龍游淺水、盼望相見 - 古德明

龍游淺水、盼望相見 - 古德明

問:「龍游淺水遭蝦戲,虎落平原被犬欺」這一句,英文怎樣翻譯?
答:這一句直譯是:A dragon in shallow water is sport for shrimps, and a tiger on a flat plain is easily harassed by dogs。這成語的比喻很明白,翻譯時,直譯也可以,不必多解釋,但最好注明是中國成語,例如:As a Chinese saying goes, "A dragon..."(正如中國成語說:「龍游淺水……」)
假如不想這樣直譯,可用一句同義的英文成語:Hares may pull dead lions by the beard(獅子死了,野免也會捋其鬚)。例如:The mainland media would not have dared to say such things about Po Hsi-lai when he was in power. But now hares may pull dead lions by the beard(薄熙來掌權時,大陸傳播界哪裏敢這樣議論他。但現在虎落平原被犬欺)。這「野兔」成語,莎士比亞戲劇《約翰王》也有引用。
問:Looking forward to see/seeing you soon(盼望很快會見到你)這一句,哪個選擇正確?
答:Look forward to something是「熱切盼望某事來臨/發生」,例如:He is looking forward to retirement(他熱切期待退休)。很明顯,look forward to的to,不是帶出原形動詞(infinitive)的to,而是作介系詞(preposition)用,帶出retirement之類名詞。所以,英文不可說I am looking forward to see you soon,而應說seeing:這seeing是動名詞(gerund),作名詞用。