四级六级汉译英新春专题系列：买年货

Directions: Translate the following paragraph into English.

     几千年来，一代又一代，过年（=过春节）一直是中国人的头等大事。年关将至时，要做很多准备，要买很多东西，有吃的、用的、穿的、戴的、耍的、供的、干的、鲜的、生的、熟的等很多东西。统名之曰“买年货”（Spring Festival special purchases）。买年货的原因是为了慰劳一下辛苦工作一年的家人和自己，庆祝新年的来临。同时，也需要买年货这样的一个氛围告诉自己又过去一年了。在过去交通不便利、人们收入不高的年代、当时落后的经济与生产力让物质匮乏，人们购买年货是为了吃饱，为了生存。如今随着时代变迁，社会进步，人们追求更多的是精神富足。疫情后的第三年，年货市场久违的喧嚣回来了，人山人海，人间烟火，这一幕幕热闹的景象，久违了！

 

过节日，生日等，在英语中是celebrate。

将至：我们可以用approaching, arriving, around the corner, draw near等。

辞旧迎新：bid farewell to the old and usher in the new

慰劳：as a reward to / for

 

特色词汇：人间烟火：hustle and bustle

本意是指充满热闹气息的样子，bustling / hustling

类似的词汇：vigorous, lifeful

直接用normal life也可以体现，曾经有文章报道用Our normal life is back直接翻译成《人间烟火回来了》

 

【解析】

    翻译难点：在过去交通不便利、人们收入不高的年代、当时落后的经济与生产力让物质匮乏，人们购买年货是为了吃饱，为了生存。如今随着时代变迁，社会进步，人们追求更多的是精神富足。

 

难点之一：在……的年代：用定语从句翻译。

during those days when …… ，常见的表达：……的日子一去不返了：gone are the days when…

所以这里可以参考为：during those days when traffic was inconvenient, incomes were rather low。

★句型转换：当时的落后经济与生产力让物质匮乏。

经济落后和前文提到的交通不便利，收入不高可以理解为并列存在：with economic and productivity lagging behind。这里采用表达式：lag behind，表示落后，或者fall behind（fall behind一般强调落在了谁的后面），物质匮乏，理解成“人们选择空间很小（much fewer (materials) / less to choose from）”或者“物质的选择很匮乏（a deficiency of materials）”，这是前三者的结果，during those days when traffic was inconvenient, incomes were rather low, with economic and productivity lagging behind, providing with much fewer (materials) / less to choose from / a deficiency of materials

为了吃饱，为了生存，就可以直接简单翻译成：for their food and survival needs.

 

难点之二：人们追求更多的是精神富足。

精神富足的说法以前我在一些翻译群里看他们提到过spiritual并不合适，说这个词偏向于宗教色彩。如果想体现完整性，可以深度理解一下这里“精神财富”到底包括哪些，我们常提到物质财富是material wealth，而精神财富完整一点是属于：文化、精神、道德财富：cultural, spiritual, and ethical wealth. 所以物质精神财富确切有三部分财富。所以人们更加追求精神富足是，在这方面更加注重：put more emphasis on their cultural spiritual, and ethical well-being.

【参考译文】

       For millennia and for generations, celebrating Spring Festival is always number-one event for Chinese people. With the Spring Festival around the corner, Chinese people make a lot of preparations and pick up a lot of stuffs for food, use, outwear, accessories, fun, and for sacrifice, and a lot of raw and cooked food, all of these stuffs are collectively referred to as "Spring Festival special purchases." One major reason why Chinese people pick up these special purchases is that it is a reward for the hard work of their families and themselves over the past year and to celebrate the arrival of a new year. Also, it creates an atmosphere where it tells that an old year has passed. During those days in the past when traffic wasn't convenient, incomes weren't high, with economic and productivity lagging, providing with much less to choose from, Spring Festival special purchases those days were to meet their basic food and survival demands. Today, with the advancement for a new era and the development of our society, people are putting more emphasis on their spiritual, ethical, and cultural well-being. It has been three years since the pandemic, the buzzing and vigorous Spring Festival shopping markets are finally back with people mountain people sea, long time no see our hustle and bustle, with all the lifeful and vigorous scenes returning to sight, our normal life, is finally back!