英语口语之 对中式英语Say No(3)

对中式英语Say No(3)

作为非native speaker，咱们想把英语说得地道，就必需下功夫“入乡随俗”。下面这些Chinglish的正解你都知道吗？

01. 我希望你不要拖我的后腿。

[误] I hope that you won't pull my leg.

[正] I hope that you won't hold me back.

注：Pull one's leg 是“愚弄某人，开某人的玩笑”的意思，相当于make fun of sb.。英语中与“拖后腿”相对应的表达的是hold sb,英语书面语. back 或be a drag on sb.等。

02. 学校里，那些长得人高马大的家伙常来找我的麻烦。

[误] At school, those big and strong guys always come to find my trouble.

[正] At school, those big and strong guys always come to pick on me.

注：Find my trouble是“发现我的难处”的意思，而英语中“找某人的麻烦”用短语 pick on sb. 它不仅表示“挑剔某人、找某人的碴”，并且还包含tease（取笑、把玩戏弄）或bully（威胁、欺侮）的意思。

03. 原来如此。你一说明我就明白了。

[误] So it is. I understand soon after your explanation.

[正] So that's how it is. I understand soon after your explanation.

注：So it is的意思是“确实如此”，它是用来表示对对方观点的同意的。例如：

A: It is a fine day today!
今天景象不错啊！

B: So it is.
是啊。

表达恍然大悟时，英文要用So that's how it is或So that explains it, 或更简单地道的说法Oh, I see。

04. 这个传授教得很烂。

[误] The professor teaches badly.

[正] The professor is so terrible.

注：有人认为第二句的意思是“这个习惯很可怕”，其实不然。英语中terible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白。

05. 我没料到这个无耻的女人居然同她好友的丈夫调情。

[误] I had not expected that this shameful woman should flirt with her best friend's husband.

[正] I had not expected that this shameless woman should flirt with her best friend's husband.

注：Shameful通常指某事物是“可耻的，争脸的”，而shameless表示having or showing no feeling of shame；immodest or impudent，它个别用来指人“不知羞辱的，不要脸的”或“伤风败俗的”。原文也可译为：It's shameful that the woman should flirt with her best friend's husband.

06. 东施效颦。

[误] Doingshi imitates Xishi.

[正] The ugly imitates the beautiful in such a distorted way that the ugliness of the ugly becomes worse.

注：把原文按照字面意思直译过来，恐怕只有中国人口语理解。要想让外国人明白这个中国成语，就要对译文进行阐明性加工了。同样，“情人眼里出西施”不是Xishi is in the eye of the beholder，而是Beauty is in the eye of the beholder。

07. 你不好好学习，还想去牛津上大学。这可真是个不切实际的幻想！

[误] You don't study hard, yet you want to go to Oxford. What an impractical illusion!

[正] You don't study hard, yet you want to go to Oxford. What an illusion!

注：汉语中的修饰语往往用得很多，目的在于加强语气，但这种表达习惯在翻译时必须进行处理。Illusion本身就有impractical的含意，而英语中在表意已经很清楚的情况下是无需重复的。

08. 想让他同意这样的请求恐怕不大可能。

[误] I'm afraid it is impossible for him to agree to such a request.

[正] I'm afraid it is unlikely for him to agree to such a request.

注：Impossible表示“完全不可能”，所以与原文有出入。在英语中，probable表现的可能性最大，其次是possible，再次是likely。而常用的句式为it is probable/possible/likely for sb. to do sth.，或sb. be likely to do sth.。

09. 比来的人口统计显示中国人口已超过12亿。

[误] The latest census shows that China's population has surpassed 1.2 billion.

[正] The latest census shows that China's population exceeds 1.2 billion.

注：Surpass跟exceed译成中文虽然都是“超过，胜过”的意思,英语培训，但出现具体数字时要用后者。