📍防疫第四招：寫一封英文信

Dear Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,

Have you ever visited Taiwan? It is a small island right next to China that has an area of 35,808 square kilometers with 23.6 million inhabitants. YES. We have our own constitution, our own government and our democratically elected leaders. We are a sovereign state.

And YES. Taiwan is a developed country. Although Taiwan has been excluded and blocked or barred from many international organizations and communities due to China’s interference and suppression, Taiwan still managed to have the best healthcare system and advanced medical technologies among the best in the world.

Do you still remember? In the end of 2019, it was Taiwan that warned WHO and China about possible human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, but Chinese authorities silenced doctors and refused to admit. Then what have you done?

You did not make it public! You tolerated China’s lack of transparency and decided to be their accomplice in making the coronavirus pandemic a global catastrophe.

You deliberately put people’s health at risk, and now the whole world suffers from China’s initial denials, continuous cover-ups and your inability. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had 91,595 deaths by today. How much more to come?

_

No one judges you because of your race or skin color, nor hairstyle nor gender, but your dereliction of duty! And, hey, those judgments and complaints actually come from not only Asia, not just Europe, but all over the world!

You have always treated Taiwan’s absence in WHO with indifference. Like a wicked ally of China. And when this whole coronavirus gone wild, you continued to refuse all the kind warnings and messages from Taiwan. We’re always here, and we’re willing to help.

How dare you accuse Taiwan of these unfounded allegations when you’ve always been the person with power who keeps discriminating and trampling Taiwan and Taiwanese people the whole time?

In Taiwan, we value human rights, liberty and equality. We are always described kind and friendly. Yet facing injustice, on no account must we endure. We strongly oppose your malicious smear and bullying. We demand a public apology from you to Taiwan and Taiwanese people.

#shameonyouTedros
#shameonyouWHO

—

彈到屎 / 動詞 介詞 名詞 /

n. 台語念比較傳神

有時候當一個人太邪惡（比如希特勒）或太可惡（比如毛澤東），我們不會有機會歧視他；我們只能無視他，然後想辦法讓自己更強大。

有點孤單，但非常堅強。

但還是難免，彈到屎。

—

昨天氣到決定寫一封英文信，結果寫到大半夜可惡。好久沒寫英文作文，好生疏喔天啊😂 我只想做個好國民，但當個好國民有點累🙄

—

😎特別說明：據說有些人的FB會自動把我的英文信翻譯成中文，記得把功能關掉才能看到英文原文～

我的中文不可能寫得那麼不流暢好嗎😎

彈到屎 / 動詞 介詞 名詞 /

n. 台語念比較傳神

有時候當一個人太邪惡（比如希特勒）或太可惡（比如毛澤東），我們不會有機會歧視他；我們只能無視他，然後想辦法讓自己更強大。

有點孤單，但非常堅強。

但還是難免，彈到屎。

—

昨天氣到決定寫一封信，結果寫到大半夜可惡。寫給誰看我不知道，但就是很想寫。但好久沒寫這種主題的英文作文，好生疏喔媽呀🙄

台灣人平白無故被栽贓實在很怒😷😡

—

#shameonyouTedros
#shameonyouWHO

Dear Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,

Have you ever visited Taiwan? It is a small island right next to China that has an area of 35,808 square kilometers with 23.6 million inhabitants. YES. We have our own constitution, our own government and our democratically elected leaders. We are a sovereign state.

And YES. Taiwan is a developed country. Although Taiwan has been excluded and blocked or barred from many international organizations and communities due to China’s interference and suppression, Taiwan still managed to have the best healthcare system and advanced medical technologies among the best in the world.

Do you still remember? In the end of 2019, it was Taiwan that warned WHO and China about possible human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, but Chinese authorities silenced doctors and refused to admit. Then what have you done?

You did not make it public! You tolerated China’s lack of transparency and decided to be their accomplice in making the coronavirus pandemic a global catastrophe.

You deliberately put people’s health at risk, and now the whole world suffers from China’s initial denials, continuous cover-ups and your inability. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had 91,595 deaths by today. How much more to come?

_

No one judges you because of your race or skin color, nor hairstyle nor gender, but your dereliction of duty! And, hey, those judgments and complaints actually come from not only Asia, not just Europe, but all over the world!

You have always treated Taiwan’s absence in WHO with indifference. Like a wicked ally of China. And when this whole coronavirus gone wild, you continued to refuse all the kind warnings and messages from Taiwan. We’re always here, and we’re willing to help.

How dare you accuse Taiwan of these unfounded allegations when you’ve always been the person with power who keeps discriminating and trampling Taiwan and Taiwanese people the whole time?

In Taiwan, we value human rights, liberty and equality. We are always described kind and friendly. Yet facing injustice, on no account must we endure. We strongly oppose your malicious smear and bullying. We demand a public apology from you to Taiwan and Taiwanese people.

#shameonyouTedros
#shameonyouWHO

—

😎特別說明：據說有些人的FB會自動把我的英文信翻譯成中文，記得把功能關掉才能看到英文原文～

我的中文不可能寫得那麼不流暢好嗎😎

【謎底揭曉】在台灣丟一顆石頭都會打中瞎譯那話兒！

（那話兒：表示不正當或不雅的事。小說中常指人的性器官而言。也作「那樁兒」。）

繼教授譯者謝瑤玲把「現代的祕教者窮得很」(don't have two pennies to rub together)譯成「現代的祕教者並沒有兩根可以搓在一起的陰莖」(two penises)，繼教授譯者賴慈芸把「等文稿定案後，再找譯者來翻譯也不遲。」(after the job is done, fetch the translator)譯成「翻完之後，不要給譯者留活口」(after the job is done, kill the translator)之後，實在很難找到可以與之匹敵的胡譯瞎譯，直到最近，為了研究中英譯者如何處理「共匪」的英譯，為了暸解中譯「共匪」對應的英文原文是啥，竟然發現無敵的「丟一顆石頭……打中他那話兒」！

原文/中譯對照如下，應該有足夠的上下文讓有興趣一探究竟的讀者瞧瞧這誤會是怎麼發生的，歸納三個原因：
* 譯者想像力過於旺盛、
* 恍神或不用心，見樹不見林、
* 對原文文法不夠暸解，態度不對而輕忽之。

首先，「丟一顆石頭」的原文是 lob one （發射一個那個東西），那個東西指什麼？從原文脈絡明顯指向前兩句才剛剛說過的 tactical nuclear bombs （戰術核子武器），即使不說「發射一顆戰術核彈」，嫌太累贅，至少要譯成「發射一顆核彈」。

核彈怎會變石頭？譯者顯然查字典或Google了一下，發現動詞 lob （丟、投擲、發射）和 stone 還蠻常一起出現吧？！就給它「丟一顆石頭」下去了，用這種方式理解英文是不行的，one 必須指涉出現過的名詞概念，不然，one 也有「一個人」之意，但顯然「投擲/發射一個人到廁所」根本見鬼，所以譯者可能採取「消去法」，認定這one一定是個「東西」不是人，但也輪不到「石頭」來當the one啊！

其次，「打中他那話兒」的原文是 make sure I hit it，這裡跟前述的 one 一樣，有一個代名詞 it，同樣的，譯者又是對文法不夠尊重，想像力旺盛，從廁所就聯想到男人的那話兒，於是 it 就譯成「his private parts」（他那話兒），準備千古流芳了！但是各位有沒有注意到這個「解法」的矛盾和問題？中文「他那話兒」有一個「他」，他只能代表人，那這個他指涉誰？原文完全沒有出現「他」。譯者該不會希望讀者可以看出他的用意：用擬人法的譬喻，借用「男廁裡，他的那話兒」表達「克里姆林宮的機要位置」？這未免太扯，不太可能吧！這個 it 也指剛剛提過的東西，就是男廁嘛！

建議改譯：

……他曾說自己想要「發射一顆核彈瞄準克里姆林宮的男廁，而且一定要擊中」。

感謝幾位網友參與猜謎遊戲，請自行比對看看你猜中了多少。

這個寧可發揮天馬行空的想像力，也不要按部就班遵循基本英文文法思考所導致的爆笑誤譯，跟賴教授「不要給譯者留活口」的驚世之語，頗有異曲同工之妙：兩人皆是「語不驚人誓不休」（這正好也是書名）！

這樁兒事得來的教訓：

1. 把心用在理解原文和文法，這是翻譯首要的基本功，沒有之一，沒有替代的捷徑。Cue 一下賴教授。

2. 想像力無法控制，很危險，一定要謹記你的角色在哪，不要逾矩。

3. 再好的譯者（如這位陳信宏，中文文筆極佳，我注意欣賞已久，算是英倫哲學才子作家Alan de Botton的「欽定」譯者）都必定有盲點，都一定會出包。所以，任何翻譯都應該找有能力對照原文審核者來過目一次。這是對台灣出版社最衷心的建議。

- - - - -

//Goldwater, in his heart, believed that he was right. Right about the waste and distaste of the “welfare state” the Johnson administration had built. Right about the need for absolute military strength in the face of Soviet expansion. Right about a foreign policy that would make George Bush’s look downright friendly.
高華德內心深信自己是對的。他認為詹森政府建立的「福利國家」不僅揮霍資源，而且令人厭惡；他認為美國面對蘇聯的擴張，必須建構絕對的軍事實力；而且，他心目中的外交政策強硬至極，與他相比，連小布希都顯得太過友善。

Yes, Goldwater was an extremist and proud of it. His Republican convention acceptance speech is best remembered for the line “I would remind you that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.”
的確，高華德是個極端主義者，並且以此為傲。他在共和黨代表大會上發表的接受提名演說當中，最令人難忘的一句話就是：「提醒各位，為了捍衛自由而採行的極端主義並非壞事。」

On the subject of foreign policy he was crystal clear about where he would lead the nation. Simply put: leave the United Nations and never look back, break off all relations with the Soviet Union, and use tactical nuclear bombs to fight communists in Vietnam and other Commie strongholds. Not surprisingly, many of his proclamations during the campaign were outrageous. He was quoted as saying he’d like to “lob one into the men’s room of the Kremlin and make sure I hit it.”
在外交政策方面，他清楚表明自己將會把國家帶往什麼方向。簡單說，就是毫不留戀地退出聯合國，斷絕與蘇聯的一切關係，並且利用戰術核子武器攻打越共以及其他共匪巢穴。不出意料，他在選戰期間提出的許多宣言都令人震驚。據傳他曾說自己很想「丟一顆石頭到克里姆林宮的男廁裡，打中他那話兒」。

Small wonder Johnson’s only concern was the extent of the landslide to come. The Democrats quickly seized upon Goldwater’s “let’s nuke ’em when we have the chance” philosophy and came up with their own unofficial slogan to counter “In Your Heart You Know He’s Right.” Their retort: “In Your Guts You Know He’s Nuts.” It didn’t stop there. Bumper stickers appeared with “Goldwater for Halloween” and “Vote for Goldwater and Go to War.”
難怪詹森不怕落敗，只怕贏得不夠多。民主黨緊抓高華德「一有機會就用核彈炸翻他們」的想法，故意惡搞他的口號：「你心知肚明這傢伙瘋了。」不只如此，當時還出現了不少保險桿貼紙，內容包括：「一票投給高華德，天天都是萬聖節」或者「想上戰場，就選高華德」。

To top it all off, the Johnson advertising team created the famous “Daisy” commercial. It showed a little girl plucking petals from a daisy as a nuclear countdown ends in a huge mushroom cloud explosion. President Johnson’s voiceover was, roughly, “vote for me or God help us all.”
此外，詹森的宣傳團隊還攝製了著名的「雛菊」廣告。畫面上只見一名小女孩在核彈攻擊倒數的同時拔著一朵雛菊的花瓣，倒數結束後，隨即轟然出現爆炸後的巨大蕈狀雲。詹森總統的旁白大致上是說：「請投我一票，不然只好祈求上帝保佑了。」//

#對照原文審校翻譯不可少