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笑话的可译性与不可译性
摘 要：文章对笑话的可译性与不可译性问题进行了分析，并选取了几个笑话的翻译进行论证。
Abstract: This study is an emp irical study of the translatability and untranslatability of Chinese jokes into English.关键词： 笑话;可译性;不可译性;Key words ：jokes；translatability;untranslatability;一 笑话翻译的分析——不可译性
由于英汉词义不完全对应，英汉语义的不完全对应，和各国文化的差异，很多笑话都无法翻译，有些就算能完整地把意思表达出来，也无法体现原笑话的幽默感，而读者他国背景知识的缺乏，也给翻译带来了困难。
语言是文化的载体,具有深刻的文化内涵,不同的文化中很难找到意义完全对等的词语。正如Larry.A.Samovar 所说“Many words are culture – bound and have no direct equivalents , cultural orientations can render a direct translation nonsensical ,and a culture may not have the background and understanding to translate experiences specific to other cultures.”(Larry A.Samovar ,2000 :132)因而出现了不可译现象，各民族的传统文化，宗教文化，历史文化不同,由此而引起的联想，理解也不同。同一样东西在不同的文化中会引起不同的联想。英语Wine 一般指用葡萄或其他水果酿成的酒,而汉语的“酒”则涵盖一切含酒精的饮料,烈酒、葡萄酒和啤酒都包括在内。英语国家的人看到“孔府宴酒”的英语译名kong fu yan Wine 时肯定不知道这是一种烈酒。汉语“饮料”不包括含酒精的饮品,而英语drinks 可分为hard drinks(含酒精的)和soft drinks（不含酒精的)两种。这时，如果有笑话中含有此类词语，并要求读者想象的话，中国读者肯定没法和英美读者想到一块去。Airport A stewarde(空中小姐)wore a sparkling gold necklace , a plane model as a drop, looking unique and profeional.Detecting that somebody around was looking at her, she asked gracefully: “Is it pretty?” “Very pretty, but the airport looks more fascinating(迷人的).” The other party wisecracked(说俏皮话).有位空姐带着亮灿灿的金项链,项坠儿系一小飞机,显得别致而有职业特点。她发现有人在看,便大方地问了一句:“它漂亮吗?”“漂亮极了,不过,飞机场更漂亮!”对方俏皮地说。飞机场在中国有平胸的意思，如果外国人不了解，就无法体会这一笑话的幽默。Cla, La and A Profeor Tom was going to meet his students on the next day, so he wrote some words on the blackboard which read as follows: “Profeor Tom will meet the cla tomorrow.” A student, seeing his chance to display his sense of humor after reading the notice, walked up and erased the “c” in the word “cla.” The Profeor noticing the laughter, wheeled around, walked back, looked at the student, then at the notice with the “c” erased--calmly walked up and erased the “l” in “la”, looked at the flabbergasted student and proceeded on his way.Tom教授打算第二天与他的学生见面,因此他在黑板上写道:“Tom教授明天将和大家见面”。
一位学生看到这条通知后,觉得展示自己幽默感的机会来了,就走上前,将“cla”中的“c”擦掉,教授听到笑声,转过身走回来,看了看那位学生,又看看被改动过的通知,不动声色地走上前,把“la” 中的“l”擦掉,看了看那位目瞪口呆的学生,教授扬长而去。如果中国读者不懂英文，那么这个笑话就毫无意义。
A: “What is the difference between socialist democracy andWestern democracy?” B: “More or le the same as between a regular chair and an electric one.” 译文: 甲:“社会主义民主和西方民主的差别是什么?”
乙:“与普通椅子和电椅的差别大同小异。” 目标受众必须清楚西方国家“民主”的概念,才能理解
这个笑话源于目前处于西方民主的国家,中国群众现在有条件理解其意思。但是如果社会主义民主取代了西方民主,这个笑话对于中国群众来讲可能就没有意义了,因为他们对西方民主的记忆已成为过去。
笑话要达到相应的幽默效果,翻译时就需对其源语文化中的所指进行解释,例如对某个国家组织或报纸的名称等专有名词作出特别说明。如果群众不了解欣赏该笑话需具备的背景知识, 那么笑话的幽默效果就丧失了。A brick layer, a carpenter and an electrician argued who was on the earth first.“We built the pyramids of Giza, ”said the brick layer, “so we must have been first.”“ No, ”said the carpenter, shaking his head, “We built Noah’sArk long before that.”The electrician chuckled by himself.“What’s so funny?”asked the carpenter, “ on the first day of creation, God said‘ let there be light’, ”exp lained the electrician, “ And we’d already laid the cable.”
译文: 一个瓦匠、一个木匠和一个电工争论他们哪一类人最先来到这个世界上的。瓦匠说:“我们建了吉萨的金字塔,所以我们是最先来到这个世界上的。”木匠摇头说:“不对,在那之前我们就做了诺亚方舟。”电工扑哧一笑。木匠问“你笑什么?”电工说:“上帝造人的第一天就说‘要有光’,我们早就安了电线。” 三种理论都认为该笑话是不可译的。卡特福特理论认为该源语文本在文化上是不可译的。“Noah’s Ark”和“let there be light”都出自《圣经》。如果读者对圣经的故事一无所知,那么对文本的解读只能限于字面,势必造成文化信息 在传递中的流失。中国没有《圣经》,因此,在目标语的文化中很难找到相应的对等词。柯平的理论认为这个笑话语用上是不可译的,因为不加注释,译文不能反映相应的社交意义。根据图里的理论,目标语中的中国受众不能理解目标文本。圣经故事在西方是耳熟能详的,但中国受众了解的不多,就更不用说觉得它幽默了。笑话也是某种民族文化所特有的。也具有“本土化”特点。这里选取三个关于金发女郎的系列笑话。
(1)Q: How do you make a blonde girl’s eyes twinkle? A: Shine a flashlight in her ear.译文: 问:你知不知道要怎么让一个金发美女的眼睛亮晶晶发光? 答:只要用手电筒照进她耳朵就可以了。
(2)Q: How do you get a blonde girl on the roof? A: Tell her that the drinks are on the house.译文: 问:要怎么样才能把金发美女骗上屋顶? 答:告诉她饮料免费就可以了。
这两个笑话从语言和文化的角度讲都是不可译的。在英语中a blonde常指金发碧眼但没有头脑的美女,在汉语中没有对等词。在英语文化中,这种女性特定的性格和外貌特点是众所周知的,但是译成汉语时,这些固有的特点却无法表达出来。基于以上原因,卡特福特的理论认为这三个笑话在文化上是不可译的,如例2,为什么“用手电筒照进她的耳朵”就可以使“眼睛发光”?要将源语中的人物身份特征、联想意义和社会意义翻译出来,需要在译文中作注释,或者列举此类笑话中的其他笑话，这个笑话语用上是不可译的。
笑话具有一词多义、同音同形异义、同音异形或轭式修饰法等语言特点。大多数语言中可能都有这一类笑话。
A Briton comes into a shop in Beijing and says:“ I’d like a tape.”The shop aistant shrugs his shoulders help lely and shakes his head.“A tape”, repeats the Briton.The same reaction.After a while he tries to solve the problem in a differentway.“Chang!”No response.“Dai!”No effect.“Ting!” “Oh, yes!CiDai!”says the shop aistant.“Very well, ”says the Briton.“Now, try to concentrate as it’s gonna to be harder: for fastening packages”
译文: 一个英国人到北京的一个商店说:“I’d like a tape.”注:我想买磁带/胶带。
(他讲的是英语)店员无助地摇了摇头。
“A tape!”英国人重复道。注:“磁带/胶带!”
(他讲的是英语),同样的反应。过了一会儿,英国人尝试另一种方式。“Chang!(长)” 没有答案。
“Dai!(带)” 没有效果。
“Ting!(听)”
“噢,磁带!”店员说道。
“Very well, ”says the Briton.“Now, try to concentrate as it’s gonna to be harder: for fastening packages”(注: 他讲英 语)这个笑话幽默效果的取得依赖源语中的同形同音异义词及语码转换。tape的常用意思是“磁带/胶带”,同形同音异义词的运用使这个笑话的幽默感很难翻译出来。它发生在伦敦,涉及到的两种语言是汉语和英语。源语文本中的汉语段落属于外语文本。在汉语译文中,它应当与源语文本成功译过来的部分相同。我们通过常识可以推断这个笑话在语言上是不可译的。由于这些不可译性，在翻译中也产生了一些笑话： 世界各地的蹩脚英语
①If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself.日本旅馆：如果您想调节您房间的温度，请控制您自己。
②Please don''t feed the animals.If you have any food, please give it to the guard on duty.匈牙利动物园：请不要给动物喂食。如果您有食品，请喂给值班警卫。③Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.挪威酒吧：女士们不要在酒吧里生孩子。④Fur coats made for ladies from their skins.瑞典皮货商店：为女士们制作的皮大衣，是用她们的皮制成的。⑤Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists.香港牙科诊所：由最新的卫理公会教徒给您拔牙。⑥Drop your trousers here for best results.泰国的干洗店：在这里脱掉您的裤子，等待最好的结果。⑦Specialist in women and other diseases.意大利妇科诊所：我们是women和其他疾病的专家。
⑧Welcome to the cemetery where famous Ruian artists are buried daily except Thursday.俄国公墓：欢迎访问这个公墓，许多著名的俄国艺术家每天埋在这里，但星期四不埋。
⑨We take your bags and send them in all directions.丹麦机场：我们将拿走您的行李，送往四面八方。
⑩The manager has personally paed all water served here.墨西哥旅馆：旅馆经理将亲自为您撒尿。
二：英语笑话分析——可译性
尤金·奈达(Eugene·A·Nida)在这一问题上坚持认为,任何能用一种语言表达的东西,都能够用另外一种语言来表达;语言之间、文化之间能够通过寻找翻译对等语,以恰当方式重新组织信息的形式和语义结构而进行交际。
我们来看一下Robert Burns 写的那首荡气回肠的“A Red , Red Rose”的其中一段: As fair art thou my bonnie la , So deep in luve am I , And I will luve thee still my dear , ‘Tilla’the seas gang dry.我漂亮的姑娘如此美丽, 我深深地爱着你, 我将永远爱你,亲爱的, 直到海水干竭。
这其中的意像具有高度的可译性,在翻译语中,我们也可以完全的感受到诗人想要表达的那种不渝的爱情,其可译性可以归结为诗中所用的海水枯竭的形象,具有人类普遍经验、认识的基础上。在讲不同语言人们的意识中有一个关于认知的同一系统,这一系统被称为“同构”(isomorph)。它是人们之间进行交流的基础。
以下的一些笑话都是可译的：
Jim and Mary were both patients in a Mental Hospital.One day while they were walking by the hospital swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end.He sank to the bottom.Mary promptly jumped in to save him.She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.When the medical director became aware of Mary's heroic act he immediately reviewed her file and called her into his office.“Mary, I have good news and bad news.The good news is you're being discharged because since you were able to jump in and save the life of another patient, I think you've regained your senses.The bad news is Jim, the patient you saved, hung himself with his bathrobe belt in the bathroom,he's dead.” Mary replied, “He didn't hang himself, I hung him up to dry.” Jim和Mary都是精神病院里的病人。一天,他们沿着医院的游泳池散步,Jim突然跳入泳池的深水区,他沉到了底部。Mary立刻跳下去救他,她潜到水底,把Jim拉了上来。
当院长听闻了Mary的英勇行为后,他立刻翻看了她的病历档案,把她叫进了自己的办公室,“Mary,我有一个好消息和一个坏消息要告诉你。好消息是你能跳入水中救其他病人,这说明你的意识已经恢复了,你可以出院了。坏消息就是,Jim,你救的那个病人,他还是用自己的浴袍带子在浴室上吊自杀了。”Mary说:“他没有自杀,是我把他吊起来好让他晾干。Poisonounakes毒蛇
father and son snake are out for a nice afternoon slither.The son asks, “Dad,are we poisonous snakes?” The father replies proudly, “Yes son, we are rattler snakes!Why do you ask son?” “Because DAD, I just bit my tongue！” 一个阳光明媚的下午,蛇父亲和蛇儿子出去散步。儿子问:“爸爸,我们是毒蛇吗?”父亲得意的答道:“当然了,孩子,我们是响尾蛇啊!为什么这么问呢?”“因为,我刚把舌头咬破了!”
Wife:You see.According to te statistics on the paper,80% of those who have died of liver cancer have drunk alcohol.Husband:It's okey.To my investigation,all Thespeopleeat meals.妻子:你看这张报纸,据统计,死于肝癌的人80%都是喝酒的。丈夫:那有什么?据我调查,死予肝癌的人100%都吃饭的。An Abstract Noun Teacher: What's an abstract noun, Jane? Jane: I don't know, madam.Teacher: What, you don't know!Well.It's the name of a thing which you can think of but cannot touch.Now, give me an example.Jane: A red-hot poker, madam.抽象名词
老师：简，什么是抽象名词？ 简：我不知道，老师。
老师：什么，你不知道！抽象名词就是你想象得到但触摸不到的东西。现在，你给我举个例子。
简：老师，比如说一根炙热的拨火棍。令人满意的婚姻生活 Contented Married Life A man was telling one of his friends the secret of his contented married life, “My wife makes all the small decisions,” he explained, “and I make all the big ones, so we never interfere in each other's busine and never get annoyed with each other.We have no complaints and no arguments.” “That sounds reasonable,” answered his friend sympathetically.“And what sort of decisions does your wife make?” “Well,” answered the man, “she decides what jobs I apply for, what sort of house we live in, what furniture we have, where we go for our holidays, and things like that.” His friend was surprised.“Oh?” he said.“And what do you consider important decisions then?” “Well,” answered the man, “I decide who should be Prime Minister, whether we should increase our help to poor countries, what we should do about the atom bomb, and things like that.” 令人满意的婚姻生活 一个男人告诉他的朋友自己婚姻幸福美满的秘密，“小事都由我妻子决定，”他解释说：“而我只管大事，我们从不互相干涉，从不生对方的气。我们从来没有抱怨、没有争吵。” “听起来很有道理，”他的朋友深有同感，“有哪些事情由你妻子作决定呢？” “嗯，”那个人回答说：“她决定我申请什么工作，我们住什么房子，买什么家具，去哪里度假这些事情。” 他的朋友很惊奇的问道：“哦？那么你决定哪些重要事情？” “嗯，”他回答：“我决定谁来当首相，我们是否要增加对贫困国家的援助，怎么处理原子弹等等这些问题。” A Telephone Call Mrs.Jones was waiting for an important telephone call, but she had no bread in the house, so she left the baby at home and said to his five-year-old brother, “I'm going to the shops, Jimmy, and I will be back in a few minutes.” While she was out, the telephone rang and Jimmy answered.“Hello,” said a man, “is your mother there?” “No,” answered Jimmy.“Well, when she comes back, say to her, ”Mr.Baker telephoned.“ ”What?“ ”Mr.Baker.Write it down.B-A-K-E-R.“ ”How do you make a B?“ ”How do I make...? Listen, little boy, is there anybody else with you? Any borthers or sisters?“ ”My brother Billy is here.“ ”Good, I want to talk to him, please.“ ”All right.“ Jimmy took the telephone to the baby's bed and gave it to Billy.When their mother came back, she asked ”Did anyone telephone?“ ”Yes,“ said Jimmy, ”a man.But he only wanted to talk to Billy." 琼斯太太正在等一个重要的电话，但家里没有面包了，所以她把婴儿留在家里，对那五岁的哥哥说：“吉米，我去趟商店，马上就回来。” 她出去以后，电话铃响了，吉米接了电话：“喂，”一个男人说：“你母亲在家吗？” “不在，”吉米回答。
“噢，等你妈妈回来，告诉她贝克先生来过电话。” “什么？”
“贝克先生。写下来，B-A-K-E-R” “B怎么写？”
“怎么写...听着，孩子，你身边还有别人吗？兄弟或姐妹？” “我的兄弟比利在这里。” “好，请叫他接电话。” “可以。”吉米把电话拿到婴儿床边，递给比利。母亲回来问道：“刚才有人来过电话了吗？” “有，”吉米说：“是个男人，但他只想和比利讲话。”
可译的笑话在被翻译后能给不同文化背景的读者带来同样的乐趣，人类的共性,交流的必要性以及语言本身的共性使得笑话的翻译是可行的。
三: 结语
可译性与不可译性的争论由来已久。尽管笑话翻译有一些局限,或者无法做到尽善尽美,但是人类的共性,交流的必要性以及语言本身的共性使得大部分翻译是可取的,可行的。译者所能做的是通过各种补偿手段尽量缩短不同语言文化间的距离,清除由于缺乏理解,甚至误解而造成的障碍,真正让译文成为传播文化的一种媒介.让不同国家的笑话都能娱乐到所有人。[参考文献] [ 1 ] 何自然.“另类”翻译的困惑[ J ].中国翻译.2003 [ 2 ] Catford, J.C.A L inguistic Theory of Translation [M ].Oxford: OUP, 1965.[ 3 ] Ke Ping.Translatability Vs.Untranslatability: a Socio299, [ 4 ] De Pedro, Raquel.The Translatability of Texts: a Histor2 ical Overview [ J ].META: Journal Des Traducteurs.1999(44): 546257.[ 7 ] 欧阳利峰.如何翻译幽默[ J ].广东外语外贸大学学
全娟 英语四班 20083321
