译作一篇

I am a girl from Qiang village of Abai’s Tibetan township. It is a place as beautiful as JiuZhaigou, HuangLong Temple and Four Girls Mountain. I was born and raised there and my dream was nurtured there.

I love my hometown very much. However, my heart has been aching for its poverty. Year after year my people have been toiling and sweating in this high land against its broiling sun only to reap poor harvest. Even so, villagers scarcely realize, with primitive farming and breeding, they can never change their present situation. They are poor and ignorant, living silently generation after generation in this remote place which is filled with smell of cow dung.

I should have been a common girl and quietly accepted my fate. But we Qiang people do have determination in blood and would not take this lying down. Our valiant ancestors’ expectations awakened my sense of obligation to this land and commitment to my people. Whenever I stood on the JiangWei ancient walls and looked up at the hovering hawks in the sky, my thought would be taken away to the outside world I had never known. How I want to fly! I was overwhelmed by a desire, a desire to change my life and change the life of my people.

Out of this village! That is the first step I took. I went to school and acquired knowledge. Later I left the mountainous area and enter “the outside world” where I learnt science and technology which has remolded my life.

I, a girl from a Qiang village, have learnt to be self-reliant. My people are proud of me. I was raised to love my people and to help them. For the future, I have a great vision: let us open our minds and hearts; let more children like me go out of our village and see the outside world; let the “outside world” know more about our Qiang village; and let China’s promise be extended to us. Now I’m translating this vision into action. I know it will not be easy; it will require sacrifice and help from our friends. So, here, I would say to all of you: join us, because it is a glorious cause which deserves your devotion. We do it not only to the benefit of Qiang people but to the benefit of the whole world: alleviate poverty and raise living standards. Let us work in all the ways we can until our work is done.

 

这是迄今为止我颇为得意的一片翻译作品,大概是一年前同事找我帮忙翻的。中文原稿是本校一位研究生写的，一个羌族姑娘。好像是要代表一个什么少数民族组织机构对联合国的一个什么组织机构发言，让他们对少数民族聚居地有一个认识，并且希望得到他们的经济援助。

 

原稿写得很散文的，也很政治的，我一看就笑了，告诉同事，这没有办法直译，人家听不懂的。我只能把她的意思讲明白，把她的情感翻译过去，同时让它听起来像一个speech。演讲的题目叫《走出羌寨》，一下子就让我想起了《走出非洲》，呵呵。

 

我花了半天的时间搞定。严格地说，这不是翻译，我是在按照别人的一个outline进行写作。交给同事的时候，她连连说好。

 

之后我就忘了这篇《走出羌寨》。昨天清理硬盘，在一个被遗忘了很久的文件夹里碰到了它。为了不让它在意外系统瘫痪事故中惨遭灭顶之灾，就把它放到这里，留作纪念吧。

 

最近日志写得挺勤的，多写点好啊，那边开学了也许就没有时间和心情写了。

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