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英文如何说“手”  

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

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今天看了以下的文章,英文如何说“手”,蛮有意思的,便转贴过来,所以,英文和中文真的分别好大!
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原文:We forgot to bring any chopsticks,and you have to use your fingers.
  译文:我们忘了带筷子,所以你们只好用你们的手指了。

  辨误:译文并非严格意义上的错,但显得别扭。除“你们的”应删去外,“用手”似乎比“用手指”更合乎习惯说法。所以原句可译为:我们忘了带筷子,所以你们只好用手了。那原句中的fingers是否能译成hands呢?不能。因为在英美人看来,即使带了筷子也还是要用hands的。

  相比而言,英语中hand所指的范围比汉语的“手”要小。汉语中广义的“手”指整个上肢,如“手指、手腕、手臂”都带有“手”字,而英语中的finger,wrist,arm却相对独立于hand。又如,“手拉手”是hand in hand,“手挽手”却是arm in arm;“他手里拿着本书”是He has/holds a book in his hand,而“她手里抱着个孩子”是She has/holds a baby in her arms。汉语说“她手上戴着一枚钻戒”,英语要说She wears a diamond ring on her finger;“他手上戴了一块进口表”英语却要说He wears an imported watch on his wrist。

  从延伸意义看,汉语的“手”和英语的hand都可以转而指人,汉语中有“好手、巧手、能手、新手”等,英语也说good hand,crack hand,new hand,old hand,green hand,deft hand等,可是last hand,field hand等又很难译成“手”。The project needs more hands中的hands却要译成“人手”。英语中还有一些习惯说法,如give somebody a big hand(热烈欢迎)和from hand to mouth(现挣现吃地,仅够糊口地),译成汉语时都用不上“手”。

  《圣经》中的Do not let your left hand know what your right hand does.(不要宣扬自己的善举),如果照字面直译也会让人莫名其妙。还要提一下,汉语“他向我们挥手”只需译做He waved to us而不要说He waved his hand to us。

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