● 黄克群 By Wee Kek Koon

　　Not long ago, someone was translating a news story on 
Islam and Muslims from English to Chinese. One of the 
Muslims in the story was quoted as saying: "We believe in 
God." What the translator did was to render the word 'God' 
as 'Shangdi' (上帝) in Chinese.

　　Now the definition of Shangdi is 'God', but this word 
is used almost exclusively for, and is widely understood to 
be referring to, the God of the Christian faith.

　　We do not know why the translator made that mistake. 
Probably he had used that Chinese word without being aware 
of the religious nuances inherent in that word.

　　The above anecdote serves to remind us that it is 
imperative for translators and interpreters to be aware of 
the differences between peoples and cultures. A correct word
used in a wrong cultural or religious context is a wrong 
word.

　　But the world today is being transformed at an 
unprecedented pace. Things around us are changing all the 
time ----new technology, new inventions, new cultures. New 
words are being churned out at an amazing speed.

　　Thus, one of the challenges for translators and 
interpreters is to learn to appreciate differences and also 
to keep up with the constant change that is happening all 
around us.

　　There are many examples of mis-translations or bad 
translations because the translators were ignorant of the 
cultural differences between languages.

　　I remember watching a movie a few years back in which 
one character asked another whether or not he wanted a 
nightcap. The context of that scene clearly indicated that 
the former was talking about having a drink before going to 
bed.

　　But I was rather amused by the Chinese subtitles which 
had the first character asking the second whether he wanted
something to put on his head before going to bed.

　　I once attempted to read an English translated version 
of the Chinese classic novel "The Dream of Red Mansions" (《
红楼梦》). In this version, the name of one of the female 
protagonists, Lin Daiyu (林黛玉), was literally translated 
as 'Black Jade'.

　　I had to put the book down after reading a few pages 
about the adventures of Miss Black Jade because I simply 
could not associate a beautiful maiden of the most delicate
disposition with a name like Black Jade.

　　Not only are there differences between Chinese and 
English, there are differences within each of the two 
languages as well.

　　Within the Chinese language, there are already 
discernible differences in the Chinese used in mainland 
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

　　"Thank you for your cooperation" is still often rendered
as "Xiexie peihe" (“谢谢配合”) in mainland China. To most 
Chinese Singaporeans, this means: "Thank you for your 
co-ordination"!

　　Recently, I came across this Chinese word, tongli xin (
同理心), which was not found in any of my dictionaries. It 
seemed to be a Taiwanese word which means empathy.

　　As for English, the same language is used very 
differently in different places like Great Britain, the 
United States, Singapore, the Philippines, India and so on. 
Talk to a non-Singaporean English-speaker about void decks 
and he or she would probably not know what you are talking 
about.

　　In the Philippines, to salvage someone means to execute 
that person. And the word, evacuate, is not uttered in 
polite society. It means to move one's bowels.

　　These examples show how differences in culture exist 
among and within languages. The challenge for translators 
and interpreters is to be aware of these differences.

　　However, besides being aware of differences, they must 
also keep abreast of changes. As we enter the next Century 
and millennium, we must be adept at knowing or even coming 
out with new words to render new inventions and new 
situations.

　　With the proliferation of Internet and Internet-related 
products and businesses, we can expect a myriad of new 
phrases, terminology and concepts. We need to come up with 
suitable translations for words, phrases, concepts and 
procedures. To do this, we must first understand what these 
are. Therefore, translators and interpreters cannot afford 
to be lazy. They must make an effort to acquire these new 
branches of knowledge.

　　It is difficult enough just to keep up with the advances
in science and technology, what is more difficult, in my 
opinion, is to keep up with popular culture. Popular 
culture, especially those emanating from the United States,
moves at a bewildering pace. Popular music, fashions, 
trends, teen-speak: they change as soon as you think you 
have gotten the hang of them.

　　There is a popular phrase coined a few years back in the
US, "I'm not going there". Going where? The uninitiated may 
ask. Actually, the person who says, "I'm not going there" 
does not wish to talk about a certain issue that crops up in
the conversation because he has some emotional aversion to 
that issue.

　　Right now, Singaporeans are lapping up the American 
coffee culture that is changing the way we look at the once 
humble kopi-o. I have noticed that there are no good Chinese
translations for beverages like expresso, cappuccino, cafe 
latte and so on.

　　How do we then keep up with all these changes and 
trends? Dictionaries are useful but quite inadequate. 
Besides, they become out-dated after some time. I find that 
one of the best ways for me to keep up is to do what many 
young people today do: read lifestyle magazines, watch 
television and MTV, surf the Internet. Besides these, one 
must also read newspapers, news magazines, journals and the 
like to keep abreast of developments in the world.

　　Keeping up with trends and developments is an on-going 
challenge, but what is the next step? Sometimes, we lack the
confidence to come up with new translations of words and 
phrases. We often ask questions like: "How do the mainland 
Chinese translate this?" Or "What is the word that the 
Taiwanese or Hong Kongers use?" Why do we even ask these 
questions? Aren't our translation standards good enough?

　　Singapore is so well-positioned, in all aspects, to be a
regional language and translation centre. I am rather 
surprised that we do not even have a school or department of
foreign languages in our universities. If the University of 
Auckland in New Zealand can have a Department of Translation
Studies, surely Singapore, with our claims of being a 
multi-cultural and multi-lingual cosmopolitan city, do not 
want to be left behind, do we? 
　　
中英翻译充满陷阱　

　　不久前，有人把一则以回教和回教徒为主的英文新闻报道翻译成
华文。报道引述其中一名回教徒说：“We believe in God.”这名翻
译员竟把它译成：“我们相信上帝。”

　　“上帝”的确是“God”，但“上帝”一词几乎只用在基督教的
范围内，而一般人也了解“上帝”指的是基督教的神。

　　我们不知道那名翻译员为何会犯下这个错误。或许他在选用那个
中文字的时候，并未体会到那个字所附带的宗教含义。

　　以上的例子提醒我们，翻译员和通译员必须意识到不同种族和宗
教之间的差异。一个正确的字用在一个不适当的文化或宗教背景里，
也将成为一个错字。

　　然而，世界正以史无前例的步伐演进。我们周遭的事物不停地在
改变——新科技、新发明、新文化。新的词汇也以惊人的速度出炉。

　　因此，翻译员和通译员所面对的挑战之一就是意识到差异的存在
，以及赶上我们周围所不断发生的变化。

　　很多时候，翻译员因不熟悉语文之间的文化差异，而作出错误或
不妥的翻译。

　　前几年我看过一部电影。剧中人物问另一个人物要不要来个“
nightcap”。那一幕的剧情清楚地显示，前者所指的是一杯睡前的饮
料。然而，电影中的中文字幕却出现“要不要来顶夜帽”的翻译，不
禁叫人莞尔。

　　我曾尝试阅读一本《红楼梦》的英译本。该译本竟把林黛玉直译
成“Black Jade”（即黑色的玉）。翻了几页关于“Black Jade”小
姐的事迹之后，我实在读不下去，不得不把译本放下。像“Black 
Jade”这样的名字，岂能与羞花闭月的孱弱女子相提并论！

　　不仅中英文之间存有差异，同一个语文之中也存在着不同之处。

　　以中文而言，中国大陆、台湾、香港、马来西亚和新加坡等地方
所用的“中文”，彼此间已经有很明显的差距。

　　在中国大陆，还是有不少地方用“谢谢配合”，不用我们较熟悉
的“谢谢合作”。

　　最近我偶然看到“同理心”这个词，找遍了词典都找不到这个词
。它似乎是出自台湾的新词，有因处于他人处境而对他人产生同情、
怜悯之义。

　　至于英文，同一个字在不同的地方有不同的用法。英文盛行于英
国、美国、新加坡、菲律宾、印度等国家，但各国之间却用法不一。
倘若我们对一名非新加坡人谈起“void deck”（即组屋底层）的话
，他将不知所云。

　　在菲律宾，“salvage”一个人并不是抢救那个人，而是将他处
决，而“evacuate”（即疏散）一字在上流社会中是不便启齿的，因
为它有如厕之义。

　　这些例子说明无论是在不同语文之间，或者同一个语文之中，文
化差异都是存在的。翻译员和通译员所面对的挑战就是要了解这些差
异。

　　然而，他们不单得了解文化差异，还要赶得上周围的变化。当我
们迈入下一个世纪和下一个千禧年的时候，我们必须擅于了解新发明
和新事态，我们甚至还得为它们取新名称。

　　网际网络和与网际网络有关的产品和企业正在不断繁衍，而大量
新的词汇、术语和概念将随着出现。我们需要为新字、新词、新概念
和新程序作出适当的翻译。我们得先去了解这些东西，才能作出恰当
的翻译。因此，翻译员和通译员不可懈怠，他们必须积极地吸收新知
识。

　　要赶上科技的进步已经是一件难事，要跟上大众文化就更是难上
加难了。大众文化（尤其出自美国的大众文化）以惊人的速度改变。
流行音乐、时装、时尚潮流、年轻人用的俚语——当你以为自己完全
掌握其来龙去脉时，它却又变了样。

　　前几年，美国有句流行的顺口溜：“I'm not going there.”（
即“我不要到那儿去。”）不知情的人不免要问：怎么回事？到哪里
去？说“I'm not going there”的人，其实是因对某个话题有情感
上的排斥而不愿意讨论这个话题。

　　目前美国咖啡文化正在新加坡人当中大行其道、处处留香，使我
们对昔日最为普通的咖啡乌看法已有所不同。我发觉到如 expresso
、cappuccino、cafe latte 等饮料，至今还未有理想的中文译名。

　　我们到底如何赶上这些变化和潮流？词典当然有用，但还是有不
足的地方。何况，词典不一会儿就不足以应用了。我个人觉得跟上时
代步伐的最佳途径之一，就是做一些时下年轻人爱做的事情：翻翻时
尚杂志、看看电视和MTV、浏览网际网络。除此之外，还得阅读报章
、新闻杂志、学术刊物等。

　　赶上潮流和改变是一个不间断的挑战，但下一步呢？我们有时候
缺乏信心，不敢为一些新的词汇作出翻译。我们时常会问：“中国大
陆怎么译？”或“台湾香港用哪一个字来翻译？”我们为什么还要问
这样的问题呢？难道我们的翻译水准还不够格吗？

　　无论在任何方面，新加坡都具备一个作为区域语文和翻译中心的
条件。我们的大学里却连一个外文学院都没有，我对此甚感惊讶。如
果纽西兰的奥克兰大学能设一个翻译系的话，那我们新加坡这个多元
文化、多元语言的大都会总不能落在人后吧。