High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 42 · A Word with No Easy Translation
Audio track 42
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My grandmother used a local word for the feeling of meeting neighbors after a long winter. I tried to translate it into English as “happiness,” but she shook her head. The word also carried relief, memory, and the knowledge that people had looked after one another.
For our language project, I recorded her explanation with permission. I asked when she would use the word and when she would not. Then I wrote a short English scene about neighbors opening their doors on the first warm morning. I kept the original word in the scene and explained it through what the people did.
A classmate suggested inventing a single English equivalent. That might have made the glossary shorter, but it would have hidden the word's history. We chose a phrase and an example instead.
Translation was not a hunt for a perfect label. It was a way to carry enough of the scene across so that another reader could feel why the word mattered.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
祖母用一个地方词，形容漫长冬天后重新见到邻居的感受。我试着把它译成英语的‘快乐’，她却摇头。这个词还带着如释重负、共同记忆，以及彼此照应过的认识。
做语言项目时，征得祖母同意后，我录下她的解释。我问她什么时候会用这个词，什么时候不会。随后，我写了一段简短英文场景：第一个暖和的早晨，邻居们打开家门。我在场景里保留原词，让人物的行动来帮助读者理解。
一位同学建议造一个单独的英语对等词。那样词表会短些，却会抹掉词背后的经历。我们最终用了一个短语和一个例子。
翻译不是寻找完美标签，而是把足够多的情景带给另一种语言的读者，让他们感到这个词为何重要。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- local
- 地方性的；祖母使用当地词。
- relief
- 宽慰；漫长冬天后再相见的感受。
- memory
- 记忆；词里有过去共同经历。
- looked after
- 照应；邻里曾彼此关照。
- permission
- 许可；录音前先征得同意。
- original
- 原来的；在英文场景里保留那个词。
- equivalent
- 对等词；未必存在完美单词。
- glossary
- 词表；可用例子丰富解释。
- label
- 标签；单个译词可能过于简单。
- carry
- 传达；把情景带给另一语言的读者。
Background notes (Chinese)
原文没有写出具体地方词，强调它承载的共同经历。译者可保留原词，借情景、短语和例子解释，而不强求一词对应一词。