“双十一”已经走了,“双十二”还会远吗?网购让你“吃土”吗?
2019-11-22 11:21
来源:新东方英语
作者:
翻译“剁手”“剁手党”最直截了当的译文就是hands-chopping、hands-chopping people或a hand chopper,例如:
① 再买我就“剁手”。
I’m gonna chop off my hands if I buy again.
② 光棍节那天,她疯狂网购,当了回“剁手党”。
On the Singles’ Day, she engaged in crazy online shopping, becoming a hand-chopper as termed by the netizens.
但当“剁手”“剁手党”初次出现时,应当加以说明,以防读者误解,以为是恐怖片里的剁手狂魔,或是一种自残行为。比如新华网的英语新闻在介绍“剁手党”时,就进行了如下说明:
“Hands-chopping people?” Sorry? Did so many people chop their hands in China?
Relax. It’s not a term about felony (刑事重罪) or suicide that is rising in the world’s most populous nation, but a noun describing the spending spree (疯狂消费) of Chinese consumers during the frenzy online shopping promotion.
或者这样解释:
“Hands-chopping people” are big online spenders who self-mockingly (自嘲地) say that they would like to chop their hands off after buying too much online.
有时为了避免误解,也可借用英语中现有的表示购物狂的词来翻译“剁手党”,比如shopaholic、shopping mania、oniomania、shopping addicts等。例如:
① 我室友是个“剁手党”。
My roommate is a shopaholic/shopping mania.
② 一月份的打折促销对“剁手党”有着巨大的诱惑力。
The January sales can provide shopaholics with far too much temptation.
但当“剁手”代指“购物”或“疯狂购物”时,就不能按字面翻译,而要根据实际意义灵活处理。例如:
① 昨晚一时没忍住,又“剁手”了
Last night I couldn’t help buying/doing online shopping again.
②最后一小时中,仍有来自230个国家的消费者忙着“剁手”。
In the last hour, there were still consumers from 230 countries maniacally engaged in the shopping spree.
② 地球人已经阻止不了我女朋友“剁手”了。
No one on earth can stop my girlfriend from buying online crazily.
“吃土”的英译
后来,“剁手”似乎已无法表达人们对网购欲罢不能的心情,另一个同样极具夸张色彩的词应运而生,那就是“吃土”。“吃土”一词源于2015年“双十一”购物狂欢节,是网友对自己疯狂购物超出预算的一种自嘲,意为由于花费太多,下个月已无钱吃饭,只能“吃土”。“吃土”由此成了“口袋里没钱”的代名词。和“剁手”一样,这个词也是一种夸张说法,并不是真正地吃土。那么,该怎样将“吃土”译成英语呢?
巧合的是,英语中也有“吃土”的表达,即eating one’s dust,但此“土”非彼“土”,这里的“吃土”是指在田径比赛中远超对方,让对方跟在后面,吃自己扬起的尘土,所以“吃某人的土”就是被某人远远甩在后面的意思。例如: