一大纪念馆,由译品译味团队拍摄整理。
伟大的开端
中国共产党创建历史陈列
EPOCH-MAKING BEGINNINGS: FOUNDING OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA
中华民族有五千多年的文明历史,创造了灿烂的中华文明,为人类作出了卓越的贡献。
Chinese history twists its way through over 5000 years. As the world’s oldest surviving civilization, China has gifted the world many wonderful things through the millennia.
赏析:
你是否也和小编一样,看到“有……年历史”只能想到have/boast a history of … years?原来还可以用twist its way through … years这样生动的表达。
本句的意群划分也值得学习,译文没有用简单的并列来处理三个小句,而将其中一个意群处理为as结构,让原文的后两个分句有了合理的逻辑关系。
“作出卓越贡献”没有简单处理为make significant contributions,而是表述为gift the world many wonderful things,表达新颖,更具文采。
1840年鸦片战争后,由于外国列强的入侵和封建统治的腐朽,中国逐渐成为半殖民地半封建国家,中华民族遭受了前所未有的苦难。
The First Opium War of 1840, however, marked a watershed in the nation's development path. China gradually descended into a semi-colonised state, under the crushing weight of invading Western powers. The Chinese people suffered unprecedented tragedy under the colonial yoke and the corrupt Qing court.
赏析:
本句承接上一句,译者增加however这一转折词,让过渡更自然。
“由于外国列强的入侵和封建统治的腐朽”这一分句也没有简单处理为原因,而用under一词隐含因果关系。
此外,crushing weight、colonial yoke等表达值得学习。
新文化运动掀起思想解放的浪潮,五四运动以全民族的行动激发了人民大众追求真理和进步的伟大觉醒。
To enlighten the Chinese populace of modern science and democracy, they launched the New Culture Movement in 1915, which culminated in the May Fourth Movement of 1919. On May 4, 1919, indignant Chinese youth took to the streets of Beijing to protest against Allied Powers granting the former German concessions in Shandong province to Japan through the Treaty of Versailles.
赏析:
这句译文补充了新文化运动和五四运动的时间,还用一句话介绍了五四运动,为外国参观者补充历史信息。
译文没有遵照原文的主谓宾结构,而是另起炉灶:将“激发了人民大众追求真理和进步的伟大觉醒”作为目的,以they(Chinese intellectuals)作为主语,用which从句衔接前后两句,逻辑顺畅,层次分明。
1921年中国共产党第一次全国代表大会召开,宣告中国共产党正式成立。
The Communist Party of China (CPC) was officially established in July 1921, when the first congress of the CPC was convened here in Shanghai.
赏析:
如果是小编来翻译这句话,估计会苦苦思索“宣告”该怎么翻译?announce?declare?译文用了when结构,让人眼前一亮。
反向思考,英译汉时如果遇到when句式,也不是每次都要翻译为“当……时”,可以尝试其他灵活表述。
中国共产党团结带领全国各族人民,为实现民族独立、人民解放和国家富强、人民幸福,艰辛探索,接续奋斗,推动中华民族迎来从站起来、富起来到强起来的伟大飞跃。
The CPC rallied the people of China, leading them through two bitter civil wars launched by the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and a 14-year-long war against imperialist Japanese aggression before gaining full national independence and restoring China to its rightful position on the world stage. Over the next seven decades, the CPC guided the nation towards prosperity, helping the country rise up from the ashes of war and devastation, and building China into the second largest economy in the world.
赏析:
译文化虚为实,将“民族独立、人民解放”、“从站起来、富起来到强起来”等表达的含义具体阐释出来。
结构的选择很巧妙,如用before连接先后动作,增加over the next seven decades,让过渡更自然。
1840年鸦片战争打断了中国社会的发展进程。外国侵略者用坚船利炮迫使清政府签订一个又一个丧权辱国的不平等条约。帝国主义势力与封建统治阶级相互勾结,残酷剥削压迫中国人民。山河破碎,生灵涂炭,中国逐渐丧失独立的地位,成为半殖民地半封建国家。
The First Opium War of 1840 was a watershed moment in modern Chinese history. Great Britain, and other foreign powers following at their heels, bullied their way into China, and imposed their will and unequal treaties on the hapless nation through brutal force. The country would suffer humiliating losses of sovereignty from then on, and descend into a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society. The Chinese people would suffer greatly under the colonial yoke and the corrupt Qing court.
赏析:
本段除了学习如何化解“坚船利炮”、“山河破碎,生灵涂炭”这类四字格修饰语,还有一点值得探究:如何让信息顺畅流动。
第一句说明The First Opium War of 1840是中国近代史的分水岭(watershed moment);第三句用from then on紧扣1840年这一时间点,用would时态巧妙表达中国后续出现的变化:suffer humiliating losses of sovereignty,descend into a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society。
孙中山(1966-1925),本名孙文,号逸仙。广东香山(今中山市)人,伟大的民族英雄、伟大的爱国主义者、中国民主革命的伟大先驱。
Sun Yat-sen (born Sun Wen in present-day Zhongshan, Guangdong, 1866-1925) was a great Chinese patriot and forerunner of China’s democratic revolutions.
赏析:
本句对中文短句信息的整合值得学习。
“本名”怎么说,你学会了吗?
北洋军阀的黑暗统治
BEIYANG GOVERNMENT: A DARK PAGE
五四的怒吼
THE MAY FOURTH MOVEMENT
赏析:
标题的处理很有讲究,同时还要考虑展板的空间。
如果空间足够,也许“五四的怒吼”可以和上一个标题统一结构,比如THE MAY FOURTH MOVEMENT: A WAVE OF INDIGNANT PROTEST。
民主自由的学风,吸引大批新式知识分子汇集北京大学。图为1918年落成的北大红楼。
Peking University Red Building, 1918. PKU brought together a large community of luminaries through unfettered academic freedom.
赏析:
特殊格式的使用:用斜体指代图片,省去翻译“图为”两字。
1919年,李大钊把《新青年》第6卷第5号编成“马克思研究专号”,集中刊登介绍马克思主义的文章,并发表自己的长篇文章《我的马克思主义观》。
In 1919, Li Dazhao dedicated Vol.6, No.5 of La Jeunesse to Marxist studies, running a series of articles on Marxism, including his own treatise “My View on Marxism”.
赏析:
“马克思研究专号”这类看似是专有名词或特殊称呼,翻译时可以用解释的方式处理。
英文用including巧妙连接,逻辑更顺畅,表述更简洁。
1921年7月23日,中国共产党第一次全国代表大会在上海开幕。中共一大的召开,宣告中国共产党正式成立。……这一开天辟地的大事变,给灾难深重的中国人民带来了光明和希望。自从有了中国共产党,中国革命的面目焕然一新。
On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened in Shanghai. The event marked the official establishment of the Communist Party of China ... This is a ground-breaking event in the history of China, bringing light and hope to the disaster-ridden people in an old and backward country. Since the establishment of the Communist Party of China, Chinese revolution took a new turn to embrace a bright future.
千秋伟业,百年恰是风华正茂。
The past 100 years is but a glorious beginning for the CPC’s long march.
中共一大纪念馆展陈文字译介由上海外国语大学教师团队完成。他们用受众乐于接受、轻松易懂的语言,让外国参观者更好地了解中国和中国共产党故事。这就是翻译的力量!
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