生物学术语翻译的历时演变考——基于《物种起源》第一章1953年和2012年译本的对比分析

A Diachronic Study of the Evolution of Biological Terminology Translation—A Comparative Analysis Based on the 1953 and 2012 Chinese Translations of On the Origin of Species

摘要: 本研究以达尔文《物种起源》1953年韩安译本(2020年出版)第一章与2012年李虎译本第一章为研究对象，基于Morse Peckham、James T. Costa等学者对原著版本变体的研究成果，结合《达尔文〈物种起源〉集注本》数据，综合运用文本细读法、语料库分析法与历史语境还原法，考察1953~2012年间生物学术语翻译的历时演变规律。研究发现，在术语形式上，复合词占比从韩安译本的72.4%降至李虎译本的35.6%，词长由平均4.8个汉字缩短至3.3个汉字，体现从繁复意译向简洁标准化形式的转变；语义方面，李虎译本术语单义率达91.3%，较韩安译本的64.2%显著提升，反映出生物学概念表达准确性的增强；文化内涵上，韩安译本38%的术语带传统哲学印记，李虎译本71%采用国际通用直译，实现从传统文化渗透向国际科学话语主导的跨越。本研究验证了科学翻译受制于“社会–学术–语言”三重场域的理论，揭示译者版本选择对翻译策略的深刻影响，以及科学翻译与学术共同体发展的内在关联，为科学术语翻译研究提供新视角与方法。

Abstract: This study focuses on the 1953 Han An’s translation (published in 2020) and the 2012 Li Hu translation of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Drawing on the research findings of scholars such as Morse Peckham and James T. Costa on the textual variants of the original work, and combining data from The Annotated Origin of Species, the research systematically explores the diachronic evolution of biological terminology translation from 1953 to 2012 through a comprehensive approach integrating close reading, corpus analysis, and historical context reconstruction. The results indicate that in terms of terminological form, the proportion of compound words decreased from 72.4% in Han An’s translation to 35.6% in Li Hu’s, and the average word length shortened from 4.8 Chinese characters to 3.3, reflecting a shift from verbose free translation to concise standardized forms; semantically, the monosemy rate of terms in Li Hu’s translation reached 91.3%, a significant increase from 64.2% in Han An’s, indicating enhanced accuracy in the expression of biological concepts; culturally, 38% of the terms in Han An’s translation bore traces of traditional philosophy, while 71% of those in Li Hu's adopted internationally accepted literal translation, marking a transition from the infiltration of traditional culture to the dominance of international scientific discourse. This study validates the theory that scientific translation is constrained by the “social-academic-linguistic” triple field, reveals the profound impact of translators’ choice of source text versions on translation strategies, and illustrates the inherent connection between scientific translation and the development of the academic community, thereby providing a new perspective and methodology for research on scientific terminology translation.