听濮阳翻译公司讲地道中文的搞笑英语翻译

1. 有他这颗扫帚星，什么事情都办不成。
 
  [误] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.
  [正] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.
  注： ;扫帚星 ;是中国人对 ;慧星 ;(comet)的俗称，因其后面拖着一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代， ;扫帚星 ;被认为是灾难的预兆，并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事；祸根：(person or thing that is thought to bring)bad luck(to sb/sth)；curse。英语的comet 虽然没有这层含义，但却有一个对应的说法，即jinx。
  例：There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: it's always giving me trouble. (这辆汽车上有什么妨人的东西，总给我找麻烦。)
  2.萝卜青菜，各有所爱。
  [误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
  [正] Tastes differ。
  注：Tastes differ/vary是句英语谚语，除此以外，原句还可翻译成No dish suits all tastes 或You can never make everyone happy 等。此外，我们还可以这样说：One man's meat is another man's poison. 总之，应采取意译。
  3.他一向嘴硬，从不认错。
  [误] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.
  [正] He never says uncle.
  注：say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting. 这句话主要是男孩们打架时的用语，当一方想制服另一方时，就用命令的口气说： ;Say uncle! ; 这时，有的孩子为了表示不服输，就是不说。后来，say uncle 就成了 ;服输 ;的代名词，而not say uncle 就相当于 ;嘴硬 ;了。
  4.老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。
  [误] The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.
  [正] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.
  注：中国人喜欢说 ;嘴甜 ；但honey-lipped 更符合英美人的语言习惯。
  5.同学们都很讨厌他，因为他经常拍老师的马屁。
  [误] The students all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass.
  [正] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher's boots.
  注：以前在欧洲，臣民见到国王与王后往往要亲吻他们的靴子。后来，人们将lick the boots 引申为 ;为了某种目的而讨好某人 ；它与汉语的 ;拍马屁 ;含义一样。在美国英语中， ;拍马屁 ;还有另一种说法，即polish the apple，源于以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。
  6.你听说了吗？迈克把他的女朋友给甩了。
  [误] Have you ever heard that Mike broke up with his girlfriend?
  [正] Have you ever heard that Mike dumped his girlfriend?
  注：break up with sb. 虽然表示 ;与某人分手了 ；但并没说明是谁先提出来的。而dump 的原意指 ;倾倒垃圾 ；用在这里则表示像倒垃圾一样地甩掉。
  7.我们要把祖国建设成为社会主义的现代化强国。
  [误] We will build our motherland into a socialist modern powerful country.
  [正] We will build our motherland into a modern powerful socialist country.
  注：形容词作为修饰语在汉语和英语中都很常用，但使用的先后次序却有所不同。在英语中我们一般遵循 ;靠近原则 ；即越能说明本质属性的修饰词越靠近它所修饰的名词，当从这一点看不出区别时，就靠词的长短来决定，短的在前，长的在后。原文中最能说明 ;国家 ;本质的定语是 ;社会主义的 ；所以socialist 要最靠近它所修饰的中心词。
  8.人都是这山望着那山高，对自己的现状没有满意的时候。
  [误] Almost all people think that the other mountain is higher than the one he's standing on. They never feel satisfied with what they've already got.
  [正] Almost all people think that the grass is greener on the other hill. They never feel satisfied with what they've already got.
  注： ;这山望着那山高 ;是指人不满足于现状的心理，它在英语中已经有了现成的说法，即the grass is greener on the other hill(他山的草更绿)，因此我们借用即可，这样既方便又更有利于与西方人沟通。
  9.转战南北
  [误] fight south and north
  [正] fight north and south
  注：在地理方位的表达习惯上，中英文有一定的区别。中国人习惯于先 ;东西 ;后 ;南北 ；而且在涉及 ;南北 ;时，习惯于先说 ;南 ；再说 ;北 ；如： ;南征北战 ;、 ;南来北往 ;等。而英美人与此正好相反，如 ;江苏在中国的东南部 ;英文是Jiangsu is in the southeast of China, 而 ;新疆在中国的西北部 ;应译为Xinjiang is in the northwest of China.
  10.这个教授教得很烂。
  [误] The professor teaches badly.
  [正] The professor is so terrible.
  注：有人认为第二句的意思是 ;这个教授很可怕 ；其实不然。英语中terrible 意思很灵活，例如：feel terrible 指身体 ;不舒服 ;； The food is terrible 则是说食物 ;难吃极了 ;。而第一句纯属中文式的表达。