Un oiseau as translated in 'The Little Prince'
(Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese)

 

What kind of bird should we think of when the narrator likens the heartbeat of the little prince to that of a dying bird? Since the little prince himself is only small, we can presumably rule out a very large bird like an ostrich or an albatros. Powerful predators like eagles or scavengers like vultures would also seem inappropriate.

On the other hand, too small a bird would be incongruous. After all, we are talking of a bird whose heart is still beating after being shot with a carabine or rifle. It's hard to imagine much being left of a sparrow or wren after being hit by a bullet. It would take a reasonably-sized bird to survive the shot and still have a beating heart.

Given that the bird was shot with a rifle, it seems likely that the narrator was referring to the kind of bird that people hunt with rifles -- such ducks, pheasants, or other medium-sized birds that could survive a rifle shot without being totally obliterated.

But that doesn't stop many translators from assuming that the little prince's heart was beating like that of a very small bird.

In the Chinese versions, oiseau or 'bird' is translated as shown in the following table:

Form	Pronunciation	Rough gloss	From the French	From the English	Source unclear	Total
小鳥 / 小鸟	xiǎo-niǎo	'little bird'	13	16	0	29
鳥兒 / 鸟儿	niǎor	'birdie'	6	6	1	13
鳥 / 鸟	niǎo	'bird'	7	0	0	7
小鳥兒 / 小鸟儿	xiǎo-niǎor	'little birdie'	0	1	0	1
麻雀 / 麻雀	máquè	'sparrow'	0	1	0	1
Total			26	24	1	51

Well over half of translators use 小鳥 / 小鸟 xiǎo-niǎo or 'little bird'. 小鳥 / 小鸟 xiǎo-niǎo generally refers to a small passerine birds, like wrens, sparrows, and tits. It conveys a sense of endearingness or cuteness.

Besides 小鳥 / 小鸟 xiǎo-niǎo, a quarter of translators use the diminutive form 鳥兒 / 鸟儿 niǎor. This form is typical of northern Chinese, in particular Beijing speech, and refers to a small bird, although without being quite as explicit as 小鳥 / 小鸟 xiǎo-niǎo. Like 小鳥 / 小鸟 xiǎo-niǎo, it typically refers to small birds that can fly, often the kind of birds that are kept in cages. (In the table I've translated 鳥兒 / 鸟儿 niǎor as 'birdie'. However, the Chinese word doesn't carry the childish connotations of 'birdie'. The only things that the two share in common is the use of a simple suffix -- 兒 / 儿 -r or '-ie' -- to express the notion of smallness.)

One translator goes even further and specifies the type of bird, a sparrow (麻雀 / 麻雀 máquè).

Presumably the reason for the emphasis on smallness and cuteness is a feeling that Saint Exupéry's simile calls up an image of a small, pathetic, helpless creature. A larger bird such as a duck, a swan, or a pheasant (for instance) wouldn't arouse the same feelings of pity.

That leaves only seven translators who use the simple word 鳥 or 鸟 niǎo meaning 'bird'. By some strange quirk, all seven are translating from the French. That is, seven translators translate oiseau as 鳥 / 鸟 niǎo, whereas not a single translator renders English 'bird' as 鳥 / 鸟 niǎo. Could it be that oiseau in French conjures up images of a larger bird than 'bird' in English!? Or are translators from French more serious about their trade than those translating from English who, it might possibly be surmised, are taking the easy option with a focus on the commercial market for this popular little book?

Turning to the Japanese translations the results are only slightly better. A slim majority of translators (eight out of 15) use the word 鳥 tori meaning 'bird'. Seven use 小鳥 ko-tori meaning 'small bird'. This is roughly the same ratio as that between 鳥 / 鸟 niǎo and 小鳥 / 小鸟 xiǎo-niǎo in Chinese. (Japanese doesn't have a word like Chinese 鳥兒 / 鸟儿 niǎor that incorporates smallness in a suffix.)

鳥	tori	8
小鳥	ko-tori	7

Interestingly, the two Japanese translators who use the word 猟銃 ryōjū 'hunting rifle' both use 鳥 tori 'bird'.

Unlike Chinese or Japanese, chim in Vietnamese appears to be perfectly adequate for expressing oiseau. All translators use the word chim.

chim

5

One can only wonder at the reasons for this tendency of Chinese and Japanese translators to identify the bird in this passage as a 'small bird', emphasising the bird's smallness and cuteness. Possible explanations that spring to mind are:

1. Since 'The Little Prince' is identified as a 'children's story', the image of a cute bird is considered most appropriate.

2. These cultures do not have as prominent a tradition of game hunting as in the West. The idea that the injured bird might be a duck that has been shot by a hunter is less likely to occur to Chinese or Japanese translators.

Whatever the cause, the divergence certainly highlights the way in which underlying cultural and artistic assumptions can have a major impact on the way words are translated.