语言与文风2020theguardian.com
无法翻译成英语的词语
Words that don't translate into English
导读
这篇卫报文章盘点所谓“无法译成英语”的词，HN 评论则指出：多数“不可译”只是缺少单词级对应，并非不能翻译。讨论真正有价值之处在于，词汇会固化一个文化反复需要表达的概念、社交关系和语气。写作者可借此练习选词、解释性表达和文化语境意识。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
不要轻信“不可译词”清单：所谓不可译通常只是没有一对一单词，写作中可用短语或一句话解释来完成转换。
- 02
翻译或改写时要保留词语的社交功能和语气，而不只替换概念，例如 otsukaresama 的重点是承认对方辛苦且不评价表现。
- 03
一个文化反复需要区分的概念才容易固化成单词；写作中若某概念重要，可为它建立稳定说法，否则用形容词和从句展开。
- 04
遇到文化负载词，用一两句语境说明往往比硬找对应词更有效，也可以反问英语中哪些词同样负载重重文化含义。
HN 评论精选
所谓不可译多半只是没有单词级对应，而非无法翻译。
Language Log 十多年来一直在拆穿这套荒唐说法。这里的“不可译”被混淆成“缺少一个精确的单词对应”：难道法语 jeune fille 不能译成英语 girl，ne…pas 不能译成 not？英语 fall down 不能译成法语 tomber，look at 不能译成 regarder？这简直是胡闹。
zimpenfish查看英文原文
Language Log have been demolishing this ludicrous nonsense for over a decade now[1]. You'd think people would learn. [1] https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2741 > But what is the notion of untranslatability here? It seems to have been confused with "lack of an exact one-word equivalent". Who on earth ever argued that translatability only exists when source text words are mapped bijectively to target words, each with exactly the same shade of meaning as the corresponding source word? Does French jeune fille fail to translate English girl, and ne … pas fail to translate not? Does English fall down fail to translate French tomber, and look at fail to translate regarder? What kind of madness is this?
难译词的价值常在社交语气：不评价表现，只承认对方辛苦。
shoganai 很容易译成英语的“it can't be helped”，几乎不损失什么。相比之下，otsukaresama（お疲れ様）及其变体很难译，却很有用：下班时、远足等辛苦事结束后，或只是表示“这件事先告一段落”时对人说。最接近的可能是“good job/good work”，但 otsukaresama 不隐含对表现的评判；因此同事、家人、上级、下级都能说。即使对方当天没能解决问题、放弃收工，也可以用它安慰，而“good work”可能听起来像讽刺。直译大概是“向疲惫者致意”。
jbay808查看英文原文
Shoganai translates very easily into the English phrase "it can't be helped", with very little lost in the translation. By contrast, I think a great, useful Japanese phrase that I wish we had in English but is very hard to translate is otsukaresama (お疲れ様) and its variants. It's what you say to someone at the end of the work day, or after finishing something challenging like a hike, or just to acknowledge that some task is being put away for now. The closest thing might be "good job", or "good work". But otsukaresama has no implied assessment of someone's performance. Which is good, because it means anyone can say it - a peer, family, superior, junior. You can say it to be comforting even after someone gives up for the day having failed to solve a problem, where "good work" might sound sarcastic. A literal translation might be "with respect to the tired", or something like that.
词汇反映文化关注频率；没有单词对应不等于不可翻译。
我一直觉得“不可译的词”这个说法没抓住重点，尤其这类文章随后又给出了翻译。实际情况只是我们没有单个对应词，而不是不能翻译。就像人们说爱斯基摩人有几十个雪的词：他们每个雪词都能用英语形容词描述，只是他们更常需要描述雪，所以把概念压缩成一个常用词。值得思考的是，为什么有些文化需要为某事物造一个单词，另一些不需要。我喜欢 schadenfreude，不是因为它指什么，而是德国人如此认同“从他人不幸中取乐”这个念头，以至于为它造了词。
awillen查看英文原文
I've always found the idea of words that can't translate to miss the mark, especially in the context of articles like this that provide a translation. It's really just that we don't have a singular corresponding word, not that they can't be translated. It's kind of like how people say Eskimos have 50 (or however many words for snow). Any word they have for snow can be described in a corresponding way in English using adjectives, but for them it makes sense to boil down each of those concepts to a common word, since Eskimos have a more frequent need to describe snow than most English speakers. What's interesting to reflect on is why some cultures need a singular word for something while others don't. It's why I love the word schadenfreude - not for what it means, but for the fact that Germans so readily identify with the idea of taking pleasure from another's misfortune that they coined a word for the term.
不可译往往是需要文化解释，反向追问英语文化负载词也很有价值。
我读过好几篇这类文章，总觉得有趣。这些词当然能译成英语，只是不能译成一个词或短语，而需要配上几段解释其文化含义。不过我没见过反方向的文章：有哪些英语词或短语负载了很重的文化含义，因而难以翻译？
esperent查看英文原文
I've read multiple articles like this, and always find them interesting. These words, of course, can be translated to English. They just can't be translated to a single word or phrase, but must instead come with a couple of paragraphs explaining their cultural significance. I've never seen articles going the other way, however. What are some examples of English words or phrases that are so loaded with cultural significance that they are difficult to translate?
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