Résumés
Abstract
Translating culture poses fundamental problems of perception and conception far deeper than matters of linguistic expression. This essay explores some of these problems by examining Fusheng liuji (Six Records of a Floating Life), a Chinese autobiographical text that has been translated into fourteen Asian and European languages. Even without going into the details of the rendered versions, one can notice various forms of intercultural mediation and reshaping in the translated titles and added subtitles. At one end is direct, partly helpless substitution: lexically flawless “float” cannot encompass the rich matrix of philosophical connotations and artistic resonances of fu in the source culture. At the other end is active reshaping: recasting, addition and omission based on interpretive (mis)reading, including a reduction of imagistic language into abstract concept (e.g., fu becomes “fleeting”). Through examining 17 renditions of the title of Fusheng liuji, this essay offers a case study that helps to cast light on the unavoidable factor of intercultural mediation in the translation process, with special focus on the translation of philosophical and aesthetic concepts. Some forms of mediation carry more significant effects than others, and there may be differences in verbal resources and orientations in various languages worthy of notice.
Keywords:
- Fusheng Liuji,
- translating philosophy,
- intercultural mediation,
- naturalization,
- foreignization,
- reductionism
Résumé
La traduction des cultures soulève des questions fondamentales de perception et de préconception qui vont au-delà des préoccupations purement linguistiques d’énonciation. Dans cet article, nous nous pencherons sur certaines de ces questions en examinant Fusheng Liuji (Six Records of a Floating Life), un texte autobiographique chinois, traduit en 14 langues asiatiques et européennes. Sans même devoir plonger dans les détails des traductions de l’ouvrage, il est possible de remarquer plusieurs formes de médiation et de remodelage interculturel dans les traductions des titres et des sous-titres ajoutés. À une extrémité du spectre, on trouve des substitutions directes, en partie inévitables : l’équivalent lexical exact « float » ne peut rendre le riche tissu de connotations philosophiques et de résonnances artistiques que « fu » évoque dans la culture source. À l’autre extrémité, on constate un remodelage actif : réaménagements, ajouts et omissions, basés sur une (fausse) lecture interprétative, incluant la réduction d’une langue imagée à un concept abstrait (par exemple, « fu » devient « fleeting ». En examinant 17 traductions du titre Fusheng Liuji, l’article propose une étude de cas qui permet de faire la lumière sur la médiation interculturelle, composant inévitable du processus de la traduction, tout en portant une attention particulière à la traduction de concepts philosophiques et esthétiques. Certaines formes de médiations sont porteuses de répercussions plus significatives que d’autres et il est possible de relever, selon les langues, des variations de ressources et d’orientations sur le plan verbal qui méritent qu’on s’y attarde.
Mots-clés :
- Fusheng Liuji,
- traduire la philosophie,
- médiation interculturelle,
- domestication,
- exotisation,
- réductionnisme
Parties annexes
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