高中基础 (2249 期 20150421) | 1版

Translating Common SenseTranslating Common Sense

• What do you think of the translation of Qian Chao Lu in Hangzhou? Have you ever spotted any other “unexpected amusement” in reading public signs?

• Would you like to be a translator? If so, what would you do to qualify yourself as a good translator?

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Pre-Pre-readingreading

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LOOK AND SPEAK

Try and correct these mistranslated signs.

Hot Hot drinking drinking water water available.available.

Please Please wait off wait off the one-the one-meter meter line.line.

No No smoking!smoking!

Media Sign-Media Sign-in Deskin Desk

Pre-Pre-readingreading

Scan the article and fill in each of the following blanks IN ONLY ONE WORD.

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SCAN AND ANSWER

1. When we form our thoughts, Westerners usually see ____________ first, while Easterners usually see ____________ first.

2. Some Chinese words are untranslatable— __________ and __________, for example.

3. Translators must be familiar with both the __________ and the __________. They have to be mindful of not only _________, but also __________.

categoriescategories

wuwu

languagelanguage

relationshipsrelationships

junzijunzi

accuracyaccuracycultureculture

sensitivitysensitivity

Pre-Pre-readingreading

One street name that has raised some eyebrows and some smiles is Qian Chao Lu … The Chinese name is derived from Zhejiang’s Qiantang River and the tidal bore which surges up the river when the coastal waters are at high tide … It has nothing to do with qian (money).

Word bank:

55have nothing to do with …与……毫不相干

While While readingreading

raise one’s eyebrows扬起眉毛（表示不赞同或惊讶）

tidal adj. 潮汐的 tide n. 潮汐，潮水

be derived from起源于，衍生自

Literal translation doesn’t always work and can result in confusion, misunderstanding and even bafflement.

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bafflement n. 困惑，不解

While While readingreading

Word bank:

result in 造成，导致

literal translation 直译，字面翻译 liberal translation 意译

The pinyin version of Qian Chao Lu seems adequate to identify the street. And many Chinese words, such as guanxi, are creeping into the English language, making it unnecessary to be translated. What translators have to be mindful of is accuracy and sensitivity …

creep into 悄悄进入 creep v. 爬行，匍匐

Word bank:

adequate adj. 足够的，合乎需要的 mindful adj. 留心的，注意的accuracy n. 准确性sensitivity n. 敏感性，悟性

While While readingreading

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VOCABULARY EXERCISES

1. Some plants are very __________ to light; they prefer shade.2. He was uneducated and barely __________.3. Passengers are not allowed to carry __________ materials onto buses.4. A musician usually has his own ______________ of a piece of music.5. It is important to define these terms __________.

Choose an appropriate word for each sentence and fill in the blank with its proper form.

sensitivesensitive

literateliterate

interpretationinterpretation

interpret literal explode accuracy sensitivity

explosiveexplosive

accuratelyaccurately

While While readingreading

1. Torry is a curious kid; he ______ finding out all sorts of things.

A. delights B. delights in C. delights from D. delights on

2. The name of the river was _____ from an Indian town.

A. defined B. divided C. derived D. delivered

3. He seems ______ only of his own interests.

A. mind B. minded C. mindless D. mindful

4. The computer breakdown _______ a loss of many important files.

A. resulted B. resulted from C. resulted in D. resulted to99

√√

Choose the best answer.

√√√√

√√

While While readingreading

1. Does the author think it is necessary to have everything translated? Why?

The author thinks it is unnecessary to have everything translated. Many Chinese concepts have been adopted into English, and it would be meaningless to blindly translate everything into English. In some cases, Chinese alone is enough.

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COMPREHENSIONAnswer the following question.

While While readingreading

2. What does “translation is as much an art as it is a science” mean?

Translation can be a science as in literal translation (word-for-word translation). Translation can also be an art—translators should apply different strategies to avoid confusion, misunderstanding and bafflement, especially when literal translation doesn’t work.

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Answer the following question.While While readingreading

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Finish the following summary.

COMPREHENSION

_________________________________ in Hangzhou have surprised many visitors. These mistranslations pointed out __________________________________________________________________________. There’s a _____________________ between East and West; as a result, _________________ can result in confusion. Translators must _______________________________________________, and be mindful of both accuracy and sensitivity. _____________________________________ should be avoided.

Some newly-translated street signsSome newly-translated street signs

the difficulties in interpreting thethe difficulties in interpreting themeanings of words in different languagesmeanings of words in different languages

great cultural dividegreat cultural divideliteral translationsliteral translations

be familiar with both the languagebe familiar with both the languageand the cultureand the culture

Unnecessary and meaningless translationUnnecessary and meaningless translation

While While readingreading

mistranslationuntranslatable

Language Language studystudy

The above two words might be new to you, but by an analysis of affixes, you can simply guess their general meanings. The prefix “mis-” means “incorrect,” so “mistranslation” refers to a translation that is incorrect. Likewise, the prefix “un-” means “not,” and the suffix “-able” means “capability.” “Untranslatable” refers to something that cannot be translated.

Affixes include prefixes (前缀 ) and suffixes (后缀 ). Prefixes appear at the head of a word and usually change meanings, while suffixes appear at the end of a word and usually changes attributes (part of speech). In the case above, “mis-” and “un-” are prefixes, and “-able” and “-ion” are suffixes. The two words share the same root (词根 )—“translate.”

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GRAMMAR TIP

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YOUR TURN

I. Find more words in the article that use the prefix “mis-” and “un-.”

1. mis-:2. un-:3. -able:

misunderstanding unexpected misunderstanding unexpected unnecessaryunnecessary

misleading, mistake, misleading, mistake, misfortunemisfortune

II. List more words that use the prefix “mis-,” “un-,” or the suffix “-able.”

unable, unfair, unusualunable, unfair, unusual

unbearable, unbelievable, reliable unbearable, unbelievable, reliable III. Guess the meaning of the following words by an analysis of their affixes.1. discourage:2. reassess:3. doubtless:

to make somebody lose courage or to make somebody lose courage or confidenceconfidenceto assess something againto assess something again

with no doubt with no doubt

Language Language studystudy

Try to find some mistranslations on public signs around Shanghai and correct them.

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After readingAfter reading

Here are two mistranslations on public signs that our editors have found around Shanghai:

Examples:

↑ This one was spotted at the Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park Station of Shanghai Metro Line 2. A better solution could be “Way out” or “Exit.”

← This one was spotted at Zhaojialou (召稼楼 ) Scenic Spot in Minhang District, Shanghai. A better solution could be “Danger! Risk of drowning!”