中國餐館里那些“神翻譯”

If Michelin gave stars for unintentionally brilliant dish names, an eatery in Pingyao, China, might well be the world’s top restaurant. It has a large sign outside showing some of its tastiest dishes, with English translations: “In Bowl,” “You Flour Silk,” “Beef Cat’s Ear” and a noodle dish in broth known as “Sauce on My Grandma.”
如果米其林給意外取下的絕妙菜名打星，中國平遙的一家餐館很可能會(huì)是世界上的頂級餐廳。它的外面有一個(gè)大招牌，展示了店里最美味的菜肴名字，從英文來看，有“在碗里”、“你面粉絲綢”、“牛肉貓耳朵”，以及名為“澆在我姥姥上的汁”的面湯。

The Chinese and English languages are so completely different that you often see awkward translations like these. They may make English speakers chuckle, but Chinese officialdom is not amused: When major international events come to China, the state tries to clean up the most egregious ones. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, for example, 400,000 signs and 1,300 menus were revised, including “Racist Park,” a permanent cultural exhibition that was rebranded as “Minorities Park.”
中文和英文差異太大了，所以經(jīng)常可以看到這類尷尬的翻譯。它們可能會(huì)令英語使用者發(fā)笑，但中國官方并不覺得此事好笑：每當(dāng)中國舉行重大國際活動(dòng)時(shí)，政府都會(huì)試圖清理那些最荒誕的譯名。例如在2008年北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)前，就有40萬個(gè)標(biāo)識(shí)和1300道菜名進(jìn)行了修訂，其中包括“種族主義公園”。它是一個(gè)永久性的文化展覽場所，被更名為“少數(shù)民族公園”。

Still, a stroll through just about any Chinese city will reveal the joys of eating in China: A restaurant menu in Xian offers “The Smell of Urine Dry Noodles.” Shenzhen is proud of its famous “Gollum Shrimp.” A Beijing restaurant serves “The Hand That Grasps the Cowboy Bone” and “Fried Swarm.”
不過，直到現(xiàn)在，在任何一座中國城市漫步，都會(huì)讓人對中華飲食忍俊不禁：西安一家餐館菜單上寫著“尿味的干面條”。深圳為其著名的“古魯姆蝦”感到自豪。北京的一家餐廳提供“握著牛仔骨頭的手”和“炸蜂群”。

Public institutions don’t do much better with their signs: One warns travelers in Shanghai to “Beware Wallet/Carefully Slide” (it means to suggest that you should watch your wallet and your step on the slippery floor). In Beijing, some wheelchair-accessible bathrooms are marked “Deformed Person.”
公共機(jī)構(gòu)的標(biāo)志也不怎么樣：上海有一個(gè)警告標(biāo)識(shí)是“當(dāng)心錢包咬你/小心翼翼地滑倒”(意思是，看牢你的錢包，在濕滑的地面上行走時(shí)要注意)。在北京，坐輪椅者的一些專用洗手間上采用的標(biāo)識(shí)是“畸形人”。

And it is worth a visit to the Ecstasy retail clothing chain on the island of Taiwan just to see what is posted out front. Apparently unaware that its trademark is also a street name for the illegal drug MDMA, the store has signs saying, “Welcome to the Ecstasy World” and “The Ecstasy Family Make You Crazy.”
就算只是為了看看招牌，臺(tái)灣島上的象鼻人(Ecstasy)服裝連鎖店也是值得一逛。商家似乎沒有意識(shí)到其商標(biāo)也是非法毒品搖頭丸的俗稱，所以店里的招牌上寫著“歡迎來到搖頭丸世界”和“搖頭丸家族讓你瘋狂”。