汉诗英译,很多人都一句一趋,就如我下边第一种译法。我常常想这不是英语诗歌的风格。下边我的第二种译法,基本原则是想象自己直接用英文写,不受原诗的限制。有点添油加醋的地方,但是基本上保持原文的意思。不知道这样的译法,是否英语读者读起来会觉得更自然一些。
英诗汉译没有这个问题。汉语可以用现代诗的形式翻译英诗,不一定非要用传统汉诗的五言七言。如果倒退到古代,恐怕还真得用,因为那个时候不会有人接受现代诗的格式。
柳宗元
城上高楼接大荒,海天愁思正茫茫。
惊风乱飐芙蓉水,密雨斜侵薜荔墙。
岭树重遮千里目,江流曲似九回肠。
共来百越文身地,犹自音书滞一乡.
A Poem Composed on the City Wall and Sent to Buddy Officials in Four Counties
Liu Zongyuan
The tall city-wall tower commands a vast wasteland
The sea and the sky sandwich a thick layer of sorrow
Rough winds disturb the lotus leaves in the water
Slanting rain densely beats the fig covered walls
Trees in the hills block a view of thousand miles
A winding river resembles entangled intestines
Together we'd come to this land of tattooed natives
And yet our letters hardly reach each other
别译
I climb up the tower of the city wall and it is high
From there I command a view of vast wasteland
What do I see between the sea and the sky
But misty layers of sadness like dunes of sand
The rough winds blow around like startled birds
Making a mess of the lotus leaves in the water
Dense rain comes slant in the wind and it hurts
Beating the city walls the fig plants cover
I see thick woods the distant hills make
That block a thousand miles view
The winding river flows like a snake
Also like the intestines of me and you
We together are now assigned to civil service
To rule the tattooed natives on this land
Yet isolated we are on this hilly surface
Our letters hardly reach each other’s hand
城上高楼接大荒,海天愁思正茫茫。
惊风乱飐芙蓉水,密雨斜侵薜荔墙。
岭树重遮千里目,江流曲似九回肠。
共来百越文身地,犹自音书滞一乡.
A Poem Composed on the City Wall and Sent to Buddy Officials in Four Counties
Liu Zongyuan
The tall city-wall tower commands a vast wasteland
The sea and the sky sandwich a thick layer of sorrow
Rough winds disturb the lotus leaves in the water
Slanting rain densely beats the fig covered walls
Trees in the hills block a view of thousand miles
A winding river resembles entangled intestines
Together we'd come to this land of tattooed natives
And yet our letters hardly reach each other
别译
I climb up the tower of the city wall and it is high
From there I command a view of vast wasteland
What do I see between the sea and the sky
But misty layers of sadness like dunes of sand
The rough winds blow around like startled birds
Making a mess of the lotus leaves in the water
Dense rain comes slant in the wind and it hurts
Beating the city walls the fig plants cover
I see thick woods the distant hills make
That block a thousand miles view
The winding river flows like a snake
Also like the intestines of me and you
We together are now assigned to civil service
To rule the tattooed natives on this land
Yet isolated we are on this hilly surface
Our letters hardly reach each other’s hand