“The Spinders must be away,” said Charlie. “When the Spinders are outside, the ravens scream ‘Enemy, enemy’—‘KEK, KEK, KEK, KEK.’”
“斯賓德一家應該不在附近。”查理說,“斯賓德一家在屋外的時候,渡鴉們就會尖叫‘敵人,敵人’——‘嘅,嘅,嘅,嘅’?!?/p>
“Maybe the Spinders are inside loading their guns,” suggested Singing Bird.
“也許斯賓德一家人正在屋里往槍里裝子彈呢?!备璩B提醒道。
“I sure hope not,” said Charlie. “Let’s fish off the bridge. We can keep an eye on the ravens and the Spinders from there.”
“我肯定希望不是這樣。”查理說,“我們到橋上去釣魚吧。在橋上,我們可以盯著渡鴉和斯賓德一家人?!?/p>
Charlie led her through the elderberry bushes and blue flax flowers, up onto the bridge, where they sat with their legs hanging over the edge. They dropped their lines into the water. Blue Sky and Pinecone perched in a cottonwood nearby and preened.
查理帶領著歌唱鳥,穿過接骨木樹叢和暗黑色亞麻花,來到橋上,然后他們坐在橋邊,雙腿懸在河面上。他們把釣線放到水里。這時,藍天和松果正棲息在附近的棉白楊樹上梳理羽毛呢。
Charlie glanced at Bison Butte, looking for Blue Sky’s parents. The butte rose almost straight up from the ravine the creek had cut. A raven called from the tree on the summit. After a few minutes a large flock of ravens appeared in the sky. They were strung out like pen marks against the white peaks of the Teton Mountains.
查理朝著野牛孤山望過去,想看看藍天的父母在哪里。野牛孤山幾乎是直直地從溪流切割的峽谷里挺立起來。山頂的樹上傳來了渡鴉的叫聲。過了幾分鐘,一大群渡鴉出現在天空中。渡鴉們展翅飛翔,在蒂頓山脈白色山峰背景的映襯下,好像一串鋼筆墨點。
“They’re sending a message in hieroglyphics,” said Singing Bird.
“它們是在用象形文字傳遞信息呢?!备璩B說。
“Looks like it, doesn’t it?” said Charlie. “I think the writing says, ‘beware the Spinders.’”
“看上去是這樣,對吧?”查理說,“我認為這些象形文字的意思是‘小心斯賓德一家人’。”
Suddenly a gunshot sounded. A raven screamed, “KEK, KEK, KEK, KEK, KEK, KEK, KEK,” and the sky was suddenly empty of ravens. Even the tree swallows and mountain bluebirds knew the raven enemy alarm. They went into hiding. Blue Sky and Pinecone dropped down into the elderberry bushes and stood still. They also knew what to do.
突然傳來了一聲槍響。一只渡鴉在尖叫,“嘅,嘅,嘅,嘅,嘅,嘅,嘅”,天空里的渡鴉一下子消失無蹤。即便是雙色樹燕和山藍鴝也懂得渡鴉的敵人預警。它們躲藏了起來。藍天和松果降落到接骨木樹叢里面,一動不動站著。它們也知道該怎么做。
After a moment Charlie climbed onto the bridge railing to see what had been killed. “They missed.”
過了一會兒,查理爬到大橋的欄桿上,想看看什么鳥兒被打死了?!皼]有打中?!?/p>
“How do you know?”
“你怎么知道?”
“No black feathers floating on the air, and the resident ravens aren’t moaning for the dead.”
“空中沒有飄著的黑色羽毛,而且那些常住的渡鴉也沒有因為有鳥兒被打死而哀鳴?!?/p>
“Ravens know about death?” asked Singing Bird.
“渡鴉還懂得死亡嗎?”歌唱鳥問。
“Every animal does, especially ravens and crows. Granddad kept crows from his corn crop when he was a boy by hanging a dead crow on a post in the field. They saw it, moaned, and never came back.”
“所有的動物都懂得死亡,特別是渡鴉和烏鴉。爺爺當年還是個孩子時,曾經為了不讓烏鴉啄食玉米,把一只死烏鴉掛在田里的一根柱子上。烏鴉看到了,紛紛哀鳴,然后就再也不來了。”
A horse neighed. Voices called out. Charlie glanced toward the Spinders’ ranch house. As if possessed by spirits Mr. and Mrs. Spinder galloped their Appaloosas through the gate and east toward Morton. Charlie glowered at them.
遠處傳來了馬的嘶鳴。還有人們叫喊的聲音。查理朝著斯賓德一家的牧場大屋望過去。簡直就像鬼魂附體一樣,斯賓德先生和夫人騎著他們昂貴的阿巴魯薩馬沖出大門,往東朝莫頓鎮而去。查理朝著他們怒目而視。
“What we need,” he said emphatically, “is a dead raven to put on Mr. Spinder’s roof. It’ll drive the ravens away from Mr. Spinder and his gun.”
“我們需要做的,”查理用強調的語氣說,“是把一只死渡鴉放到斯賓德家的屋頂上去。死渡鴉會警示其他的渡鴉,遠離斯賓德先生和他的槍?!?/p>
“Best idea,” Singing Bird answered. “We’ll get one.”
“好主意?!备璩B回答道,“我們來弄一只?!?/p>
“Don’t even think what you’re thinking,” Charlie said.
“你想啥呢,想都別想。”查理說。
“I’m not thinking that. You are. I’m thinking Dad’ s got a lot of raven feathers he decorates head bonnets with. Flying Cloud and I will make a dead raven.”
“我沒想啥呢。是你在想。我在想我爸爸有很多渡鴉羽毛,是用來裝飾他的軟帽子的。飛云和我會制作一只死的渡鴉。”
“That’s terrific.”
“太棒了?!?/p>
【背景知識】生態保護的意識并非人人都有,查理的鄰居斯賓德一家就沒有。他們不喜歡渡鴉,經常用槍射擊鳥兒。為此,查理和他的朋友歌唱鳥非常擔心。他們在親自見證了斯賓德一家開槍之后,決定想辦法保護附近的渡鴉群。
【第一段】這里的away(離開)以及outside(外面)字面意義比較籠統,不宜簡單地對譯,需要聯系上下文給出準確清楚的譯文。斯賓德一家因為對渡鴉不友好,成為渡鴉的敵人,因此查理和歌唱鳥也密切關注并保護渡鴉。后來的事實證明,歌唱鳥的猜測竟然是對的,斯賓德一家人果然在家里給獵槍裝子彈呢,可見用心險惡。而查理等人對渡鴉的保護也極為必要。
【第二段】這是一段生動傳神的描寫。周邊的景物和人物的動作都栩栩如生。句子they sat with their legs hanging over the edge也不宜直譯為“他們坐在那里腿懸掛在橋邊”,這不太符合中文習慣,反而顯得怪異,所以譯文選擇了不同的視角:“然后他們坐在橋邊,雙腿懸在河面上。”
【第三段】這又是一段優美傳神的景物描寫。原文文字簡練,但生動逼真,讓讀者身臨其境。句子“They were strung out like pen marks against the white peaks of the Teton Mountains.”里面有明喻,意思是黑色的渡鴉連成一串在空中飛翔,像是鋼筆墨點。譯文力圖再現這種場景:渡鴉們展翅飛翔,在蒂頓山脈白色山峰背景的映襯下,好像一串鋼筆墨點。這里對優美和諧景物的描寫,與下一段的槍聲形成強烈對比。斯賓德一家人對自然的敵意和破壞,顯得與周邊環境格格不入。生態文學的主題在這里有明確的體現。
【第四段】這一段里使用了全知視角。除了渡鴉之外,其他小鳥的行為以及思維是作者的敘述。藍天和松果從樹上飛下來,在樹叢里一動不動站著。這些細微的動作,查理和歌唱鳥看不見。讀者看到的,是查理非常著急爬到大橋上,看有沒有鳥兒受傷。他們還順便討論了鳥兒們對死亡的認知。這也是生態文學的一個方面,是基于萬物平等出發點的論斷。
【第五段】查理回話中的時間狀語when he was a boy在譯文中被放到了句首。因為英文句法的邏輯是語法關系,而中文語序通?;跁r間順序。
【第六段】這一段開頭的前兩句非常簡短,但語義豐富。譯文補足了必要的成分,讓意思更加明確。原文中的阿巴魯薩馬關系到背景知識,需要適當明晰化一點。所以譯文添加了“昂貴的”,來表示斯賓德一家人的富有,并且暗示他們為富不仁。
【第七段】這一段里有原文故意模糊不清的表達,是文字游戲,即:“Don’t even think what you’re thinking,” Charlie said. “I’m not thinking that. You are…” 想什么呢?查理和歌唱鳥都沒明說。隱含的意義是,查理想說,千萬不要想著殺死一只渡鴉來示警。歌唱鳥是在說,我才不會想殺死一只渡鴉呢,我是想要制作一只假的渡鴉。譯文并沒有把原文的模糊表達明晰化,而是保留了原文模糊的趣味效果。
【小結】該選段里有較多的模糊表達,比如模糊的詞語、模糊的描寫以及模糊的對話。譯者根據上下文以及實際情況,把部分籠統模糊的表達進行了明晰化,讓譯文更加清楚明了。但是,對于一些原文為了追求表達效果而有意模糊化的趣味文字,譯文同樣也使用了模糊化的文字。由此可見,明晰化的翻譯技巧也不能隨意使用,必須根據實際情況來具體操作。
* 北京外國語大學英語學院教授。上海外國語大學英語翻譯學博士,南京大學外語學院翻譯學出站博士后,英國倫敦大學訪問學者。研究領域:翻譯研究、文學翻譯理論與實踐、中國文化外譯。譯著有《文學百科》《女性心理學》《愛爾蘭人與中國》《性、生態、靈性》《小公主》等,共約200多萬字。專著有《文學翻譯中的美學效果比較分析》《后殖民翻譯研究——翻譯和權力關系》。另在核心期刊上發表與筆譯研究、筆譯教學、筆譯實踐等相關的論文數十篇。