问:如果让你翻译金瓶梅成英文,这些称呼:小肉儿,怪小肉儿、贼小肉儿、怪狗肉儿、怪小狗肉儿,怎么翻译?
答:这些大都是潘金莲称呼丫鬟庞春梅的,还有是玉娘称呼丫鬟小玉。猜测是江苏方言中小妞,或小娘,甚至小丫的转音,不是很确定,有待考证。
Clement Egerton英译本根据不同语境作scamp, young rascal, young hussy。另外还有一些译本做little wretch, cunning little wretch (贼小肉儿), cunning bitch (怪小狗肉儿), 等等。
二人正說話之間,只聽開的角門響,春梅出來,一直逕往後邊走。不防他娘站在黑影處叫他,問道:“小肉兒,那去?”春梅笑著只顧走。金蓮道:“怪小肉兒,你過來,我問你話。慌走怎的?”那春梅方纔立住了腳,方說:“他哭著對俺爹說了許多話。爹喜歡抱起他來,令他穿上衣裳,教我放了桌兒,如今往後邊取酒去。” 金蓮聽了,向玉樓說道:“賊沒廉恥的貨!頭裡那等雷聲大雨點小,打哩亂哩。及到其間,也不怎麼的。我猜,也沒的想,管情取了酒來,教他遞。賊小肉兒,沒他房裡丫頭?你替他取酒去!到後邊,又叫雪娥那小婦奴才毴聲浪顙,我又聽不上。”春梅道:“爹使我,管我事!”於是笑嘻嘻去了。金蓮道:“俺這小肉兒,正經使著他,死了一般懶待動旦。若干貓兒頭差事,鑽頭覓縫乾辦了要去,去的那快!現他房裡兩個丫頭,你替他走,管你腿事!賣蘿葡的跟著鹽擔子走──好個閑嘈心的小肉兒!”玉樓道:“可不怎的!俺大丫頭蘭香,我正使他做活兒,他便有要沒緊的。爹使他行鬼頭兒,聽人的話兒,你看他走的那快!”(第二十回)
The door opened, Chunmei came out and went to the back court. Jinlian, from the shadows, called to ask where she was going, but Chunmei only laughed and went on. Then Jinlian called her again, and this time she stayed. “She wept and told Father a long story,” the maid said. “Now he is quite content. He has raised her up and made her put on her clothes again. He has told me to lay the table and bring them some wine.”
“What a shameless creature!” Jinlian said to Yulou, “All that thunder, and so little rain to follow! It all ends in smoke. Nothing will come of it. She will just offer him wine. “And you, you scamp,” she said to Chunmei, “she has maids of her own, why should you fetch wine for her? When you get to the kitchen, that Xue’e woman will make a fuss, and I simply won't put up with it.”
“I can’t help it.” Chunmei said, “I’m only doing what Father told me.” She laughed and \vent away.
“The young rascal,” Jinlian cried. “Ask her to do something that is her business and she is as lazy as a corpse. But when it's something she is not supposed to do, she rushes around and takes all the care in the world. That woman has two maids of her own. Why should Chunmei take this upon herself? She is a meddlesome young hussy.”
“Oh, it is often so,” Yulou said. “There is my maid Lanxiang. If I ask her to do anything for me, she takes no pains at all, but if he has any trick for her to play, she bustles about and doesn't mind what trouble she takes."
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