薇拉·凱瑟　曹明倫/譯析

Sometimes the Doctor heard the gossipers in the drug-store wondering why Rosicky didnt get on faster. He was industrious， and so were his boys， but they were rather free and easy， werent pushers， and they didnt always show good judgment. They were comfortable， they were out of debt， but they didnt get much ahead. Maybe， Doctor Burleigh reflected， people as generous and warm-hearted and affectionate as the Rosickys never got ahead much; maybe you couldnt enjoy your life and put it into the bank， too.

有時(shí)候，醫(yī)生會(huì)在雜貨店里聽見些閑聊，不少人都納悶，為什么羅西基家沒(méi)能更快地發(fā)家致富。羅西基很勤勞，孩子們也都肯干，但他們凡事都順其自然，從不爭(zhēng)強(qiáng)好勝，況且也并非事事都做出了明智的判斷。一家人生活舒適，從不欠債，但也沒(méi)攢下多少錢。伯利醫(yī)生最終認(rèn)識(shí)到，像羅西基一家那樣慷慨、熱心、仁慈的人絕不可能攢下許多錢，而興許只有不懂享受生活的人才會(huì)把錢存進(jìn)銀行。

When Rosicky left Doctor Burleighs office， he went into the farm-implement store to light his pipe and put on his glasses and read over the list Mary had given him. Then he went into the general merchandise place next door and stood about until the pretty girl with the plucked eyebrows， who always waited on him， was free. Those eyebrows， two thin India-ink strokes， amused him， because he remembered how they used to be. Rosicky always prolonged his shopping by a little joking; the girl knew the old fellow admired her， and she liked to chaff with him.

離開伯利醫(yī)生的診所后，羅西基進(jìn)了旁邊的農(nóng)具店。他在那兒點(diǎn)上煙斗，戴上老花鏡，把瑪麗給他的購(gòu)物單看了一遍，然后進(jìn)了隔壁的百貨店，進(jìn)店后他站了一會(huì)兒，等平時(shí)接待他的那個(gè)修過(guò)眉毛的漂亮姑娘空出手來(lái)。姑娘那兩條黑墨水劃出的曲線讓羅西基覺(jué)得有趣，因?yàn)樗€記得那兩道眉毛本來(lái)的模樣。羅西基在百貨店購(gòu)物總喜歡慢慢吞吞，趁機(jī)同那姑娘說(shuō)說(shuō)笑話；姑娘知道老人是喜歡她，所以也愿意和他開開玩笑。

“Seems to me about every other week you buy ticking， Mr. Rosicky， and always the best quality，” she remarked as she measured off the heavy bolt with red stripes.

“羅西基先生，你好像隔一星期就要買些被套料，而且總買質(zhì)量最好的?！惫媚飻傞_一匹紅條紋厚棉布，開始量羅西基要的尺寸，一邊量一邊跟他說(shuō)話。

“You see， my wife is always makin goose-feddar pillows， an de thin stuff dont hold in dem little down-fedders.”

“要知道，我老伴兒總是在做鵝絨枕頭，料子薄了可罩不住細(xì)絨?！?/p>

“You must have lots of pillows at your home.”

“你家肯定有好多枕頭?！?/p>

“Sure. She makes quilts of dem， too. We sleeps easy. Now shes makin a fedder quilt for my sons wife. You know Polly， that married my Rudolph. How much my bill， Miss Pearl？”

“那是當(dāng)然。我老伴兒還做鵝絨被呢。我們睡得挺舒服的?，F(xiàn)在她要給我兒媳婦做一床。你認(rèn)識(shí)波莉吧，她嫁給魯?shù)婪蛄?。該給你多少錢，珀?duì)栃〗?？?/p>

“Eight eighty-five.”

“八元八角五?！?/p>

“Chust make it nine， and put in some candy fur de women.”

“湊夠九元吧。給女人買點(diǎn)糖果。”

“As usual. I never did see a man buy so much candy for his wife. First thing you know， shell be getting too fat.”

“又買糖果。我就沒(méi)見過(guò)別的男人給太太買這么多糖果。你得知道，她會(huì)長(zhǎng)胖的?！?/p>

“Id like dat. I aint much fur all dem slim women like what de style is now.”

“我就喜歡胖。我見不得現(xiàn)今那些瘦筋筋的女人?！?/p>

“Thats one for me， I suppose， Mr. Bohunk！” Pearl sniffed and elevated her India-ink strokes.

“我想你是在說(shuō)我這種女人吧，歐洲來(lái)的先生！”珀?duì)栃〗惚亲右缓?，黑眉一揚(yáng)。

When Rosicky went out to his wagon， it was beginning to snow，—the first snow of the season， and he was glad to see it. He rattled out of town and along the highway through a wonderfully rich stretch of country， the finest farms in the county. He admired this High Prairie， as it was called， and always liked to drive through it. His own place lay in a rougher territory， where there was some clay in the soil and it was not so productive. When he bought his land， he hadnt the money to buy on High Prairie; so he told his boys， when they grumbled， that if their land hadnt some clay in it， they wouldnt own it at all. All the same， he enjoyed looking at these fine farms， as he enjoyed looking at a prize bull.

羅西基出了百貨店朝馬車走去時(shí)，天開始下雪了。這是今冬的第一場(chǎng)雪，他很高興看見雪花。他趕著馬車出了鎮(zhèn)子，順著大路穿過(guò)一大片遼闊而富饒的土地，這里有全縣最好的一些農(nóng)田。他羨慕這片被人們叫作“高地草原”的土地，總喜歡駕車穿過(guò)那里。他自家的地在一個(gè)不太平坦的區(qū)域，那里的土壤有黏性，收成不太好。他當(dāng)年買地時(shí)錢不夠多，買不起“高地草原”的地，所以孩子抱怨時(shí)他就會(huì)對(duì)他們說(shuō)，要是那塊地沒(méi)黏性，那很可能就不歸他家所有了。不過(guò)他仍然喜歡欣賞那些肥沃的耕地，就像他喜歡欣賞比賽中獲獎(jiǎng)的公牛一樣。

【背景知識(shí)】《鄰居羅西基》是美國(guó)女作家薇拉·凱瑟（1873—1947）于1930年發(fā)表的一篇重要短篇小說(shuō)。小說(shuō)通過(guò)回憶和追述的手法，講述了波希米亞移民羅西基樸素而充實(shí)的一生，展現(xiàn)了拓荒者及其后代善良、樸素、勤勞、熱愛(ài)生活、眷念土地的可貴品質(zhì)。小說(shuō)主題深刻，結(jié)構(gòu)勻稱，筆觸細(xì)膩，文字優(yōu)美，人物性格刻畫清晰，翻譯時(shí)應(yīng)注意描摹。

【第1段】 注意get on、free and easy、get ahead這些常用短語(yǔ)的意思都非常豐富，譯者需要結(jié)合語(yǔ)境選擇譯文措辭。英國(guó)語(yǔ)言學(xué)家約翰·魯珀特·弗斯（John Rupert Firth，1890—1960）在其《意義的模式》（Modes of Meaning）一文中曾說(shuō)：“詞義的選用應(yīng)服從一個(gè)總的規(guī)則，即每個(gè)詞用在新的語(yǔ)境中都是一個(gè)新詞。”（The use of the word “meaning” is subject to the general rule that each word when used in a new context is a new word.）將werent pushers翻譯成“從不爭(zhēng)強(qiáng)好勝”，never got ahead much翻譯成“沒(méi)攢下多少錢”，都是遵從這個(gè)規(guī)則。

【第2段】注意最好別把light his pipe翻譯成“點(diǎn)上他的煙斗”，也別把put on his glasses翻譯成“戴上他的老花鏡”（省略原文中的物主代詞）；語(yǔ)法學(xué)家曾提醒我們：“漢語(yǔ)中‘我的‘你的這類詞有時(shí)可以省掉?！庇⒄Z(yǔ)說(shuō)“He entered the room， his coat covered with snow and his nose red with cold.”，而漢語(yǔ)只需說(shuō)“他走進(jìn)屋來(lái)，大衣上盡是雪，鼻子凍得通紅”。（參閱張道真《實(shí)用英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法》第二次修訂本第64頁(yè)，商務(wù)印書館，1979）

【第3段】此處bolt = a large roll of cloth of a definite length；有人按字面把she remarked as she measured off the heavy bolt with red stripes翻譯成“她一邊說(shuō)，一邊量著一大匹紅色條紋布”。比較兩種譯文，回憶一下我們上次提到的“隱性深度翻譯”。

【第4—11段】makin = making；goose-feddar = goose-feather；an de = and the；dont = doesnt；dem = them；Chust = Just；fur de = for the；dat = that?！啊多従恿_西基》（節(jié)選一）”的譯析提醒過(guò)捷克移民羅西基講英語(yǔ)發(fā)音不標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。Bohunk是美國(guó)英語(yǔ)俚語(yǔ)，由Bohemian（波希米亞人）和Hungarian（匈牙利人）縮合而成，用于貶稱來(lái)自歐洲中部和東部的移民（尤指工人）。另外，請(qǐng)注意參考譯文把羅西基口中的my wife譯成“老伴兒”（而非妻子），slim women譯成“瘦筋筋的女人”（而非苗條的女人）。

【第12段】不要一見farm就都翻譯成“農(nóng)場(chǎng)”，此段中的兩個(gè)farms都可以譯作“農(nóng)田”“耕地”或“田地”（a tract of land cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production）。

【小結(jié)】本次譯析強(qiáng)調(diào)了英國(guó)語(yǔ)言學(xué)家弗斯指出的“詞義的選用應(yīng)服從一個(gè)總的規(guī)則，即每個(gè)詞用在新的語(yǔ)境中都是一個(gè)新詞”，譯者需要結(jié)合語(yǔ)境選擇譯文措辭；再次強(qiáng)調(diào)了英譯漢中的“代詞還原及其省略”，尤其是注意省略英文中的物主代詞。