周黎明 (Raymond Zhou's bilingual blog) 用中文写娱评，用英文写时评

中国菜单真难英译！
作者：英国《金融时报》撰稿人扶霞•邓洛普(Fuchsia Dunlop) 2008-09-02
为迎接2008奥运会，北京市政府开展了一项规模浩大的工作：针对讲英语游客可能在餐厅菜单上看到的所有菜名，提供规范的译法。中国官方通讯社称，政府急欲消除诸如“没有性生活的鸡”（chicken without sexual life，指童子鸡）、“丈夫和妻子的肺切片”（husband and wife's lung slice，即四川小吃“夫妻肺片”）之类的“稀奇古怪的英文译法”。该通讯社称，那种奇异的幽默感，“它们所唤起的想象，可以说，并不能引起人的食欲” 。

中餐馆菜单上吓人的错误，让来自世界各地的外国人觉得好笑。谁会忘记吃过“火烤狮子的头”（burnt lion's head，即红烧狮子头）这道菜？在网上快速搜索一下，可以看到有关“麻辣Huang炸腹部丝绸”(benumbed hot Huang fries belly silk，实为“麻辣韭黄炒肚丝”)和“香味使牛仔的骨头爆炸”(fragrance explodes the cowboy bone)等佳肴的报道。我个人最爱吃的是“铁板烧”，它被直译成iron flooring cremation（正确的译法应该是baked on an iron griddle）。

中国领导层想要消除这些令人尴尬的错误是可以理解的，尤其是在他们决心将最好的一面展现给世界的这一年。当局已敦促北京市民要有序排队，不要说脏话。旅游餐厅被建议在奥运期间停止供应狗肉。有关部门甚至出台了一道有关着装建议的指示，其中包括不要穿着睡衣上街。在这样一个干净、整齐的奥运城市，哪能让burnt lion's head继续存在？

……
北京政府努力的结果，是推出一本170页的书——《中文菜单英文译法》(Chinese Menu in English Version)。书中罗列了2000多道菜的建议译名，是一项可观的成就，对苦于英文译名的中餐馆来说更是一大飞跃。参与此项工作的二十多位翻译竭力保留了许多有用的中文词语，如将“饺子”、“汤圆”和“烧卖”分别音译成jiaozi、tangyuan和shaomai。对于一些名声不佳的菜品（如狗肉）则避而不用，但没有人能够指责他们作了“净化处理”，因为他们也收集了包括“蒸猪脑”和“烧鸡胗”等具有挑战性的菜肴。

 然而，这份菜单不过是苍白地描绘了全世界最非凡的菜系之一。一些抒情的词语，如用于形容菜肴绿意盎然的“翡翠”，用于形容诸味齐全的“怪味”，在翻译中都被丢失了。“麻婆豆腐”的译名也没有反映出与成都那位可亲的老妇人的关系。正如周黎明在《中国日报》所写的，这种统一译法是“一把‘双刃剑'，因为在将那些滑稽可笑的错误译法剔除的同时，许多菜名的文化内涵也在翻译的过程中消失了。有些翻译过来的菜名就象是一碗白米饭——能够提供所需的营养，但是寡淡无味。”
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这个题目，我老早的时候在博客里写过只言片语。今年六月，北京市出了一本菜单的统一英译本，有人给了我一册，让我点评。我有一个好朋友在美国开中餐馆，曾经让我帮他“看一下”菜单。1985年第一次出国，到加拿大，觉得菜单很有趣，跟国内英文课上教的东东完全不同，于是收集了好些。

这篇文章发表后，有好几家西方媒体转载或引用，尤其是开篇第一句属于点题之语，被引用得更多。当然只有《金融时报》又把它翻回了中文，是翻得比较好的。

本文的最后一段，因为篇幅限制，发表时没有用，这里一并贴出。 －－周黎明

English menu stir fries food for thought
By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-18 

The process of standardizing a menu translation is a double-edged sword: While it removes the ambiguity and the unintended humor, it also takes away the fun and the rich connotation. It turns the menu into the equivalent of plain rice, with the necessary nutrients but devoid of flavor.

The Beijing Municipal Government Foreign Affairs Office and the Beijing Tourism Bureau have joined hands in coming out with a book titled Chinese Menu in English Version. It lists 170 pages of Chinese food, Western food, and beverages. Nowhere is "chicken without a sexual life" to be found.

The booklet will no doubt come in handy to those restaurants that depend on translation software for the English names of food items. "Government abused chicken" is now correctly rendered as "Kung Pao chicken".

It is praiseworthy that the translators – two dozens of them – have conducted a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, which have distilled the mishmash of translated terms into a more or less universally accepted set of norms. In this sense, the process of standardization has been going on for at least 150 years, and all the book compilers needed was to collect as many overseas menus as possible.
Still, it is an encouraging sign that they have opted for acceptance rather than dogmatism. "Moo Shu Pork" took the place of an otherwise unpronounceable "Muxu Pork". Brand names such as "Tsing Tao Beer" and Cantonese dialects such as "Wonton" are also preserved. Unlike the debate on place name translation, vanity gives way to pragmatism.

The pamphlet does not include such items as "General Tso's (or Tsao's) Chicken" and "Singapore Fried Rice", popular mostly overseas. For that matter, "Yang Chow Fried Rice" and even the well-liked "Egg Foo Young" are not included. It seems Chinese restaurateurs in North America need not bother with this translation aid.

A special effort was taken to promote the transliterations "Jiaozi", "Baozi", "Zongzi", "Mantou", "Huajuan", etc. The rationale is clear: These items have subtle differences that cannot be conveyed with "dumpling" or "bun". If we divide transliterations into three levels of success, will they be as successful as "chow mein", "tofu" or "tea"? Can they overcome unpronounceable syllables like "zi"? It takes more than one upsurge of foreign clients.

What is puzzling is the use of transliteration when the meaning can be tersely put across in English. Why is "Fish-flavored" passed up and "Yu-shiang" chosen? The latter does not mean anything for those who are not into the Chinese language.

When "Black Dragon Playing with Golden Coins" becomes "Braised Sea Cucumber and Mushroom", it's a choice of functionality over poetic license. For restaurants struggling with accuracy, this book may offer invaluable help; but for those that do not want to forsake the joy of browsing the menu, which is part of the dining experience, this guidebook can be a point of departure.