吹牛的妙用
The Wonderful Use of Boasting
庐隐
Lu Yin
| 译文摘自张培基《英译中国散文选二》
吹牛是一种夸大狂，在道德家看来，也许认为是缺点，可是在处事接物上却是一种刮刮叫的妙用。假使你这一生缺少了吹牛的本领，别说好饭碗找不到，便连黄包车夫也不放你在眼里的。
Boasting is a kind of megalomania. Though moralists may call it a human failing, it does, however, serve extremely useful purposes in social intercourse. Without the capacity for boasting, you will be looked down upon by even a rickshaw puller, to say nothing of finding a good job.
要点：
1，说说boast，基本意思有两个“自夸“和”拥有“，这两个意思都很常见，旅游类文章经常会用到boast of来替换possess，own, have等词，如：
The town began to boast of mills, furnaces for smelting iron, and new apartment buildings.
这个镇开始拥有工厂，炼铁炉和新公房。
顺带说一下，这些表示“有…”的表达也是需要掌握滴~
2，“刮刮叫“即“呱呱叫，意为极好的，此处根据语境理解为”很有用的“译为extremely useful
3，“假使你缺少…“意即”如果没有”，用without简洁又贴切~
4，“别说，更不用说“此处译为to say nothing of,之前我们还见过的”更不用说“有“much/still less（见《我坐了木船》） 还有广为人知滴,let alone，not to mention~如：
①Were Italy to be frozen out of the bond markets, let alone default, the effects would be enormous.
如果意大利被冻结在债券市场之外，影响将是巨大的，更不用说违约。
②I did not even see him , still less talk with him.
我看也没看见他，更不用说跟他谈过话了。
综述：注意上述词的用法即可~并且从开头我们就可以确定这篇文章的基本语气，即讽刺
西洋人究竟近乎白痴，什么事都只讲究脚踏实地去做，这样费力气的勾当，我们聪明的中国人，简直连牙齿都要笑掉了。西洋人什么事都讲究按部就班的慢慢来，从来没有平地登天的捷径，而我们中国人专门走捷径，而走捷径的第一个法门，就是善吹牛。
Because of their earnest and down-to-earth approach to work, Westerners are, in the eyes of Chinese smarties，next door to idiot. They are being laughed at Chinese smarties for the tremendous amount of energy they put into their activities. While Westerners go about whatever work they do methodically and patiently, never dreaming of reaching great heights in one step, we Chinese are always given to seeking a shortcut and regard the ability to boast as the master key to it.
要点：
1，“西洋人究竟近乎白痴，什么事都只讲究脚踏实地去做，这样费力气的勾当，我们聪明的中国人，简直连牙齿都要笑掉了。”译为Because of their earnest and down-to-earth approach to work, Westerners are, in the eyes of Chinese smarties，next door to idiot.本句隐含着因果关系，“因为西方人…因此我们觉得他们近乎白痴”。
2，“连牙齿都要笑掉了“不宜直译，容易造成外国读者的困惑，译为laugh at即可~
3，“近乎“译为next door to…(在…的隔壁)，”意同bordering on或almost the same as
4,“按部就班“译为methodically,”不要忘了之前在《学问与趣味》中译为advance step by step的表达~而平地登天“译为reach great heights in one step
5，“西洋人什么事都讲究按部就班的慢慢来，从来没有平地登天的捷径，而我们中国人专门走捷径，而走捷径的第一个法门，就是善吹牛“译为While Westerners go about whatever work they do methodically and patiently, never dreaming of reaching great heights in one step, we Chinese are always given to seeking a shortcut and regard the ability to boast as the master key to it.
①”而我们中国人专门走捷径，而走捷径的第一个法门，就是善吹牛“三个分句的主语不一致，统一主语为”中国人“使句式流畅也突出了”中国人“和”西洋人“的对比
②“专门“此处意即”倾向于，惯于“译为be given to,这是个新表述哦~
③“而走捷径的第一个法门，就是善吹牛”即“吹牛的能力是关键”~
④从以上我们译文中可以看出, 英语长句叠床架屋的结构尤其明显。它分别借用连词while, and和非谓语动词等语法衔接手段, 形成了一个完整的结构,从而整合了原文的信息。
综述：注意本段各种明显口语化的词的译法，以及译者将聪明人“译为smarty,(自以为是的人)，起到了讽刺的作用，并很好地贴合了原文幽默的语言风格
吹牛是一件不可轻看的艺术，就如《修辞学》上不可缺少“张喻”—类的东西一样，像李白什么“黄河之水天上来”，又是什么“白发三千丈”，这在《修辞学》上就叫作“张喻”，而在不懂《修辞学》的人看来，就觉得李太白在吹牛了。
Boasting is an essential art of life just as hyperbole is an indispensable rhetorical figure. The Tang poet Li Bai’s famous lines “The Yellow River comes from the sky” and “My white hair of thirty thousand feet” are examples of hyperbole, which, to those who know little about the art of rhetoric, may sound like a gross exaggeration on the part of the poet.
要点：
1，“李白什么的”译为The Tang poet Li Bai’s famous lines，其中The Tang poet和famous lines，都是译者加进来帮助外国读者的理解的，我们在翻译涉及中国传统文化内容的时候也要有这种意识（说了好多遍了哦~~
famous lines”等非原文字面所有的注释。这种文内加注的方式使原文的文化意义明确,有助于目的语读者的理解和接受，更好地顺应了交际语境。
而且实际上说来，吹牛对于一个人的确有极大的妙用。人类这个东西，就有这么奇怪，无论什么事，你若老老实实的把实话告诉他，不但不能激起他共鸣的情绪，而且还要轻蔑你冷笑你，假使你见了那摸不清你根底的人，你不管你家里早饭的米是当了被褥换来的，你只要大言不惭的说“某部长是我父亲的好朋友，某政客是我拜把子的叔公，我认得某某巨商，我的太太同某军阀的第五位太太是干姐妹”吹起这一套法螺来，那摸不清你的人，便帖帖服服的向你合十顶礼，说不定碰得巧还恭而且敬的请你大吃一顿燕菜席呢！
That boasting is of extremely great use to one is beyond doubt. Man is a queer animal. Suppose you tell someone the plain truth about a certain matter without holding anything back, he will probably laugh at you scornfully instead of returning a congenial response. On the other hand, suppose, penniless as you are, you brag unabashedly to somebody who knows little about you, “Minister So-and-So is a good friend of my father’s,” “Politician So-and-So is my grandpa’s sworn brother,” “ I know a certain business tycoon very well,” or “ My wife is a nominally adoptive sister of a certain warlord’s fifth concubine.” The listener will adore you like a deity or may even, at an opportunity moment, respectfully treat you to a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest!
要点：
1，“不但不能激起他共鸣的情绪，而且还要轻蔑你冷笑你”译为he will probably laugh at you scornfully instead of returning a congenial response.注意本句中的“不但不…而且…”的译法，和“不但…而且”是不一样滴哦~
2，“你不管你家里早饭的米是当了被褥换来的”意即“尽管你穷得叮当响”，译为penniless as you are,
3，“吹起这一套法螺来，那摸不清你的人，便贴贴服服的向你合十顶礼，说不定碰得巧还恭而且敬的请你大吃一顿燕菜席呢！”译为The listener will adore you like a deity or may even, at an opportune moment, respectfully treat you to a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest!译文中没有将“吹起这一套法螺来，那摸不清你的人”“贴贴服服”这几个成分翻出来, 但已经将原文中所要传达的信息完整连贯地表现出来。
4，at an opportune moment意为“适宜的时候”，表达”碰得巧”~
5, “大吃一顿燕菜席”意即‘吃一顿以燕窝为特色的大餐“，译为a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest
综述：注意“吹起这一套法螺来…“句的翻译，因为汉语中为了照应上文，有时会再重复上文的内容，翻译时应做出适当的省译，避免画蛇添足之嫌
吹牛有了如许的好处，于是无论那一类的人，都各尽其力的大吹其牛了。但是且慢！吹牛也要认清对手方面的。不然的话必难打动他或她的心弦，那么就失掉吹牛的功效了。比如说你见了一个仰慕文人的无名作家或学生时，而你自己要自充老前辈时，你不用说别的，只要说胡适是我极熟的朋友，郁达夫是我最好的知己，最妙你再转弯抹角的去探听一些关于胡适郁达夫琐碎的轶事．比如说胡适最喜听什么，郁达夫最讨厌什么，于是便可以亲亲切切的叫着“适之怎样怎样，达夫怎样怎样”，这样一来，你便也就成了胡适、郁达夫同等的人物，而被人所尊敬了。
People of every description, being aware of the usefulness of boasting, are doing all they can to put it into practice. But wait a minute! You’ve got to know enough about the person you are boasting to. Otherwise, you’ll make a bungle of it and fail to touch a chord in his or her heart. Suppose you meet an unknown writer or a young student who worships men of letters and you want to pretend to be a senior, all you have to say is that Hu Shih is a close friend of yours or that Yu Dafu is your second self. And, what is better, you can try to find out by a roundabout way some trifling personal anecdotes about the two celebrities, such as what Hu Shih best likes to know and what Yu Dafu strongly dislikes, so that you can refer to them affectionately by their first names. Consequently, you’ll end up becoming a personage on a par with both of them, and enjoying the respect of all.
要点：
1, “吹牛有了如许的好处，于是无论那一类的人，都各尽其力的大吹其牛了”译为People of every description, being aware of the usefulness of boasting, are doing all they can to put it into practice.翻译时译者将其主语定为人，保证合译时句子的流畅性
2，”转弯抹角滴“译为 by a roundabout way
3，“于是便可以亲亲切切的叫着“适之怎样怎样，达夫怎样怎样”意译为so that you can refer to them affectionately by their first names，”通常我们将first name（given name）“译为“名”而family name (last name ,surname)意为“姓” ~
4, on a par with意即“与…持平，与…相等”，又是个关于“相等”的新表述哦~
综述：注意上述表述~
如果你遇见一个好虚荣的女子呢，你就可以说你周游过列国，到过士耳其南非洲！并且还是自费去的，这样一来就可以证明你不但学识阅历丰富，而且还是个资产阶级。于是乎你的恋爱便立刻成功了。
When you meet a girl who is vain, just tell her that you have toured to various countries, such as Turkey and South Africa,… and at your own expense into the bargain! That suffices to prove you are not only a man of much learning and experience but also well-to-do. And you will thereby win her heart instantly.
要点：
1，“并且还是自费去的”译为and at your own expense into the bargain，其中into the bargain作“而且，另外还“之意，如It was a very cold night and then, into the bargain, it began to rain.
那是个寒冷的夜晚，此外，还下起了小雨。
2，“你不但学识阅历丰富，而且还是个资产阶级“，其中”资产阶级“不译为“bourgeois”，而是译为“well to do”，在此作“富裕的”解，将原文所要表达的本质意思翻了出来。
3，“于是乎你的恋爱便立刻成功了。“译为And you will thereby win her heart instantly.这句话适合意译，比直译更能体现原文语体风格~
综述：注意本段对于“资产阶级“”恋爱成功“等词的译法，恰到好处地再现了原文诙谐风趣的风格，从而顺应原文的语体。
你如遇见商贾、官僚、政客、军阀，都不妨察言观色，投其所好，大吹而特吹之。总而言之，好色者以色吹之，好利者以利吹之，好名者以名吹之，好权势者以权势吹之，此所谓以毒攻毒之法，无往而不利。
When you meet a businessman, bureaucrat, politician or warlord, you can, after gathering each and every mood of them, start boasting wildly to cater to their likes. To sum up, you should brag about women to those who are fond of women, about money to those who are money-mad, about fame to those who are desirous of personal fame, and about power to those who hanker after a position of great influence. Like combating poison with poison, this trick will always work wonders.
要点：
1，“察言观色“意译为after gathering each and every mood of them，其中gathering意为”推测“”通过观察而理解“，比直译为watch ,observe更加贴切
2，”投其所好”译为cater to their likes
3,” 以毒攻毒”= combating poison with poison
“无往不利“=always work wonders
综述：除了上述四字词之外，本段对于“好…者”采用了多种不同的译法，十分值得我们积累，学习和借鉴
或曰吹牛妙用虽大，但也要善吹，否则揭穿西洋镜，便没有戏可唱了。这当然是实话，并且吹牛也要有相当的训练，第一要不红脸，你虽从来没有著过一本半本的书，但不妨咬紧牙根说：“我的著作等身，只可恨被一把野火烧掉了！”你家里因为要请几个漂亮的客人吃饭，现买了一副碗碟，你便可以说：“这些东西十年前就有了”，以表示你并不因为请客受窘。假如你荷包里只剩下一块大洋，朋友要邀你坐下来八圈，你就可以说：“我的钱都放在银行里，今天竟匀不出工夫去取！”假如哪天你的太太感觉你没多大出息时，你就可以说张家大小姐说我的诗作的好，王家少奶奶说我脸子漂亮而有丈夫气，这样一来太太便立刻加倍的爱你了。这一些吹牛经，说不胜说。
Yes, bragging is of great use, but you need to be very skillful in the performance of it, otherwise you’ll give away the show and end up in a complete fiasco.And to be good at bragging, you also need a considerable amount of training. You should first of all be thick-skinned. For instance, although you have never authored a single book, you can nevertheless brazenly declare, “I’ve published a great many books, but unfortunately they’ve all been destroyed by a big fire!” When you are entertaining some stylish guests at dinner, you can, for appearances’ sake, refer to the table set you have just bought for the occasion by saying, “we’ve been using it for as long as ten years.” When your friends invite you to join them in a mahjong game, you, though worth only one silver dollar in your pocket, can tell them, “All my money is in a bank. I’ve no time today to go there to draw money.” If your wife happens to complain you’re sort of good for nothing, you can tell her that the eldest daughter of a certain Zhang family has been admiring you for the excellent poems you write and the daughter-in-law of a certain Wang family has been admiring you for being handsome and manly. That will make your wife instantly redouble her love for you.I could thus go on and on enumerating various manifestations of self-praise.
要点：
1，“否则揭穿西洋镜，便没有戏可唱了”译为otherwise you’ll give away the show and end up in a complete fiasco.这句话直译必然会造成困惑，因此本句采用了意译，方便目的语读者理解~
2，“要不红脸”即“要厚起脸皮”，译为thick-skinned；“咬紧牙根”即“厚着脸皮”译为brazenly~
3，”以表示你并不因为请客受窘“不宜直译，可按”为了装点门面“理解，译为for appearances’ sake.
4, “假如你荷包里只剩下一块大洋”译为you, though worth only one silver dollar in your pocket，其中worth 意为“拥有…的财产“译者用此词代替having等词，可略带俏皮
5，”数不胜数“可译为countless, beyond count,此处译为I could thus go on and on enumerating various manifestations…更贴合本文口语化的特征~
综述：注意本段“不红脸”和“咬紧牙根”都作“厚着脸皮”解，译文分别将其译为“thick-skinned”和“brazenly”，使译文具备最佳关联性，使译文更加连贯。
声明：本双语文章的中文评析系沪江英语原创内容，转载请注明出处。中文评析仅代表作者个人观点，仅供参考。如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。
