論成語在翻譯中的使用：以《正常人》繁體中文譯本為例

Abstract

愛爾蘭小說家莎莉．魯尼的第二部長篇小說《正常人》於2018年出版。其故事背景設定於2011至2015年的愛爾蘭，描述男、女主角康諾與梅黎安從高中至大學的情愛糾葛，並涵蓋自我追尋、社會階級等探討。由於故事近代且議題切身，《正常人》引起全球讀者共鳴，於2020年改編為影集，並於同年發行繁體中文譯本。然而，不少譯本讀者卻在閱讀後表示語句不流暢、言語交鋒不有趣且無帶入感。針對原文、繁中譯本讀者迥然不同的感受，本研究以Boase-Beier的翻譯風格理論切入，聚焦於繁中譯文內大量的成語使用，並分析譯者將原文轉換為譯文所作之「選擇」如何影響譯文讀者的感受。研究方法主要分為兩階段─文本分析及問卷調查。研究結果顯示，繁中譯文共出現16處成語誤用，其中包含8處語域不當及8處其他誤用；而在問卷調查中，多數千禧世代的填答者在含有成語之既有譯文及研究者所提出的口語版本中，傾向選擇後者，認為其更貼近原文句意及小說角色之設定。本研究雖以單一文本為例，卻期盼引起成語應用於翻譯之適切性探討。過去在翻譯時，多數人著重於成語的正面效果，如言簡意賅、文學性高等，卻忽略其使用過多難免造成譯文過於正式且不口語，特別是《正常人》此類主角為學生之千禧小說，如欲在譯文內使用大量成語，務必思慮是否合乎文意或人物塑造。而繼《正常人》後，未來出版業許會引進更多西方千禧小說，此研究或可提供翻譯策略之參考，並引發進一步探討。

Normal People is the Irish writer Sally Rooney’s second novel. Published in 2018, it is set during the period of 2011 to 2015 in the post-Celtic Tiger Ireland. The story depicts the romantic entanglements of the two protagonists, Connell and Marianne, from high school to college, covering themes including self-discovery and social inequality. Due to its contemporary setting and close-to-life themes, Normal People resonates with readers worldwide and receives widespread acclaim, which led to the release of Traditional Chinese translation in the same year. In contrast to the well-received original, however, the translation gets mixed reviews, with readers referring to the verbal duels as tedious and the plots as not emotionally engaging. To address the inconsistent readers’ reviews, this study applies Boase-Beier’s stylistic approach with a focus on the extensive use of idioms in the Traditional Chinese translation, analyzing how the translator's “choices” in transforming the original text into the Traditional Chinese version contribute to the gap in readers’ perception. Via textual analysis, the research pointed out 16 cases of improper register and misuse/mistranslation in the translation; through a questionnaire, the millennials are discovered to be more in favor of the colloquial revisions proposed by the author than the existing translations that employ idioms as they found the former relatively in line with the novel’s context. While this research is based on a single text, it aims to initiate discussions on the appropriateness of using idioms in Chinese translation. Traditionally, the positive effects of idioms, such as brevity and sophistication, have been emphasized. However, as the remains of Classical Chinese, idioms also result in a relatively formal and non-colloquial effect. Applying idioms to a millennial novel like Normal People may seem clunky. Considering the potential introduction of more Western millennial novels in the publishing industry after Normal People, this study may serve as a reference for translation strategies and spark further discussions.