最近,清華食堂的一張菜單引起了熱議。
圖源:小紅書截圖
網友紛紛評論:“差點把價格看成了影響因子。”
有網友提出了“修改意見”:“這邊建議改成Table 1.1清芬園午餐價目表。”“做成三線表就更像了。”
A canteen menu at Tsinghua University has sparked online discussions for its uncanny resemblance to an academic paper. Netizens joked about mistaking the price column for "impact factors", with some suggesting the menu should be reformatted as "Table 1.1: Qingfenyuan lunch price list" to complete the scholarly aesthetic.
菜單上除菜品名稱和價格外,還清晰地列出了主輔料和過敏原,更貼心配上了英文翻譯。不少網友表示意外學到了原來它們的英文譯名是這樣。
比如,八寶粥的英文名就是字面組合“八”“寶”“粥”(Eight-treasure Porridge);豆腐腦則被譯為“Bean Curd Jelly”,讀著十分形象。
Beyond listing dish names and prices, the menu provides detailed ingredient breakdowns, allergen information, and English translations, revealing some delightfully literal interpretations.
圖源:小紅書截圖
這也讓網友不禁聯想起一些中國美食的“靈魂翻譯”,比如……
重慶毛血旺,“Chongqing is full of blood”。
加油麥菜,“Come on, Mai Cai”。
圖源:小紅書截圖
隨著越來越多外國游客來到中國,一些外國朋友在碰到中餐廳菜單上的“神翻譯”時,也不免舉著菜單陷入沉思,甚至產生了“這真的能吃嗎”的疑惑。
The discussion revived memories of other infamous "creative translations", such as "Chongqing is full of blood" for mao xue wang, a spicy blood stew, or the motivational "Come on, Mai Cai" for stir-fried greens.
在美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)刊發的一篇探討中國菜名英語翻譯的文章中,多年來專注研究中餐的英國美食作家扶霞·鄧洛普(Fuchsia Dunlop)提到,盡管現在翻譯軟件進步不少,但她在中國旅行時還是會遇到一些令人發笑的誤譯。
In a CNN article exploring Chinese culinary translations, Fuchsia Dunlop, a British food writer specialized in Chinese cuisine, noted that despite advances in translation technology, she still encounters unintentionally humorous menu mistranslations during her travels in China.
炒包菜(stir-fried cabbage)就是其中最典型的一個例子。
菜單上,“炒包菜”被翻譯成了“手提包食物”(handbag food)。包菜被拆分成了單獨的兩個字,“包”翻譯成“handbag”(手提包),“菜”則對應為“food”(食物)。
鄧洛普認為,之所以翻譯這些食物的名稱如此困難,很大程度上是因為中餐里的很多詞匯在英語中根本沒有對應詞匯。比如,英語中用“dumpling”這個詞泛指各種帶有餡料的面食,但中文里餃子、云吞、燒麥、湯圓等卻各有其名。
Dunlop says much of the problem with translating the names of these foods stems from the fact that certain words don't even exist in English.
For example, in English, the word "dumpling" is a catchall phrase, referring to everything from
jiaoziand wonton to
xiaolongbao
鄧洛普建議,英文翻譯可以直接借用中文原本的說法,就像是英文中沿用了法語詞匯“chef”(廚師)和“omelet”(煎蛋卷)那樣。
Dunlop suggests borrowing terms in Chinese, similar to how they use French words like "chef" and "omelet".
▌夫妻肺片(Husband-and-wife lung slices)
在這道名為“夫妻肺片”的四川名菜中,既沒有夫妻,也沒有肺片。它實際上是一道辣味切片牛雜,因一對經常走街串巷叫賣涼拌小菜的夫妻而得名。
鄧洛普認為如果將其譯為“Sliced beef offal in a spicy sauce”(辣味牛雜切片)會缺乏特色,也削弱了用餐體驗,不如把“夫妻肺片”直譯成英文“husband-and-wife lung slices”,再單獨解釋這道菜的成分。
One could easily translate it to be "sliced beef offal in a spicy sauce", but this would lack flair and take away from the experience. Dunlop recommends it's fun to keep the original meaning in the translated name — husband-and-wife lung slices — but a description would be a nice menu addition.
“隨著外國人越來越熟悉這些菜,他們也會逐漸熟悉這些菜名。”
▌魚香茄子(Fish-fragrant eggplant)
魚香茄子也是相似的情況,很多時候這道菜里并沒有魚,而是因為使用了以魚為原料的菜肴中常使用的調料而得名。
鄧洛普說,有時人們會將其直譯為“spicy Sichuan eggplant”(川味麻辣茄子),但這樣會失去當地的文化特色。她總是將其翻譯為“fish-fragrant eggplant”(魚香茄子),既好聽,還能讓人們去了解名字背后的故事。
"Sometimes people just translate it as 'spicy Sichuan eggplant', which is helpful, but loses the local cultural flavor. I always translate it as 'fish-fragrant eggplant' anyway because it sounds lovely, and I hope English speakers will get to know this dish," says Dunlop.
▌獅子頭(Lion's head)
對于這道因形狀酷似獅子頭而得名、實際是豬肉做成的大肉丸的菜肴,鄧洛普建議在保留“lion's head”的表述的基礎上,注明其烹飪方法,翻譯為“紅燒獅子頭”(braised lion's head)。
美國有線電視新聞網這篇文章中,另一位來自香港大學翻譯學專業的副教授則認為:“無論是譯作‘中式肉丸’(Chinese meatball),還是直譯成‘紅燒獅子頭’(braised lion's head),都無法完全體現這道菜的精髓和文化背景。”
"You can translate
shizitoufiguratively as 'Chinese meatball' or literally as ' braised lion' s head' but neither fully captures the dish's essence or cultural context," said an associate professor of translation at the University of Hong Kong and a scholar of Chinese gastronomy literature.
來源:“中國日報雙語新聞”微信公眾號、21世紀英文報
新媒體編輯:曾煜婷
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