A DIALOGUE WITH THE TRANSLATOR

N=NIHAO L=LIN YUAN

Lin Yuan

Graduated from Xi'an

International Studies

University as B.A of

French studies, and

from Ecole Supérieure De Journalisme

De Lille as M.A.

Publications include

Un chasseur de lions

written by Olivier Rolin,Rien ne s'oppose à la nuit and D'aprèsune

histoirevraie written by Delphine de Vigan.

林苑，毕业于西安外国语大学法语专业，法国里尔高等新闻学院硕士。已出版译作有奥利维埃·罗兰的《猎狮人》，德尔芬娜·德·维冈的《无以阻挡黑夜》《真有其事》等。

N：How did you translate Back to Killybegs?

L：This was the fourth piece of French Literature I have worked with. While I was reading the beginning of the book, I realised I was not an expert on World War 2. Caught by the story I still accepted the job. This is a story about men. The keynote of the book is tough and the language is cold and concise. During translation, I usually dive right into the story. While working on this book, I preferred translating the novel alongside reading it, rather than translating it after reading. In this way, I managed to maintain the suspense of the book.

N: What are the differences when you read a book as a translator?

L: Primarily, a translator is a reader. Translation to him is a thorough reading deeper than any other readers. In the face of new words or unfamiliar backgrounds, it is the responsibility of a translator to go into every detail, when most readers would just let it go. However, we are lucky enough to be able to check the details from a variety of sources compared to the older generation. Particularly,we could contact the living authors. We are likely to obtain the e-mail address of the authors from the editors and dig for fi rst-hand information to answer our questions. Sometimes we become friends during the translation. Once the author of a book I was working on happened to visit Beijing, giving us the opportunity for a face to face meeting. We became very close friends after that,and sometimes we discussed the details in our translation. One day, he came to me and asked if I was willing to translate another book that he had just fi nished writing.

N: In the field of French Culture, which part touches your heart most?

L: While I was studying in France, I was impressed by their commitment to culture. You could fi nd a cultural centre in each block. The environment of cultural creation is deeply rooted. Though the qualities of the works vary, it benefi ts the people with cultural diversity and innovation. Not only do they have the ideas, but they are brave enough to realise them, with better education and facilities.

N：翻译《重返基利贝格斯》的过程是怎样的？

L：这本书是我翻译的第四本法语文学作品。读了开头觉得虽然二战的背景不是十分熟悉，但故事挺吸引人的，便接了这个翻译。这本书讲的是男人间的故事，整个书的基调比较硬，语言冷峻简洁，翻的时候我会将自己代入其中。我不会先看一遍小说而是边读边翻译，想保持一种阅读的悬念，跟着故事的发展译下去。

N：从译者的角度看一本书有何不同之处？

L：译者首先也是一个读者，可以说翻译是最大程度的精读。遇到生词与陌生背景时，如果只是读者看看就过去了，但翻译必须去了解每一个细节。现在的译者比老一辈幸运多了，有更多的渠道可以去求证。在世的作者也是可以交流的，一般会通过编辑获得作者的邮箱，向其咨询不理解的地方。很有缘分的一次是，我有一本书在翻译之前，作家正好来北京，通过当面交流我们建立了比较好的联系，翻译过程中也聊了很多次。后来他写了一本新书后，便直接来问我想不想继续翻译。

N：法国文化带给你最大的触动是什么？

L：在法国留学时给我印象特别深刻的一点，是法国人对于他们文化的投入。每一个街区都有文化中心，文化创作的土壤深厚，虽然产出的作品良莠不齐，但这让他们的文化特别多样与创新，他们真的有想法并敢于实现，配套、教育各方面都比较完善。……