Educated Youth in My Memory
Author: Juebu Shoubing
Translated by Tulip
Half a few of collapsed mud houses in my hometown remind me of the past
When educated youth lived there the yard was clean
There were many beauties whose names unfamiliar to me
In fact, I was fond of listening to their songs flown out of the harmonicas
I used to look at their teeth with giggling rinse foam at brushing
When they were holding me I much liked the fragrance of fresh soap
Many villagers sneered at the youth
Particularly, the party secretary and the village leader always criticized them
In total, the young people only had a dozen
Every night I secretly climbed up to their window
Watching them write letter to cities
Gradually their numbers reduced
I counted with my fingers to know that I was nine years old
Whoever wanted to leave
They usually brought their clothes of non-use for future or other things to my mum
My mother always baked some flour steamed bread for them the whole night
Xiumei and another youngster whose name I don’t know, were the last to leave
Because their parents couldn’t afford the gift for the village and town
When I grew up I drifted in cities like them
Someone told me that a few years ago they came back
They had their pictures taken in the old yard and at front of the locked door, then they left
有关你的提问,我给你解释下。
1. Watching them to write letter to cities 这里我用了watch 的现在分词,表示作者偷偷地爬上窗口时一种持续的状态,强调动词“盯着看”,当然如果你这样翻“ Every niht I secretly climed up their widow and wacthed them to write letter to cities " 也是可以的,但我感觉这样就比较平。
2.原句是他们抱我时我最爱闻那肥皂的清新, 我采用了when 引导的过去式正在进行时,在我抱我的那一刻,非常喜欢(这里的like 用的是一般过去式,表示作者过去的喜好),当然我这里才采用的翻译的弱化处理,如果照字面上翻,要这样翻“ I very much liked that smell of fresh soap", 这样翻把”闻“ 译在里面,但感觉不到香皂的清新,所以我采用了修辞加上了”the fragrance" 芳香,这个词是褒义的,而“smell", 是中性的,可以是难闻的气味,也可以是好闻的气味。
3. 原句是"板板指头算算那年我已九岁了", 本句的谓语动词中心应该是” count “ 计算,数年龄。所以我没有按字面翻译成" I pulled my fingers to count and I knew that I had been nine years old " 这样看上去很忠实原文,但有很深的Chinglish 中式英文的迹象。