翻译研究 | “北京瘫”的三种译法

对于“北京瘫”,主流的译法有两种:Beijing slouch和Beijing repose。

两个用法实例:

A photo showing actor and Beijing-native Ge You slouching on a sofa has gone viral. That posture has been nicknamed "The Beijing Slouch."

(The Beijing Slouch, CRI)

But the ultimate champion for this "Beijing repose" is Ge You, a master comedian whose cameo appearance in a situation comedy spawned a wave of good-humored interpretations and imitations.

(Comfortable but inelegant couch potato style now in vogue, China Daily)

翻译研究 | “北京瘫”的三种译法

“北京瘫”的经典姿势

根据《柯林斯词典》,If someone slouches, they sit or stand with their shoulders and head bent so they look lazy and unattractive。可见,用Beijing slouch翻译“北京瘫”非常恰当。非要找问题的话,slouch不仅仅是坐姿,也可以是人的站姿和走姿。《柯林斯词典》对slouch的另一个解释是:If someone slouches somewhere, they walk around slowly with their shoulders and head bent looking lazy or bored。

仅仅凭Beijing slouch只能确定在描述一种慵懒的姿态,是不是“瘫”并不明确。要想说得更清楚的话可尝试Beijing couch slouch。

分析Beijing repose前先看两幅画:

翻译研究 | “北京瘫”的三种译法

Repose, John White Alexander

翻译研究 | “北京瘫”的三种译法

Sweet Repose, Valentine Cameron Prinsep

再看一段诗:

Toiling, --rejoicing, --sorrowing,

Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begin,

Each evening sees it close;

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night’s repose.

--The Village Blacksmith, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

一天劳作后的repose自然是美好、香甜的。这些例子说明repose是一种宁静与松弛,可以很优雅。如China Daily那篇报道标题所描述,slouch is inelegant。之前引用的《柯林斯词典》也描述slouch为unattractive。此外,repose有睡着的意思,那Beijing repose也可以是“北京眠”,不是“北京瘫”了。

“北京瘫”的最后一种译法是Beijing paralysis,这种明显机器翻译的结果仔细想想也颇为传神——那副瘫座的样子好似真的瘫痪了一样。用paralysis的问题在于这个词和slouch比有些长,没有“北京瘫”简洁,还可能会引起这是一种真实疾病的误解。最重要的是,用Beijing paralysis来翻译“北京瘫”可能会引起瘫患者和家属的反感——paralysis对于他们是痛苦,不是舒服。

综上,“北京瘫”译为Beijing slouch就可以,加上couch更准确一些,但少了它也无伤大雅。