中國女子外國語言教育初探：從教育制度、社會接受談起

在中國歷史上，清末民初開始出現女性譯者群體。然而，女性自古鮮少接受教育，更遑論外語教育。這些從事翻譯的女性知識份子，是在如何的外語教育環境下產生的，乃是本文想要聚焦的主題。本文首先陳述中國歷史上從明代一直到清末民初，女性接受外語教育的機會與狀況。儘管清末改革人士認為女性應該接受教育，但外語教育卻僅佔正式的課程一小部分。由於清末教育人士對女子教育宗旨的看法不同，也影響外語教育在女子教育中的重要性與比例。在後來的外語教育規劃上，甚至將語言能力等同於如刺繡、紡織一般的技藝。在了解中國歷史上女性接受外語教育的機會與狀況之後，筆者接著探討當時社會上對女性外語能力的態度與看法，從清末民初流通的女性雜誌材料中，呈現當時雜誌編輯對於女子「外國語言能力」的看法。接著，筆者聚焦於清末民初的女性譯者，從幾位女譯者的譯序與文論中，探討當時女性自己對外語能力以及翻譯一事的看法。外語能力對女性而言，提升她們的能動性，也讓她們得以藉翻譯，闡述自己的心聲、看法。

關鍵字

清末民初；女性譯者；外語教育；語言觀；翻譯觀

並列摘要

A group of women translators appeared in late Qing and early Republican era. However, women in China do not have much privilege to education, not to mention foreign language education. How, then, did these women translators come into existence and what was the language educational background for them are the themes worthy of exploration. This paper starts with a description of women's foreign language education since the 15^(th) century in China. While reformers during the late Qing period believe that women should be educated, they seem to downplay women’s language ability. In this paper, I argue that though women’s status was upgraded, with education being promoted vehemently, the emphasis on women’s language ability did not receive the same degree of attention, partly due to traditional stereotype on foreign languages and partly due to the fact that society as a whole was not yet ready to set women totally free from its control while language ability could mean mobility beyond women's traditional inner quarters. I have drawn my evidence from leading women's magazines during the noted period to examine society's attitudes towards women's language education. Lastly, I am interested in how women view their own language talents. I focus on the writings of several women translators and try to describe how they perceive the art of translation.