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一、词频特征

(一)词频轮廓

Baker(2006:47)和Scott(2010:148)均认为以词频表开始研究语料库是最佳选择。Aston(2001:30)指出基于词频表的文本分析很大程度上有助于研究作品的文体风格特征。利用Wordsmith Tools 4.0的词频统计功能,分别得出每个译本的词频表,表4.1是赛译、杰译、沙译及登译排位前10的词频与百分比对照表。

表4.1 四译本排位前10词词频与百分比对照

续表

从整体上来分析,四译本前10词中赛译、沙译及登译呈现相似性,前10词相同,只是顺序有所差别,杰译除that和was不在其他三译之列,其余8词也相同,彼此间的顺序略有变化。

从词的排位可发现,杰译、沙译及登译排位第一的词为定冠词the,三译本表现出一致性,此词所占的百分比分别为5.77、6.19和6.43。赛译中定冠词the的比例为5.81,故四译本中the的比例没有实质上的差异。但赛译的中排第一的词and占其整个库容的百分比为6.20,而其他三个译本and均排第二,表现出一致性,且百分比分别为3.89、3.56和3.71,这些数据清楚地表明赛译中的and明显大于其他三个,对数似然检验 发现赛译中的此词与其他三个译本有显著性的差异。表4.2的p值表明差异已经达到显著程度。

表4.2 单词and的对数似然检验

and作为并列连词,可以连接表示并列关系的单词、短语或者句子。这里以此词为检索词,观察它在赛译中的使用情况,使用Wordsmith Tools 4.0的检索功能,检索结果以句子的形式予以呈现。

And Wu Yung said,“Let us ask our brother Kung Sun Sheng to be chief of the mass and let others be sent down the mountain to go in all places and seek such Taoists as are of highest virtue and knowledge and let them bring their chants and their objects of worship hither to our lair,and let men be sent everywhere to find everything of incense and candles and paper gods and flowers and fruits and gifts to place before the gods,and vegetable foods and dishes and dean foods and all things needed for the mass.”(第70回)

上句and共出现16次,其中有的连接句子(或分句),大多数为连接并列的动词(词组)或名词(词组)。统计发现这个句子是赛译使用and最多的一句。

这一句对应的汉语是:

吴用便道:“先请公孙胜一清主行醮事。然后令人下山,四远邀请得道高士,就带醮器赴寨。仍使人收买一应香烛纸马、花果祭仪、素馔净食,并合用一应物件。”

显而易见,赛译明显呈汉化特点。汉英对比语言学认为,汉语句子构建往往以动词为中心,以时序为逻辑语序,句式较松散,句间以“意”相连,形成“流水状”的句式结构。英语句子则是典型的主谓结构为中心的,配以丰富的词性变化,将各个分句分别处理成分词短语、介词短语、状语从句、独立结构等不同形式,嵌在句子的主干上。但赛译为再现原文的语序,用了16个and来连接数个简单句,组合成一个长句,尽管这不符合英语的行文规范,但却与汉语有异曲同工之处,因而赛译基本上采取直译的方法,实际上,在赛译中,这种现象比比皆是。

上句杰译、沙译及登译分别为:

杰译:Wu Yong said,“I think that the arrangements may be left to Gongsun Sheng,and we can get Taoist priests from everywhere to take part in the ceremony.”

沙译:“Let Taoist mentor Gongsun Sheng conduct the mass,” suggested Wu Yong." Send men down to invite Taoist priests of high attainment to attend and bring the necessary paraphernalia.Have someone buy scented candles and paper horses,plus fruit and flowers,vegetables and other meatless dishes,and all things required for the sacrifices."

登译:The Professor said:“First let us ask Taoist Gongsun to conduct the service and then send someone down the mountain to invite eminent priests from all around with their ritual objects.We will have someone buy incense and candles,paper offerings,flowers and fruit and vegetarian food and everything else that is needful for this service.”

通过对比可发现杰译省略了该句的大部分内容,只译出了部分内容;沙译及登译全译了该句的内容,并且句式得当。

此外,检索还发现,赛译句中使用and达13次有2例,均出现在第43回,分别为:

As for Chang Ch'ing,let him be in command of all the treasure and the grain stores and whether these are to be received or dispensed,and let him account for it by hundreds and by thousands written down,and bid Siao Jang prepare all both within and without the lair,both upon and beneath the mountain and the guarding of the three gates of the pass and all the sending and receiving of commands and letters and the ranking of all the chiefs high and low.(第43回)

As they sat at the feast table they drank and listened to the music of many instruments,and Tai Chung told of Ch'ao Kai and Sung Chiang,how they received all good fellows there and how they did righteously and despised gain,and how all those good fellows were of one mind and one strength and how great were the many miles of the mountain lair,and how strong and beautiful was the city in its midst,and how on all four sides were mighty waters,and how there were so many men and horses there that the imperial soldiers never came against them.(第43回)

此外,and在句中出现12次、11次、10次及以下的也很多,为方便下面讨论,将赛译的这种句子特征称为“and句”。附录1是四个译本中出现and较多的句子。

与赛译中and句形成区别的是,杰译、沙译及登译的and句,无论在一句中出现频率还是出现频率多的句子的数量上都较少,其中杰译一句中出现and最多的次数是6,沙译及登译分别是11和13:

He was wearing a fine steel helmet which glittered in the sun,and had a green tassel hanging down at the back;his armor was made up of iron in the form of plum blossoms and leaves of the elm tree all linked together;his silk sash was of red color;on his breast and back were two protecting metal mirrors;his outer coat was of white silk;and holding it in position was a belt of purple silken texture--his small boots were of undyed leather;at his side was a bow,and also a quiver full of arrows;in his hands he carried a heavy steel spear,and he was riding the Grand Secretary's red war horse which was capable of galloping about three hundred li against the wind.(杰译第12回)

And one each to the following sixteen supervisory positions:dispatches and orders,military and civil awards and punishments,money and grain accounting,boat building,tally and seal making,manufacture of banners and robes,veterinary,doctor of medicine and surgery,weapons and armor making,manufacture of cannon,house construction,butcher,banquet supervisor,brewer,erector of walls and fortifications,and chief standard bearer.(沙译第71回)

The five army divisions were also announced:they were Thunderclap and Colonel Hua,with the Flautist and Redeye as his lieutenants and three thousand cavalry to attack the camp due south of Zengside;Monk and Pilgrim,with the two Kong brothers and three thousand infantry against the camp on the east;the Blue-Faced Beast and the Tattooed Dragon with White-Spotted Snake and the River-Jumper and three thousand cavalry against the camp to the north,Whiskers and Sergeant Lei with the Forester and Rhinoceros,against the camp on the west with three thousand infantry;the commanders-in-chief,Song Jiang,the Professor and Taoist Gongsun,aided by the Little Duke,the Halberdier,Snake,Scorpion,the Magic Messenger and the Flea and five thousand troops against the camp in the centre.(登译第68回)

(二)赛氏作品词频特征

上面通过考察已发现赛译出现大量的and句,赛氏既是翻译家,又是文学家,1932年凭借其小说《大地》(The Good Earth),成为第一位获得普利策小说奖的女性;1938年获诺贝尔文学奖。她也是唯一同时获得普利策奖和诺贝尔奖的女作家,作品流传语种最多的美国作家。那么赛氏喜欢使用and句仅仅是其翻译的特征之一呢?还是其创作作品中也体现的风格特征呢?在此以赛珍珠的原创小说 Good Earth trilogy 《大地三部曲》(包括《大地》、《儿子》及《分家》为对比语料库,来考察其译作与创作的关系。这里需要说明的是,其所以选择《大地三部曲》进行对比,一方面是因为其包含的三部小说均为中国题材,另一方面是因为其发表的时间与 All Men Are Brothers 相近,因而具有可比性。

表4.3 赛氏原创作品词频前10词与百分比

从上表可发现,赛氏的原创作品中词频排位第一的仍然是and,再分别单独研究《大地》、《儿子》及《分家》的词频,同样发现,这三部小说的词频首位词都是and,故至少从词频的角度可以断定赛氏使用and句是其一种形文特征。

同样以and为检索词,分别检索《大地》、《儿子》及《分家》,观察此词的使用情况,同样以句子为单位,检索结果得出后,使用排序功能,分别找出这三部作品使用and最多的句子,其中《大地》一句中最多使用14次,《儿子》则高达16次,《分家》也有两句均使用and达15次,这4个句子分别如下:

1.And besides those who robbed and those who went south to work and to beg,even as Wang Lung had once gone with his old father and his wife and children,there were others who were old and tired and timid,and who had no sons,like Ching,and these stayed and starved and ate grass and what leaves they could find on high places and many died upon the land and water.(大地)

2.And the one who was the beggar said,“I hung about the very old camp and I smeared mud and filth on my face,so that no one could see what I was,and I listened and watched as I whined for alms,and the whole camp is astir and the old general is shouting and screeching and ordering this and that and taking it back again and saying something else,and he is all askew with his confusion and anger and his face is all purple and swollen.(儿子)”

3.There were a score or so of young men and women who returned to their own land as he did,and they all talked much together and ate together at the same tables,and they talked of all that was come about,and Yuan heard how old narrow streets were torn away and great streets,as wide as any in the world,were driven through the old cities,and how there were motor vehicles far in the country along country roads,and farmers rode in them who used always to plod afoot,or at best sit across an ass's back,and he heard how many cannon and how many bombing-planes and how many weaponed soldiers the new revolution had,and they told how men and women were equal in these days,and how it was against the new law to sell or to smoke opium,and how all such old evils were now gone.(分家)

4.Here the man paused and then shivering more violently he said breathlessly,'But they were soon there-the chieftain and his men—and they seized your father and tied him by his thumbs to a beam in the middle room where he sat,and they robbed him clean and they took especially his sword which he loved,and left not one of his soldiers except his old hare-lipped servant who saved himself by hiding in a well—and when I heard and went secretly to his aid,they came back before I knew it and they caught me,and cut my finger off,and I did not tell them who I was or they would have killed me,and they thought me a serving-man,and they said,“Go and tell his son he hangs here!”(分家)

需要说明的是,译文句子过多地使用and无疑会使句子变得冗长,这一现象将在下节的句长研究中得到证实。

最后,将四个译文的词频与TEC(Translational English Corpus)做一番比较,该库是英国曼切斯特大学的莫娜·贝克(Mona Baker)于1995主持创建的世界上第一个翻译英语语料库,由小说、传记、新闻及杂志四个子库组成,目前库容是1千万。 以此库作为参照语料库,分析这四个译本的词频。表4.4是此库的前10词参数情况。

表4.4 TEC排位前10词的频率与百分比

对比表4.4与表4.1,不难发现TEC的前10词与杰译最为接近,两者词前10词完全吻合,只是个别顺序上略有差异;赛译、沙译及登译与之差别较大,其中was和that两个词在TEC中出现,而在这三个译文中却没有,当然如果将词频的范围扩大,考察三译文中前20个词,则was和that也入列。从前10位词的内容和统计参数来考量,杰译更接近于翻译语料,而赛译、沙译及登译这三个译文具有相似性,稍微远离翻译文本。 tpeI7isNPPE3Ad5ce6o0ANhEPw6yOxw9zrPwSE57TrChmb43YbNuJlTkN7IElB3r

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