0770翻譯: 葉聖陶先生二三事 (張中行) 2 of 2

0770翻譯: 葉聖陶先生二三事 (張中行) 2 of 2

Translation： A Few Things on Mr。 Ye Shengtao （Zhang Zhongxing）

（translated by： alexcwlin； edited by： Adam Lam） ［2007B13］

這都是過去的事了。

Those were all things of the past。

值得重視的大問題在現在，流行的文的大多數，從用語方面看，與過去相比，不即的成分顯然增加了，從而不離的成分就相應地減少了。

Presently， the major problem that deserves the public’s attention is that the majority of the Chinese language in vogue， compared to what was in the past， is that obviously the proportion of the “not too close” ones have been increasing， and accordingly the “not too distant” ones have been decreasing。

這表現為冗長，扭曲，修飾，晦澀，不像話。

This manifests itself as being verbose， distortive， embellishing， obscure， and absurd。

不像話，有影響，是不自然，不簡明，不易懂。

The impacts on being absurd could be unnatural， bombastic， and baffling。

這樣寫，有的來於心有餘而力不足，有的來於看什麼，學什麼；但更多的是來於認識（縱使是不很明確的），

In writing like this， some people were biting off more than what they could chew， some were learning in parrot fashion， and even more were there just to get acquainted （even if that wasn’t definite）。

以為不這樣就不成其為文，甚至不足以稱為文。

In such circumstances， they couldn’t be constituted as literature， or even be called literature。

有認識為依據，不即而離的文就會發榮滋長，終於成為文風問題。

Based on acquaintance， not close but distant literature would be verdantly grown and finally developed into an issue of writing style。

葉聖陶先生堅決反對這種文風，

Mr。 Ye Shengtao resolutely opposed to this style of writing。

他提出正面的主張，要“寫話”。

He put forth a constructive proposition to “write colloquially”。

寫話，粗略說是嘴裡怎麼說，筆下就怎麼寫；

Writing colloquially， roughly speaking， would be to pen down what would be “spoken”。

加細一些說是，所寫，從用語方面看，要是簡明而有條理的口頭話。

To refine it further from the perspective of applicable diction， what are written should be what could be spoken in concise and rational terms。

——————————————————————————————————-

我們在一起的時候，常常談到寫文章，

When we were together， we often talked about compositions。

他不只一次地說：“寫成文章，在這間房裡念，要讓那間房裡的人聽著，是說話，不是念稿，才算及了格。”

He said this more than once： “When you have finished writing an article and read it out to an audience in this room， it should be speaking， not reciting， to make the grade。”

他這個意見，不同的人會有不同的反應。

Different people would have different reactions to this opinion of him。

譬如近些年來，有不少人是宣揚朦朧的，還有更多的人是順勢朦朧的，

For example， in those recent years， quite a few people had been advocating obscurity， and still more people had been riding the wave of obscurity。

對於以簡明如話為佳文的主張，就必致付之一笑。

They would laugh it off at the proposition that good writing needed to be clear， simple and vernacular-like。

這裡為題目所限，不能牽涉過多，甚至挑起論辯。

Here due to the confinement stipulated by the title， I cannot get involved with too many things or even invoke topics for arguments。

專說我的看法，寫話，雖然其中有些細節還需要進一步說明，但大體上說，或當作行文用語的一個高標準看，總是既正確又對症。

Even though there are some specifics which need to be further expounded， yet as a whole or measured against a high standard in practical communication， my specific viewpoints on written Chinese are proper and pertinent。

說正確，因為這是堅持文學革命以來求言文一致的老傳統。

It’s proper because it insists on the old tradition of seeking consistency in spoken and written Chinese since the literary revolution

說對症，因為時下的脫離口語甚至有意遠離口語的文風正在製造“新文言”。

It’s relevant because the current writing style’s breakaway from spoken Chinese， and even staying far away from it， are creating a “new classical written Chinese”。

稱為文言，是因為只見於書面，嘴裡並不這樣說。

The term so named as “classical written Chinese” is for reason that it’s only seen in writing and not spoken through the mouth。

新文言，就其難於為絕大多數人輕易瞭解說，會比舊文言更糟，

It’s difficult to explain “new classical written English” for most people to understand easily as it’s worse than old classical written Chinese。

因為舊文言簡短，新文言冗長，

That’s because old classical written Chinese is simple and concise， while new classical written Chinese is lengthy。

舊文言直說，新文言要多繞彎子。

Old classical written Chinese is direct in speaking， while new classical written Chinese goes around in circles。

不簡短，不直說，再加上結果的難於瞭解，就成為症。

In not being simple and concise， not direct in speaking， as well as difficult to understand as a result would make it an ailment。

去症要有對症藥，那就是寫話，

To cure the ailment requires the right dosage of medicine， and that would be written conversational Chinese。

寫話的主張會碰到兩種性質的難易問題。

People who advocate written conversational Chinese would run into two types of problems with difficulties of certain natures。

一種是執筆之前，剛才說過的，認為這樣就不成其為文，下里巴人，不屑於。

One is before you pick up a pen， you have the preconception that it’s not literature but contemptible run-of-the-mill scrap—just as we have mentioned above。

認識，屬於一念之差，可是變卻大不易，

Acquaintance is a mere notion， but a change would not be easy。

要慢慢學，多多比較，細心體會，

It’s necessary to take time to learn， make plentiful comparisons， and undergo thorough experience。

求速成辦不到。

There’s no short cut to it。

另一種是執筆之後，我的經驗，就說是下里巴人吧，

Another type is after you pick up your pen， my experience is simply to say it’s run-of-the-mill。

寫得簡明自然，讓下里巴人聽著像話，

The writing is concise and natural that would sound like spoken words to ordinary people。

不是容易，而是很難。

That’s not easy， and even very difficult。

這也要靠慢慢學（多念像話的文），多多比較，細心體會；

It too has to take time to learn （read more dialogue-like literature）， make plentiful comparisons， and undergo thorough experience。

此外還要加上葉聖陶先生提到的辦法，

Besides， the methods proposed by Mr。 Ye should be added。

寫完，可以自己試念試聽，看像話不像話，不像話，堅決改。

After the writing is finished， you can try to read and listen to it yourself to see if it’s like a dialogue， and if not， then resolutely change it。

葉聖陶先生就是這樣嚴格要求自己的，

That was how strict Mr。 Ye demanded of himself。

所以所作都是自己的寫話風格，平易自然，鮮明簡潔，細緻懇切，

Therefore， all he wrote were in his own dialogue-style that were easygoing， natural， refreshing， unambiguous， meticulous， and heartfelt。

念，順口，聽，悅耳，

It’s easy-reading to recite and easy-listening to the ears。

說像話還不夠，就是話。

To say they’re dialogue-like is inappropriate， because they’re simply dialogues themselves。

——————————————————————————————————-

在文風方面，葉聖陶先生還特別重視“簡潔”。

In terms of writing style， Mr。 Ye emphasized on being “unambiguous”。

簡潔應該是寫話之內的一項要求，

Unambiguity is a requirement for written dialogue。

這裡提出來單獨說說，是因為葉聖陶先生常常提到，有針對性。

It’s singled out here for discussion because Mr。 Ye always mentioned it in isolation。

他是帶著一些感慨說的：“你寫成文章，給人家看，

He always said it with a sigh： “You write articles for others to look at。

人家給你刪去一兩個字，意思沒變，就證明你不行。”

If other people could delete one or two words without affecting the meaning， that would be evidence enough that you’re not up to par。”

關於繁簡，關於修改，魯迅提到的是字句段。

In regard to the issue of complexity versus simplicity， Lu Xun talked about words， sentences and paragraphs。

葉聖陶先生只說字，

Mr。 Ye talked about words only。

我的體會，一是偏重用語，

In my personal experience， one is to lean towards the use of language。

二是意在強調，

The second one intends on emphasis。

精神是可簡就決不該繁。

In spirit， if it is simple， then it shouldn’t be complex。

可是現實呢，常常是應簡而偏偏要繁。

But in reality， often it should be simple yet it would deliberately be complex。

繁簡有時牽涉到內容方面，

The issue on complexity versus simplicity sometimes gets involved with contents。

意思無價值，甚至更壞，當然以不寫為是。

When the meanings are worthless， or even worse， of course it shouldn’t even be written。

內容還會引來其他性質的複雜問題，

Contents would also trigger other problems which are complicated in nature。

這裡不管，只說用語。

Let’s ignore them， and only talk about terminology。

用語的可簡而繁，

A terminology could be simple， yet complicated。

近些年來大為流行，種類和花樣都很多，

Such is in vogue in recent years， and the types and varieties are plentiful。

幾年前我在拙作《作文雜談》的“累贅拖沓”一題裡曾較詳細地談到，這裡不能多說。

A few years ago， under “redundancy and wordiness” of my article “Titbits on Composition”， I mentioned it in detail and so， I would not say more about it。

我的想法，值得重視的不是多用少用一兩個字，

In my thinking， what should be taken seriously is not adding or deleting one or two words。

而是應該少用而偏偏多用的這種熱愛冗贅的心情，

Rather， it’s about the mentality of being passionate about redundancy where more words are added when fewer words should be used。

它擴張，無孔不入，就會成為風。

When such is aggrandized to all corners， then it would become a fashion。

舉最微末的兩個字為例。

Take the two most insignificant words as an example。

一個是“了”，勢力越來越大，佔據的地盤越來越廣，

One is “already” where it has taken up more territories as its power has increased。

如“我見到老師”，“他坐在前排”，簡明自然，

An example is “I saw my teacher”， “he was sitting at the front row”， which are simple， easy to understand， and natural。

現在卻幾乎都要寫“我見到了老師”，“他坐在了前排”，成為既累贅又彆扭。

Now it would almost be invariably written as “I have already seen my teacher”， and “he was already sitting at the front row”， which have become redundant and awkward。

另一個是“太”，

Another word is “too”。

如“吸菸不好”，“那個人我不認識”，也是簡明自然，

For example， the sentence of “smoking is not good” and “I don’t know that person” are simple， easy to understand， and natural。

現在卻幾乎都要寫“吸菸不太好”，“那個人我不太認識”，成為不只累贅，而且違理。

Nowadays， it would almost be invariably written as “smoking is not too good” and “I don’t too know that person” to become redundant and illogical。

像這樣的廢字，刪去不只是意思沒變，

Garbage words like those would not have changed the meanings after deletion。

而且是變拖沓無理為簡潔合理，

Besides， it would convert redundancy and illogicality into unambiguity and logicality。

可是竟然很少人肯刪，

Yet very few people are willing to make the deletions。

也就無怪乎葉聖陶先生感慨系之了。

No wonder Mr。 Ye sighed in resignation on that regard。

——————————————————————————————————-

在我認識的一些前輩和同輩裡，重視語文，努力求完美，

I know some seniors and peers in the field who take the Chinese language seriously and always try hard to achieve perfection。

並且以身作則，鞠躬盡瘁，

They practice what they teach as an example for others and try their utmost in the process。

葉聖陶先生應該說是第一位。

Among such people， I say Mr。 Ye should be ranked in top spot。

上面說的是總的用語方面。

As a whole， the above-mentioned situations applies to terminology。

零碎的，寫作的各個方面，小至一個標點，以至抄稿的格式，他都同樣認真，

In various aspects such as the sundries and the composition， Mr。 Ye was very serious in all respects to as little as a punctuation or the format in transcripts。

不做到完全妥帖決不放鬆。

He wouldn’t let go until everything was in perfect order。

還記得五十年代早期，他發現課本用字，“做”和“作”分工不明，

I can still remember in the early part of the 1950s， he discovered uses of the words “as” and “like” were not clearly distinguished in application in the textbooks。

用哪一個，隨寫者的自由，

The selection of which one to use was at the discretion of the author。

於是出現這一處是“叫做”，那一處是“叫作”的現象。

So， situations occurred where the expression “called as” was applied in some cases while “called like” was applied in others。

這不是對錯問題，是體例不統一的問題。

That wasn’t a question of right or wrong， but one of consistency in style。

葉聖陶先生認為這也不應該，必須定個標準，

Mr。 Ye believed that shouldn’t be the case and things should be standardized。

求全社出版物統一。

He asked all the publications of the publishing house to be uniform in approach。

商討的結果，定為“行動”義用“做”，

As a result of discussions， it was established that in the sense of “action”， the term “as” should be used。

“充當”義用“作”，

In the sense of “substitution”， “like” should be used。

只有一些歷史悠久的，如作文、自作自受之類仍依舊貫。

It’s only in some established terminologies with a long history like “composed as” and “as a dose of his own medicine” that the status quo would be maintained。

決定之後，葉聖陶先生監督執行，

After the decision was made， Mr。 Ye was put in charge of the execution。

於是“做”和“作”就有了明確的分工。

Henceforth， the terms “as” and “like” would have distinctly different applications。

——————————————————————————————————-

葉聖陶先生，人，往矣，

The person Mr。 Ye is gone。

我常常想到他的業績。

I often think of his achievements。

仍以（左傳）的三不朽為標準，“立德” 是“太上”的事，

In gauging against the three “immortals” in Zuozhuan， “acquiring virtues” would be the “supreme” matter。

就理說應該受到尊重，沒有問題。

General speaking， it should be respected without problem。

問題是行方面的如何效法。

The problem is figuring out how to emulate in implementation。

兩個時代有距離，

Time has elapsed between the two eras。

相通的可能究竟有多大呢？

How wide would the gap be that such could be applied during both times。

不過無論如何，悲觀總是不可取的，

But nonetheless， pessimism should not be upheld。

要知難而不畏難，

One should acknowledge difficulties and yet not to back away from it。

辦法是長記於心，學。

The way to deal with it is to remember it by heart and learn。

語文方面也是這樣，

It’s the same thing with the Chinese language。

——不，

But then again—no。

是困難比較多，

There are more difficulties involved。

因為理的方面也不是人人都首肯。

It’s because logically， not everyone would approve。

不人人首肯，樂觀的空話就不大有什麼用。

If not everyone would approve， then optimistic empty words would not have much use。

但希望，即使不是很大的，總不當因不樂觀而放棄。

But hopefully even though the use is not very extensive， it’s not proper to give up because of the lack of optimism。

這希望就是，凡是拿筆的人，尤其或有意或無意而寫得不像話的人，都要常常想想葉聖陶先生的寫話的主張，以及提出這種主張的深重的苦心。

The hope is everyone who picks up a pen， particularly the one who doesn’t write like dialogues whether intentionally or unintentionally， should always think of Mr。 Ye Shengtao’s proposition for written dialogue， and his profound and heartfelt intention in doing so。

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

翻譯中小學現代語文課文

adamlam99：翻譯793篇中小學現代語文課文

——————————————————————————————————————————————-