他砍頭、區區幾個 - 古德明

他砍頭、區區幾個 - 古德明

問:Off with his head是什麼句式?可不可以改為off of his head?句子是不是畧去了主詞(subject)和動詞?
答:Off with his head是個命令,意思是「把他的頭砍掉」。英文常用with帶出願望或命令,例如:(1)Down with dictatorship! Down with the Communists!(打倒獨裁!打倒共產黨!)(2)Away with you!(滾開!)(3)Out with it!(說出來吧!)(4)Off to bed with you!(去睡吧!)這是一種頗特別的句式,不用主詞、動詞。
至於off of his head,應作off his head,意思是「精神錯亂」,和Off with his head完全不同,例如:He nearly went off his head with joy when he won the lottery(他中了彩票,高興得幾乎瘋了)。留意英語國家雖然有off of這說法,但那of最好刪去。
問:「區區」英文怎樣說?例如「不要看輕區區幾個共產黨員,因為幾個就能令香港禮崩樂壞」。
答:「區區」英文可以有多個說法,譯做a few、a handful、trifling等都可以。Handful指「少數(人、物等)」,trifling則指「(價值、數量等)微不足道」,例如:This beautiful car will be yours for the trifling sum of $200,000(只要區區二十萬元,這輛美麗的汽車就是你的)。讀者說的那一句則可翻譯如下:Even if there are only a handful of / a few Communists in Hong Kong, they must not be taken lightly since they can destroy our long-cherished values。