哪吒和敖丙怎么写书签（把哪吒里的敖丙）

龙的英语翻译“dragon”是不是妥当？

（图片来源于网络）

最近国产动画电影《哪吒之魔童降世》一路爆红，并将在北美上映，但是小编有些担心外国观众们会不会因此把中国龙和西方龙的形象搞混？于是就做了个学术调查，看看龙的英语翻译“dragon”是不是妥当？

（图片来源于网络）

For centuries, China's iconic mythological creature long has been translated as "dragon" in English. However, long in China is actually quite different from dragons in the West. In China, long is usually seen as an amiable and auspicious animal while dragons in the West are usually depicted as dangerous monsters like the dragon from the Old English epic Beowulf or high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.

几个世纪以来，中国标志性的神话动物龙一直被英译为“dragon”。但实际上，中国的龙与西方的龙有很大的不同。在中国，龙通常被视为一种和蔼可亲的吉祥之物，而在西方，龙则被描绘成危险的怪物，如古英文史诗《贝奥武夫》和奇幻小说《指环王》中的龙。

（图片来源于网络）

For this reason, some scholars have proposed using 'loong' in English when talking about the Chinese dragon.

出于这个原因，一些学者在谈到中国龙时提出将其英译成“loong”。

"The Chinese word long should be transliterated as 'loong' to distinguish the creature from the vile image of dragons in the West," Huang Ji, a teacher at the East China Normal University's School of Communication, told the Global Times.

“中国的龙应该被音译为'loong'，将其与西方龙的邪恶形象区分开。”华东师范大学传播学院的教师黄佶，告诉《环球时报》英文版。

However, many Chinese experts are opposed to the proposal, calling it an unnecessary change that would deteriorate China's cultural confidence and lead to more misunderstandings among foreigners.

然而，许多中国专家反对这一提议，称没必要改变，改变反而会打击中国的文化自信，并给外国人造成更多的误解。

（图片来源于网络）

"People in other countries who know even just a little about Chinese culture can distinguish the difference between the Chinese dragon and Western dragon. It is totally unnecessary to change it into the strange word 'loong,'" Huang Youyi, former vice president of the China International Publishing Group and executive vice president of the Translators Association of China, told the Global Times.

“将（龙的英译）改为一个奇怪的词'loong'很没必要，因为哪怕是仅仅知道一点点中国文化的外国人都可以区分出中国龙和西方龙，”黄友义，前中国外文局副局长，中国翻译协会常务副会长，告诉《环球时报》英文版。

（图片来源于网络）

Changing meaning

改变含义

The 2010 version of the Oxford Dictionary of English says "dragon is a mythical monster like a giant reptile. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in East Asia it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility associated with water and the heavens."

根据2010版的《牛津英语词典》对龙的解释：“龙是一个像巨型爬行动物一样的神话般的怪物。在欧洲，龙通常口喷火焰，往往象征着混乱或邪恶，而在东亚，它通常是与水和天堂相关的能兴云雨利万物的瑞祥象征。”

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Although the authoritative English dictionary includes an explanation about the creature’s depiction in Asian culture, Huang Ji said that a different translation is still needed.

尽管权威的英语字典将龙在亚洲文化里的形象做了解释，黄佶仍然觉得龙的英译需要改变。

"The dictionary only records how the word is used at this stage, but it cannot prove that the usage is correct," Huang Ji said.

“辞典只是对词汇使用现状的记录，但不等于这种使用方法就是正确的，”黄佶说。

"Foreign missionaries in China mistranslated long into 'dragon' 200 years ago, and the English dictionary has to continue explaining the situation since we Chinese have not corrected the mistranslation. If we separate 'loong' from 'dragon,' the English dictionary will be modified."

“两百年前，外国传教士译龙为 ‘dragon’，本来就是错误的，中国人自己一直不去改正错译，英语辞典也就只能继续描绘这种现状。如果中国人主动提出把'loong'和 ‘dragon’区分开来，外国人也会修改辞书的。”

（图片来源于受访者）

However, Zhu Yuan, an editorial writer in the Opinion Department of China Daily, told the Global Times that he did not agree with the idea of using transliteration instead of translating.

但是，《中国日报》评论部评论员朱渊，告诉《环球时报》英文版他并不同意用音译的方法取代之前的翻译。

"'Dragon' has been used for a long time in translation and has gradually been accepted by Western people. If we change it into another word, the word's meaning will become unstable, which will cause communication barriers between people around the world," Zhu said.

“‘dragon’表示中国的龙已经约定成俗，也逐渐为西方所接受。如果我们将其变成另外一个单词，该词的语义会变得不稳定，人们使用这个词进行交流就会产生障碍，”朱渊说。

He explained that word usage is something that should change naturally instead of being dictated by people.

他解释说词的使用变化是自然发生的而不是人为的。

"The semantics of a word change during the use of a language. For example, the 2010 version of Oxford Dictionary of English has added the Chinese dragon's kind image into the word 'dragon,' which shows that the word's meaning has changed naturally. Those who want to use the transliteration 'loong' have a distorted understanding of language as they see words as dead things that cannot be changed," he said.

“语言在使用的过程是变化的。比如2010版的《牛津英语词典》已经把中国龙善良的形象加入到了'dragon'的释义里，这表示这个词在世界上的意思已经在自然地变化。那些想要使用音译'loong'的人对语言有一种扭曲的理解，他们认为语词是死的，永远不会变化的，”他说。

Far-reaching impact

深远的影响

According to Huang Ji, the importance of using the right word will have an impact that goes far beyond the field of translation. It involves China's national image and avoiding diplomatic incidents.

黄佶认为，如何译龙非常重要，它早已超出了翻译的领域，会涉及到中国的国家形象和外交事件。

（图片来源于受访者）

"The Chinese claim to be 'the descendants of the dragon', which might give those who are not friendly to China the opportunity to besmirch China's image," he noted.

“中国人常自称为‘龙的传人’，反华势力会借机损害中国形象，”他说。

"Long is just a folk symbol. It is unreasonable to say its translation is connected to the nation's future. Even if the translation of long is changed, those who are not friendly to China will still make some other excuse to target China," Wang Pingxing, a specialist at the Xinhua News Agency's Foreign News Department, told the Global Times.

“龙仅仅是一种象征性的符号。将其翻译与国家的未来联系是不合理的。即使改变了龙的翻译，那些对中国不友好的人仍然会以其他为借口攻击中国，”新华社对外新闻编辑部专家王平兴，告诉《环球时报》英文版。

Understanding culture

了解文化

Many words besides "dragon" have different or even the opposite meaning in China and the West due to the two sides' historical, sociological and political differences, so translators need to find ways to translate from one language to another without distorting the original meaning, Wang noted.

由于中西方的历史、社会和政治差异，除了“龙”之外的许多词语在中西方都有不同甚至相反的含义，因此译者需要在不扭曲其原始含义的基础上找到相应的翻译方法，王平兴指出。

"Transliteration has been widely used for many words in either language like cola, kung fu, jiaozi, tofu and the like, but these words usually need to be annotated to provide a more detailed explanation," Huang Ji said.

“音译已被广泛用于可乐，功夫，饺子，豆腐等许多词汇，但这些词语通常需要加以注释以提供更详细的解释，”黄佶说。

"There are many different ways to approach translation. I can't say which is the best, all that matters is that it achieves good results when it comes to communication," Zhu said, noting that finding a word in English that has a similar meaning to a Chinese word is easier to understand than transliteration of a foreign word.

“翻译的方法有很多。我认为只要能达到好的交流效果，不必太较真，”朱渊说，找到一个与中文单词具有相似含义的英语单词比外来单词的音译更容易理解。

"The translation of long has been discussed for years, and I think it is useless to continue it. It will be better if we transfer our energy in helping foreign people better understand Chinese culture," Huang Youyi told the Global Times.

“龙的翻译已被讨论多年，我认为继续讨论下去是没有意义的。如果我们将精力转移到帮助外国人更好地了解中国文化会更好，”黄友义说。

看了这么多专家的意见，大家觉得龙的英文翻译应该是什么呢？

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