浅谈“嬷嬷”一词的翻译——以《使女的故事》和《还珠格格》为例

Translation of the Word “Momo”—In The Handmaid’s Tale and My Fair Princess

摘要: 嬷嬷作为中国人熟知的人物形象之一，时常出现在中国本土的电视剧中，用来称呼负责照顾孩子的年长女性，比如著名琼瑶剧《还珠格格》中的容嬷嬷，但在美国电视剧《使女的故事》中，也出现了嬷嬷这一角色形象。在《使女的故事》中，“嬷嬷”一词由“aunt”译入得来，而《还珠格格》中的“嬷嬷”一词在译出时却又译为了“nanny”。本文将结合“嬷嬷”一词译入和译出两个翻译方向，探讨该词的翻译及背后的文化诱因。

Abstract: The word “Momo” is usually used in Chinese to describe elder women who take care of children for other people. “Momo” is a kind of common character in Chinese drama, however, it appears in the translation of an American TV show called The Handmaid’s Tale, in which the word “aunt” is translated into “Momo”. On the other hand, in My Fair Princess, a Chinese TV series, the Chinese word “Momo” is translated into “nanny”. This essay focuses on the translation of the word “Momo” in both translation directions in order to shed light on cultural differences between East and West in terms of TV characters.