辛獻(xiàn)云
在一年一度的“雙十一”購(gòu)物狂歡節(jié)期間,不少網(wǎng)購(gòu)狂人在不停地買買買之余,少不了要大喊“剁手”,甚至表示“下個(gè)月只有吃土了”。本期我們就來(lái)談?wù)劇岸缡帧焙汀俺酝痢钡挠⒆g。
“剁手”的英譯
所謂“剁手”,是指某些人在網(wǎng)上購(gòu)物時(shí),看到自己喜歡的東西就往購(gòu)物車?yán)锓?,也不管自己是否真的需要,就下單交款,不知不覺(jué)就把信用卡刷爆了,看著自己買的一堆有用沒(méi)用的東西,不禁懊惱不已,大呼“真想剁了自己的手”。但是下次再遇到自己心儀的商品,還是忍不住買買買,直到再次后悔要“剁手”,就這樣周而復(fù)始,東西買了一大堆,手卻始終完好無(wú)損,有人戲稱這種人是“千手觀音”——有著剁不完的手。久而久之,這類人成了“剁手黨”“剁手族”,而“剁手”也成了“購(gòu)物”的代名詞。
翻譯“剁手”“剁手黨”最直截了當(dāng)?shù)淖g文就是hand-chopping以及hand-chopping people或a hand-chopper,例如:
①再買我就“剁手”。
Im gonna chop off my hands if I buy again.
②光棍節(jié)那天,她瘋狂網(wǎng)購(gòu),當(dāng)了回“剁手黨”。
On Singles Day, she engaged in crazy online shopping, becoming a hand-chopper as netizens have termed it.
但當(dāng)“剁手”“剁手黨”初次出現(xiàn)時(shí),應(yīng)當(dāng)加以說(shuō)明,以防讀者誤解,以為是恐怖片里的剁手狂魔,或是一種自殘行為。比如新華網(wǎng)的英語(yǔ)新聞在介紹“剁手黨”時(shí),就進(jìn)行了如下說(shuō)明:
“Hand-chopping people?” Sorry? Did so many people chop off their hands in China?
Relax. Its not a term about felony (刑事重罪) or suicide that is rising in the worlds most populous nation, but a noun describing the spending spree (瘋狂消費(fèi)) of Chinese consumers during frenzied online shopping promotions.
或者這樣解釋:
“Hand-chopping people” are big online spenders who self-mockingly (自嘲地) say that they would like to chop their hands off after buying too much online.
有時(shí)為了避免誤解,也可借用英語(yǔ)中現(xiàn)有的表示購(gòu)物狂的詞來(lái)翻譯“剁手黨”,比如shopaholic、shopping maniac、oniomania、shopping addict等。例如:
①我室友是個(gè)“剁手黨”。
My roommate is a shopaholic/shopping maniac.
②一月份的打折促銷對(duì)“剁手黨”有著巨大的誘惑力。
The January sales can provide shopaholics with far too much temptation.
但當(dāng)“剁手”代指“購(gòu)物”或“瘋狂購(gòu)物”時(shí),就不能按字面翻譯,而要根據(jù)實(shí)際意義靈活處理。例如:
①昨晚一時(shí)沒(méi)忍住,又“剁手”了。
Last night I couldnt help buying/doing online shopping again.
②最后一小時(shí)中,仍有來(lái)自230個(gè)國(guó)家的消費(fèi)者忙著“剁手”。
In the last hour, there were still consumers from 230 countries maniacally engaged in the shopping spree.
③地球人已經(jīng)阻止不了我女朋友“剁手”了。
No one on earth can stop my girlfriend from buying online crazily.
“吃土”的英譯
后來(lái),“剁手”似乎已無(wú)法表達(dá)人們對(duì)網(wǎng)購(gòu)欲罷不能的心情,另一個(gè)同樣極具夸張色彩的詞應(yīng)運(yùn)而生,那就是“吃土”?!俺酝痢币辉~源于2015年“雙十一”購(gòu)物狂歡節(jié),是網(wǎng)友對(duì)自己瘋狂購(gòu)物超出預(yù)算的一種自嘲,意為由于花費(fèi)太多,下個(gè)月已無(wú)錢吃飯,只能“吃土”?!俺酝痢庇纱顺闪恕翱诖餂](méi)錢”的代名詞。和“剁手”一樣,這個(gè)詞也是一種夸張說(shuō)法,并不是真正地吃土。那么,該怎樣將“吃土”譯成英語(yǔ)呢?
巧合的是,英語(yǔ)中也有“吃土”的表達(dá),即eating ones dust,但此“土”非彼“土”,這里的“吃土”是指在田徑比賽中遠(yuǎn)超對(duì)方,讓對(duì)方跟在后面,吃自己揚(yáng)起的塵土,所以“吃某人的土”就是被某人遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)甩在后面的意思。例如:
①The veteran runner was performing at the best of his career, and everyone else in the race ate his dust.
那個(gè)賽跑老將發(fā)揮出運(yùn)動(dòng)生涯中的最佳水平,其他人都望塵莫及,被遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)甩在后面。
②Weve been eating the competitors dust since they released their new line of smartphones.
自從競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手推出了新的智能手機(jī)生產(chǎn)線,我們一直望塵莫及。
為了避免和eat ones dust混淆,我們可以將“吃土”譯為eat dirt/soil或live on dirt/soil。例如:
①過(guò)完“雙十一”,我就要“吃土”了。
After November 11, Ill have nothing but soil/dirt to eat.
②我花了太多的錢網(wǎng)購(gòu),看來(lái)下個(gè)月只能“吃土”啦。
I spent too much money shopping online. It seems that I will have to live on dirt next month.
BBC也是用eating soil表達(dá)了這一概念:
The term eating soil also became a trending hashtag on Weibo, a common term in China for being so poor you could only afford dirt for meals.
此外,“吃土”也可以借用英語(yǔ)現(xiàn)有的表達(dá)方法進(jìn)行翻譯,以求達(dá)意。英語(yǔ)中表達(dá)“不名一文”的詞語(yǔ)有很多,比如penniless、poverty-stricken (一貧如洗)、not have a bean (身無(wú)分文)、stony-broke (身無(wú)分文)、flat broke (身無(wú)分文)、without two pennies to rub together (身無(wú)分文)、not to have a single penny left (身無(wú)分文)、to be skint (身無(wú)分文)、on ones uppers (穿著只剩下鞋幫、沒(méi)有鞋底的鞋子,指窮困潦倒)、down and out (貧困潦倒)等等。
①我如果失業(yè)了,我們就只能“吃土”了。
If I were unemployed we wouldnt have a bean to spend.
②我寧愿“吃土”也不愿意干那種工作。
I wouldnt take that job even if I were skint.
③我所有的錢都買iPhone 6了,現(xiàn)在只有“吃土”了。
I have spent all my money on this iPhone 6. Now I am stony-broke.
“剁手”與“吃土”都是采用夸張手法形容沖動(dòng)式的、非理性的網(wǎng)購(gòu)消費(fèi),帶有自嘲、戲謔的色彩,翻譯時(shí)為求形象,應(yīng)盡量使用直譯法,保留原詞所具有的獨(dú)特色彩,但在容易引起誤解的場(chǎng)合,應(yīng)使用英語(yǔ)中固有的表達(dá),以求達(dá)意。