《聖經．現代粵文譯本》計劃說明
The Holy Bible. Modern Yue Translation (MYT) Project
Introduction
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為何選粵文？
Why Cantonese or Yue? |
這個實驗，我就是要挑選一種正處於發展初期的語言或方言，用來翻譯聖經，然後把整個翻譯過程紀錄下來。中文(白話文)和英文，都處於成熟期，而不是發展初期，都不能用於這個實驗。
In this experiment, I would pick a language or dialect that is still in its infancy and use it to translate the Bible. I would also document the translation process. Chinese (written vernacular Chinese, or baihauwen) and English are both mature, not in infancy. I would not choose either for my purpose. 粵語、或稱廣東話，是我的母語。我聽得懂、說得清的，就只有粵語、普通話、英語三種；我看得懂的文字，就只有中文、英文兩種。所以，要問我為何選粵文，只能答：「別無他選！」 Yue, or Cantonese, is my mother tongue. I am fluent in Cantonese, Putonghua and English only. I only read Chinese and English. So, if you ask me why I would choose Cantonese, I would say, “It is the only choice!” 粵語的歷史，數以千年計，為何仍算處於「發展期」？暫時我們別研究粵語的歷史，但無可否認，粵語文學作品的數量，遠比文言或官話白話文少。如何把粵語逐字逐句寫出來，仍然未有十足規範。所以，單從這個角度看，粵語的書寫系統仍可算是「發展中」。 Why is Cantonese, which originated thousands of years ago, said to be in its “infancy”? Let us put aside the history of Cantonese for now. It is undeniable that the number of Cantonese literary works is far less than that of classical Chinese or written Mandarin. The way to write Cantonese words and phrases is not entirely standardised. Just from this perspective, the Cantonese writing system can be fairly said to be “in its infancy”. 粵語白話文，或簡稱「粵文」，用於翻譯聖經，已有百多年的歷史；第一本以方塊字粵語翻譯聖經的單行本，早於1862年在羊城 (即廣州) 出版。不過，無可否認，以粵語翻譯聖經，至今仍有廣闊的發展空間。所以，我覺得粵文正好配合我的實驗。 The history of translating the Bible into Yue baihauwen or Cantonese baihauwen, or “written Yue”, is over a hundred years. The first volume of the Bible in Yue in Chinese characters was published in Canton (Guangzhou) in 1862. However, it is undeniable that there is still much room for improvement in translating the Bible into Yue. In my view, thus, Yue is a perfect fit for my experiment. 粵語俗稱廣東話，指以廣州話的語音為標準的粵語。「粵語白話文」指以廣東話的語法和詞彙為準的書寫系統。清末民初的新文學運動，又稱白話文運動，推動以白話文取代文言作書寫。最多人用的白話文，當然是官話白話文，但清末也有作品以粵語白話文、吳語白話文、中州韻白話文等為主要文體。 Yue is commonly known as Cantonese. The variety spoken in Canton (Guangzhou) is taken as the standard. The Yue baihauwen refers to the writing system adopting the vocabulary and grammar of Yue. The Vernacular Language Movement at the fall of the Qing Empire and the dawn of the republic promoted the replacement of classical Chinese with written vernacular Chinese. The most commonly used vernacular is, of course, Mandarin, but there were also literary works in the late Qing that used Yue baihauwen, Wu baihauwen, Zhongzhou rhyme baihauwen, and so on as the main text. |