從“坑爹”說起

2012-05-04 14:42

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從“坑爹”說起

網絡語言常用夸張的說法，現在流行“坑爹”一詞。“坑爹”的意思，泛指“坑人”或“騙人”，連父親老子都敢騙，可見害人程度之深。如果說話人自己被騙，一氣之下說出“坑爹”，意思就是“坑我”。說句占便宜的話，以解心頭之恨。英語可以譯為 cheating, deceiving me, just like kidding your father，例如：

1. 這樣做，不是明擺著坑爹嗎？Doing so is obviously cheating, isn’t it?

2. 你賣給我的這件衣服質量這么差，不是明顯坑爹嗎？ You sold me such an inferior coat. Obviously, you are deceiving me.

3. 你連我都敢蒙，簡直就是坑爹。You even dared to deceive me. It is just like kidding your father.

“坑”的原義是“地面凹下去的地方”，可能是自然形成的，也可能是人為造成的。英語可以譯為 hole, pit, hollow, puddle，例如：

4. 炸彈在地面上炸了一個大坑。The bomb left a big hole/ blew a huge hole in the ground.

5. 這些廢料被傾倒進這個深坑。The waste materials were dumped into the deep pit.

6. 這匹白馬一躍跳過道路上的一個坑。The white horse took a great leap over a hollow in the road.

7. 豬喜歡在泥坑里濺水花。Pigs love splashing in the muddy puddles.

“一個蘿卜一個坑”，比喻每人都有一個位置，沒有多余。我們有如下譯法：

8. Each radish grows in its own hole. (直譯)

9. Each has his own work to do. (意譯)

10. There is nobody to spare. (意譯)

比較上面三種譯法，我們可以看出：如果直譯，英美人可能不解其義；如果譯出比喻意義，原來的韻味就沒有了。由于語言和文化差異，翻譯俗語是件非常困難的事情。

“坑坑洼洼”，形容“地面不平，高一塊低一塊”。英語可以譯為 bumpy, full of bumps and hollows，例如：

11. 這條路坑坑洼洼，很難走。This road is very bumpy and difficult to walk on.

12. 小道坑坑洼洼，這輛大車走在上面顛簸得很厲害。The path was full of bumps and hollows, on which the cart bumped along violently.

“坑坑洼洼”，也可以形容“器物表面不平”。英語可以譯為 not smooth，例如：

13. 這個舊陶罐子表面坑坑洼洼的。The surface of the old pottery jar is not smooth.

“坑坑洼洼”，也可以形容“人生道路坎坷”。英語可以譯為 full of setbacks and frustrations，例如：

14. 這個老人說他的一生坑坑洼洼。This old man said his life was full of setbacks and frustrations.

人們在地面挖一個洞，也可以形成“坑”，它的第一個功能是“埋死人或死動物”。英語可以譯為 pit, hole，例如：

15. 他們就地挖了一個深坑，將這個無名戰士的尸體掩埋了。They dug a deep pit on the spot and buried the dead body of the unknown soldier.

16. 防疫人員在田野里挖了一個深坑，把病雞和死雞都埋了。The anti-epidemic workers dug a deep hole in the field, and buried the diseased and deceased chickens.

由于“坑”有“掩埋”的功能，漢語中很早就由名詞變為一個動詞，其意思是“坑殺”或“活埋”。秦始皇焚書坑儒，就是最好的例證。英語可以譯為 to bury sb alive, to have sb buried alive，例如：

17. 秦始皇統一中國后下令焚書坑儒，以鞏固中央集權統治。After the unification of China, Qinshihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, had classic books burned and Confucian scholars buried alive so as to consolidate his centralized domination.

18. 史書記載這個將軍如何下令他的部下坑殺降兵。The history book recorded how the general ordered his subordinates to bury those surrendered soldiers alive.

19. 這位老農回憶了日本鬼子如何坑殺他村子里的無辜百姓。This old farmer recalled how the Japanese soldiers buried alive the innocent people of his village.

“坑”的另一個功能是“充當陷阱”。挖個坑，可以使人落入其中。古戰場上的“絆馬坑”就是一種使奔跑的戰馬掉入的陷阱。英語可以譯為 horse trap，例如：

20.由于毫無戒備，這個士兵和他的戰馬陷入絆馬坑。Unsuspecting, the soldier and his battle steed fell into a horse trap.

注意trap 還有a light carriage with two wheels pulled by a horse的意思，即“兩輪輕便馬車”。因此，horse trap另有“兩輪輕便馬車”的意思。我們要根據上下文判斷其準確意義，例如：

21. A man travelling in a horse trap was reported to have died after the animal bolted, throwing him into the road. 據報道，一個乘坐兩輪輕便馬車的男子因馬匹脫韁把他拋在道路上而使他摔死。

pony 是“小馬”。但是，pony trap沒有“絆馬坑”的意思，只指“小馬拉的兩輪輕便馬車”，例如：

22. We took a 45-minute tour around the small town in a pony trap.我們乘坐馬拉兩輪輕便馬車圍繞這個小鎮游覽了45分鐘。

23. The tourists all enjoyed a pony-and-trap ride in the countryside.這些旅游者都很喜歡在鄉下乘坐兩輪輕便馬車兜風。

作為動詞，“坑”現在更常見的意思是“設個騙局或利用狡詐手段使人上當受騙”。英語可以譯為 to cheat, to swindle, to deceive, to hoodwink, to defraud, to trick, to entrap。“被坑”或“挨坑”的意思是“上當”或“受騙”，英語可以譯為 to be cheated, to be deceived, to be tricked, to fall into a trap，例如：

24. 這個不法商人銷售偽劣商品坑騙消費者。The unlawful trader cheated the consumers by selling them fake and inferior commodities.

25. 這個老太太發現這個騙子坑了她幾百美元。The old woman found that the cheat had swindled her out of hundreds of dollars./The old woman found that the cheat had swindled hundreds of dollars out of her.

26. 這個游商以次充好，坑蒙顧客。The hawker deceived the customers by selling them substandard products as good-quality ones.

27. 有的小販漫天要價，坑騙外地游客。Some vendors hoodwink outside tourists by charging them exorbitant prices.

28. 他坑騙了這家公司一百萬美元。He defrauded the company of one million dollars.

29. 這伙騙子提供假信息坑害顧客。The group of swindlers provided false information to entrap customers.

30. 當這個買主發現他以低價從小販那里買的戒指實際上是個假貨時，意識到自己被坑了。The buyer realized that he had been tricked when he found the ring he had bought at a low price from the pedlar was actually a fake.