Chapter 9 Part Two: From Chinese to English My Dear Modoc

My Dear Modoc my dear modoc Modoc—The True Story of the Greatest Elephant Ever Lived ("Modoc—The True Story of an Elephant") is a novel translated by my husband and me.Among the literary works I have translated, this is the one that excites and moves me the most, and it is also the one in which I have devoted the most effort.Translation is different from writing. Writing comes out of one's own heart. It is the author's emotional catharsis and thought expression, and it is also the expression of the author's insight and creativity.What translation has to face is an external object—an object that is almost completely unfamiliar to the translator.In order to translate, the translator must go deep into the inner world of the subject, try to figure out, see through, imitate, reproduce the original situation and the emotions of the characters, and sometimes even recreate it.Therefore, in the pen of a hundred translators, there will be a hundred Shakespeares.

As the author of the original work, everyone has their own inner world, their own emotional experiences, joys and pains, and even life and death, and unforgettable memories. These emotions and experiences are expressed in their own national language, among which The information carried is very rich, it will have the unique cultural background of the original author, or it is difficult for others to know, and there are also philosophical ideas and artistic views that are completely different from ours... These are the things that the translator must think about in the translation process and understandable.

In the process of translation, you will also encounter various creative techniques. Unconventionalism seems to be a trend of the times. It is reflected in literary works, which are all kinds of doctrines, such as super realism (super realism), magic realism (magic realism), structural realism (structural realism), mysticism (mysticism), etc. In addition, whether it can accurately express the original author's very personalized writing skills, situations and characters' emotions is also a key factor in the translator's translation. It needs to be taken seriously. I have met some people who like English translation, and they all have a dream that one day they can publish a tome like a translator.Some people are eager for success, so they pin their hopes on some computer translation software, thinking that with such software, they can quickly realize their desire to become a literary translator. However, when they use the software to translate the text line by line or page by page When I translated it from English to Chinese, I found that it was a bunch of emotionless words, and some sentences were even very ridiculous-yes, computers will never be able to replace all the emotions and wisdom of the human brain.

I have always believed that translation is a kind of spiritual creation, which reproduces the emotions and life ideals expressed in one language in another language.Translation is to explore the soul of the original author. This soul (soul) is produced under the infiltration of a culture, but it is very difficult to reproduce it in another language.In fact, translating a work is not easier than creating a work, because the cultural spirits involved in translation are diverse.Some translated works are not as exciting as the original text. I think it is because the translator has not grasped the creative soul of the original author and lost the most important thing—an emotion that can resonate among readers of different nationalities.

Modoc——The True Story of the Greatest Elephant Ever Lived is a full-length novel with a multi-cultural background. The narrative style is also very unique.From the title of the book, the protagonist of Modoc seems to be an elephant, but in fact, it is a story of an elephant and a person.In the author's writing, the female elephant Modoc and the boy Bram were born in a circus in a small town in Germany on the same day, and they spent a carefree and innocent childhood together. Time, and with the changes of life, suffered painful torture.They survived miraculously in unexpected life-and-death struggles again and again, just like a pair of loyal lovers, inseparable, life and death.They performed with the circus all over the world, and Murdoch's superb acting skills won people's praise and respect, and people in New York called her the golden elephant.

In the book, pictures of life and cultural scenes with completely different styles are constantly changing, from the barn in the circus village to the life-and-death struggle with the stormy waves in the Indian Ocean. The mysterious religious atmosphere makes people confused, the scenes that seem real and unreal, the short love and fierce battles in the deep mountains and dense forests of Burma, and the grand performance in New York, the bustling city of the United States...all of this is very important to the audience. Our translation of this book is both new and difficult. The author of "Modoc", Ralph Helfer (Ralph Helfer), has a very personal creative idea and technique. He was once a well-known animal behaviorist in Hollywood. The emotions between animals are deeply portrayed.People will wonder when they pick up this book, how can an elephant and a human communicate emotionally?What sustains their seventy years of affection until the end of their lives?And what I think is whether we can accurately translate and express the "language" between humans and elephants.Before translating, I read the original and read it several times in a row, and finally found the soul of the story—that is, the innate deep emotion between Modoc and Bram, which connects these two souls link.There is such a description in the book:

The two babies loved to feed each other. Standing on a log, Bram would hold the jug of milk as Modoc slurped away. Modoc's job was much easier; she could hold the baby bottle by wrapping her trunk around it and lowering to Bram. she would hold it out of reach and take a quick suck on it herself, until he started to cry or yelled for his mother. Then Modoc would hurriedly push it into Bram's mouth, in fear of being found out. Occasionally, in her taste, she would stick it in his ear or nose, which caused a bit of upset. (The two children love to feed each other. Bram is standing on a log, holding up a milk jug, while Murdock sips. Murdock has an easier job, rolling her nose The bottle hangs down in front of Bram, and sometimes she holds it high out of Bram's reach, and sucks quickly herself, until Bram starts crying for Mama, and Murdock hastily removes the bottle. into Bram's mouth so that no one could tell she was making Bram cry. Sometimes, in a hurry, she would put the pacifier in Bram's ear or up his nose to make Bram cry. Tom cries and laughs.)

There is also this paragraph, Bram and Murdoch have grown up, and their friendship is deepening day by day. They are really like a pair of very good friends. Modock is so human. Seeing this, I almost forgot she was a baby elephant: The first thing Bram did upon his return was run to Mo, giving her hugs and kisses. Early on, Modoc developed a special way of showing Bram her affection. She would put her trunk over Bram's shoulder, snaking it around his waist, hold him tight, all the while making rumbling noises. It looked quite protective. (The first thing Bram does after school is to run to Murdoch, hug her, and kiss her. Over time, Murdoch has also developed a way of expressing affection to Bram. The nose rested on Bram's shoulder, and then hooked down to his waist, hugging him tightly, and purring sounded from one side of his mouth, as if he was protecting Bram. )

This is the true friendship between a little boy and an elephant, it surpasses the verbal conversation between a boy and a girl, but it still conveys a human emotion, it is this kind of love that has been cultivated since childhood. The feelings that rose up supported them through the bitter winds and rains that followed.When the author writes about the communication between Murdoch and Bram, he often uses words such as "talk", "chat", "complain", and "murmur", as if the two of them could really talk to each other.Therefore, in translation, we translate these words into "chat", "talk", "talk", "quarrel", "mutter" and so on according to the situation at that time.In fact, I already regard them as close friends who share weal and woe.

There are many descriptions in the book that are very moving, not only the story itself, but also a meaning that people can recall for a long time. Through the elephant of Modoc, I feel more deeply the beauty of the integration of man and nature.From this point of view, the author's English writing is really beautiful.For example, the mysterious Indian Yagrati said to Bram in the book: What you have to be able to do with your Modoc is what man has been seeking for a long time. To communicate with nature through the animals. Treasure it. The sounds of nature are its music, its lyrics, and it comes from all living things. The subtle violin whispers of the wind in the pine forest, the howling bassoon of the violent monsoon, the clarinet of the birds, the drums of the earthquakes and volcanoes, the cymbals of the lightning and thunder, the harp of the oceans, Together they play God's song----early morning dripping of water from a night storm, the songbirds in the meadow during the sunny afternoon, the owl, the roar of a lion, the evening breezes blowing through the trees. song. Not a story. Not a fable with a point made at its end. But a song that sings within and without all living things.

(You can communicate with Modoc, which is what people have dreamed of for many years, that is, communicate with nature through animals, cherish it. The various sounds of nature are his music, it is poetry, it From all living things. The wind in the pine woods is like the whisper of a wondrous violin, the fierce monsoon is like the roar of a bassoon, the chirping of a bird is like a solo clarinet, earthquakes and volcanoes are like the rumble of drums, lightning and thunder are like The thumping of the cymbals. The sea billows like the plucking of a harp, and together they make the song of the gods—the night storm leaves the sound of the morning's ticking water, and the sunny afternoon the singing bird sings in the meadow, And the horrific hooting of the owl, the roar of the lion, the evening wind gently passing through the treetops. That's real singing, not a story, not a fable with a title at the end, but a song, which is in all life chant, and also chant in nature.) In the book "Modoc", amazing situations appear continuously and disappear quickly, sometimes it involves me suddenly entering a new realm, and I can't even find the appropriate words for a long time, but only amazement.For example, the following scene description: It was a lovely day. Summer was stealing some extra time while fall slept. White puffs of clouds hung in the sky with seemingly no interest in moving on. The rains had turned the countryside into a sea of ​​green covering the hilltops. spotted with groves of sycamore and spruce trees, caught the runoff and were a deeper green, with splashes of purple sage, the essence of the lush valley. The rainwater slowed and settled into the rich loam, and from it grew the emerald grass that carpeted God's house, grass where the regal stage grazed. In the middle of the palace's private forest flowed the beautiful Agra, a mystical river of dark blue water. It wrote through the forest like a giant serpent, angling through the trees, changing in width, in girth, never ending, sometimes multi-channeled, and splitting into many tributaries. (The weather is so beautiful, autumn is still sleeping, summer is stealing autumn time. White clouds hang high in the sky, as if they have no interest in drifting away. A heavy rain turned the fields into a sea of ​​green, covering until On the top of the hill, the steep cliffs dotted with clusters of maple and spruce catch the water flowing down the slope, making it more lush. The clusters of purple sage are eye-catching and exude the unique fragrance of Green Valley. The rainwater gradually infiltrated the fertile soil, from which lush green grass grew, covering the house of God with a green carpet, and also chased the king's stags. In the exclusive forest of the palace, there flows a beautiful Aiger La River, the dark blue river is mysterious and unpredictable. It meanders through the forest like a giant python, passing through the trees, sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, never stopping, and sometimes divided into many rivers flow together, or give birth to many tributaries.) This is a tranquil beauty that can make people intoxicated, a fairyland-like beauty that can make people forget everything, and it seems to be a mysterious beauty that can make people transcend the world.Translating such passages requires not only vocabulary, but more importantly, the perception of beauty and a piercing imagination beyond words. Only when pictures are formed in my mind, when my heart is soaked When I am in tears, my language can flow out like a stream in my writing: On the Indian Ocean in a storm, a ship is tottering and about to capsize; in the mysterious Indian forest, the moonlight reflects the statue of Ator Silhouette... Later, when the circus was performing, Murdoch was smuggled onto the train late at night.From then on, Bram began his journey to find her.After many years, he finally found the traumatized Murdoch, and they embraced tightly like long-lost relatives.However, they are old. When translating such passages, I always wipe away my tears again and again, and sometimes the tears may fall on the manuscript paper.I believe in this saying: Only what comes from the heart can move the heart.This is true for writers as well as for translators.Translating literary works must put all the emotions into it.For example, the following paragraph, I always can't bear to read it a second time. Modoc's eyesight had gotten worse. She couldn't leave the elephant barn without Bram being there to help. Well, Mosie, how ya doing today, huh? Bram asked. She constantly kept her trunk busy, like a man with a cane, touching all things, whether standing still, walking, meeting people, she had to touch them; it was the only way she could talk to them. When Bram took her out, she moved carefully, touching as she walked, but still anything in her way was fair game. Bram, seeing the problem, decided to solve it. He put the tip of her trunk into his back belt loop. “Now you just hang to that and I'll be your seeing-eye person.” (Mordock's eyesight is getting worse and she can no longer leave the shed without Bram's help. Hi Moxie, how are you feeling today?Bram asked. Murdoch was fiddling with her nose like a man with a cane, touching here and there, touching everywhere, whether she was standing still, or going for a walk, or meeting someone, It's the only way she can talk to other people.When Bram took her out, she always moved carefully, nuzzling with each step, and anything in the way was still the object of her nose.Bram saw her trouble and decided to help her with her walking problem.He tucked the tip of Modoc's nose into the loop at the back of his belt and said to her, Now, just hang there and I'll be your guide. ) Mo listened, swaying her head to and fro, not missing a word. Bram said, all things need to change form to live. When we die we change into ashes, gases, things like that. ashes may help a tree grow; the gases could mingle with others and become…something else! That means someday you and I are going to change and ah…well…His voice stuck in his throat. He rubbed the soft leathery skin on the underside of her ear. And you...you will become something greater and more wonderful than you imagine! You will soar in the universe, become part of all things, you will sit at His side and help rule all of nature. (Murdoch listens, shaking her head from side to side, never missing a word. Bram says, Mo, everything in life changes form. We turn into dust, gas, and whatnot when we die Stuff. Then, they will change too. Dust will help trees grow, gas will mix with other gases and become... something else. That is, someday you and I will both change... oh ... Mo... His words caught in his throat, he stroked the soft skin behind her ears. And you... You will become something much bigger and wonderful than you can imagine. You will Ascend to the blue sky of the universe and become a part of all things, you will sit beside the Creator and help him control the whole nature.) After translating the book "Modoc", I really felt the hardships of translating literary works, which requires the translator to transcend cultural barriers, experience a kind of emotional nirvana, and retell it to be acceptable to every reader. , things that can cause the heart to tremble, so that there will be a new cultural rebirth under the translator's pen.Translation, like writing, is a painstaking labor.However, when "Modoc" became a favorite image of many readers, I also found comfort for my soul.