今天想找一些關(guān)于教育的格言，就順著Google的每日格言進(jìn)入了The Quotations Page的主頁(yè)。在那里看到一句：Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself. 作者是：Chinese Proverb。想來(lái)應(yīng)該是“師父領(lǐng)進(jìn)門，修行在個(gè)人”這句中國(guó)的古語(yǔ)了。
中國(guó)古文化博大精深，在這樣的網(wǎng)站可以作為單獨(dú)一類。很多外國(guó)人想翻譯古詩(shī)詞但都不可能表達(dá)出那種字里行間的神韻。古諺語(yǔ)也是如此，用極其精煉的語(yǔ)言表達(dá)了無(wú)盡的含義。但同時(shí)也可以看出漢語(yǔ)，特別是古漢語(yǔ)，為讀者留下了太大的思考空間，也造成了所謂漢語(yǔ)相對(duì)與英語(yǔ)的“不準(zhǔn)確性”。英語(yǔ)的準(zhǔn)確性也是其橫行天下的原因之一。
就拿“師父領(lǐng)進(jìn)門，修行在個(gè)人”這句話來(lái)說(shuō)，“師父領(lǐng)進(jìn)門”是“師父領(lǐng)我進(jìn)門”？還是“師父被我領(lǐng)進(jìn)門”呢？如果按照英譯，應(yīng)該是前者。但就中國(guó)古代的教育模式來(lái)講通常都是請(qǐng)師父來(lái)家里教孩子，應(yīng)該是后者?！靶扌性趥€(gè)人”如果鉆牛角尖，也可以用兩種理解：是指“強(qiáng)調(diào)有個(gè)性的培養(yǎng)”呢？還是指“個(gè)人努力的重要性”呢？雖然公認(rèn)后者，但前者也說(shuō)的過(guò)去。這就是漢語(yǔ)容易產(chǎn)生歧義的一個(gè)例子。
古漢語(yǔ)的翻譯具有“不可逆性”，如果你不知道原來(lái)的諺語(yǔ)，從英文往漢語(yǔ)回譯的時(shí)候，無(wú)論如何也達(dá)不到古人的境界。現(xiàn)代漢語(yǔ)多了些精確性，卻再也找不到那種“神”了，不知道這是進(jìn)步還是退步。
在Chinese Proverb這個(gè)分類里，目前有三十多條格言，我全拷貝在這里。有些翻譯的很有意思，有些能理解是我們的什么話，更多的則是明白意思卻想不出有哪句諺語(yǔ)對(duì)得上號(hào)。大家也來(lái)猜一猜，然后留言告知。
- A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
- A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
- A book holds a house of gold. 【書(shū)中自有黃金屋，上半句為什么沒(méi)翻譯??？】
- A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
- A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.【開(kāi)卷有益？】
- A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.
- A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
- A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.
- A fool judges people by the presents they give him.
- A nation’s treasure is in its scholars.
- A rat who gnaws at a cat’s tail invites destruction.
- Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.
- Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.
- Dig the well before you are thirsty.
- Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil.【善有善報(bào)，惡有惡報(bào)】
- Do not employ handsome servants.
- Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
- Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet.
- Don’t open a shop unless you like to smile.
- Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown.
- Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.【授人與魚(yú)不如授人與漁】
- He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
- He who is drowned is not troubled by the rain.
- He who strikes the first blow admits he’s lost the argument.
- If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.【天生我才必有用】
- If you bow at all, bow low.【一不做，二不休】
- Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.
- Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.
- Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
- The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.【玉不琢不成器，下半句怎么說(shuō)來(lái)著？？】
- The palest ink is better than the best memory.
- To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
- When you drink the water, remember the spring.【飲水思源】
- When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
