翻译得怎么样呢?我们来看一段《盘龙》节选:
Book 1, Chapter 1 – Early Morning at a Township
第一章 小镇的早晨
The town of Wushan. An ordinary little town located within the Kingdom of Fenlai, west of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the largest mountain range within the Yulan continent.
乌山镇,玉兰大陆第一山脉‘魔兽山脉’西方的芬莱王国中的一个普通小镇。
As the morning sun rose, in the town of Wushan, there remained a slight hint of the cold, pure pre-dawn air. However, virtually all of the citizens of this small town had already come out to begin working. Even the six or seven year old children had already gotten out of bed and were preparing to begin their traditional morning exercises.
朝阳初升,乌山镇这个小镇上依旧有着清晨的一丝清冷之气,只是小镇中的居民几乎都已经出来开始工作了,即使是六七岁的稚童,也差不多也都起床开始了传统性的晨练。
On an empty area in the eastern region of Wushan town, the warmth of the rays of the morning sun passed through the surrounding trees, leaving behind scattered spots of light on the empty ground.
乌山镇东边的空地上,早晨温热的阳光透过空地旁边的大树,在空地上留下了斑驳的光点。
A large group of children could be seen there, approximately one or two hundred in number. These children were separated into three groups, each group divided into several lines. All the children stood there silently, their faces solemn. The northernmost group of children were approximately six years old. The group in the middle, approximately nine to twelve years old. The ones in the south, the thirteen to sixteen year olds.
只见一大群孩子,目视过去估摸着差不多有一两百个。这群孩子分成了三个团队,每个团队都是排成几排,孩子们一个个都静静地站在空地上,面色严肃。这群孩子最北边一个团队的孩子大概六岁到八岁。而中间的一个团队,差不多是九岁到十二岁,最南边的则是一群十三岁到十六岁的少年。
In front of this large group of children, there were three sturdily-built middle-aged men. All three of them wore short-sleeved shirts and roughly cut trousers.
在这一大群孩子前方,便是三名壮硕的中年人,三个中年人都是穿着短背心以及粗布长裤。
“If you want to be a powerful warrior, then you must work hard from youth.” The leader of the middle-aged men, head raised high, hands clasped behind his back, said to them coldly. He swept his cold, fierce gaze across the northernmost group of children. All of those six and seven year olds tightened their lips. Gazing at this man with their big, round eyes, none of them dared to make a sound.
“想要成为一名伟大的战士,就必须从小刻苦锻炼。”为首的中年人背负着双手,昂着头颅冷然说道,那冷厉的目光更是朝最北边一个团队扫了过去,那群六七岁的孩子们一个个抿着嘴,乌溜溜的眼睛更是盯着这位中年人,丝毫不敢出声。
The leader’s name was Hillman (Xi’er’man). He was the captain of the guard for the Baruch (Ba’lu’ke) clan, the noble clan which owned Wushan town.
为首的中年人名叫希尔曼,是乌山镇的拥有者‘巴鲁克家族’的护卫队队长。
“All of you are commoners. Unlike those noble families, you won’t have access to any secret manuals teaching you how to cultivate battle qi [dou qi]. If you want to become someone of worth, if you wish to be respected, then all of you must use the most ancient, most simple, and most basic ways of improving yourselves – through exercising your bodies, and building up your strength! Am I clear?!”
“你们都是普通人,不可能像那些大贵族一样有厉害的斗气密典修炼,想要出人头地,想要将来不被人瞧不起,你们就必须按照最古老、最简单、最基础的方法锻炼,锻炼身体、打熬力气,明白没有!”
Hillman swept the group of children with his gaze.
希尔曼目光扫向这一群孩子。
“Understood.” The voices of the children replied brightly in unison.
“明白。”一群少年响亮地吼道。
“Good.” Satisfied, Hillman coldly nodded. The eyes of the six year old children displayed their confusion, while the eyes of the teenagers became very determined. They understood the meaning behind Hillman’s words.
“很好。”希尔曼满意地冷漠点了点头,那些六七岁的孩子们眼中大多有着懵懵懂懂,而那些十几岁的少年们眼神都坚毅的很,因为他们明白希尔曼所说的含义。
Virtually every male in the Yulan continent would exercise very hard from a very young age. If anyone slacked off, in the future, they would be looked down upon by others! Money and power – these were the things that determined a man’s status! A man without power would be looked down upon even by women.
整个玉兰大陆几乎每一个男子都要从小努力锻炼,如果谁不刻苦训练,那他将来就会被人瞧不起!代表男人地位的,就是实力与金钱!一个没有实力的男人,就是女人也会瞧不起的。
为了方便读者理解,这些外国志愿翻译们还提供了兵器的提示:
中国的称谓:
还有一些文化tips:
早在2011年,南派三叔的《盗墓笔记》就出了英文版Cavern of the Blood Zombies。
现在国外的志愿翻译网站几乎也形成了自己的运作模式——打赏模式,建立起了翻译团队,据说抢走了不少原本是日韩轻小说(light novels)的粉丝。
几个主要网站正在连载译文的更新:
不乏猫腻、天蚕土豆等大神的作品。
你可能会好奇,外国读者为什么能理解仙侠、武侠这些独特的中国文化元素……
阅文集团(China Reading Group)的CEO吴文辉在接受《中国日报》采访时说:
“关键在于你的文化产品比较好,好到他们愿意跨越文化来了解你,这不是谁迎合谁的过程,而是你的文化魅力征服别人心灵的问题。”
他认为中国网络文学的优势在于:丰富的想象以及不断成长壮大的故事主线。
阅文集团CEO吴文辉与演员胡歌共同揭晓2016中国原创文学风云榜TOP1、2、3名得主
吴文辉介绍,目前最受海外用户喜爱的中国网络小说主要为玄幻、武侠、仙侠等类型。
“这类网文的灵感脱胎于中国流传演变了上千年的神话传说、历史典籍等等,作品中构筑了一个深植于中国传统文化的庞大世界观,与西方世界的文化背景截然不同,给海外读者带来了前所未有的阅读体验。同时还充满了曲折离奇的情节、酣畅淋漓的主人公奋斗经历。”
另摘一份统计:
▷ 在十大外国人最爱读的网文中,“重生”“穿越”“种马”“炼丹”“开金手指”等情节出现率极高;
▷ 在十大热书中50%出现了血统、族系(Bloodlines、Clan Politics)内容,50%的主角要修真(Cultivation),50%的主人公在炼体(Body Tempering),50%的主角会穿越异界(Transported to Another World),60%的主角有储物空间(Interspatial Storage);
▷80%的故事里出现过怪物、兽类(Monsters、Beast);
▷60%的故事有多个界域(Multiple Realms);
▷90%说的是男主角由弱变强的故事(Weak to Strong)。
《盘龙》的作者“我吃西红柿”的反应则是:
“的确想过将作品传播到海外,不过没想到是读者自发翻译在论坛上传播,我挺喜欢这样的事的。”
他觉得故事、感情都是共通的,都会有爱情、亲情。
唯一担心的是翻译问题,毕竟网络小说是很长,能否有人愿意翻译那么长的小说,并且还翻译准确?
那么是谁在翻译呢?
前面提过的RWX其实就是“任我行”,1986年生于四川成都,3岁随父母到了美国,就读于UC伯克利,毕业后考入了“本科生很难进的”美国国务院下的外交部门。
这位武侠爱好者翻译了金庸古龙,又一面工作一面完整翻译了“我吃西红柿”340万字的长文《盘龙》,花了他1年半来所有的业余时间,被他称作“a hell of a ride”。
RWX于15年辞掉了外交官的工作,专注于中国网络文学向英语世界的翻译和推广,他说现在网站日均PV为400万,吸引了24个译者在做志愿翻译,其中还有金发碧眼学中医的小伙伴。
任大侠说他的翻译速度在一周10-20章,中间也一度翻译不下去了,全靠热心粉丝的自愿打赏:
A cycle had begun, and others scrambled to donate as well. This was far more work than I had bargained for…but I did what I promised, and this resulted in a virtuous (albeit exhausting) cycles of more updates=>more viewers=>more donations=>more updates.
然后一个停不下来的日更循环就开始了,网友们则抢着打赏。我没想到工作量会如此巨大,但是我完成了我的承诺。这又促成另一个良性(虽然也很疲劳)的循环:更多更新=>更多读者=>更多打赏=>更多更新。
The 90 hour workweek for a year has taken its toll; it’s been rewarding in many ways, both financial and personal, but at the same time, it’s been a killer. I’ve had no social life for a year, I’ve gained ~30 lbs from all that sitting in front of a computer, my right hand cramps at the pinky (from continuous stretching to the ‘shift’ button), I haven’t gone out for a date in ages…the list goes on and on.
每周工作90小时,持续一年,它确实让我收获良多,无论是经济上还是个人成长上,但也辛苦之极。我几乎没有社交生活,长期坐在电脑前长胖了30磅,右手小指时而抽筋,因为总要按shift键,没机会出去约会……这些列都列不完。
除了翻译,还有不少外国大神用中国网络小说模式来创作英文小说。
看看Gravity网站上的原创作品列表:
其中那本《蓝凤凰》(Blue Phoenix),作者是Tina Lynge,据说是居住在丹麦、25岁左右的美少女。
《蓝凤凰》在亚马逊已经出了电子书,讲一个叫Hui Yue(主角名字都是拼音)的英雄在“一个弱肉强食的世界如何靠自己的力量生存下去”的故事。该书在外国人的“豆瓣”Goodreads上有266人评价,褒贬不一。
Tina Lynge还有一部小说叫Escaping Fate。
作家说:
My writing is inspired by popular genres of Chinese web novels. These stories usually takes place in a world unlike our own. A world filled with demonic beasts and cultivation of both body and soul. This is a world where a person’s level of strength is what determines their future accomplishments.
我的创作灵感来源于流行的中国网络小说。这些故事通常发生在一个完全不同的世界,充满了妖怪,身体和精神的双重修炼。这是一个由个人的力量决定他们未来成就的世界。
Blue Phoenixis a story that I have been spending a very long time on planning. It is a story that has caused me to use countless of hours to research the Chinese culture and Taoism. Even now there is so much to know, that I still spend hour after hour on researching the fundamentals while writing a chapter.
我的《蓝凤凰》构思了很久,我花了很多时间研究中国文化和道家思想,虽然已经掌握了不少知识,但每写一个章节我还是要花很多时间研究背景。
3月29日中奖名单
1.杨小茜 2.向龙
3.Y。 4.今天中了五百万
5.Sweet Coffee 6.心月吖!
7.三千洛水 8.大众男神
9.John 10.Tricelittle
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