わが国におけるAlice's Adventures in Wonderlandの翻訳受容 : ナンセンスの笑いの喪失
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概要
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The reception of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (hereafter referred to as Alice), the first edition of which was published in the summer of 1865, was so enthusiastic among British readers that the talk of translating it soon arose between the author Lewis Carroll and the publishers Macmillans. At first Alice, a nonsense fantasy full of puns, parodies, and twists of meaning, seemed to defy translation. However, as a result of the author's positive and unrelenting concern, German and French editions bore fruit after many vicissitudes in 1869. An Italian version followed in 1872, a Danish one in 1875, Russian in 1879, and Dutch in 1899, and translations of Alice spread throughout almost all Europe during the first three decades of the twentieth century. With regard to Japanese versions, the accepted opinion has been that the first translation of Alice was the version of KUSUYAMA Masao, published in 1920 and entitled Fushigi no Kuni ('Wonderland'). This opinion overlooks a version Ai-chan no Yume-monogatari ('The Dream Story of Little Ai), adapted by MARUYAMA Eikan in 1910. Though it has some mistranslations and introduces certain moral overtones, it presents the entire general picture of the original Alice. It may be thought of as the first translation of Alice in Japan Two years before Maruyama's version, NAGAYO Shizuo had already adapted part of Alice, but this gives us only a glimpse of the work. The nonsense fantasy was distorted into purely moral story, with additional plots by the translator, reflecting the didacticism of the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Several new versions were published during the Taisho Period (1912-26). The most remarkable was perhaps that of Kusuyama because of his faithfulness to the original, and his smooth and lively style. However, there are some mistranslations and omissions. The unfinished translation of SUZUKI Miekichi has a highly individual style, with a manner of expression which is rhythmical and readable. The characters are described as much prettier figures than those in Carroll's original. This may be seen as a reflection of a trend in children's literature in the Taisho Period, which took a serious view of the image of innocence and purity in children. In addition, the version of OTO Kiichiro is a typically abridged one, with a plot faithful to the original, while that of WASHIO Chiharu is an adaptation re-written for younger children. Thus, various versions of Alice appeared during the Taisho Period. In the years from the beginning of the Showa Period to the end of the Second World War (1926-45), a noteworthy translation appeared under the title Arisu Monogatari ('Alice Story'). The joint translators, KIKUCHI Kan and AKUTAGAWA Ryunosuke, implemented the shortcomings of Kusuyama's version, correcting his mistranslations and filling out his omissions. Kusuyama himself re-translated Alice again and again during this period, and became the representative pre-war translator of the work. Meanwhile Alice took a firm place as one of the famous foreign classics. During the post-war period up to 1970 a number of complete translations of Alice have appeared. In particular that of TANAKA Toshio should be appreciated for its skillful and contrived expressions. He also used a variety of previous translations. Japanese translations must re-create the nonsensical humour in Alice within the entirely different linguistic and syntactical framework of the Japanese language. Word-for-word translation from English to Japanese, especially with regard to puns, words feelings, and twisted meanings will a little more difficult than in the case of European languages such as French or German. The result is that most Japanese translations have not been successful in this aspect. A notable post-war phenomenon has been the flood of abridged versions of Alice, a result of the rising tide of commercialism in publication. Alice has been re-told by many adapters so selfishly and insensitively that their adaptations are distorted and lose the nonsensical fragrance of the original. They may be characterized as being no longer a nonsense fantasy, but an adventure story. The adapters just satisfied the demands of the age. This also means that there has been no tradition of accepting nonsense stories in Japan. It is found that in most of the abridged versions the psychological descriptions of the heroine, the details of depiction, elaborate character portrayal, intricate modifiers and puns are often omitted. The plot tends to be considered most important; the image of Alice changes into one of a pretty, innocent girl, so that the conflict between her and the other characters is not brought out, and the nonsensical humour decreases or is lost. The complete translations of Alice were not popular among readers during this period. On the other hand, many abridged versions, presenting an unreal image of the work, were produced, pretending to be faithful renderings of a foreign classic, and these were sold in large numbers. Alice has a long history of suffering at the hands of translators and adapters in Japan.
- 中京大学の論文
- 1986-12-25