Who can find five sentences about untranslatability in English translation?

1. Puns in English, such as your example:

We must stick together, or we will all be hanged alone.

This sentence is often translated as "we must unite as one, or we will be hanged one by one." However, in this kind of translation, readers can't see the homophonic meaning of "hands together" in any case, and they can't produce associations related to "hanging separately".

A shell took away his legs, so he laid down his weapon.

If this sentence is translated into "a shell broke his leg, so he laid down his weapon", how can we express the harmony of "a shell broke his leg"

2. Making full use of pronunciation sometimes brings difficulties to translation.

Seven days without water will make you weak.

This sentence uses homophones of weak and week to make puns. If you hear this sentence translated as "7 days without water makes people weak", how do you express the harmonious meaning of "7 days without water is a week without water"?

There are soldiers in bearskin coats outside Buckingham Palace.

It is understandable to translate this sentence into "there are soldiers in bearskin clothes outside Buckingham Palace", but why not translate it into such a humorous phrase as "there are naked soldiers outside Buckingham Palace"?

3. English palindromes, whether in the form of words or sentences, are extremely difficult to embody or express in Chinese.

Don't say anyone's name.

This sentence is a very symmetrical palindrome, spreading to both sides with two "O" as the center.

I was capable before I saw the island of Elba.

This is a famous palindrome in English. It makes full use of the characteristics of English, with the letter "R" as the center and identical letters. I was very capable before I met the island of Elba. This can only translate the meaning of the sentence smoothly, but how to express the wonderful taste and elegance of its palindrome becomes a problem. The palindromes of madam, radar and rotator are unique in Chinese, and the possibility of their translation into Chinese palindromes actually does not exist.

Add another humor just translated, using two meanings of head: head and toilet:

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Once, when we were whispering in the bathroom, our instructor must have overheard our conversation. To our surprise, she suddenly shouted, "Why is there a voice in my head? ! "

Once we went to the toilet, we were whispering, and the instructor must have heard us. She suddenly yelled at us and startled us: "Why is someone talking in my head?" ? ! "

For untranslatability of Chinese, please refer to:

On three difficulties in poetry translation;

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