高中二年级 · 阅读系列

Lesson 42 · A Word with No Easy Translation

文体：词语翻译项目 · 朗读音轨 42

先听一遍

听听一个地方词为何需要情景，而不只需单个英语对译词。

展开英文短文，再悬停查词

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.

逐句跟读

点击任意一句听 Dicvo 的 Jenny 英语语音；开始连续播放前可选择每句播放次数。同一句的每遍之间、切换到下一句之前，都会留出约一遍句子时长供你跟读。原有整篇朗读仍可在上方播放。

每句播放次数速度

请选择一句开始。

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.

读懂了什么？

读完后，试着用一句话说出本文的主要意思，并从原文找出支持它的一句话。

查看中文译文

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。

本课重点词语

以下是本课重点词语的中文讲解；英文正文中有虚线的单词可悬停查看词义和发音。

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。

背景知识

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。

再听一遍