中式英文該如何翻譯?

1. 有他這顆掃帚星，什麼事情都辦不成。

[錯誤翻譯] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.

[正確翻譯] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.

註：「掃帚星」是華人對「慧星」（comet）的俗稱，因其後面拖著一條像掃帚一樣的長尾巴而得名。在古代，「掃帚星」被認為是災難的預兆，並被用來比喻不吉利的人或事；禍根：（person or thing that is thought to bring）bad luck（to sb/sth）；curse。英文的comet 雖然沒有這層含義，但卻有一個對應的說法，即jinx。

例：There’s a jinx on/Someone’s put a jinx on this car: it’s always giving me trouble.（這輛汽車上有什麼妨礙人的東西，總給我找麻煩。）

2.蘿蔔青菜，各有所愛。

[錯誤翻譯] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.

[正確翻譯] Tastes differ.

註：Tastes differ/vary .是句英文諺語，除此以外，本句還可翻譯成 No dish suits all tastes.或 You can never make everyone happy. 等。此外我們還可以這樣說：One man’s meat is another man’s poison. 總之應採取意譯。

3.他一向嘴硬，從不認錯。

[錯誤翻譯] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault

[正確翻譯] He never says uncle.

註：say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting. 這句話主要是男孩們打架時的用語，當一方想制服另一方時，就用命令的口氣說：「Say uncle!」這時，有的孩子為了表示不服輸，就是不說。後來，say uncle 就成了「服輸」的代名詞，而 not say uncle 就相當於「嘴硬」了。

4.老師很喜歡這個嘴甜的小姑娘。

[錯誤翻譯]The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.

[正確翻譯] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.

註：華人喜歡說「嘴甜」，但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的語言習慣。

5.同學們都很討厭他，因為他經常拍老師的馬屁。

[錯誤翻譯]The students all dislike him because he often pats the teacher’s ass.

[正確翻譯] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher’s boots.

註：以前在歐洲，臣民見到國王與王后往往要親吻他們的靴子。後來，人們將 lick the boots 引申為「為了某種目的而討好某人」，它與漢語的「拍馬屁」含義一樣。在美國英文中，「拍馬屁」還有另一種說法，即 polish the apple，源於以前的學生用擦亮的蘋果來討好老師。

6.你聽說了嗎？邁可把他的女朋友給甩了。

[錯誤翻譯] Have you ever heard that Mike broke up with his girlfriend?

[正確翻譯] Have you ever heard that Mike dumped his girlfriend?

註：break up with sb. 雖然表示「與某人分手了」，但並沒說明是誰先提出來的。而 dump 的原意指「傾倒垃圾」，用在這裡則表示像倒垃圾一樣地甩掉。

7.人都是這山望著那山高，對自己的現狀沒有滿意的時候。

[錯誤翻譯]Almost all people think that the other mountain is higher than the one he’s standing on. They never feel satisfied with what they’ve already got.

[正確翻譯]Almost all people think that the grass is greener on the other hill. They never feel satisfied with what they’ve already got.

註：「這山望著那山高」是指人不滿足於現狀的心理，它在英文中已經有了現成的說法，即 the grass is greener on the other hill（他山的草更綠），因此我們借用即可，這樣既方便又更有利於與西方人溝通。

8.轉戰南北

[錯誤翻譯] fight south and north

[正確翻譯] fight north and south

註：在地理方位的表達習慣上，中英文有一定的區別。華人習慣於於「東西」後「南北」，而且在涉及「南北」時，習慣於先說「南」，再說「北」，如：「南征北戰」、「南來北往」等。而英美人與此正好相反，如「江蘇在中國的東南部」英文是 Jiangsu is in the south-east of China, 而「新疆在中國的西北部」應翻譯為 Xinjiang is in the north-west of China。