方言文化的翻译转换与传播效能——基于葛浩文英译本《死水微澜》中四川方言处理的个案研究

Translational Transformation and Communicative Effectiveness of Dialect Culture—A Case Study of Sichuan Dialect Rendering in Howard Goldblatt’s English Translation of Dead Flood

摘要: 方言作为语言变体的重要形式，在文学叙事中不仅承担交际功能，还具有鲜明的社会标识和文化指向。《死水微澜》以四川地区为叙事背景，大量使用四川方言刻画人物身份、社会关系与地域氛围，使方言成为小说语言系统中不可或缺的组成部分。在其英译过程中，方言如何被处理，直接关系到作品的文化传达效果与海外读者的接受程度。本文以葛浩文(Howard Goldblatt)英译本Dead Flood为研究对象，在现代语言学语言变体理论的框架下，结合具体文本，对原作中四川方言的语言功能及其英译处理方式进行分析。研究发现，葛浩文在翻译四川方言时总体采取了以中和为主、功能保留为辅的策略，通过弱化显性地域标记、转而凸显人物社会身份与语用特征，实现了叙事可读性与文化可理解性的平衡。这一处理方式在一定程度上提升了作品的传播效能，但也不可避免地导致方言文化显性特征的削弱。本文旨在通过具体个案分析，为中国文学方言翻译的语言学研究与实践提供更为细致的观察视角。

Abstract: As an important form of language variation, dialects in literary narratives function not only as communicative tools but also as salient markers of social identity and cultural orientation. Dead Flood, set in the Sichuan region, makes extensive use of Sichuan dialect to construct character identities, social relationships, and a distinct regional atmosphere, rendering dialect an integral component of the novel’s linguistic system. In its English translation, the treatment of dialect directly affects the transmission of cultural meanings and the reception of the text by target readers. Taking Howard Goldblatt’s English translation Dead Flood as the object of analysis, this study adopts the theoretical framework of language variation in modern linguistics and conducts a close textual examination of the linguistic functions of Sichuan dialect in the source text and their rendering in translation. The analysis shows that Goldblatt primarily employs a strategy of neutralization, supplemented by functional preservation, by weakening explicit regional markers while foregrounding social identity and pragmatic features. This approach achieves a balance between narrative readability and cultural accessibility, thereby enhancing the communicative effectiveness of the translated text, but it also leads to a partial attenuation of the overt features of dialect culture. Through a detailed case study, this paper aims to offer a more fine-grained linguistic perspective on the translation of dialects in Chinese literary works.