翻译批评与鉴赏翻译批评与鉴赏.doc

Comparison of Two Translations of “Of Study” Introduction: The prose Of Studies is one of the most influential essays of Francis Bacon. It is an artistic prose which frequently uses the formal language and the words are concise, quaint and elegant. It is right to say that the prose is a beauty in content, form and style. Therefore, it is of great value to study it and the translation versions. This article will attempt to compare two different translation versions from the perspective of literary form style, ellipsis and repetition. In the process of translation, the target text should not only be faithful to the original meaning, but also keep correspondence with the literary form style of the original text. Next, let’s have a comparison at the two versions. The first version is from Wang Zuoliang, who is a well-known educator, linguist, and writer. He is also a productive translator who has translated a large amount excellent works, especially classical poetries and prose. The second is from Liao Yunfan, who is a famous physician. Source text 1: Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.? Target text 1：读书足以怡情，足以博彩，足以长才。 Target text 2：读书能给人乐趣、文雅和能力。? In the first version, the three for are translated into “足以”, which better corresponds to the features of the source text by using parallelism. Moreover, it uses three verb-object phrase“怡情” , “博彩”, “长才” to translate the three nouns delight, ornament, ability, which are quaint, concise and in line with the words using of Bacon. For the second version, it just uses common words and doesn’t reflect the beauty of rhetoric and the original style. Source text 2: For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned.? Target text 1：练达之士虽能分别处理细事或一一判别枝节，然纵观统筹、全局策划，则舍好学深思着莫属。? Target text 2：那些有实际经验而没有学识的人，也许能够一一实行或判断某些事物的细枝末节，但对于事业的一般指导、筹划与处理，还是真正有学问的人才能胜任。? In the first version,