It is not enough to be able to translate sentences. Let's see how I write it as a slogan for foreigners.

Recently, I saw an outdated news. A month ago, Zhejiang University 120 celebrated because the slogan translation was too hot. Afterwards, Zhejiang University and the outsourcing translation company were criticized. In fact, there are many funny translations in English translation abroad, so there is no need to react so much to problems in Chinese-English translation at home. But when I see everyone spitting so happily, I will join in the fun.

Original slogan: (35 words)

Original translation: (27 words)

My version: (18 words)

All along, I only like free translation, because I think translation is not only to convert a sentence from one language to another, but also to correspond to idioms in different occasions and target language areas, in order to achieve the best results. For example, in summer, the throat is smoking at 40 degrees, so it is best to eat watermelon and drink cold water to soak in the swimming pool. Who knows that girls with cold constitution have their period, even if those things are for relieving summer heat, it is not appropriate to eat, drink and soak? Therefore, translation must first understand the nature of situations and sentences before it can start normally.

As shown above, this sentence appeared on the background board of the celebration party of Zhejiang University. In other words, we should translate banners and slogans of celebrations in English-speaking countries.

I will explain my translation ideas by disassembling the key words in the original sentence. According to the three principles summarized by referring to English national slogans, it is easy to translate Chinese slogans into natural English slogans.

If you think that the bilingual subtitles I inserted in the first picture at the beginning of the text are not good enough after reading the original slogan, translated version and my version, you don't have to read it. Please forgive me if I can't analyze it grammatically. )

There is a lot of spit on the internet to translate the original text, and Chinese slogans themselves have language defects. My analytical ability is not enough, so I won't go into details here.

The first step is to search for "school banner of the year" on Google. Judging from the pictures found, most of them are very concise. The most common one is "Celebrating the N Year of XXX", followed by three or five words to highlight the theme. For example, "excellent education", "hope to fight cancer" and "faith in God". If there is no word "de", at most, phrases such as "proud of our past and dedicated to our future" or "leading the educational revolution" will be added.

However, since the title of this celebration is 35 words long, please write as little as possible. Looking at so many words translated from the original, it's a pity that English has been reduced to such a small size on such a large background board.

Therefore, the first principle is established: the fewer words the better.

Next, please note that English slogans do not use verbs, and are customarily either nouns or "verbs +ing" with the nature of nouns. This has a great advantage that you don't need to study whether you should use the present tense, past tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense or past perfect tense (wow, you can remember the names of these tenses and give yourself a little red flower first).

Therefore, the second principle holds: try to use nouns or generic nouns.

Continue to observe that English slogans rarely repeat words except "the". This is also very important in writing. Even if Li Qingzhao's words are "searching, lonely and miserable", they are also overlapping words and cannot be used repeatedly. I usually make this mistake easily. I want to avoid it here.

Therefore, the third principle holds: don't reuse words.

The translation is officially started below.

I have been used to this word since I was a child, and everyone knows that it is false. However, just as every courtier mentioned the son of heaven in ancient times, he had to surrender to the sky to show his awe, now we often print this word when we need to show respect to people. As a result, our original sincerity was diluted and the taste was quite weak.

In several network and software versions, everyone seems to prefer "our highest respect". I'm not going to discuss who is the most suitable of the two words "respect" and "sublime" among the N synonyms in English. In fact, I was inspired when I was looking for Google pictures before, and I took a fancy to the word "honor". In the Oxford Dictionary, Honor defines "paying high tribute" as a verb and "paying high tribute" as a noun. I think it is enough to solve the problem by removing the word "most" from the original slogan.

If you want to use "honor" here, according to the second principle of using nouns as much as possible, there are two ways: one is to turn it into a noun "honor", and the other is to use the phrase "in honor of". They are similar in usage and habit, so we should choose "honorific words" according to the first principle of saying as little as possible.

When it comes to Google, it is common to use "honoring" in English celebration flyers, such as "honoring our excellent high school students/founder/hero". The key is to follow "people", which is very useful, because we want to mention "predecessors and sages", that's all!

This word has been translated as "predecessor" in several versions. Literally, it is true, but I think it is more appropriate to use "alumni". Listen, it's a school anniversary. The so-called "predecessors and sages" of course refer to Zhejiang University alumni, not all the predecessors who made contributions. If I applaud the achievements of others in my own school celebration, I will not be lucky enough to get drunk with such fraternity. It is not easy to write "alumni who have made great contributions" on people's slogans, but only to express modesty and fear of being misunderstood as arrogance, implying that no one can make "great contributions" except graduates of Zhejiang University. However, it is natural that China people are not used to boasting. Because translation is aimed at "outsiders", there is no need to pretend to be a fairy.

As for "xian", there are many words to choose from. "Outstanding", "special" and "outstanding" are all acceptable. I chose "distinguished" at random, but I just think the words are longer and can be forced, hahaha.

The translation of this word into "exploring the unknown" can be said to be no suspense, even the software knows it. However, according to the second principle of using nouns as much as possible, the insertion of this verb is nerve-racking and boring. It's a pity that after changing it to "explore the unknown" or "explore the unknown", it's embarrassing to say anything. For example:

"In recognition of our outstanding alumni's exploration and contribution to the unknown ..."

Or:

"Pay tribute to our outstanding alumni and thank them for their exploration and contribution to the unknown ..."

The source of embarrassment is that "country and people" must be connected by "harmony", which means that there are two "harmony" in a short sentence. Violation of the third principle, no.

With a brainwave, I changed "explore" to "explorer" and separated it with commas, and changed it to "Distinguished aluminium". According to the motto of Zhejiang University, "Seeking Truth and Innovating", the original slogan was that predecessors and sages explored the unknown, so it is also appropriate to say that outstanding alumni are "explorers in the unknown".

I don't like "contribution" very much, because I used this word when I mentioned alumni donations. But then I thought about it, just using "grades" might offend alumni who donated money. Without sponsorship, how can the country obtain research results? So let's use the general "contribution"

It is also a typical slogan. Search the usual "country and people" on Google, and you will find that all the terms you find are related to China, including the English South China Morning Post, which fully illustrates the China characteristics of this word. However, there are many things with China characteristics in the celebration, and it is not bad to wear them.

Ok, now combine the five elements, and the effect is as follows.

Original slogan: (35 words)

My version: (18 words)

The basic meaning is there. It looks like an English slogan. Generally speaking, I am satisfied with my translated version. If you must compare it with other versions, it is better to catch a foreigner and ask which TA is suitable. I'm sure someone will like this.

Judging from the comments on this website, the "mistakes" of outsourcing translation companies are just the tip of the iceberg, and the bad luck has been magnified into a big scene. Grammar, word selection and sentence order are all problems that artificial intelligence can solve sooner or later. Only the translator's analysis of idioms and occasions can add extra value, so I think free translation is the future of translation. Just as pharmacies and prescriptions can be handed over to machines, what medicine to take is still up to doctors.

Finally, I think about my translation career. I am very interested and almost entered it. I'm afraid I can't live on it in my life. I have to think about so many things for a 35-word slogan. How can I compete with others when they use thousands of words to calculate the price of hundreds of dollars? Let nature take its course, just pass the message on to customers and write something when you are free.