歷史上最嚴重的“翻譯”錯誤--上海有資質(zhì)的翻譯公司

我很高興捏到了波蘭的私處”
　　Jimmy Carter knew how to get an audience to pay attention. In a speech given during the US President's 1977 visit to Poland, he appeared to express sexual desire for the then-Communist country. Or that's what his translator said, anyway. It turned out Carter had said he wanted to learn about the Polish people's "desires for the future".
　　美國前總統吉米·卡特知道如何吸引觀(guān)眾的注意。在他1977年訪(fǎng)問(wèn)波蘭發(fā)表演說(shuō)時(shí)，他似乎對當時(shí)還是共產(chǎn)主義國家的波蘭表現出性欲——或者他是被翻譯給坑了。后來(lái)才發(fā)現，卡特原來(lái)說(shuō)的是希望了解波蘭人民“對未來(lái)的渴望”。
　　Earning a place in history, his translator also turned "I left the United States this morning" into "I left the United States, never to return"; according to Time magazine, even the innocent statement that Carter was happy to be in Poland became the claim that "he was happy to grasp at Poland's private parts".
　　根據《時(shí)代》雜志記載，翻譯史蒂文·西摩也是“蠻拼的”，想必可以青史留名了。他把“我今早離開(kāi)美國”翻譯為“我離開(kāi)美國，再也不回去了”；還把卡特一句原本人畜無(wú)害的“我很高興來(lái)到波蘭”翻譯成“我很高興捏到了波蘭的私處”。
　　Unsurprisingly, the President used a different translator when he gave a toast at a state banquet later in the same trip – but his woes didn't end there. After delivering his first line, Carter paused, to be met with silence. After another line, he was again followed by silence. The new translator, who couldn't understand the President's English, had decided his best policy was to keep quiet. By the time Carter's trip ended, he had become the punchline for many a Polish joke.
　　果不其然，卡特在國宴上發(fā)表祝酒辭時(shí)換下了這名“翻譯達人”，但美國總統的“杯具”還沒(méi)有結束。在講完第一句祝酒辭后，卡特停頓了一下，翻譯一片沉默；卡特又講了一句，迎接他的還是沉默。原來(lái)新翻譯聽(tīng)不懂總統先生的英語(yǔ)，于是愉快地決定，與其多說(shuō)多錯，不如保持沉默。到卡特結束他的波蘭之行時(shí)，他已經(jīng)成為了許多波蘭人的笑柄。
　　翻譯失誤曾讓冷戰升級
　　In 1956, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev was translated as saying “We will bury you” to Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow. The phrase was plastered across magazine covers and newspaper headlines, further cooling relations between the Soviet Union and the West.
　　1956年，蘇聯(lián)總理赫魯曉夫在莫斯科的波蘭大使館里接見(jiàn)西方諸國大使。赫魯曉夫語(yǔ)出驚人“我們要埋葬你們”。這句話(huà)很快便登上了各大報刊雜志的頭版頭條，使蘇聯(lián)與西方的關(guān)系進(jìn)一步降到了冰點(diǎn)。
Yet when set in context, Khruschev's words were closer to meaning "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in". He was stating that Communism would outlast capitalism, which would destroy itself from within, referring to a passage in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto that argued "What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers." While not the most calming phrase he could have uttered, it was not the sabre-rattling threat that inflamed anti-Communists and raised the spectre of a nuclear attack in the minds of Americans.
　　然而根據上下文來(lái)看，赫魯曉夫原話(huà)的意思應該是“不管你們喜不喜歡，歷史都在我們這一邊。我們會(huì )為你們掘土?！彼麑?shí)際上指的是馬克思在《共產(chǎn)黨宣言》里寫(xiě)的一段話(huà)“資產(chǎn)階級生產(chǎn)的首先是自身的掘墓人”，意思是資本主義將從內部自我毀滅，共產(chǎn)主義最終將戰勝資本主義。雖然這句話(huà)也不那么讓人安心，但畢竟還算不上什么刀光劍影的恫嚇，也不至于激怒反共勢力，讓如臨大敵的美國人以為受到了核威脅。
Khruschev himself clarified his statement – although not for several years. "I once said 'We will bury you', and I got into trouble with it," he said during a 1963 speech in Yugoslavia. "Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you."
　　1963年，赫魯曉夫本人在南斯拉夫的一次演講上澄清了這段話(huà)?！拔以驗橐痪洹覀円裨崮銈儭?，而引來(lái)許多麻煩。我們當然不會(huì )用鐵鏟埋葬你們。你們國內的工人階級將埋葬你們?！?/span>
　　外交辭令惹麻煩
　　Mistranslations during negotiations have often proven contentious. Confusion over the French word 'demander', meaning 'to ask', inflamed talks between Paris and Washington in 1830. After a secretary translated a message sent to the White House that began "le gouvernement fran?ais demande" as "the French government demands", the US President took issue with what he perceived as a set of demands. Once the error was corrected, negotiations continued.
　　談判中的誤譯往往會(huì )引發(fā)爭執。1830年，在法國與美國的談判中，因為一名秘書(shū)把法語(yǔ)的“請求”一詞（demander）錯誤地翻譯為“要求”，使這場(chǎng)談判變得火藥味十足。翻譯將法國呈遞給白宮的公函一開(kāi)頭的“法國政府請求”錯誤翻譯為“法國政府要求”，導致美國總統杰克遜提出反對意見(jiàn)。直到這個(gè)錯誤得到糾正，那場(chǎng)談判才繼續下去。
　　Some authorities have been accused of exploiting differences in language for their own ends. The Treaty of Waitangi, a written agreement between the British Crown and the Māori people in New Zealand, was signed by 500 tribal chiefs in 1840. Yet conflicting emphases in the English and Māori versions have led to disputes, with a poster claiming 'The Treaty is a fraud' featuring in the Māori protest movement.
　　有人指出，有些當權者利用不同語(yǔ)言間的差異實(shí)現不可告人的目的。1840年英國王室和新西蘭毛利人達成的書(shū)面協(xié)議《懷唐伊條約》便是一例。在這份英國與500名毛利部落首領(lǐng)簽訂的協(xié)議中，英文版和毛利文版各執一詞互相矛盾。這導致毛利人在抗議運動(dòng)中打出標語(yǔ)，宣稱(chēng)“這份條約是個(gè)騙局”。
　　“長(cháng)遠的歷史眼光”
　　More of a misunderstanding than a mistranslation, one often-repeated phrase might have been reinforced by racial stereotypes. During Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai famously said it was 'too early to tell' when evaluating the effects of the French Revolution. He was praised for his sage words, seen as reflecting Chinese philosophy; yet he was actually referring to the May 1968 events in France.
　　這個(gè)翻譯錯誤其實(shí)是一場(chǎng)誤會(huì )。1972年美國總統尼克松訪(fǎng)華時(shí)，周恩來(lái)總理說(shuō)，現在評價(jià)法國大革命還“為時(shí)過(guò)早”。這句充滿(mǎn)中國哲學(xué)的名言使周恩來(lái)成為了外國人心目中智慧的賢者；然而周總理其實(shí)指的是法國1968年5月發(fā)生的學(xué)生騷亂事件。
　　According to retired US diplomat Charles W Freeman Jr – Nixon's interpreter during the historic trip – the misconstrued comment was "one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected." Freeman said: "I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou's comment except in terms of the extent to which it conveniently bolstered a stereotype (as usual with all stereotypes, partly perceptive) about Chinese statesmen as far-sighted individuals who think in longer terms than their Western counterparts.
　　當年尼克松對中國進(jìn)行歷史性訪(fǎng)問(wèn)時(shí)，擔任他翻譯的是美國外交官小查爾斯·弗里曼。他認為這場(chǎng)誤解更多來(lái)源于西方對中國人的刻板印象，“（西方）不假思索地曲解了原話(huà)的意思，再也不會(huì )改正。除了對中國領(lǐng)導人比西方領(lǐng)導人更加高瞻遠矚、看事物更加長(cháng)遠的刻板印象，我找不到更令人信服的理由?！?/span>
　　"It was what people wanted to hear and believe, so it took hold."
　　“人們愿意聽(tīng)到和相信這樣的話(huà)，所以它深植于世人心中?！?/span>