Newsletter No. 330

No. 330, 4.1.2009 跟 任何翻譯系學生談論他們最喜愛的教師，小說 《愛因斯坦的夢》的譯者童元方必定榜上有名。 以此相告，童教授只說：「是嗎？不過我很喜歡教書是真 的。」 童教授於九十年代初首次踏足香港參加會議，1995年10月 16日，她再度來港，並決定在這裏定居。「我希望可為香港 出一分力，培育青年人便是其中一個方法。」 就這樣，她在此地春風化雨整整十三年。童教授尤其關注 學生對世界的了解，為此，她蒐集不同題材的文本讓學生 練習翻譯，範圍廣涉美國候任總統奧巴馬以至法國印象 派畫家莫奈。她指出，即使在開始時要搜索枯腸找對應詞 彙的學生，只要練習數次，也會有顯著的進步。 對藝術及文學如斯鍾愛，又怎會對學生不起潛移默化？這 位翻譯文學碩士課程的主任，早年於台灣大學修讀中國文 學，及後負笈美國俄勒岡大學修讀碩士，再到哈佛大學完 成博士學位。童教授熱愛文學及藝術翻譯，她認為這些翻 譯是文學及藝術的一部分。她兼愛中文與英文的作品，翻 譯正好讓她兼得其趣，跨越文化藩籬，審度如何化解文化 鴻溝，且樂在其中。 童教授迄今最滿意的翻譯作品就是艾倫 ‧ 萊特曼的《愛因 斯坦的夢》，這部小說講述青年科學家愛因斯坦埋首於相 對論時怎樣受夢境困擾。「我對科學史甚感興趣，若文字 可拉近我與科學的距離，我會很高興。為什麼？因為我好 奇。」萊特曼的作品燃點她的好奇心。「他的文筆優美，我 有時會感到奇怪，他是美國猶太人，我是中國人，為何閱 讀他的英文時，中文字句如泉冒湧？我看着書坐不下來， 感到要追趕跳出來的字。我很快便完成翻譯，譯得很暢 快。」 若有時間，童教授希望翻譯《魯拜集》，及作家濟慈、奧斯 汀、沃爾夫及艾蜜莉 ‧ 勃朗特的作品，特別是艾蜜莉，因為 「她的作品結構甚佳，充滿活力，尤如一陣風暴，我希望可 在譯本中，帶出這些風格。」 《咆哮山莊》為英國女作家艾蜜莉 ‧ 勃朗特三十歲去世前 一年出版的作品。她涉世不深，卻可以撰寫出不朽的故事， 那是何等的想像力﹗這對香港人因閱歷少而欠缺創意的論 調，也許有點啟示吧。「或許香港人實在沒時間做夢，但我 喜歡他們，有些學生我已認識了十三年，他們並非冷漠，只 是慢熱，但也很長情。」 這恐怕不能完全解釋為何我們不能像艾蜜莉，但至少可以 肯定，出色的翻譯者，是生命及人生百態的鑑賞家。 T alk to any student of the Department of Translation about their favourite teachers and the name Tung Yuan-fang will pop up at some point. Tell that to Prof. Tung and the translator of Einstein’s Dreams might say, ‘Really? Well, I do love to teach.’ Prof. Tung first set foot in Hong Kong in the early 90s when she came here to attend a conference. When she came again on 16 October 1995, it was to make it her home. She said, ‘Having decided to settle in Hong Kong, I wanted to do my bit for it and thought nurturing the young was a good way of doing so.’ And nurture she did—for a full 13 years, with a special focus on how her students see the world. She does this by letting them practise translating texts on a diverse range of topics, from Barack Obama to Claude Monet. She said that even the ones who struggle with terms in the first few classes show marked improvement after a few times. Her own passion for art and literature is such that one would be hard put to imagine that it does not rub off on her students a little. Prof. Tung, who directs the MA Programme in Translation, studied Chinese literature at Taiwan University, and Asian studies and art history as a Master’s student at the University of Oregon, before getting a PhD from Harvard. A fan of literary and art translation, she sees them as part of literature and art. She also has a love affair with books in both Chinese and English. Translating them doubles the bliss because it allows her to traverse cultural boundaries and grapple with cultural issues—which she does with a relish. Her favourite project to date is Einstein’s Dreams , a novel by Alan Lightman fictionalizing Albert Einstein as a young scientist troubled by dreams as he works on his theory of relativity. ‘I’m interested in the history of science. If words can take me closer to science, I’m happy. Why? Because I want to know.’ And Lightman’s writing helped fuel her curiosity. ‘His prose is very poetic. It felt strange at times. He’s Jewish-American, I’m Chinese. Why does my Chinese keep gushing out when I read his English? I couldn’t sit still. I wanted to give chase to the words. I finished that translation very quickly and in a state of euphoria.’ If she had the time, Prof. Tung would like to translate writers like Rubáiyát, Keats, Austen, Wolfe, and Emily Brontë. On Emily Brontë, ‘Her writing is nicely structured and there’s so much energy, it’s like a storm. I’d love to try to express that in the translation.’ Wuthering Heights was published a year before Emily Brontë died at the age of 30. While she lived, her world had been confined, but what imagination! What implication does this have for the criticism that Hong Kongers are uncreative due to lack of exposure? ‘Perhaps Hong Kong people have no time for dreams. But I like them. I have students whom I’ve known for 13 years. They’re not cold. They just take time to warm up but they’re steadfast in their attachments.’ That may not entirely explain why we can’t be like Emily, but one thing is certain—the best translators are connoisseurs of life and people. 范志偉（堯舜語言服務有限公司總經理，電 腦輔助翻譯文學碩士課程2006年畢業生） Peter Fan (general manager of Yao Shun Language Services Ltd., 2006 graduate of MA in Computer-aided Translation Programme) 電 腦輔助翻譯文學碩士課程讓我從新角度 透視資訊科技在翻譯的應用。這課程與 本地其他類似課程不同之處，是它一直緊貼翻譯 的最新發展，並從集體運作的角度來處理翻譯 課業。 T he MACAT Programme gave me new insights into the application of IT to practical translation. What distinguishes it from other local translation programmes is that it is by far the only one that keeps abreast of the latest translation trends and deals with translation assignments from the perspective of a collective effort. 沈慧文（翻譯文學碩士課程） Brenda Shum Wai-man (MA in Translation) 翻 譯文學碩士課程讓我在職場上學以致 用。經過課程培訓，我得以在與不同人士 溝通時採取相應的策略，由此來看，也是其他課 程所不能比擬的。 T he MA in Translation Programme allows me to make an immediate impact in the workplace by putting newly gained knowledge into practice. My training equips me with the ability to use different strategies when communicating with different people. In that respect, no other programme can match this one. 蔡慧蓓（2007年本科畢業生，任職於Ogilvy） Wendy Choi (2007, now working at Ogilvy) 我 任職的Ogilvy廣告及公關公司，每天的 工作都離不開區域性的合作。在這個行 業一年了，了解到清晰和簡潔的寫作，可讓匯報 脫穎而出。翻譯系的培訓令我充分掌握語文技 巧，了解媒體需要，當然也掌握翻譯的竅門。 I work at Ogilvy where region-wide collaboration is an everyday thing. Over a year in the industry, I see that clear and concise writing gives you an edge at presentations and pitching. The department has prepared me very well in terms of language skills, understanding the media, and naturally, translation. 顧凱琦（本科三年級生） Mandy Ku Hoi-kei (Year 3, undergraduate) 最 難忘的科目是「翻譯研究導論」和「接續 傳譯」，前者要求我們翻譯饒舌歌詞和 本地電影的風趣對白，後者則讓我們扮演遊客和 即時傳譯員進行練習，使學習饒富趣味。 M y most memorable courses were ‘Introduction to Translation Studies’ and ‘Consecutive Interpreting’. In the first, we had fun translating rap lyrics and witty lines from local movies. In the second, we had mock meetings wherein some of us pretended to be foreign visitors while others pretended to be interpreters. 語言之外 More Than Words