and与but与so与or的区别(用andor就高大上了21世纪还在犯20世纪的错)

“...we take our position with that distinguished company of lawyers who have condemned its use. It is one of those inexcusable barbarisms which were sired by indolence and damned by indifference, and has no more place in legal terminology than the vernacular of Uncle Remus has in Holy Writ. I am unable to divine how such senseless jargon becomes current. The coiner of it certainly had no appreciation for terse and concise law English.”


对于and/or在法律英语中的使用,佛罗里达州最高法院(Supreme Court of Florida)如是说。可见,and/or在法律英语中并不是一个受欢迎的词。

20世纪以来,and/or就备受英美法庭的指责。法律用语使用权威Bryan A. Garner也表示,在法律英语使用and/or这一术语也极其有害,该词含义模棱两可,而法院又未对该术语作出一致的解释,使得合同的恶意读者有了可乘之机。李克兴博士在《法律翻译译注评》中也曾说“and/or是法律文本撰写人,尤其是律师惯用的体现“师爷”风格的用词,任何法律文本的教科书都反对使用”,尽管使用者认为该词为商务风的表现,但也很难排除使用者“卖弄风骚”的嫌疑。

尽管and/or为专业人士所诟病,但是该词又是不少专业人士的心头好,似乎在法律合同中很难不遇到and/or。笔者仅从翻译的角度谈谈and/or一词,因为你可以保证自己不用,但是你无法确保自己不会遇到。遇到and/or你不能不翻译吧,所以,and/or怎么翻译?或者或怎么正确的使用这个“错词”呢?

and与but与so与or的区别(用andor就高大上了21世纪还在犯20世纪的错)(1)

逻辑上可以这样解释:如果是“X and/or Y”,意思为“X以及Y(即两者)”,或“X或Y”。实际上,or本身就是一个具有争议性质的词语。“X or Y”本身就可以表示““X或Y,或者两者都包括”。而and 通常指在一项选择之外再加上另一项选择,但有时and表达的含义也是模棱两可。

通过以下银行贷款中的条款,先感受一下or和and的用法吧。

If a debtor fails to make a payment when due, the bank may:

(1) sell the collateral or

(2) assess late fees of 5% of the amount missed.

银行可以出售债务人(debtor)的担保品(collateral),是否还可以向债务人收取相当于未付贷款额5%的迟付金(late fees)?根据这一段规定,债务人认为银行只可以采取其中的一项措施,而银行则认为可以“双管齐下”。问题在于其中的or 是一个可以作模棱两可解释的词。

如果明确规定银行只可以采取其中一项措施,上句应该写成:

If a debtor fails to make a payment when due, the bank may either:

(1) sell the collateral or

(2) assess late fees of 5% of the amount missed.

如果允许银行可以同时采取两项措施,应写成:

If a debtor fails to make a payment when due, the bank may:

(1) sell the collateral,

(2) assess late fees of 5% of the amount missed, or

(3) both.

如果有两个以上选择,而只允许银行选择其中一项措施,可以这样写:

If a debtor fails to make a payment when due, the bank may only pursue one of the following options:

(1) sell the collateral,

(2) assess late fees of 5% of the amount missed, or

(3) declare the full amount of the indebtedness due and payable immediately.

如果允许银行采取其中一项或多项或全部措施的,可以这样写:

If a debtor fails to make a payment when due, the bank may exercise one or more of the following options:

(1) sell the collateral,

(2) assess late fees of 5% of the amount missed, or

(3) declare the full amount of the indebtedness due and payable immediately.

如果银行有权施行这三项措施的全部,它当然也有权只施行其中的一项,而且债务人也会非常乐意银行这样做。

If a debtor fails to make a payment when due, the bank may:

(1)sell the collateral,

(2)assess late fees of 5% of the amount missed, and

(3) declare the full amount of the indebtedness due and payable immediately. (Brody, 1994:77–78)

在此情形中,语境和逻辑都告诉我们,and 与or 意思相同。但有时语境并不能帮上什么忙。

如:

Retired and disabled people are entitled to government surplus food.

读完这个带有and连接词的规定,到底有权利享受政府剩余食品的人必须是退休同时又是残疾人士,还是只要退休或者残疾就可以享受?读者从以上例句的字面上得不到答案。and给你的同样是一个模棱两可的选择,读者只能靠语境和逻辑作适当的推理,才可确定该and 究竟是二选一,还是必须符合其所连接的两项要求,即既是退休人士又患有残疾。

法律文本本着严谨的态度,为避免歧义,经常会出现几个近义词并列的情况,如“rights, titles, powers, discretions and exemptions”,而and/or也算是并列使用,但是它的使用又带来了更多的歧义。所以,and、or及and/or为避免歧义,应该怎么使用呢?

如:

若甲方违反了《框架协议》或《合作协议》两者中的任意一个或同时违反时都要支付违约金。

可能会有不少人译为“The Liquidated Damages apply if Party A materially breaches its obligations under the Framework Agreement and/or Cooperation Agreement.”

但是,“The Liquidated Damages apply if Party A breaches the Framework Agreement or the Cooperation Agreement.”表述起来含义就更加清晰。也可以这样表述“The Liquidated Damages apply if Party A breaches one or the other or both agreements.”

再如Retired and disabled people are entitled to government surplus food.为使含义更加清晰,就可以表述为:

Only people who are both retired and disabled are entitled to government surplus food.(达到这两项要求才有资格享受政府的剩余食品)。

或者:

Either retired people or disabled people are entitled to government surplus food.(只需达到其中一项要求便有资格)。(Brody, 1994: 78)

综上,对于and、or及and/or三个连词,应尽量避免使用and/or,而在翻译过程中遇到该词时,可根据不同的语境明确其含义,如果所有列出的项目都必须包括在内,不妨用X or Y or both,或者加个only,all或together,这样一来,所用的or或and就不会再有歧义了。此外,如果要连接三项或三项以上的事物,还可以用one or more of...,any or all (of)...的短语去表述。

如:

This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts with each such counterpart deemed to be an original hereof and all of such counterparts deemed to be one and the same Agreement.(本协议可签署生效一份或多份副本,每份副本视为协议原本,所有此类副本视为完全一致的协议。)

This Agreement supersedes any or all prior agreements, written or oral, between Party A and Party B, and constitutes the complete agreement between the parties.(本协议替代甲方和乙方之间以前的所有书面或是口头的协议。)

参考:

《法律翻译译注评》(清华大学出版社)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And/or

(学习更多法翻知识,可查看https://www.qidulp.com/)

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