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伍、两、卒,旅,师,军,这些军事单位怎么译?

2018-09-20 08:56阅读:
伍、两、卒,旅,师,军,这些军事单位怎么译?
用拼音翻译中国的文化术语越来越普遍,我不支持这种译法。按拼音译法,伍、两、卒、旅、师、军,这些术语分别译作wu、liang、zu、lyu、shi、jun,可这能传达什么信息呢?读者会有什么感觉?很享受?很新鲜?很头晕?或者莫名其妙?
文本中《周礼地官司徒》中有这段文字:
乃会万民之卒伍而用之。五人为伍,五伍为两,四两为卒,五卒为旅,五旅为师,五师为军,以起军旅,以作田役,以比追胥,以令贡赋。
我把这些单位分别译成拼音和根据英语的造词规则编码,看看哪个效果更好?
(1)Tens of thousands can be recruited to form an army. Five soldiers form a wu, five wu a liang, four liang a zu, five
zu a lyu, five lyu a shi, and five shi a jun. Such an army can be used to battle, to farm, to capture robbers, and to press for tributes and taxes.
(2)Tens of thousands can be recruited to form an army. Five soldiers form a pentad, five pentads a quarter, four quarters a centum, five centums a brigade, five brigades a division, and five divisions a corps . Such an army can be used to battle, to farm, to capture robbers, and to press for tributes and taxes.
对于老外而言,wu、liang、zu、lyu、shi、jun无异于天书吧,他们根本不可能知道这些单位各由多少人构成。相比之下,pentad、centum、brigade、division、corps不仅能够形成意象,而且也能让人知道这些单位各是多少人,比如“pent”拉丁语的词根就表示“五”,“quarter”是由“五伍”构成的“两”即二十五人,以此类推。

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