[直译]
The continuation of friendship is on the premise that one respects the other. It does not allow any bit of forcing, interference or control. If one shares interest, taste, and value of the other, they will come together and relate to one another; otherwise, they stay away from one another and discontinue their relations. No matter how familiar friends may be and how close their relations are, they shall not be too casual to show disrespect and impoliteness. Otherwise, their harmony will break, their balance will be lost, and the friendly relationship between them will come to an end.
Every one wants a personal space, a forbidden space one may call one's own. If friends are too casual to one another, they may unconsciously invade the other's personal space, so that conflicts may arise, and separation may result. Treating friends with disrespect may seemingly be a small matter, but in fact, it has already sown a destructive seed. We keep a friendly relation best if we relate to one another with due respect and politeness, each not interfering the other's business. Always respect your friends, and your friendship will last.
[意译]
Mutual respect is the basis of friendship. Any bit of forcing, interference or control will only help to break up this relationship. People who share the same interest and taste, who have the same value, come together to form good relationships, whereas people who do not stay away from each other and end their relationships. Familiar though friends may be to one another, and close as their relations, if one is too casual, the other may feel that he is not treated with due respect and politeness. As a result, the harmony may break, the balance may be lost, and their friendly relationship may be finished.
We all want to have a personal space, a space of our own. If we the friends are too casual to each other, we may unconsciously invade this forbidden space, causing conflicts and making us split up. Casual behavior among friends may seem a small matter. In fact, it is a destructive seed. Don't interfere with your friends' business, and always respect your friends. It is mutual respect and politeness that best keeps a friendly relation and makes it last.
[解析] 首先,这是一篇典型的中国文人写的散文,酷似中国画和书法,洋洋洒洒,读起来使人难免有些飘飘然的朦胧感觉。用词很随意、欠规范,不像西方学者和文人那样用词准确、规范,读起来缺乏明确感、清晰感。对于这类文章的翻译,一定要抓住它的神韵,不然就会抓不住核心词汇的意义,从而把原文理解错,使译文与原文南辕北辙。
第一句话是无主句,翻译的关键是主语的确定和几个关键概念的正确理解。“彼此”可狭义地译作“two persons”,也可以广义地译作“people”,也可以用“those who”;“情趣”可译作“interest and taste”;这里的“脾气”指的是价值观,而不是性情(不然这句话就失去意义),因此可译作“value”。
第二句话翻译时应特别注意“朋友之间”和“友好关系”。如果前者中用了“friends”,那么,后者中就不好再用“friendship”,而应该用“friendly relationship”。
第三句话的难点是“私密空间”,如果受“私”字的影响,一下想到了“private”,“privacy”,那问题就大了。事实上,这里的“私密”是“个人”之意,即或“personal”。因此,“私密空间”应译作“personal space”。
第四句话的难点是对“有时或许只是”的理解。这是一种委婉的说法,确切些说应该是:“看上去只是”、“看似”,其反义词是“实则”。因此,对应的英语应该是“may seem to be”,“。may seemingly be”等。
最后一句话的难点是“久而敬之”和“天长地久”。“久而”意为“始终”,“天长地久”意为“持续”。因此,对应的英语是“always”和“last”,也可以用“as long as”之类的短语。