中英文翻译陷阱

中英文翻译陷阱

  Not long ago, someone was translating a news story on Islam and Muslims from English to Chinese. One of the Muslims in the story was quoted as saying: "We believe in God." What the translator did was to render the word 'God' as 'Shangdi' (上帝) in Chinese.
    不久前，有人把一则以回教和回教徒为主的英文新闻报道翻译成华文。报道引述其中一名回教徒说：“We believe in God.”这名翻译员竟把它译成：“我们相信上帝。”

　　Now the definition of Shangdi is 'God', but this word is used almost exclusively for, and is widely understood to be referring to, the God of the Christian faith.

　　“上帝”的确是“God”，但“上帝”一词几乎只用在基督教的范围内，而一般人也了解“上帝”指的是基督教的神。

　　We do not know why the translator made that mistake. Probably he had used that Chinese word without being aware of the religious nuances inherent in that word.

　　我们不知道那名翻译员为何会犯下这个错误。或许他在选用那个中文字的时候，并未体会到那个字所附带的宗教含义。

　　The above anecdote serves to remind us that it is imperative for translators and interpreters to be aware of the differences between peoples and cultures. A correct word used in a wrong cultural or religious context is a wrong word.

　　以上的例子提醒我们，翻译员和通译员必须意识到不同种族和宗教之间的差异。一个正确的字用在一个不适当的文化或宗教背景里，也将成为一个错字。

　　But the world today is being transformed at an uNPRecedented pace. Things around us are changing all the time ----new technology, new inventions, new cultures. New words are being churned out at an amazing speed.

　　然而，世界正以史无前例的步伐演进。我们周遭的事物不停地在改变——新科技、新发明、新文化。新的词汇也以惊人的速度出炉。

　　Thus, one of the challenges for translators and interpreters is to learn to appreciate differences and also to keep up with the constant change that is happening all around us.

　　因此，翻译员和通译员所面对的挑战之一就是意识到差异的存在，以及赶上我们周围所不断发生的变化。

　　There are many examples of mis-translations or bad translations because the translators were ignorant of the cultural differences between languages.

　　很多时候，翻译员因不熟悉语文之间的文化差异，而作出错误或不妥的翻译。

　　I remember watching a movie a few years back in which one character asked another whether or not he wanted a nightcap. The context of that scene clearly indicated that the former was talking about having a drink before going to bed. But I was rather amused by the Chinese subtitles which had the first character asking the second whether he wanted something to put on his head before going to bed.

　　前几年我看过一部电影。剧中人物问另一个人物要不要来个“nightcap”。那一幕的剧情清楚地显示，前者所指的是一杯睡前的饮料。然而，电影中的中文字幕却出现“要不要来顶夜帽”的翻译，不禁叫人莞尔。

　　I once attempted to read an English translated version of the Chinese