在外交場合，如果翻譯出錯，輕則鬧笑話，重則會影響兩國關系，甚至歷史也會因此發(fā)生重大轉(zhuǎn)折。近日，BBC整理了歷史上最嚴重的翻譯錯誤，包括：因翻譯不準導致蘇聯(lián)與西方的關系曾一度降到冰點；因翻譯錯誤導致美國某總統(tǒng)被當眾表達性欲......
Jimmy Carter knew how to get an audience to pay attention. In a speech given during the US President's 1977 visit to Poland, he appeared to express sexual desire for the then-Communist country. Or that's what his translator said, anyway. It turned out Carter had said he wanted to learn about the Polish people's 'desires for the future'.
美國前總統(tǒng)吉米·卡特知道如何吸引觀眾的注意。在他1977年訪問波蘭發(fā)表演說時，他似乎對當時還是共產(chǎn)主義國家的波蘭表現(xiàn)出性欲——或者他是被翻譯給坑了。后來才發(fā)現(xiàn)，卡特原來說的是希望了解波蘭人民“對未來的渴望”。
Earning a place in history, his translator also turned 'I left the United States this morning' into 'I left the United States, never to return'; according to Time magazine, even the innocent statement that Carter was happy to be in Poland became the claim that 'he was happy to grasp at Poland's private parts'.
根據(jù)《時代》雜志記載，翻譯史蒂文·西摩也是“蠻拼的”，想必可以青史留名了。他把“我今早離開美國”翻譯為“我離開美國，再也不回去了”；還把卡特一句原本人畜無害的“我很高興來到波蘭”翻譯成“我很高興捏到了波蘭的私處”。
Unsurprisingly, the President used a different translator when he gave a toast at a state banquet later in the same trip – but his woes didn't end there. After delivering his first line, Carter paused, to be met with silence. After another line, he was again followed by silence. The new translator, who couldn't understand the President's English, had decided his best policy was to keep quiet. By the time Carter's trip ended, he had become the punchline for many a Polish joke.
果不其然，卡特在國宴上發(fā)表祝酒辭時換下了這名“翻譯達人”，但美國總統(tǒng)的“杯具”還沒有結(jié)束。在講完第一句祝酒辭后，卡特停頓了一下，翻譯一片沉默；卡特又講了一句，迎接他的還是沉默。原來新翻譯聽不懂總統(tǒng)先生的英語，于是愉快地決定，與其多說多錯，不如保持沉默。到卡特結(jié)束他的波蘭之行時，他已經(jīng)成為了許多波蘭人的笑柄。
翻譯失誤曾讓冷戰(zhàn)升級
In 1956, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev was translated as saying “We will bury you” to Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow. The phrase was plastered across magazine covers and newspaper headlines, further cooling relations between the Soviet Union and the West.
1956年，蘇聯(lián)總理赫魯曉夫在莫斯科的波蘭大使館里接見西方諸國大使。赫魯曉夫語出驚人“我們要埋葬你們”。這句話很快便登上了各大報刊雜志的頭版頭條，使蘇聯(lián)與西方的關系進一步降到了冰點。
Yet when set in context, Khruschev's words were closer to meaning 'Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in'. He was stating that Communism would outlast capitalism, which would destroy itself from within, referring to a passage in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto that argued 'What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers.' While not the most calming phrase he could have uttered, it was not the sabre-rattling threat that inflamed anti-Communists and raised the spectre of a nuclear attack in the minds of Americans.
然而根據(jù)上下文來看，赫魯曉夫原話的意思應該是“不管你們喜不喜歡，歷史都在我們這一邊。我們會為你們掘土?！彼麑嶋H上指的是馬克思在《共產(chǎn)黨宣言》里寫的一段話“資產(chǎn)階級生產(chǎn)的首先是自身的掘墓人”，意思是資本主義將從內(nèi)部自我毀滅，共產(chǎn)主義最終將戰(zhàn)勝資本主義。雖然這句話也不那么讓人安心，但畢竟還算不上什么刀光劍影的恫嚇，也不至于激怒反共勢力，讓如臨大敵的美國人以為受到了核威脅。
Khruschev himself clarified his statement – although not for several years. 'I once said 'We will bury you', and I got into trouble with it,' he said during a 1963 speech in Yugoslavia. 'Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.'
1963年，赫魯曉夫本人在南斯拉夫的一次演講上澄清了這段話?！拔以驗橐痪洹覀円裨崮銈儭齺碓S多麻煩。我們當然不會用鐵鏟埋葬你們。你們國內(nèi)的工人階級將埋葬你們。”
外交辭令惹麻煩
Mistranslations during negotiations have often proven contentious. Confusion over the French word 'demander', meaning 'to ask', inflamed talks between Paris and Washington in 1830. After a secretary translated a message sent to the White House that began 'le gouvernement fran?ais demande' as 'the French government demands', the US President took issue with what he perceived as a set of demands. Once the error was corrected, negotiations continued.
談判中的誤譯往往會引發(fā)爭執(zhí)。1830年，在法國與美國的談判中，因為一名秘書把法語的“請求”一詞（demander）錯誤地翻譯為“要求”，使這場談判變得火藥味十足。翻譯將法國呈遞給白宮的公函一開頭的“法國政府請求”錯誤翻譯為“法國政府要求”，導致美國總統(tǒng)杰克遜提出反對意見。直到這個錯誤得到糾正，那場談判才繼續(xù)下去。
Some authorities have been accused of exploiting differences in language for their own ends. The Treaty of Waitangi, a written agreement between the British Crown and the Māori people in New Zealand, was signed by 500 tribal chiefs in 1840. Yet conflicting emphases in the English and Māori versions have led to disputes, with a poster claiming 'The Treaty is a fraud' featuring in the Māori protest movement.
有人指出，有些當權(quán)者利用不同語言間的差異實現(xiàn)不可告人的目的。1840年英國王室和新西蘭毛利人達成的書面協(xié)議《懷唐伊條約》便是一例。在這份英國與500名毛利部落首領簽訂的協(xié)議中，英文版和毛利文版各執(zhí)一詞互相矛盾。這導致毛利人在抗議運動中打出標語，宣稱“這份條約是個騙局”。
“長遠的歷史眼光”
More of a misunderstanding than a mistranslation, one often-repeated phrase might have been reinforced by racial stereotypes. During Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai famously said it was 'too early to tell' when evaluating the effects of the French Revolution. He was praised for his sage words, seen as reflecting Chinese philosophy; yet he was actually referring to the May 1968 events in France.
這個翻譯錯誤其實是一場誤會。1972年美國總統(tǒng)尼克松訪華時，周恩來總理說，現(xiàn)在評價法國大革命還“為時過早”。這句充滿中國哲學的名言使周恩來成為了外國人心目中智慧的賢者；然而周總理其實指的是法國1968年5月發(fā)生的學生騷亂事件。
According to retired US diplomat Charles W Freeman Jr – Nixon's interpreter during the historic trip – the misconstrued comment was 'one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected.' Freeman said: 'I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou's comment except in terms of the extent to which it conveniently bolstered a stereotype (as usual with all stereotypes, partly perceptive) about Chinese statesmen as far-sighted individuals who think in longer terms than their Western counterparts.
當年尼克松對中國進行歷史性訪問時，擔任他翻譯的是美國外交官小查爾斯·弗里曼。他認為這場誤解更多來源于西方對中國人的刻板印象，“（西方）不假思索地曲解了原話的意思，再也不會改正。除了對中國領導人比西方領導人更加高瞻遠矚、看事物更加長遠的刻板印象，我找不到更令人信服的理由?！?/span>
'It was what people wanted to hear and believe, so it took hold.'
“人們愿意聽到和相信這樣的話，所以它深植于世人心中。”
英文來源：BBC 翻譯：觀察者網(wǎng) 楊晗軼
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