老外不懂的“中式英语”如何翻译
英语课
1. 有他这颗扫帚星,什么事情都办不成。
[误] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished 1.
[正] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.
注:“扫帚星”是中国人对“慧星”(comet)的俗称,因其后面拖着一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代,“扫帚星”被认为是灾难的预兆,并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事;祸根:(person or thing that is thought to bring)bad luck(to sb/sth);curse。英语的comet 虽然没有这层含义,但却有一个对应的说法,即jinx。
例:There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: it's always giving me trouble. (这辆汽车上有什么妨人的东西,总给我找麻烦。)
2.萝卜青菜,各有所爱。
[误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
[正] Tastes differ.
注:Tastes differ/vary是句英语谚语,除此以外,原句还可翻译成 No dish suits all tastes 或 You can never make everyone happy 等。此外,我们还可以这样说:One man's meat is another man's poison. 总之,应采取意译。
3.他一向嘴硬,从不认错。
[误] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.
[正] He never says uncle.
注:say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting. 这句话主要是男孩们打架时的用语,当一方想制服另一方时,就用命令的口气说:“Say uncle!” 这时,有的孩子为了表示不服输,就是不说。后来,say uncle 就成了“服输”的代名词,而 not say uncle 就相当于“嘴硬”了。
4.老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。
[误] The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.
[正] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.
注:中国人喜欢说“嘴甜”,但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的语言习惯。
5.同学们都很讨厌他,因为他经常拍老师的马屁。
[误] The students all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass 2.
[正] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher's boots.
注:以前在欧洲,臣民见到国王与王后往往要亲吻他们的靴子。后来,人们将 lick the boots 引申为“为了某种目的而讨好某人”,它与汉语的“拍马屁”含义一样。在美国英语中,“拍马屁”还有另一种说法,即 polish the apple,源于以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。
6.你听说了吗?迈克把他的女朋友给甩了。
[误] Have you ever heard that Mike broke up with his girlfriend?
[正] Have you ever heard that Mike dumped his girlfriend?
注:break up with sb. 虽然表示“与某人分手了”,但并没说明是谁先提出来的。而 dump 的原意指“倾倒垃圾”,用在这里则表示像倒垃圾一样地甩掉。
7.我们要把祖国建设成为社会主义的现代化强国。
[误] We will build our motherland into a socialist 3 modern powerful country.
[正] We will build our motherland into a modern powerful socialist country.
注:形容词作为修饰语在汉语和英语中都很常用,但使用的先后次序却有所不同。在英语中我们一般遵循“靠近原则”,即越能说明本质属性的修饰词越靠近它所修饰的名词,当从这一点看不出区别时,就靠词的长短来决定,短的在前,长的在后。原文中最能说明“国家”本质的定语是“社会主义的”,所以 socialist 要最靠近它所修饰的中心词。
8.人都是这山望着那山高,对自己的现状没有满意的时候。
[误] Almost all people think that the other mountain is higher than the one he's standing 4 on. They never feel satisfied with what they've already got.
[正] Almost all people think that the grass is greener on the other hill. They never feel satisfied with what they've already got.
注:“这山望着那山高”是指人不满足于现状的心理,它在英语中已经有了现成的说法,即 the grass is greener on the other hill(他山的草更绿),因此我们借用即可,这样既方便又更有利于与西方人沟通。
9.转战南北
[误] fight south and north
[正] fight north and south
注:在地理方位的表达习惯上,中英文有一定的区别。中国人习惯于先“东西”后“南北”,而且在涉及“南北”时,习惯于先说“南”,再说“北”,如:“南征北战”、“南来北往”等。而英美人与此正好相反,如“江苏在中国的东南部”英文是 Jiangsu is in the southeast of China, 而“新疆在中国的西北部”应译为 Xinjiang is in the northwest of China。
10.这个教授教得很烂。
[误] The professor teaches badly.
[正] The professor is so terrible.
注:有人认为第二句的意思是“这个教授很可怕”,其实不然。英语中 terrible 意思很灵活,例如:feel terrible 指身体“不舒服”; The food is terrible 则是说食物“难吃极了”。而第一句纯属中文式的表达。
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
- Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
- Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人
- He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
- An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
n.社会主义者;adj.社会主义的
- China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家,也是一个发展中国家。
- His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。
标签:
翻译