例2:Initially they traded phone phreaking information. They then put theory into practice and pulled off what they declared to be some “totally moby” hacks. (Chap. 18)
例3: He keyed some commands and with an excited churning in his groin he heard the rising and falling whistle of his modem's sensual electronic handshake (most real hackers would never use dog-slow modems and telephone lines like this, rather than a direct connection, to get online. But Phate had to compromise; speed was far less important than being able to stay mobile and hide his tracks through millions of miles of telephone lines around the world). (Chap. 3)
例4:“Maybe he went Dumpster diving outside her house and got the information that way. ” Anderson explained to Bishop and Shelton,” He means going digging through trash bins to get information that'll help you hack—discarded company manuals, printouts, bills, receipts, things like that.” (Chap. 5)
例8: The other was dressed more conservatively but did have extensive body piercings and his crew-cut hair was green.(Chap.33)
另一个服装倒还算保守,但脸上、身上到处穿了孔眼,挂满各种饰物,小平头染成了绿色。(第33章)
dead tree字面义为“死树”,该新词是环保主义者的杰作,指纸制品,翻译时既要保留该词的独特新颖,同时要明晰、达意,照顾可读性。
例9: Usually disorganized and slovenly in many ways, all serious hackers kept pens and battered steno pads or Big Chief tablets-any type of dead-tree stuff-beside their machines every minute they were online.(Chap.36)
例10: He'd represent the latest generation of hackers: athletic risk-takers, equally at home hacking together script at a keyboard and skateboarding half-pipes at extreme-sport competitions.(Chap.5)
social engineer/engineering原指“(应用社会学原理达成某种特殊或认定的社会目标的)社会工程”,现常指一种网络黑客攻击行为,攻击者利用人际关系间的互动特性假冒某人或某机,如给用户发送一个邮件声称自己是系统管理员等,进行人为欺骗或攻击,引诱用户透露个人密码或其他敏感信息。也指假冒他人或扮演伪社会角色。如:
例12: “He social engineered her,”...(Chap.2)
“他利用社交工程,扮演伪社会角色攻击了她,”……(第2章)
例13: “The best social engineer I've ever heard of.” (Chap.10)
例14: She'd been in the press a lot and was on Larry King.(Chap.2)
她在媒体上经常出现,上过有线新闻网大牌节目主持人赖瑞·金的访谈节目。(第2章)
Larry King是美国CNN(有线新闻网)著名访谈节目主持人,在美国可谓家喻户晓,看到这个名字,原语读者自然会对其内涵心领神会。但在翻译成汉语的过程中,如果译者缺乏对这一文化现象的了解,用直译简单处理,语境因素的改变和背景知识的不同就可能阻碍汉语读者对“赖瑞·金”这个名字引起相关联想,原文信息就会因此流失缺损。这里要求译者对该人名有充分了解,在译文中增补必要信息。
例15: (She) Pulled the nail polish out of her Louis Vuitton purse again and opened it.(Chap.14)
例21: (This is) The land of King Midas, where the golden touch, though, isn't the sly trickery of Wall Street or the muscle of Midwest industry but pure imagination.(Chap.15)
这个例子中涉及的西方文化背景知识是“点金术”的传说。原文用暗喻的手法,把赚大钱的网络业发源地硅谷比作传说中点物成金的迈达斯国王的国土。由于该典故是西方文化的一部分,原文只给了King Midas,与紧随其后的“the golden touch”相呼应,其内涵被认为“不言而喻”而没有明示出来。为了帮助不谙西方历史典故的译文读者在前后文中找到关联,更好地理解,译者必须在了解原作意图的基础上,在必要时扩大作者话语的信息内容,填补作者认为“不言而喻”而留下的信息空白。以上译文通过必要的增益和明晰化处理,较好地解决了这一问题。
例22: Then Anderson realized that he'd forgotten the Miranda warning. He didn't want to blow an arrest like this by making a technical mistake.(Chap.9)
例23: Wyatt Gillette was very pale-he had a “hacker tan,” as the pallor was ironically called-and quite thin. His hair was filthy, as were his fingernails. Gillette apparently hadn't showered or shaved in days.(Chap.2)
例24:“I wouldn't even call him that,” Gillette said “Crackers maybe steal and vandalize but they don't hurt people. I'd call him a `kracker' with a k. For killer.”
“Cracker with a c, kracker with a k,” Shelton muttered. “What the hell difference does it make?”(Chap.6)
7。原文:hacking together script,原译为“编写创新软件”,因为没有看到原文上下文,不好做出判断。但“创新”二字,我以为不妥。这个词一听就是那种表意不确切的外行话。但凡写软件的人,大概都从没听说过、自己也不会去说什么“编写创新软件”,我想即便是黑客弄出的一个很离奇的东西,也不会有这样的说法吧。你尽可以说软件设计上的“思维创新”、“设计理念的创新”,但是你却不会说编写什么“创新软件”。在原文的例10中再次出现了这一译法,个人觉得在那里可改为“摆弄脚本代码”或更通俗直接的“修改粘贴脚本代码”,它的意思是指黑客们在目标网站的脚本文件上挖挖改改,桃李代僵,以此达到或黑站点、或使前来访问的人中招的目的。
8。原文:He keyed some commands and with an excited churning in his groin he heard the rising and falling whistle of his modem's sensual electronic handshake...
原译:他敲进一些指令。随着腹股沟处一阵激情翻滚,他听到调制解调器用先高后低的鸣叫声通过令人兴奋的电波向他握手问好。
改译:他敲进一些指令,随着腹股沟处传来一阵因情绪激动引发的痉挛,他听到调制解调器发出了先高后低的电子握手鸣叫信号。
说明:那种因激动而从腹股沟处传来阵阵痉挛的体会,我想不单单是写程序的人有过,任何因激动而发颤的人大概都有过吧?原译把它说成是什么“激情翻滚”,起码是表意不确吧?另外,调制解调器发出的先高后低的鸣叫声,是一种表示个人电脑跟网络连通的讯息,它的名称就叫握手信号。不应该把它译作电波,当然,它也不会跟人握手。^_^
《蓝色虚拟空间》的原著The Blue Nowhere是2001出版的,可能考虑到普通读者对书中具体语境中的一些计算机术语不熟悉,原著中专门附上了Glossary(注释词表),以下摘录相关部分的注释:
Code: Software.
Freeware: Software made available by its developers at no charge.
Script: Software
Hack: Originally this word meant to quickly write a software program for a limited purpose though it evolved mean the study and writing of innovative software programs. Increasingly the term is used by civilians to mean breaking into computer systems for malicious purposes, a practice more properly referred to as cracking. The word is also used as a noun to mean a clever piece of programming.
文中列举的几个词语均根据以上注释译出。Code作为“代码”义,应该是比较普通的,但作者在书中有时确实将其作“软件”解。如Code cruncher,作者用它来指“日复一日从事简易、单调的编程任务,缺乏想象力的软件程序编写员”(An unimaginative software progrmnmer who performs simple or mundane programming tasks.)当然,译者也并没有把文中所有code译为“软件”,而是根据具体语境给出不同译文,包括译为“代码”。Script一词也一样,它可以指“软件”(如英文解释),但译者在文中也还是根据具体语境给出不同译文。如例10中hacking together script就译为“编写创新程序脚本”。至于Hack together原译文的根据,见以上英文解释。
这个问题应该属于“仁者见仁,智者见智”的范畴。《蓝色》是一本通俗文学作品,而不是计算机教科书。作者用Chip-jock(A computer industry worker who specializes in hardware development or sales).而不用chip engineer,用Demon而不用guarding program自然是想表达生动,获得某种修辞效果,吸引大众眼球。作为译者,要尽可能保留原文的文体特色。直译加上必要的解释以及书中电脑专业知识与故事情节有机结合的巧妙安排,相信普通读者不会有阅读上的困难。
废话少说,回到正题。就拿Code和Script这两个词来说吧,在有些地方的确可以含糊地称之为软件,例如你可以说“写代码”和“写软件”事实上就是一回事,但是在很多情况下二者却又不同,尤其是后者。
再来看hacking together script的译法,尽管朋友joychen给出了上面的“mean the study and writing of innovative software programs”的解释,但是请注意,那并不意味着它的意思就是什么“编写创新软件”(或“编写创新程序脚本”)。结合后面的英文释义,我们知道这种软件其实是软件中的“另类”、“捣蛋鬼”和“作恶者”,既然如此,你难道不觉得称它为“创新软件”,其含义并不确切?
另外,hacking together script之所以不宜译为“创新软件”,就如我上面所强调的,是因为它不仅事实上与其本意并不符合,而且在我国的专业人员中,对这样的表述也是闻所未闻的。可能joychen认为那是来自于彼岸的称呼,不为国内的专业人员所熟识。恰恰相反,如果说有哪个专业最没有国界上的限制,这个专业必定非计算机莫属;而在整个计算机行业中,又非计算机软件莫属;在写软件的人员当中,十之八九又非黑客莫属。软件人员通过网络与国外专业人员的交流,尤其是阅读国外最新计算机学科和技术文档的数量和速度,在所有学科中,可能都称得上是叹为观止。
至于Chip-jock和Demon,就算是“仁者见仁,智者见智”吧。不过我还是认为Chip-jock译为“芯片技师”比“芯片骑师”要好;Demon译为“守护程序”比“守护神”要好。因为我认为,在表意并无困难的前提下,清晰比刻意去营造一个生动的修辞效果更为重要。
但愿我下面续完的罗嗦评论不会让原译者生厌吧?
11。原文:“He social engineered her,”...
原译:“他利用社交工程,扮演伪社会角色攻击了她,”……
改译:“他利用社会工程学的方法使她上当就范,”……
说明:原译在这里是没有什么问题的,只不过“社交工程”、“扮演伪社会角色”这样的说法比较生疏和少见。因为如果有“伪社会角色”这个词语存在,就必定还应该有一个对应的“正社会角色”存在,而这样的说法,确属鲜见。相应地,下一句“The best social engineer I've ever heard of.”译成“他是我所知道的最高明的伪社会角色。”,就不如译成“他是我所见识过的最高明的社会工程学大师(专家)。”好。
12。原文:“Hacker's revenge is patient revenge.”原译:“黑客报仇,十年不晚。”按题头“通俗文学翻译对译者的挑战”一文的解释:“如照字面译为:‘黑客的复仇是耐心的复仇。’原文通过重复手段达到的强调和意味深长的效果在译文里完全得不到体现。”而我的理解却恰恰相反,我认为:译为‘黑客的复仇是耐心的复仇。’才最贴切于原意。因为一则译者忽视了计算机业界所特有的一日千年的时效性,二来黑客的报仇,确实也不是什么时间选择早晚的问题,而实实在在是一件比耐心比恒心比定力的问题。原译者如果与一名真正的黑客有过接触,或者只需与一名计算机系统管理员有过接触,就会明白道理何在。