鲁院演讲 翻译的未来 晴朗李寒文 黄少政译

stan

The Future of Translation by Qinglang Lihan

trainee of 35th Session of Advanced Class of Translation

2018.10.07

尊敬的女士们、先生们，亲爱的翻译朋友们，上午好！

今天，我非常荣幸就"翻译的未来"这个话题与大家进行交流。

Respected ladies and gentlemen, peer translators, friends, good morning! Today, I am privileged to make a few remarks about the given the topic of "the future of translation".

谈到翻译，我们自然而然会想到翻译的重要价值和意义。不言而喻，如果没有翻译，我们的祖先可能一直还住在山洞里，过着刀耕火种、茹毛饮血的生活，更不会有我们的今天，在这样一个美丽的秋日，大家围坐在一起，就我们共同关心的翻译问题进行探讨。

Any talk of translation in such a decent venue presupposes the value and significance of translation. To begin with, one can hardly visualize the present level of civilization and culture as enjoyed by us without translation as a major means of inter-cultural and cross-cultural communication and we can safely assume, had translation service not been rendered since the dawn of humanity, our ancestors might still have inhabited caves, living a miserable life of slash-and-burn farming, sort of "eating birds and animals raw". Let alone ,on such a beautiful autumn day, we would assemble and harangue on translation issues we all care about so much.

德国汉学家顾彬曾说："翻译在任何社会的、精神的和学术的变革中，都是一个至关重要的执行者。"因为有了翻译，人类从封闭走向了开放，从孤立走向融合，消除了误解，避免了争战，赢得了和平，拉进了人与人之间的关系，使人类得以共享文明成果，使我们的社会得以持续地向前发展和不断进步。

German Sinologist Kubin was quoted on one occasion as saying:" translation is a crucial cataclysm in bringing about any meaningful social, spiritual and academic transformation." Thanks to translation, human societies have largely moved from being closed to open, from being isolated to integrated, dispelling mistrust, steering clear of wars, winning peace. The tendency is unmistakably towards a human commonwealth of a shared future and destiny.

我今天关于翻译未来的发言是基于文学翻译这样一个相对狭义的翻译领域。首先，关于翻译软件会否取代人工翻译一直是大家在思索的问题。随着人工智能技术的不断发展，翻译软件不断地更新换代，也许在很快某一天，在国际会议上，政治家们所做的报告，科学家所做的演讲，外交官之间的辞令，将会被翻译软件所替代。

My remarks today concerning the future of translation are made strictly on literary translation. First of all, to be frank, translation is one distinct way for the globalized society to observe itself and spawns doubt. People easily throw out the most obvious question of whether translation software will replace human translation. Granted in recent decades artificial intelligence and translation software are revolutionized, and maybe very soon, at the international conferences, AI translators will totally replace humans by simultaneously churning out politicians' speeches, scientists' reports and diplomats' manifestoes into something manifestly error-free, stylistically readable ,both in oral and written forms.

然而，我始终认为，文学作品的翻译会因文学自身的特质而在未来漫长的岁月里，以更加个性化的方式存在下去。文学是作家用独特的语言艺术表现其独特的心灵世界的作品。它除了记录我们的现实社会生活，往往还深层地涉及到人的情感、心灵、精神、意识等内心世界。因作家个人生活环境、所处的地域、风俗习惯、方言土语、所受教育、宗教信仰、观察思考事物的立场角度等方面的差异，他们的作品语言风格、行文方式都会打上自己独特的烙印，而翻译者在译介过程中，也将运用自己储备的学识、个人生活经验、用语习惯等来予以传达和表现，而这些都是翻译软件很难完成的。

I still insist on the need of separating hype from reality and necessity of human translation for the simple but vital reason the genuine and precious literary treasures ,authored by highly personal individuals, will survive the onslaughts of globalization and the latest upsurge of technology . For technology will only touch the surface, while literature is about what lies beyond the physical world, being the ephemeral expression of beauty, and it also addresses the fundamental issues as to the essence of being humans and the importance of truth and justice. Talented writers and translators are always at the spiritual frontier of mankind and even the smartest software is out of the question to compete.

另外，文学翻译除了不同语种之间的转译，还存在着同一种语言在不同历史时期的流变因素，随着人类社会的不断发展，人类的语言和文字也在无时无刻不在发生着变化，比如有着五千年文化历史的中国，我们的文学经典《诗经》《离骚》，如果不通过注释或者翻译成浅白晓畅的现代语言，对于古典文学修养不够的读者来说，便是一件憾事。旧体诗词，韵文散文都需要借助翻译、注解我们才能看明白。可想而知，多年之后，我们的后代读我们这个时代的作品或许都会需要翻译。一个民族的过去与现代之间需要翻译，更不用说国家与民族之间了。而这种基于语言流变意义上的翻译，在很长一段时间都很难由软件精确替代。

In addition, literary translation travels across borders and languages synchronically .It is also a mental exercise called intra-lingual and diachronical, for even within the same community and the same culture, texts authored hundred or thousand of years ago become opaque and arcane which need translation in forms of exegesis ,annotation and critical interpretation .For instance, Book of Songs and Songs of South, two Chinese classics dating back to Confucius and even pre-Confucius' time, remain Greek to modern Chinese even the latter can recognize every character in which they were composed. This observation applies to old styled poetry , verse and prose alike. I am tempted to think such a diachronical necessity may be still valid and genuine after we are all gone ,say, centuries later. It is conceivable translation software is not much handy should any Chinese, in the distant future, feel an urge to read our work assisted by the latest version of AI device.

其次，我要谈谈翻译的"当下"。没错，我们今天的话题是"翻译的未来"。作为一名从事翻译工作有些年头的人，如果单单要讲翻译的"未来"，我感到有些难以把握。相对于未知的"未来"，我更多关注的是翻译的当下，"未来"是由无数个"现在"建构而成，当我们细细观察当今这个时代翻译事业的发生机制、存在问题，便不难揣测由此衍生、推演的未来是怎样的。

Second, being a translator myself, I live my translation, my destiny during this very moment of my life, contemporarily. My thoughts are more easily drawn to the present in which we operate as translators and take translation as a career. By contemplating the present, I trust we stand much better chance of having some inklings of where we are headed or what future holds for us.

当下的文学翻译首当其冲是翻译人材问题，人才是文学翻译的核心，然而翻译的稿酬相较于原创的有着不小的差距，从回报率的角度看，文学翻译对于译者的吸引力便不可避免地在缩小，可事实上，文学翻译也是某种程度的再创作，所以，若要文学翻译的未来更加繁荣，我们需要有办法吸纳大量优秀的翻译人才，才能繁荣文学翻译的大环境。

I believe, contemporary literary translation in China is bedeviled less by technical onslaught than by the lack of talent, the core of literary translation. Poor remuneration and low social esteem is the more evident bane compared to the handsome payment to the original published work and prestige accorded to authors. Such social prejudices are very hard to erase.

另外，现在能看到一些经典作品的重译，复译虽意义重大，但质量也要更加精益求精，否则的话，会造成资源的浪费，也会挤压新作品的翻译空间。还有就是译著的出版是文学翻译输出的最后一环，外文编辑功不可没。出版一本优秀译著，需要一个负责的出版机构，一位优秀的译者，一名出色的外文编辑，三者缺一不可。对于更加优秀精准的文学翻译作品的期待，不可避免地伴随着对于更加优秀负责的外文编辑的呼唤。

In China, the situation is further compounded by having too many foreign classics being retranslated by too many woefully inept translators, given initial renderings are below standard, a phenomenon decried justifiably by veterans and translation critics as a waste of resources and space of publication being squeezed and drained up for more worthy attempts by more capable hands . Besides, to publish a good translation requires the teamwork and even chemistry of a good publishing organization, a good translator and a good editor. You see ,we are on tiptoes awaiting too many good things ,even good luck for good translation to happen.

我们翻译界有着辉煌的历史，如果翻开中国翻译史，我们会看到一个个闪光的名字，像严复、林纾、鲁迅、周作人、丰子恺、胡适、朱生豪、穆旦、傅雷、草婴、汝龙、王佐良、杨绛、李文俊、王道乾、罗念生等名家，一个多世纪以来，我们阅读到的那些外国优秀作品，是与他们常年呕心沥血、孜孜以求的译介分不开的。

Yet Chinese cultural history does boast an impressive lineage of genius translators, generation upon generation in modern times, all being bright stars forever shining in the Milky Way galaxy of Chinese culture who substantially contribute to the power, prestige and beauty of our beloved country, to name but a few ,Yan Fu and Lin Shu, Feng Zikai, Hu Shi, Zhou Zuoren, Lu Xun, Zhu Shenghao, Mu Dan, Fu Lei, Cao Yin, Ru Long, Wang Zuoliang, Yang Jiang, Li Wenjun, Wang Daogan, Luo Niansheng .

近年来，我国涌现出了一批年轻的翻译家，他们大多生于七八十年代，其中不乏有学识有责任有担当的例子。比如，刚刚获得了第七届鲁迅文学奖翻译奖的李永毅，花了七年多时间，由古拉丁文译出了《贺拉斯诗全集》，书中70万字的逐行评注颇见功力，体现了深湛的中文修养和古典文学水平。

In recent years, younger translators ,equally talented and brilliant, have come along in China, born between the 1970s and 1980s.One shiny example is Li Yongyi, the latest recipient of Lu Xun Translation Award, the most prestigious of its kind in the country . Notably Li has spent more than seven years translating the complete works of Horace from ancient Latin, numbering 700,000 words all told, meticulously annotated ,ed with detailed commentary and bibliography , a sign of his erudition in classic learning about a job done with awe and love.

像在座的翻译家王嘎，通过6年坚持不懈的努力，完成了《帕斯捷尔纳克传》的翻译工作。这部巨著长达1000多页，共计97万字，仅引用的诗句就超过3000行。正是从这些年轻朋友身上，看到了我们翻译的未来。

Another translator in the audience today, Mr Wang Gan deserves a word of praise and laudation for his 7 year long commitment to translating Life of Pasternak , a pioneering work running to 1000 pages totaling 970,000 Chinese characters. Citations of poetic lines in this book reach 3000 lines. These two peer translators are omen foreboding positive prospect for Chinese literary translation.

目前，我们正处于一个瞬息万变的时代，人类拥有了原子能、计算机、基因工程、人工智能、虚拟货币，可以翱翔太空，畅游深海……但是，人类仍然面临着战争、贫穷、落后、野蛮、饥饿等重重危机。人们都说翻译是桥梁，是纽带，是传递人类文明、促进社会进步、传播人间友谊的美好使者。

Friends, for good or bad, our era is one of drastic changes. The whole world is globalizing and making the leap so rapidly, on such a monumental and unprecedented scale. Humans have worked wonders in everything from atomic energy, internet, supercomputing, gene editing, wireless broadband, exploration in outer space, bathymetry to mobile payment and driverless cars. Yet our world still confront crises, such as war, poverty, famine and barbarism. Some of the responsibility certainly falls on the shoulders of translators for putting this right as we are often metaphorically called a bridge, a link, a messenger ,a custodian , a cultural ambassador to promote social progress, enhance understanding and strengthen human friendship.

翻译者的职责和责任在当下变得尤为艰巨，提高学识修养，增强责任心和使命感，解决好这些问题，才能拥有前景广阔的未来。我们要为优秀文化的传播、人类的文明和进步，做出我们应有的贡献。亲爱的朋友们，希望借此机会与诸位共勉！谢谢大家！

Now think of our survival and competition as having two dimensions: against the increasingly updated AI gadget and against ourselves being threatened , with a growing sense of inadequacy or relatively shrinking capabilities. If the outcome is to be good, we all should all exert ourselves to the utmost of our will power and ponder the real nature of the challenge which lies ahead of us! Thank you for your attention!