谈诗歌的可译性及其限制

王粉 敖佳勇

【摘要】可译与不可译的驳论在翻译史中由来已久。许多诗人，语言学家和翻译家不赞成诗歌的翻译，甚至认为诗歌是不可能被翻译的。但另一方面又有很多的翻译家进行诗歌的翻译尝试，并且成功的翻译出了很多优秀的诗歌。本篇文章主要研究的是诗歌的可译性及其他的限制问题。

【關键词】可译 诗歌 限制

一、诗歌的定义（The Definition of Poetry）

诗歌是一种主情的文学体裁，它以抒情的方式，高度凝练，集中地反映社会生活，用丰富的想象、富有节奏感、韵律美的语言和分行排列的形式来抒发思想情感。诗歌是有节奏、有韵律并富有感情色彩的一种语言艺术形式，也是世界上最古老、最基本的文学形式。《尚书·虞书》：诗言志，歌咏言，声依永，律和声。早期，诗、歌与乐、舞是合为一体的。The famous translator Lin Yutang defined poetry as “poetry is essentially thought colored with emotion ”. （林语堂，1998）

二、诗歌的声调和音韵（Tone and Rhyme of the Poetry）

声调是音节的高低升降形式，它主要是由音高决定的。音乐中的音阶也是由音高决定的，可以用音阶来模拟，学习声调也可以借助于自己的音乐感。但要注意声调的音高是相对的，不是绝对；声调的升降变化是滑动的，不像从一个音阶到另一个音阶那样跳跃式地移动。声调的高低通常用五度标记法：立一竖标，中分5度，最低为1，最高为5。普通话有四个声调：阴平，阳平，上声，去声。

Any speech has a tone and tone is especially important in poetry. As we know， there are four tones in Chinese language： level， rising， entering and falling. The four different tones are used to contrast with each other in poetry for auditory effect. For metrical purposes， the first tone is regarded as even tone， while the other three tones are regarded as oblique tones. Even-toned and oblique-toned characters have their proper places in poetry and the musical effect of Chinese poetry lies in its fixed arrangement of even and oblique tones. As to the ideographic relations of the four tones， Shi Chuzhong in Tang dynasty said in his《元和韵谱》，“The first tone is horizontal and steady， the second is loud and clear， the third is high and melodious， and the fourth is short and rapid.” Thus the variation of the four tones plays a very important part in Classical Chinese Poetry.

音韵是古代用来注音的东西，就跟现在的拼音差不多。通常注音都有两个字，前一个字代表原字的声母，后一个字是韵母。另外也是指和谐的声音。

In the Chinese tradition， the use of rhyme is an essential part of verse writing， and Chinese poetry has attached importance to the use of rhyme since ancient times. The Book of Poetry （《诗经》） contains305 poems， among which only seven poems are not rhymed. In a general classification of literature， verse has been defined as “rhymed composition” （yun-wen）， as opposed to prose which is labeled “free composition” （san-wen）. The difference between the two types of writing rests in whether or not rhyme is present. End-rhyme is ubiquitous in classical Chinese poetry except for a few very early poems， giving it a special musical quality， “Tian Jin Sha” （《天净沙》） written by Ma Zhiyuan （马致远） in the Yuan Dynasty is a good example to illustrate the arrangement of even and oblique tones and the use of rhyme.

三、中国诗歌的特征（The Features of Chinese Poetry）

1.语法灵活性（Flexibility of Syntax）。汉语语言独特，一般不受性别，情绪，或时态的影响。中国文字不受词类的约束。用词灵活，语音语调流畅，词性转化频繁。诗歌中，同一个词既可以用作名词，动词，又可以用作形容词，根据上下文进行词性转换。以下例句可以证明这一点。

a.粪土当年万户侯。（毛泽东：《沁园春.长沙》）We saw the lords as muck and clay.（tr.Zhao Zhentao）

b.日色冷青松。（王维：《过香积寺》）Suns color chills green pines.（tr. Liu Ruoyu）

In the above two examples， the words “粪土” and “冷” have changed their original parts of speech. In example （a）， “粪土” used as a verb phrase， referring to “count as muck，” or “look upon as dirt”. In example （b）， the word “冷”（“chill”）has a pivotal role， pointing both forward to “青松” （“green pines”） and back ward to “日色” （“suns color”）. This can be translated into “suns color chills green pines，” or “suns color chills among green pines，” or “suns color is chilled by green pines.” The poet is not concerned with the question which object is chilled by which， but with presenting a single experience that fuses the impressions of pale sunlight， chilliness， and green pines.

2.严格的对仗（Strict Antithesis）。对偶是中国古典诗歌的一个重要特征。诗歌的结构，诗歌的平仄，诗歌的韵律都十分讲究。上联和下联中的音节，词性，声调都必须严格遵守诗歌的特征，其语法必须规范，用词必须得当：名词对名词，动词对动词，形容词对形容词，副词对副词。在上下联里，两行的字数必须相等，观念和意境必须统一，想象和色调必须吻合。思想内容或类似或相反或相对。声调，平仄一定要符合律诗的严格要求，律诗中第三行和第四行，第五行和第六行应为对仗格式。例如：风急天高猿啸哀，渚清沙白鸟飞回。无边落木萧萧下，不尽长江滚滚来。（杜甫：《登高》）The wind so swift and sky so wide， apes wail and cry.Water so clear and beach so white， birds wheel and fly. The boundless forest shed its leaves shower by shower；The endless river rollists waves hour after hour. （tr. X.Y.Z）

This poem is considered by many critics as the best regulated poem of seven-charactered lines in Tang poetry. Unlike most regulated verses， which require that the two middle couplets observe parallel， this poem is composed of four parallel couplets. So far as the style is concerned， the versification is so elaborate that there is grammatical parallelism throughout the poem， not only between two lines but also within the line. For instance， the first line is parallel to the second： 風急（the wind so swift） is contrasted with 渚清（water so clear）， 天高（sky so wide） with 沙白 （beach so white）， 猿啸哀（apes wail and cry） with 鸟飞回（birds wheel and fly）. The same is true of the second verse.

四、外国诗歌的特征（The Features of Foreign Poetry）

前面部分已对中国诗歌的某些特征进行了介绍。在本节中，将重点放在外国诗歌分析和探讨中，外国诗歌的声韵，语法特点与中国诗歌既有异曲同工之处，也有别具一格的地方，例如头韵，尾韵等。

1.和谐的声韵（Harmonious Sound and Rhyme）。外国诗歌的音乐效果很明显，令人印象深刻的就是诗歌中声韵独特性。如背景音乐，让读者通过声韵，意境产生美感意识。值得一提的是，外国诗歌的头韵至关重要，和谐且押韵，完美的声音效果，抑扬得当的修辞手法，美妙的声韵节奏实现了诗歌的美丽意境，令人拍案叫绝。头韵（Alliteration）是英语语言学分支文体学的重要术语。头韵是英语语音修辞手段之一，它蕴含了语言的音乐美和整齐美，使得语言声情交融、音义一体，具有很强的表现力和感染力。从应用范围、结构特征以及审美价值三个方面对其进行分析讨论，将有助于我们理解和欣赏这一辞格。头韵仅第一部分或第一部分辅音群的第一个音素相同。如果第一部分完全缺失，那就只能让主元音相同。头韵是加强行内节奏感的一种手段，是节奏式辅助因素。这也是英语追求形式美，音韵美的一个重要表现。

2.严格的语法（Strict Syntax）。英语是由拉丁字母文字的组成的语言，每个拉丁字母都有其独特的发音。因此，在英语诗歌中，诗人们在区分语音和语法关系时，尤其注重人与主体的数量关系，主语，谓词，宾语，时态，语态以及单复数的相应变化。与中国诗歌相比，具有更加灵活的句法结构，也就是说，外国诗歌有更严格的语法结构。

五、语言限制（Linguistic Limits）

庞德（Ezra Pound）在他的文章《如何阅读》（How to Read）里说，“伟大的文学就是语言及其蕴涵的寓意最大限度地集合在一起”。一些文学作品的翻译很困难甚至是不可翻译的。这是为什么呢？因为人类的语言千差万别，独树一帜。语言的不可译性体现了语言的独特功能。

A.汉语是一种表意语言而英语是拼音语言。汉语是表意文字，是一个组合的形式，是声音和意义集合体，是一种特殊而有趣的表意语言。然而，英语是拼音语言。它不太注重书面符号，而更注重的是声音或拼写，以赋予词汇更加丰富多彩的含义。此外，英语语言的发展还长期受到世界上其他语言的影响。

George Steiner ever said， “as an ideography language， each of its written signs gives more ideas of the meaning of the word than the sound. ” （106）. Thus for this reason it is hard to render the following two lines into English， “波澜混沌游，泣泪滴清流 / 溢满潇湘渡，洪波没泽洲”. All the characters have the same component. The radical on one side of a character “氵” which means water， is employed in all the twenty characters in the four lines. The employment of those specific characters has a strong implied meaning， which is closely connected with their forms. There is another example， “烟锁池塘柳，炮镇海城楼”. This is an antithetical couplet. The sentences in it are well matched， and the meaning of the couplet is also distinct； but it can hardly be well represented in English not only because that each pair of corresponding characters in the two lines share the same radicals， but also because that these radicals together make up the “五行（金木水火土）” （The five elements， metal， wood， water， fire and earth， held by ancient Chinese， to compose the physical universe） .

B.汉语是声调语言，而英语是一种有重读，轻声的语言。Chinese is a tone language， which emphasizes different tones. The four tones of Chinese characters have no perfect equivalence in English. The four tones are divided into two categories， the “ping sheng”（平声） or the level tone， which is relatively tense， and the “ze sheng”（仄声） or oblique tone， which is relatively slack. The Classical Chinese poems are all in fixed forms. In them there are three essential elements： the allocation of oblique tones and level tones， the neat antithesis and rhyme. The number of characters， five or seven measures the verse length of the CCP. The three elements constitute several fixed poetic forms， such as Wujue（五绝）， Qijue（七绝）， Wuyan lushi（五言律诗）， Qiyan lushi（七言律诗） and Ci（词）.

C.拟声法在中国诗歌中广泛应用， 而在翻译成英语时却很难找到相对应的拟声词。The following are the lines selected from the famous epic poem by Bai Juyi （白居易《琵琶行并序》）：弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盤。

The reduplicated words “嘈嘈，切切” enable the internal music of the poem to flow smoothly， which is difficult to translate. This tendency in words to echo the meaning by the actual sounds is called onomatopoeia. The attachment of words to their signified intrinsic meanings can be reinforced or reawakened by onomatopoeia. Sometimes poets use onomatopoeia as a deliberate artistic effect.

六、文化限制（Cultural Limits）

语言是一个国家的独特文化产品。由于各国之间的文化，地域和国情差异，往往导致翻译出现困难。在一个特定的文化背景下，在不同的社会环境中，有时人们对图像，符号，甚至抽象的概念无法进行对等转换和准确翻译。因此，这可能会导致相对不可译性。这就是文化限制。

A.诗歌的意义永远超过它的字面意义。There are two lines in one of Meng Jiaos poems： “不恨归来迟，莫向临邛去” （孟郊）. Here， “临邛” is the place where the lover of a womans husband lives. Thus “临邛” is impossible to translate unless with a footnote， otherwise the deep meaning may be lost in the translation process.

B.一个普普通通物体可能与当地的风土人情有着千丝万缕的联系。In this case， it is easy to put its name into English but difficult to express the symbolic meanings in the Chinese culture. Take a famous couplet by Wang Zhihuan for example： “羌笛何须怨杨柳，春风不度玉门关” （王之涣）. It was a custom in the Tang Dynasty to break off a willow twig to see off a good friend， because “柳” and “留”（ask to stay） are homophones. So “柳” is closely related will the Chinese culture.

C.睹物思情，会让有不同文化背景的人浮想联翩。The reason is that due to distinct historical and culture differences， people of different nations may have completely different responses to a certain image. To put it in another way， some words do not have universally accepted cultural can notations and aesthetic effects.

Take two lines in a poem written by Li Shangyin as an example： “春蝉到死丝方尽，蜡炬成灰泪始干” （李商隐《无题》）. “春蚕” is an important image in this poem. In Chinese “春蚕” is associated with “hard work and devotion”. However， a foreign reader might feel sick at a “silkworm” as it is a kind of mollusk. They cannot understand why the poet compares the beautiful love with a disgusting worm. We can easily put “春蚕” into “silkworm” in English， but silkworm does not arouse the same emotion nor have the same function. It becomes an ordinary word， which does not play any role in reinforcing the theme of the poem.

From these example， we know some Classical Chinese Poems are very difficult to be translated， or even untranslatable because of the uniqueness of Chinese language and culture. Culture-default and meaning-default are inevitable in translation process. However， in most cases these defaults can be compensated. In other words， they are relatively untranslatable.

參考文献：

[1]Bassnentt-McGuire，S.1980.Translation Studies[M].London：Methuen.

[2]林建民.中国古诗英译[M].北京：中国华侨出版公司，1989.

[3]唐述宗.是不可译论还是不可知论[J].中国翻译，2002（1）.

作者简介：王粉（1967-），女，贵州盘县人，博士，教授，研究方向：语言学。