大钱饺子

AGood-luckDumpling

“大钱饺子”如按字面直译成a coin dumpling,会使人联想到 a dumpling made of coin.实际上这里的含义是a dumpling which will bring good luck,因此译成 a good-luck dumpling比较恰当。

张林

ZhangLin

那是动乱的第二年吧，我被划进了“黑帮”队伍里。我在那长长的“黑帮”队伍里倒不害怕.最怕的就是游斗汽车开到自己家门口，这一招太损了。嗐，越害怕还越有鬼，有一次汽车就真的开到一了家门口。那八旬的老母亲看见了汽车上的我，嘴抖了几抖，闭上眼睛，扶着墙，身子像泥一样瘫了下去。妻子竟忘了去扶持母亲，站在那儿，眼睛都直了，跟个傻子一般。

Inthesecondofthosetumultuous （characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination）

years,Iwaslabeledoneofthe"reactionarygang."What I feared most was not being queued up among this gang of so many, but theviciouspracticeofbeingpubliclydenouncedonatruckinfrontofmyownhouse.Well,fearornofear,thelotfellonmesoonenough.Whenthetruckdrovetothegateofmyownhouse,mymother,whowas alreadyinhereighties,spottedmeonthetruck.Herlipstremblingandeyesshut,shefirst leanedagainstthewall,thencollapsed,weakandlimplikesoftmudontheground.Meanwhile,mywifejuststoodtheredumbfoundedlikeablockhead,forgettingeventohelpmymotherup.

这句汉语虽然较长，英文可译成一句话，选用适合这一情景的强调对比结构，突出“不怕......,最怕......",what I feared most was not...but...在翻译”在那长长的‘黑帮’队伍里“时，应采用被动结构，表示出于所迫不得不如此。”这一招太损了“这句话在英译时缩成短语vicious practice 更为简洁。

我担心老母亲从此会离我而去。谢天谢地，她老人家总算熬过来了。

ThereandthenIwasafraidMotherwouldleavemeforever.ThankGod,shesomehowmanaged tosurvive.

用somehow这一词表达出了”总算“之意，还可以用after all这个短语来表达，全句则为However, she managed to survive after all.

那年除夕这一天，竟把我放回家了。

OntheeveoftheSpringFestivalofthatyear,Iwasunexpectedlyreleasedtoreturnhome.

一进家门，母亲用一种奇怪的眼光打量我，然后，她一下子扑过来，摸着我的脸。最后，她竟把脸埋在我的怀里，呜呜地哭起来；妻子领着孩子们只远远地站着，也在那儿哆哆嗦嗦地哭。

AsIsteppedintothehouse,Motherlookedmeupanddownwithunbelievingeyesbeforeshe threwherselfonmeandcaressedmyface.Thenburyingherheadinmyarms,sheweptbitterly whilemywifeandchildrenstoodsobbingatadistance.

这里的“然后”不要总用then, 可分清两件事情的先后顺序，用before这一连词。

“媳妇，快包饺子，过年!”母亲对妻子说。于是，一家人忙起来，剁馅、和面……一会儿，全家就围在一起开始包佼子；这时，母亲忽然想起一件什么事，说：“哎呀，包个大钱佼子吧，谁吃了谁就有福！”

"Daughter-in-law,let'sstartmakingdumplingsfortheFestival!"Mothersaidtomywife.Instantlythewholefamilybeganchopping meat and kneading dough.Innotime,allhad gatheredaroundthetabletomakedumplings.Justthenanideadawnedonmymother,and shesuggested, "Isay,let'sputinacoinandmakeagood-luckdumpling.Whoevereatsitwill beblessed."

为了使母亲高兴，我同意了，而且希望母亲能吃到这个大钱饺子。我要真诚地祝福她，愿她多活几年。

IagreedtomakeMotherhappy,hopingthatthecoinwouldfalltoher.WithallmyheartI wishedheralonglife.

母亲从柜里拿出个蓝布包，从包里掏出一枚道光年间的铜钱来，她颤抖地把这枚古钱放在一个面皮上，上面又盖了点馅，包成一个饺子。这就是大钱饺子了。母亲包完这个饺子，用手在边上偷偷捏出一个记号，然后，若无其事地把它和别的饺子放在一起。但我已经清楚地记住了这个饺子的模样了。

Mothertookablueclothparcelfromthewardrobe,unfoldeditandpickedoutacoppercoin ofthe Daoguang period.Withshakinghandssheputthecoinonadumplingwrapper,added somefilling,andmadeonewhichweusedtocallagood-luckdumpling.Duringtheprocess,Mother secretly made a mark on the edge of the dumpling before mixing it with the rest.She pretended nothing had happened, but the trick didn'tescapemy eye.Iborethe mark firmly in mind.

翻译这两句时，应注意动作的逻辑性，要注意“包完这个饺子”的译法，事实上在这里应把“做上记号”也视为包这个饺子过程中的一个步骤，因此不宜把“包完”译出来。“若无其事地”在逻辑上应与后面的“但我已经清楚地记住了这个饺子的模样了“这一句话相关。为此在翻译这两句时应做些调整，汉语两句译成英语三句。

Daoguang Period: the period between 1821 and 1851 of the Qing Dynasty.

饺子是母亲亲自煮的，饺子要熟了，像一群羊羔一样漂上来。我一眼就看见那个带记号的大钱饺子。

Motherboiledthedumplingsallbyherself.Thenearlycookeddumplings floated onto the surface like aherdof lambs.Ispottedthemarkeddumplingatfirstsight.

”饺子要熟了“，汉语中是句子结构，可以译成英语的名词词组，放在全句的主语位置上，”一群羊羔“可以直译，以求与原文的形象比喻保持一致。

母亲在盛饺子的时候，把这个大钱饺子盛在一个碗里，又偷偷把它拨在紧上边，然后把这碗饺子推到我面前：“吃吧，多吃，趁热吃。”我觉得心里一阵热，鼻子也酸疼起来。我想应该让母亲吃，让她高兴高兴。但我一时想不出办法，因为母亲认识这个饺子。

Whenshescoopedupthedumplings,Motherdeliberatelyputthegood-luckdumplingon top of the othersinabowlandpushedthebowltome,saying, "Helpyourself,Takeasmanyas youlikewhiletheyarehot.”Awareofwarmthsurgedovermeandmynosetwitched.Ihad thoughtitwouldmakeMotherhappyandgiveheralovelysurpriseifsheatethegood-luck dumpling.ButIcouldnotfigureouthowtogethertoeatitforshecouldeasilyidentifythe dumpling.

”拨在紧上边",注意不要译成on top of the bowl, 应译为on top of the others in the bowl.

我想那就给妻子吧，她跟我生括了20年，现在已经是快半百的人了。为了我挨斗，她心血都快要熬干了。我趁妻子上厨房去拿辣椒油的工夫，偷偷把大钱饺子拨在她的碗里。谁知，妻子从厨房回来，看了看碗，又用一双深沉和感激的眼睛望着我，眼圈都红了。啊!她也认识这个大钱佼子。

Ithenthoughtofmywifewhohadlivedwithmefortwentyyearsandwasgettingonfifty.She wasalmostwornoutwithworryasIwasdenounced.Takingtheopportunitywhenshewent tothekitchenforchillioil,Iputthegood-luckdumplingintoherbowl.Whocouldhave expectedthatshewouldrecognizethedumplingaswell!Backfromthekitchen,shetookaglanceatherbowlandthengazedatmewithtearsbrimminginherdeepgratefuleyes.

妻子没有做声，她吃了几个饺子，忽然说了声：“都快粘在一块了。”说着，就把所有的佼子碗拿起来摇晃，晃来晃去，就把那碗有大钱饺子的放到了母亲跟前。母亲显然没有注意，边看我边吃饺子，突然“啊”了一声，大钱佼子佼了牙。

Shekeptsilentandateafewdumplings;thenshesaid,"Thesedumplingshavestuck together."Shestoodupandshookthebowlsoneafteranotherwhileshiftingherswith my mother's.ObviouslyMotherdidn'tnoticetheshiftandwentoneatingwithhereyesonmeallthetime. "Ouch!"suddenlyshecriedout.Thecoinhadhurtherteeth.

奶奶有福!吃到大钱饺子了!”妻子像孩子般喊着。

"Oh,Grannyisblessed!Shegotthegood-luckdumpling! "mywifeshoutedlikeachild.

“我……这是咋回事?”母亲疑惑着。这时，当嘟一声，一个东西从她的嘴里掉在碟子里，正是那个大钱。

"I. . . .Howcome?"Motherwaspuzzled.Justatthatmoment,somethingfelloutofher mouthontotheplatewithaclang.Itwasnone other thanthecoin.

这句中的“正是”表达强调，应译出来，可以用none other than来译。

于是，我领着老婆孩子一齐欢呼起来：“母亲有福!” “奶奶有福！”

SoIjoinedmywifeandchildreninachorus, "Grannyisblessed!Motherisblessed! "

“……”

“……”

母亲突然大笑起来，笑着笑着，流出了一脸泪。我和妻子也流了泪。

Motherburstintolaughter,andthenintotears,asmywifeandIsharedwithherallhersorrow andjoy.

“我和妻子也流了泪”，可以根据全文采用引申的办法来点题，不但分享她的快乐，也分享她的忧伤，将整个故事的苦乐均点了出来，突出主题。比用My wift and I shed tears, too. 更深一层。（夏乙琥 译注）

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编辑：門婆亞君