热点追踪 ｜ 牛津大学推出创意翻译人才培养课程

Oxford’s undergraduates have long studied academic translation within Modern Language degrees, but to-date there has been no provision for graduate students. A new Masters in Creative Translation has been launched to fill this gap, coinciding with an important moment when the translation landscape is shifting and adapting to technological change.

牛津大学本科阶段的现代语言专业长期以来一直教授学术翻译，但迄今尚无面向研究生的相关课程。新推出的创意翻译硕士课程填补了这一空白。课程推出之际恰逢翻译领域顺应技术变革进行转型调整的关键时期。

Led by Professor Karen Leeder in the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, the course also reflects a growing appreciation for translation as both a field of research and a creative discipline that requires not only linguistic skill, but also imagination, interpretation, and cultural sensitivity. 'It’s increasingly recognised as a literary art form,’ says Professor Leeder, herself a prize-winning translator.‘We’re seeing a real coming of age for the field.’

该课程由中世纪与现代语言学院的凯伦·利德教授（Karen Leeder）牵头，反映出学界对翻译作为一个研究领域及一种创意学科的认知不断深化。翻译不仅需要语言能力，还需要想象力、阐释力和文化敏感性。正如屡获殊荣的译者利德教授所说：“翻译正越来越被视为一种文学艺术形式。我们正在见证这一领域真正走向成熟。”

The course will be based in the University’s new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, which brings many of Oxford’s internationally recognised Humanities faculties together under one roof, with new spaces for teaching, performance, and film. ‘There is a considerable creative reservoir and appetite for this course at Oxford. This is an exciting opportunity for students who will be joining a hub of creative activity,’ says Professor Leeder.

该课程将在牛津大学新的施瓦茨曼人文中心（Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities）开设，该中心将牛津众多享誉国际的人文院系整合在一起，配备了全新的教学、表演及影视空间。“牛津大学既有支持这门课的深厚创意积淀，也有对这门课的强烈需求。对于即将加入创意活动中心的学生来说，这是一个令人振奋的机会，”利德教授说。

Distinct from academic translation, creative translation explores the history, theory and methodologies of translation and interprets not just meaning but voice, considering tone, rhythm, and emotion. In recent years, campaigns such as #NameTheTranslator have sought to credit translators alongside authors on book covers and prize lists, helping to foreground their role as artists and creative interpreters.

与学术翻译不同，创意翻译更强调翻译的历史、理论与方法论，关注的不只是意义的传递，更是声音的重塑，包括语气、节奏与情感的再现。近年来，诸如#NameTheTranslator（为译者署名）等活动一直致力于在书籍封面和奖项名单上让译者与作者享有同等署名权，突显译者作为艺术家和创意阐释者的地位。

As well as developing their own practice as a translator, students on the Creative Translation course will be introduced to a range of materials, from the earliest translations of ancient texts to the dilemmas of AI, examine how translations differ, and explore areas such as translation for performance, adaptation, early modern translation, translating the untranslatable, multilingualism, as well as focussing on specific languages, genres, and periods. The course will include a programme of regular industry sessions with visiting creatives and experts.

创意翻译课程的学生除了磨练自己的翻译实践能力外，还将接触到丰富多样的学习素材——从最早的古籍翻译到人工智能的困境等等，不一而足，分析不同译本之间的差异，探索各种翻译议题，如表演类翻译、改编翻译、早期现代翻译、翻译“不可译”之作、翻译中的多语现象等，同时聚焦特定语言、文体及历史时期的翻译研究。课程还将定期邀请创作者和行业专家开展行业专题讲座。

Artificial intelligence now plays a major role in translation – from machine-assisted software to Large Language Models. This technology processes and translates language in almost a blink of an eye enabling us all to ostensibly assume the role of translator. While these tools are powerful, they also raise questions about authorship, meaning, and creativity.

从机器辅助翻译软件到大型语言模型，如今人工智能在翻译领域发挥着重要作用。这类技术能在眨眼间完成语言处理与翻译，貌似借助工具，人人皆可译。这些工具虽然功能强大，但也引发了关于作者身份、意义和创造力等诸多争议。

Professor Leeder is pragmatic. ‘All art forms are under threat from AI,’ she says, ‘but AI is used in translation, and we must find ways to work productively with it.’ The course will encourage students to critically engage with these technologies while also recognising their limits and learning to identify what makes for ‘good’ translation.

利德教授的态度十分务实。“所有艺术形式都面临人工智能的冲击，”她说，“但人工智能已被用于翻译，我们必须找到与之高效协作的方式。” 课程将引导学生批判性地运用这些技术，认清技术的局限，并学习判断何为“好的”翻译。

She points to some foreign language television series which have gained global followings in recent years, but in which mistranslating (or machine translating) in subtitling is a common issue. This has led to ‘lost in translation’ moments caused by words being incorrectly translated, paraphrasing, a lack of understanding of cultural context, nuance around characters being lost, and a failure to successfully deal with humour.

她指出，近年来一些外语剧集在全球范围内收获大量粉丝，但字幕中的误译（或机翻错误）却屡见不鲜。这导致了诸多“翻译失灵”的情况，究其原因，包括词语误译、过度意译、缺乏文化语境理解、人物细节信息被忽略、幽默表达翻译失败等等。

Human translators, Professor Leeder explains, will always bring something that machines cannot replicate. ‘AI can’t deal with metaphor, idiom, or the stresses of word order and how this can change meaning. This is where the value of human translation lies.’

利德教授强调，人类译者始终能提高机器无法复制的价值。“人工智能无法处理隐喻、习语，也无法感知语序重心变化带来的语义差异。这正是人类翻译的价值所在。”

‘There needs to be a re-evaluation of the role of the human translator,’ she goes on. ‘It’s so important to champion their role in the future of publishing when authorship itself is under threat.

她进一步指出：“我们需要重新审视人类译者的角色。在作者身份本身受到威胁的当下，强调译者在未来出版业中的作用至关重要。”