粥说：“莫言淡薄少滋味，淡薄之中滋味长”
读者君，
您好。
我是今天广东英语新闻栏目公众号的撰稿人，同事们都管我叫交哥；我之前也写过几篇文章，分享了我的一些有用没用的翻译经验。有兴趣的读者可以浏览文末的链接。
这回我想分享三篇关于粥的短文与诗歌的英译，并挑了一些关键字句分享我的翻译体会；单位的外专 Hazza 也帮我润色了全文，在此也一并感谢。
为了怕您在阅读的时候闷，我放了一些西藏林芝的照片，是我的邻居黎东灿，也是一名专业的摄影师，最近去那里拍的照片，我觉得拍出了仙气飘飘。
我也祝愿我的读者朋友们既能够喝上深夜的酒，也能享受清晨的一碗粥。
那三更的粥，是太祖父写给太祖母的诗
By邮戏
有一个新媳妇，每天三更起床，为婆婆煮粥。婆婆要吃高粱粥，又不许急火煮，怕费柴。文火慢熬整整三个时辰后，才能把硬若石粒一样的高粱米煮成一碗松软的粥糜。盛在碗中，放至七八分的热度，端进婆婆的房中，而婆婆，只是浅尝一口。
那时小，听到这里，连忙追问：“婆婆喝完粥以后，媳妇是不是去睡觉了?”
讲故事的人是我的祖母，她剥着豆荚，愤愤地说：“哪里能睡？天一亮还要做一大家子人的饭，喂猪喂羊，好像牛马一样。”
再长大点，我才明白祖母的悲愤。因为那小媳妇是她的母亲。
有一次，去探望太祖母，问她：“那时明知是一种刁难，为什么不反抗呢?”
九十多岁的太祖母，抿嘴一笑，说道：“头天晚上，你太祖父就悄悄泡好高粱米。劈好细柴，放在灶前，我只是守着而已。”
那一瞬间，她眼前又燃亮新婚的星光。那些被偷偷疼爱的细节，胜却一切磨难。当倏然老矣时，苦难皆已风烟俱净，那偷巧的甜蜜，却刻下深深的印痕。
A Bowl of Sorghum Porridge
“There was once a young bride, who needed to get up in the middle of night to prepare porridge for her mother-in-law. It was porridge made of sorghum. The bride was forbidden from using a blazing fire to make the porridge, as that was deemed too firewood-costly by her mother-in-law.
After spending over three hours boiling rice grains with a small fire, the bride succeeded in making the perfect bowl of porridge. Those sorghum rice grains, as hard as stones, were finally transformed into a bowl of soft and watery porridge.
She only took the bowl to her mother-in-law’s room when the porridge became lukewarm and suitable for eating. However, her mother-in-law only took one small sip of the porridge.”
I was small when I first heard this story, and asked almost immediately, “After the mother-in-law had consumed the porridge, did the bride go to bed to sleep?”
My grandmother was the story teller. She was shelling peas while telling me the story, saying resentfully, “That would have been impossible! Before dawn, she needed to prepare breakfast for the entire family. After preparing the breakfast, she had to feed the pigs and goats. Her life was as miserable as a slave’s.”
When I grew older, I came to understand my grandmother’s anger and resentment, as the new bride was her mother.
I once raised this question to my great grandmother when I visited her, saying, “You knew too well that it was an open act of harassment, why didn’t you fight back?”
My 90-year-old great grandmother smiled gently, “At nights, your great grandfather would quietly help me to soak the sorghum rice grain, and place firewood in front of the cooking stove after chopping the wood into small pieces. What I did was simply watch a boiling pot.”
At that very moment her eyes suddenly dilated with joyfulness and bliss that were only unique to an anticipating new bride. The memories of those moments that she had properly and secretly looked after and loved outweighed all kinds of dreadful hardships.
As she has grown older, the unbearable pain and suffering of the past has become insignificant and irrelevant, while quite surprisingly, the sweet memories of her being cherished by her beloved husband refuse to fade away, and in an instant come flooding back.
翻译体会：
1. 放至七八分的热度，刚开始的时候我是直接翻成 when the porridge became cooler，后来是通过查搭配字典找到了lukewarm 这个词，意思指：slightly warm，微温的，不冷不热的。也从一个侧面说明查字典的重要性。
2. 好像牛马一样，这句话我最早译成Her life was as miserable as a slave，外专Hazza 在帮我润稿的时候不声不响地加了一个’s，让我恍然大悟，也意识到自己还需要恶补英语语法。
3. 刁难应该怎么翻？查了网络字典，解释有：create difficulties, deliberately put obstacles in someone's way ，可在原文的句式中最好是一个名词，我后来就用了harassment这个词，而harass 的意思是：To make someone worried and unhappy be causing troubles, especially on repeated occasions, 使烦恼。
4. 她眼前又燃亮新婚的星光，这句话的英译变动无疑是最大的，也是通篇最难译的一句。我一开始是想用 at that moment I could see light of joyfulness and bliss in her eyes，后来觉得平淡，就翻了搭配字典，发现了 dilate 这个词，也是我第一次认识这个词，意思是指眼睛扩大，例句有：Her eyes dilated with terror. 她吓得瞪大了眼睛。
这背后也包含了我一向以来的翻译理念，在中英文没有完全对应表达的时候，不要硬翻，而是要学会变通，尽可能地用译文目标受众习惯的表达；而查搭配字典也是很好的翻译习惯。
我要把我的温柔，炖成一碗粥
By 马薇薇
那么大的火，我也不着急
我把锅子装满水
我现在去淘米
你耐心的等
你说顺序错了
我说不要紧
米在锅里了
你在我心里了
水沸腾
又沸腾
我拿勺子单独翻腾
一会儿放进枣
一会儿放进虾
又咸又甜
妈的，我好像做错了
我的心也沸腾
又沸腾
你在我心里翻腾
一会儿我哭了
一会儿我笑了
眼泪咸笑容甜
妈的，我好像爱错了
你最近瘦了
你最好胖起来
胖得只有我爱你
我把温柔炖成一碗粥了
I’m going to make a bowl of porridge with my tenderness
The fire is burning bright, but I’m not in a hurry. I will first fill the pot with water and then wash the rice grains slowly. You, please take your time and wait.
You tell me that the sequence is incorrect, but I say “never mind”. The rice grains are within the pot, and you have already secured a spot within my heart.
The water is boiling, and I have to use a spoon to stir from time to time. I first add Chinese dates to the porridge, and then the shelled shrimp. The porridge then becomes both sweet and salty. Oh, shit, I must have done something wrong.
My heart is heavy, and you constantly appear in my mind. I cry for no reason, and minutes later I smile. The tear tastes salty, but my smile is sweet. Oh, shit, I must have fallen in love with Mr. Wrong.
You are looking slim recently. You’d better gain some weight. When you’re way too plump, I will end up becoming your only lover, without the threat of any third-party admirer. I have prepared you the perfect bowl of porridge with my tenderness.
翻译体会：
1. 我拿勺子单独翻腾，您留意了吗？在这句英译里我加了 from time to time，我添加的理由是符合原意，“不时地搅拌”，而更重要的理由是，添加以后这句话念起来更加通顺。我在自己的翻译实践中就发现这么一个现象，为什么一些新手译员译出来的文字念起来那么磕磕碰碰，是因为他们没有掌握添加“合理的废话”。这个观点容我以后慢慢收集足够的例子来详加解释。
2. 一会儿放进虾，您留意到了吗？英文变成了具体的shelled shrimp ，这也是一种细节描写，符合英文的表达习惯。
3. 妈的，我好像做错了。这句是原作者比较坚持的一句，我看到有读者在质疑是不是“妈妈”而不是“妈的”，作者坚持说爱过的人都懂。
4. 你最好胖起来，这个“胖”该如何译？最简单的无疑是 fat ，可根据对原文的揣摩，可以看出这是偏褒义的一个词，所以我选择了 plump 这个词，胖乎乎的。
煲粥
By 酒酒
想和你一起煲一锅粥
在一个黄昏快来临的午后
不用高压锅，不用电饭煲
而是取一只干净的砂锅
淘两遍米，加适量的水
文火，慢熬
你等得饿了，冲着我笑
笑得像粥那么温柔
水开了，米翻滚着顶着锅盖
我们一起听，咕嘟咕嘟
咕嘟咕嘟。
余生若如歌，
也应同此声。
Preparing a pot of porridge
I want to cook a pot of porridge with you, one late afternoon near dusk. We won’t use a pressure cooker, or a rice cooker; but an earthen pot instead. We will wash the rice grains twice, add water in exact amounts, use a little fire and then we wait. You feel hungry after hours of waiting and grin at me. Your smile is as tender as the porridge.
The water is hot, and the boiling rice grains keep tossing and turning against the pot cover. Together we listen to the bubbling sound together——“gooloo, gooloo”. If the rest of our lives were a song, the song must bear the same melody of “gooloo, gooloo”.
做这期的公众号文章写作挺费劲的，跨度时间很长，像最后一首“煲粥”是一年前就看到的；而“我要把我的温柔，炖成一碗粥”是上个月看到的；两篇文章在手，我就专门在网络上找关于粥的文字，这才发现了“那三更的粥，是太祖父写给太祖母的诗”。另外提一点冷知识，英文porridge 原来还有一层意思是指入狱的时间，指：a period of time spent in prison, 例句有：Where’s Mick got to? He’s doing porridge.
祝好！希望这篇小文能给你带来思考与启发。
作者简介：
何海交，理科生读广外，英国利兹大学应用翻译硕士，后有超过十年英汉互译经验，原广州亚运会组委会笔译主管，现为广东广播电视台英语新闻栏目编辑。
图片：黎东灿
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