蘇曼殊英文能力之再議

Su Manshu’s English Prof iciency Reexamined

在中國翻譯史上，蘇曼殊向來被視為當代罕見的語言天才，有關蘇氏的傳記中常提及蘇氏精通中、英、日、法、梵五種語言，但這種說法似乎是互相流傳所形成的結果，其背後的根據有待進一步釐清。本論文以蘇氏的英文能力為研究重點，檢視蘇氏涉及英文的文本來判斷蘇氏的英文能力。經篩選而得二部較能顯示蘇氏英文能力的關鍵作品：其一為1903年連載於國民日日報、1904年單行出版的《慘世界》，該作品係根據雨果（V. M. Hugo）小說《悲慘世界》（Les Misérables）的英譯本所譯成，可用於檢視蘇氏的英文閱讀理解力；其二為1909年的〈潮音自序〉，該作品係蘇氏為其英漢文學與翻譯選集《潮音》而寫的英文序言，可用於檢視蘇氏的英文寫作能力。研究結果發現矛盾的現象：從〈潮音自序〉流暢自然且深奧的英文表達，顯見作者的英文能力幾無異於受過良好教育的母語人士，但從《慘世界》中譯裡所見到的諸多理解錯誤，又指向蘇氏的英文能力有不少基本問題。本論文試圖解釋這種矛盾現象，從蘇氏學習英文的經歷，佐以誤譯問題的分析，提出英文文筆流暢的〈潮音自序〉係由母語人士潤飾過的可能性，最後歸納出蘇曼殊的英文程度應未達傳記所述的精通程度：蘇氏的英文程度，讀懂英文小說的大意與劇情或許尚可，但更細緻的語言掌握，就可能力有未逮。不過，本研究無意否定蘇氏的英文素養，重點僅在澄清蘇氏的英文能力，指出傳記中有關蘇氏英文能力誇大的陳述。

In the history of translation in China, Su Manshu has been acclaimed as a rare language genius, proficient in Chinese, English, Japanese, French, and Sanskrit. However, this view of him seems to have been passed down from one biographer to another too easily, and needs to be looked at more closely. This paper seeks to judge how proficient Su actually was in English by examining his performance in his two most representative English-related works. The first is The Miserable World, which was published separately in 1904 after being serialized in The China National Gazette in 1903. Translated from an English version of Hugo’s Les Misérables, this work can be used to evaluate Su’s English comprehension. The other is an English preface written in 1909 for the anthology Voices of the Tide, a collection of some Chinese and English literary works both in the original and in translation. While the “Preface to Voices of the Tide” is superbly written, displaying an exquisite literary style that demonstrates a native speaker’s profound grasp of the English language, The Miserable World features numerous misinterpretations that are attributable to the translator’s failure to understand some basic English concepts. In order to make sense out of this contradiction, this paper looks at both Su’s English learning career and the nature of his translation errors, and concludes that the highly fluent text of the Preface may probably have been polished by a native speaker of English. Finally, this paper concludes that Su had not fully mastered the English language: to handle the basic plot of an English novel might well have been within his power, but to give a more nuanced translation would have required a comprehension and linguistic skill that were beyond him. However, the purpose of this paper is not to deny Su’s English ability but rather to clarify the less-than-accurate, exaggerated descriptions of his English proficiency in current biographies. 在中國翻譯史上，蘇曼殊向來被視為當代罕見的語言天才，有關蘇氏的傳記中常提及蘇氏精通中、英、日、法、梵五種語言，但這種說法似乎是互相流傳所形成的結果，其背後的根據有待進一步釐清。本論文以蘇氏的英文能力為研究重點，檢視蘇氏涉及英文的文本來判斷蘇氏的英文能力。經篩選而得二部較能顯示蘇氏英文能力的關鍵作品：其一為1903年連載於國民日日報、1904年單行出版的《慘世界》，該作品係根據雨果（V. M. Hugo）小說《悲慘世界》（Les Misérables）的英譯本所譯成，可用於檢視蘇氏的英文閱讀理解力；其二為1909年的〈潮音自序〉，該作品係蘇氏為其英漢文學與翻譯選集《潮音》而寫的英文序言，可用於檢視蘇氏的英文寫作能力。研究結果發現矛盾的現象：從〈潮音自序〉流暢自然且深奧的英文表達，顯見作者的英文能力幾無異於受過良好教育的母語人士，但從《慘世界》中譯裡所見到的諸多理解錯誤，又指向蘇氏的英文能力有不少基本問題。本論文試圖解釋這種矛盾現象，從蘇氏學習英文的經歷，佐以誤譯問題的分析，提出英文文筆流暢的〈潮音自序〉係由母語人士潤飾過的可能性，最後歸納出蘇曼殊的英文程度應未達傳記所述的精通程度：蘇氏的英文程度，讀懂英文小說的大意與劇情或許尚可，但更細緻的語言掌握，就可能力有未逮。不過，本研究無意否定蘇氏的英文素養，重點僅在澄清蘇氏的英文能力，指出傳記中有關蘇氏英文能力誇大的陳述。