女性主義理論與流變新書發表會 FEMINISMS book launch party in Taipei

 March 10, 2019  3月10日 　主編顧燕翎　chief editor: Yenlin Ku

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激進女性主義──不再基進 About the Chinese translation of radical feminism

顧燕翎

　　Radical feminism最初被翻譯成激進女性主義，也廣為採用。1990年代傳大為主張改為基進女性主義，理由是radical 的字根是root，根的意思，基有根本之意，基進意謂根本改造，所以有些人開始用基進取代激進。但是基也有基本之意，貼近fundamentalist，基本教義派，radical feminism的批判和革命精神卻是與fundamentalism的嚴守基本教條大異其趣的。基進是一個新詞，許多讀者感到陌生或不解，認為這是一個學術性的名詞。

　　激進則是大眾熟悉的中文，激是指水流而下，遇到阻力，而水花飛濺、震蕩，有急劇、猛烈之意，所以激進有激烈、激情的意象，貼切描繪了1970年代青春女性發展出的婦女解放運動和激進女性主義。激進也意謂徹底而激烈的改變，有人從策略的角度認為這與我們傳統中庸之道不符，易引發反感，而不宜採用。但是激進女性主義的確因為挑戰父權成規而備受攻擊打壓，許多前輩為此付出了極大的代價，我們更不該為了降低抗拒而改名換姓吧？　

　　《女性主義理論與流派》舊版採用基進女性主義，之後我自己常以激進／基進二者並列，本書改寫後的《女性主義理論與流變》在文字上力求明白易懂，也希望女性主義得到更多人接受，所以全書使用激進女性主義，不再基進。

附註：radical 也有人譯為積進，積極而進取；或者急進

        Yenlin   Ku

In the early 20^th century the English word “radical” was translated to ”激進” in Chinese and the term has been widely used ever since. As a result, “radical feminism” was translated to ”激進女性主義” in the 1970s. However, when it came to the 1990s, Fu Da-wei, a male history professor in Taiwan, argued that the translation should be switched to ”基進女性主義” , because the root of the English word “radical” is “root”. ”基” (meaning “basic” and ”fundamental”) in Chinese implies that change should come from the bottom. Many academics quickly replaced ”激進” with ”基進”. However, fundamentalism connotes a sense of strict adherence to the literal interpretation of scripture. In that case, ”基進” is poles apart from the critical and revolutionary nature of ”激進”.

 

                   Furthermore, “基進”, a newly coined term, is unfamiliar to the majority of Chinese readers. Some consider it a purely academic usage. On the other hand, “激進” is popular and easy to understand. With its radical(部首) “water”, “激” pictures the splash and turbulence when fast flowing water runs into obstruction. The image of splashing and turbulent water reminds me of the vigorous and passionate struggle of the young feminists in the 1970s. Besides, “激進” also means complete and progressive changes.

 

A friend reminds me that departing from the traditional Chinese attitude of taking the middle and moderate way, “激進” measures run the risk of inducing backlashes for being provocative. Strategically, it would be safer  to stick to “基進”. Yet, considering the prices many radical feminists paid before us, I believe we have no reason to change to a safer name.

 

               In the older edition of Feminisms, “基進” was used. After its publication, I chose to put the two terms together with a slash “激／基進” in my own writings. As the new edition of the book is aimed to reach a larger audience, the original “激進” is restored. Say goodbye to “基進”.