Some time ago, I submitted an old article (from the book ‘The Daily Enlightenment 1’) to a Buddhist magazine. Yesterday, the editor sent me a Chinese translation of it, as below, to check if it’s okay. I read it with a smile. I think this is an excellent example of how some things (e.g. word play) inevitably get lost in translation, while some things get enhanced in the process. It’s really yet another affirmation of how language and words are really mere symbols, directional pointers at the moon; not the moon itself. (To know why this website is named moonpointer, please see https://moonpointer.com/new/about)
Ladies & Gentlemen!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Lend me your ears!
Ladies!
Don’t be ladylike!
Gentlemen!
Don’t be gentlemanly!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Be ‘Buddha-like’!
Be ‘Buddha-ly’!
Go beyond gender pretentiousness –
Cultivate ‘Buddha-ish’ etiquette!
女士们男士们！
女士们男士们！
请听我说！
女士们！
勿像窈窕淑女！
男士们！
勿有绅士风度！
女士们男士们！
言行举止
要以佛陀为榜样!
超越性别的造作！
散发出像佛陀一样的庄严威仪！
what would be your ideal translation?
Actually, I don’t know… 🙁
because my Chinese is not very good – or I would attempt to translate it too. All I know is that the word play got a little lost in translation while some words chosen enhanced some effects. On the whole, it seems quite good.