"譯場（su）報告" * On Translating * No.58

"譯場（su）報告" * On Translating *
No.58, 2008年4月02日； 2008/1/28 創刊

bobo：「這個禮拜的翻譯

The job turned out to be packing raincoats and sending them off to people who'd applied for them by mail order. This small sideline of my father's was situated on the floor above his office in Trafalgar Square. I never did find out how he got into plastic rainwear! It didn't take me long to discover that there's little more soul-destroying than a repetitive task that wasn't interesting in the first place. There had to be more to life than this.
結果這份工作就是包裝雨衣然後把它們寄給在網路上訂購的人們。這個我爸爸小小的副業就位於他在Trafalgar廣場的辦公室樓上。我從來都沒有發現他怎麼會和塑膠雨衣有關!不久之後我就發現這份工作比一點也不有趣的反覆工作還要枯燥乏味。人生應該還要更精采才是。

I was 15 at the time and totally in love with everything American. I also had a vivid imagination. At school I'd tell the other kids that my father worked for the CIA, something with which I helped him in my spare time ─ whereas in truth I was packing macs and sending them off, for all I knew, to a whole swathe of dirty old men across the UK. I also pretended that I was American but had to put on an English accent so that no one would suspect my family's real identity.
我當時15歲而且完全喜歡上美國的一切。我同時也有一個豐富的想像力。在學校裡我會告訴其他小孩我爸爸為美國中央情報局工作，而我有空的時候就會幫他的忙 ─ 然而事實上我只是幫他包裝雨衣然後寄出去罷了，據我所知，都是一些英國那邊髒兮兮老男人。我同時也偽稱自己是個美國人但是為了不讓別人察覺我爸爸的身分所以必須要裝出英國腔。
I was paid five pounds a week for the six weeks I did the job but no amount of money would have made it seem worth doing. In fact, the experience hardened my resolve to join Joan in Hollywood and make my way in the world ─ as a model, an actress, I don't care. In the meantime, to inject some glitz into the mundane reality of my duties, I wrote fan letters to my favourite film stars. The only star who ever replied was Tony Curtis. I will never forget the thrill of receiving his signed photo. In the boredom of the boxes of plastic macs, his smiling face ─ with his actual autograph on it ─felt like the most glamorous things that had ever happened to me. I've still got it.
我打工的六個星期裡ㄧ個星期五英鎊，但是這些錢還是讓不讓我覺得值得去做 (這句好難翻) 。事實上，這次的經驗讓我更加堅定加入姊姊Joan前進好萊塢讓我在世界之上的決心 ─ 不管是當模特兒或是演員也好，我都不在乎。在這期間， 為了替我平淡又現實的工作增添一些光采，我寄了崇拜信給我喜歡的演員們。只有一個演員回信，那就是Tony Curtis。我永遠不會忘記當我收到他親筆簽名照的那個興奮感。在無聊的塑膠雨衣盒子之間，他微笑的臉和上面的親筆簽簽名，讓我覺得是發生在我身上最美好的事情。到線再我還一直保存著它。」

hc案：有些拼音已改正—macs 猜不透

感謝陳先生和鄭女士的指導；

jp：「這一篇的翻譯比上一篇好很多，恭喜：）

比較難的那一小段 but no amount of money would have made it seem worth doing，大概可以翻成「這份工作再多的錢似乎也不值得去做」。請參考。

另外，英文裡的不定冠詞 a ，在很多場合裡是不需要翻譯的，如 I also had a vivid imagination. 翻成「有一個豐富的想像力」，聽起來怪怪的，「有豐富的想像力」應該就可以了。」

pr:「真的是好很多很多耶!!

一個意見:

there's little more soul-destorying than a repetitive task that wasn't interesting in the first place.

我就發現這份工作比一點也不有趣的反覆工作還要枯燥乏味

1. little是否定意, 「簡直不/簡直沒有」, 和 a little (有一些些) 的意思不同

2. there is 後面一定會有個名詞/代名詞做為標的物

所以這個little 不是副詞修飾more soul-destroying, 而是作為there's的標的物名詞

與a repetitve job, 兩個名詞相比較

3. repetitive task, 就是指涉作者在做的這型工作

因此此句的斷句解讀不是 there's (little more soul-destroying)

而是

there's

little (=nothing)

which is more soul-destroying

than

a repetitive task

that wasn't interesting in the first place

(like what I was doing now.)

天下再沒有事情

比一個本來就無趣, 何況又重複的工作

更能摧殘人的靈魂/性靈/生命了

還有, 也建議要多利用spell-check檢查哦

正確的拼字習慣非常重要

加油!!

補充:

重點是句子的起首是there, 不是it

你譯成 it

但即使是 it

little 也是否定, 幾乎沒有, 強調其少的意思哦」

兩處錯誤：Journey to the East by Le Corbusier, Edited by Ivan Zaknic《東方游記》

of sorts,big name

*再一"極可能的"錯誤例：在The Danube 一章談到作者對於現代技術的辯護（中文pp. 34-5）。我們拜internet之幫忙，可以一睹Eiffel Bridge(Eiffel Bridge Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia) bouquet, girder

Bucharest 章：Rotunda找不到資料；還提到Carmen Sylva Queen Elisabeth of Romania的夏季離宮