The British Government has pledged £1.5 million to translate the complete works of Shakespeare into Chinese. The project will be delivered by the Royal Shakespeare Company, who have also received government funding for a tour of China. The stated aim is to boost tourism and 『cultural links』.
英國政府已決定要花150萬英鎊把莎翁的全部著作翻譯成中文。皇家莎士比亞公司(英國一家大型劇院公司)將負責此項目的運轉，為此，政府同時也資助他們來中國巡演。(大家可以開始存錢啦!)據稱，該項目的目的是刺激旅遊業及增強「文化紐帶」。
ARE THE BRITS HAPPY?
英國人開心嗎?
The plays and poetry of William Shakespeare are arguably England’s greatest cultural treasure. Every school child studies his work, and he is considered to be the greatest Englishman to ever wield a pen. Until the 20th century though, Shakespeare was almost unknown in China. The new translations and accompanying tour will bring Shakespeare to a wider audience in China. What, though, do those who hail from the land of The Bard’s birth feel about their government sponsoring this project? Are they glad to see Shakespeare shared more widely?
莎士比亞的戲劇和詩歌可以說是英國最偉大的文化瑰寶。每個孩子在學校必學其作品，他也被評為英國有史以來最偉大的作家。但是莎翁的赫赫聲名直到20世紀才在中國漸漸流傳開來。這一批譯文和巡演將把他的作品引薦給更多的中國讀者。但是，莎翁家鄉的人民對他們政府資助這一項目有何看法呢?有更多人一起分享莎翁的傳世著作，他們對此感到欣慰嗎?
I read through pages of comments at the bottom of several articles announcing the project. Only a very few resented this use of taxpayers』 money, with most expressing pride that 『their』 playwright was to be presented afresh in the world’s most spoken language. However, there are some huge challenges involved in translating Shakspeare into Chinese.
我閱讀了幾篇新聞稿下面的多頁評論後發現，只有寥寥數人反對政府如此使用納稅人的錢，絕大多數人都對「英國人自己的」劇作家將通過世界上使用率最高的語言，以嶄新面貌示人而引以為豪。然而，把莎翁作品翻譯成中文可不是易事，可謂困難重重。
A HISTORY OF CHINESE TRANSLATIONS
誰是先行者?
The first translations of Shakespeare into Mandarin were by Lin Shu (1852-1924) and entitled Strange Stories from across the Seas. They were not direct translations, but taken from a children’s book of prose adaptations of Shakespeare’s stories. The first Chinese encounters with Shakespeare were therefore not with the verse of his plays but the stories and characters in a simplified format.
林紓(1852-1924)可謂是翻譯莎士比亞著作的第一人(編者註：事實上，由於林紓不諳外文，翻譯過程是由他的合作者魏易口述，再由林紓筆譯的)，其翻譯的首本《吟邊燕語》原文並非作品本身，而是改編成散文的兒童讀物。所以中國讀者初遇莎翁作品，讀到的不是他的劇作，而是簡化後的故事及人物。
COMPLEX LANGUAGE
複雜的言語
The influence of Shakespeare’s storylines has definitely been greater than that of his language. The first translation of a play didn’t come until 1922, courtesy of Tian Han and Shakespeare’s language does not easily submit to translation. Many of the words, figures of speech and references are too archaic to be understood even by native English speakers. Much of the plays is written in verse limited by strictures on rhythm and rhyme. A translator must decide whether to replicate the meaning of a phrase and disregard the rhythm, or translate the meaning more loosely in order to replicate the flow of the verse. This is particularly difficult when translating into Mandarin, a predominately monosyllabic language, rather than into European languages that are constructed similarly to English.
莎翁描寫的故事情節的影響遠遠大於他的語言。第一部莎翁戲劇的翻譯直到1922年才由田漢完成。莎翁的語言翻譯難度很大，原文中很多詞語、比喻和引用都屬於古英語，土生土長的英國人對其都摸不清頭腦。戲劇中的諸多部分使用韻文的形式寫成，受限於韻律和押韻。翻譯家必須在取意舍韻、還是注重流暢性而選擇點意中抉擇。特別在翻譯到漢語時難度最大，因為漢語是以單音節為主的語言，而不像與英文結構相似的歐語系語言。
HOW TO TRANSFER HISTORY AND COMEDY?
歷史和幽默怎麼照搬?
Shakespeare’s 『History Plays』 present a different challenge to the Chinese translator. As dramatisations of real historical events, these plays require the translator to have a thorough knowledge of British history. Meanwhile, Shakespeare’s comedic moments are often based on puns – clever word play to twist meaning in an unpredictable way. These are notoriously difficult to translate directly, as they often rely on phonetics – the sounds of the words – being similar whilst the meanings are different but in a foreign language, it is highly unlikely that the requisite terms will translate so neatly as to preserve the pun.
莎士比亞的歷史劇還賦予其中文翻譯者另一不常見的挑戰。要翻譯這些史實的誇大版，作者必須具備全面的英國歷史知識。同時，莎士比亞的幽默經常包含在雙關語中--在人意料之外用文字遊戲來曲折意思。要直接翻譯是出了名的難，因為雙關語通常語音相近而意思大不相同;但在外語中，翻譯時要同時保留雙關和意思可不是件易事。
THE MAGIC OF PERFORMANCE
表演的魔力
I was very glad to read that a new, cohesive translation of Shakespeare was being prepared for Chinese audiences, but was more excited about the announcement of a tour of China. Though the new translations will be expertly done, they will never be able to replicate the originals. It is, though, important to remember that Shakespeare is not to be read, but to be performed. I enjoy performances whilst not understanding every archaic term or historical reference, and I am sure that you would too.
看到中國讀者馬上可以讀到全新連貫的莎士比亞作品譯文，我非常欣慰，但更讓我熱血沸騰的是巡演。因為即使新的翻譯作品是專家級別，他們也無法完全傳遞原著的精髓。要記住，莎翁的作品不是被讀出來的，而是被演出來的。看莎翁戲劇時，即使不是每個古英語表達或歷史典故我都能理解，我還是非常享受看戲的過程，你肯定也會像我一樣。
There are many fantastic theatre companies in the UK that specialise in Shakespeare, the most famous being the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon – the place of Shakspeare’s birth, and The Globe theatre in London, a replica of an Elizabethan theatre which stages open-air performances. When you visit the UK attend a play at one (or both) of these venues – like me you won’t understand every word, but by seeing the action you will understand the emotions of the play far better than you can in a library. This is why I’m so excited to hear that the RSC are going to tour China, because ultimately Shakespeare has to be seen and heard, not simply read.
英國有很多優秀的戲劇公司都以起莎翁劇出名，最為聞名的當屬位於莎翁出生地——埃文河畔斯特拉特福(Stratford-upon-Avon)的皇家莎士比亞公司了，還有位於倫敦，提供露天表演的仿伊莉莎白式劇院的全球戲院。如果你來英國，可以去其中一家劇院(或都去)看場戲——就像我，有些詞你可能聽不懂，但表演本身會讓你比在圖書館讀書要更能理解個中感情。所以我得知皇家莎士比亞公司要去中國巡演非常興奮，因為莎翁作品不僅僅是讀物，還應該是視覺和聽覺的享受。
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（編輯：何瑩瑩）