托福词汇之10种著名小吃的英语说法

　　西安的小吃真可谓是名扬天下，羊肉泡馍、肉夹馍、凉皮等都是家喻户晓的美味。但是，网上对西安小吃的英语翻译五花八门，良莠不齐，今天我们就来看看cnn是如何翻译西安的名小吃的。

　　英文内容摘自cnn官网，地址为http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/08/foodanddrink/china-xian-must-eat-food/index.html

　　羊肉泡馍

　　01. Flatbread in mutton soup (yangrou paomo) – Yangrou paomo is the most iconic [标志性的] dish in the Xi’an foodscape. The ritual [例行公事] before eating a paomo – tearing the bread into small pieces yourself before letting the chef turn it into a stew [炖的食物] – is as enjoyable as the dish itself.

　　带有汤汁的饭菜通常用in + 汤汁这个公式来表达，如红烧肉就是diced pork stewed in brown sauce。

　　肉夹馍

　　02. Xi’an meat burger (roujiamo) – Roujiamo is the city’s favorite burger. A delicious roujiamo is composed of [由……组成] two key elements – juicy shredded [切成碎片的] braised pork [炖猪肉] and a crispy baked bread.

　　肉夹馍其实是馍夹肉*_*，但不管怎样，肉夹馍和西方的汉堡包很类似，只不过肉夹馍用的是饼，汉堡包用的是面包。顺便说一下，驴肉火烧可以翻译为donkey burger。

　　凉皮

　　03. Cold noodles (liangpi) – Rice noodles are cooked, cooled and thinly sliced. The noodles are often served in a sauce made of chili oil [辣椒油], pepper powder, vinegar and diced garlic [切成丁的大蒜]. Then it’s garnished with [配有] bean sprouts [豆芽] and sliced cucumber [黄瓜].

　　提到noodle的时候，通常都是复数noodles，因为我们不可能就吃一根吧!方便面叫instant noodles。

　　biangbiang面

　　04. Biangbiang noodles – commonly described as resembling a belt, biangbiang noodles are wide, thick and long. One string of noodles can easily fill you up.

　　酸汤水饺

　　05. Hot and sour soup dumpling (suantang shuijiao) – Who can resist a bowl of dumplings swimming in hot and sour soup with sesame seeds [芝麻], minced leek [葱花] and cilantro [香菜]? Suantang shuijiao is flavorful and refreshing with a lingering (and pleasant) aftertaste [回味无穷].

　　汤圆一般翻译为sweet dumpling，如果要告诉外国人饺子和汤圆的区别，恐怕得进一步解释一下。

　　粉蒸肉

　　06. Steamed beef and wheat powder (fenzhengrou) – This unassuming-looking [其貌不扬的] dish packs 23 herbs, spices and seasonings into one serving and requires seven hours to cook.

　　馒头可以翻译为steamed bun，包子就是有馅的馒头，可以说成steamed stuffed bun，但有些地方包子馒头都用steamed bun。

　　串儿

　　07. Kabob (chuan’er) – coated with chili [辣椒] and cumin [孜然] powder, it’s a highly addictive [使人上瘾的] midnight snack for Xi’an residents. It’s not unusual for locals to order 100 of them in one go.

　　穿肉串的签子叫skewer。

　　石榴汁儿

　　08. Pomegranate juice – Pomegranates are a local specialty product. Pomegranate juice stands pop up around town every fall.

　　我中学大学的时候会说的水果很少，撑死5个：apple, banana, pear, orange, grape。有一天我去菜市场，立志要把所有常见水果的英文说法学会。

　　甑糕

　　09. Glutinous rice and date cake (zenggao) – Cooked overnight in a zeng – a traditional earthen utensil [泥做的器皿] – most vendors [商贩] only prepare one batch [一炉] of zenggao (glutinous rice [糯米] and date [枣子] layered cake) a day.

　　glutinous rice也可以简单说成sticky rice。我们传统的英语课堂上通常是不会教这些词汇的，因为考试不考，看到人名地名，老师也会跳过(基本不会教人名地名的发音)，因为考试不考，这就导致我们中的绝大多数出了学校就像从来没有学过英语一样，因为只会用排除法做选择题。凡是我们经常看到的，听到的，想到的，都应该设法用英语说出来，这样才会有成就感，才不会觉得枯燥，才不会放弃!

　　汤包

　　10. Soup dumpling (tangbao) – Shanghai’s xiaolongbao? Wrong. It is Xi’an’s own version of soup dumplings. Instead of pork, tangbao in Xi’an is mutton meat and soup packed into a paper-thin wrapper.

　　这里把汤包翻译为soup dumpling其实也可以理解，因为汤包和饺子也没有绝对的区别。总之，中文和英文是两种截然不同的语言，词汇不可能完全对应，需要我们不断揣摩和体会，这也许就是语言的魅力吧。加油!