Which is the hardest word to translate in this sentence? "Know" is easy to translate. "Pep rally" doesn't have a direct analog in a lot of languages and cultures, but can be approximated. But the hardest word there is actually one of the smallest: "you." As simple as it seems, it's often impossible to accurately translate "you" without knowing a lot more about the situation where it's being said. To start with, how familiar are you with the person you're talking to? Many cultures have different levels of formality. A close friend, someone much older or much younger, a stranger, a boss. These all may be slightly different "you's." In many languages, the pronoun reflects these differences through what's known as the T–V distinction. In French, for example, you would say "tu" when talking to your friend at school, but "vous" when addressing your teacher. Even English once had something similar. Remember the old-timey "thou?" Ironically, it was actually the informal pronoun for people you're close with, while "you" was the formal and polite version. That distinction was lost when the English decided to just be polite all the time. But the difficulty in translating "you" doesn't end there. In languages like Hausa or Korana, the "you" form depends on the listener's gender. In many more, it depends on whether they are one or many, such as with German "Du" or "ihr." Even in English, some dialects use words like "y'all" or "youse" the same way. Some plural forms, like the French "vous" and Russian "Вы" are also used for a single person to show that the addressee is that much more important, much like the royal "we." And a few languages even have a specific form for addressing exactly two people, like Slovenian "vidva." If that wasn't complicated enough, formality, number, and gender can all come into play at the same time. In Spanish, "tú" is unisex informal singular, "usted" is unisex formal singular, "vosotros" is masculine informal plural, "vosotras" is feminine informal plural, and "ustedes" is the unisex formal plural. Phew! After all that, it may come as a relief that some languages often leave out the second person pronoun. In languages like Romanian and Portuguese, the pronoun can be dropped from sentences because it's clearly implied by the way the verbs are conjugated. And in languages like Korean, Thai, and Chinese, pronouns can be dropped without any grammatical hints. Speakers often would rather have the listener guess the pronoun from context than use the wrong one and risk being seen as rude. So if you're ever working as a translator and come across this sentence without any context: "You and you, no, not you, you, your job is to translate 'you' for yourselves" ... Well, good luck. And to the volunteer community who will be translating this video into multiple languages: Sorry about that!
這句話中哪個字最難被翻譯? 「知道」容易被翻譯。 雖然「誓師大會」在許多的 語言和文化中無法被直譯, 但有語意近似的詞可用。 最難譯的其實是 不起眼的「you(你)」字。 看似簡單, 卻往往難以精準地翻譯「you」, 倘若不清楚使用時周邊的狀況。 首先,你對於說話 的對象有多熟悉呢? 許多文化有不同的禮節程度。 密友, 比自己年長或年輕許多的對象, 陌生人, 或老闆: 這些「you's」可能稍微不同。 在許多語言中, 代名詞反映這些差異, 所謂「禮貌程度不同」的稱謂。 例如,在法語中, 你與學校中的朋友交談用「tu」, 但對老師說話時用「vous」。 即使英語也曾有過類似的做法。 還記得舊時用的「thou」? 諷刺的是,它原是非正式代名詞, 用於你親近的人, 而「you」是正規有禮的版本。 區分的消弭始於 英國決定長久使用禮貌的用法後。 但「you」的翻譯難度尚未結束。 像非洲的豪薩語 或Khoemana語, 「you」的形式取決於 聽者的性別。 在更多其他的語言中 取決於單數或複數, 例如德文的「Du」或「ihr」。 即使在英語中, 與有些方言的「y’all」 或「youse」相同。 有些複數的形式, 如法語的「vous」 和俄語的「Вы」 也可用於單人, 以表明被稱謂者的重要性, 很像皇家的「we」。 一些語言甚至有特定形式 稱呼正好兩個人, 例如斯洛維尼亞文的 「vidva」。 若這還不算複雜, 禮節、數量,和性別 可以同時起作用。 在西班牙語中,「tú」 不分性別、非正式、單數, 「usted」不分性別、 正式、單數, 「vosotros」是男性、 非正式、複數, 「vosotras」是女性、 非正式、複數, 以及「ustedes」 不分性別、正式、複數。 呼,鬆口氣! 經過這一切, 這可能是種解脫: 某些語言常省略第二人稱代名詞。 例如在羅馬尼亞文和葡萄牙文中, 可省去句中的代名詞, 因為它和動詞的結合已清楚表明。 而韓文、泰文和中文裡, 雖然沒有語法的提示 也可省去代名詞。 言者往往寧可 讓聽者從上下文推測代名詞, 而不願冒著用錯, 而被視為失禮的風險。 所以,若你曾任翻譯 遇到沒有任何背景的這句話: 「You and you, no, not you, you, 你的責任是 為自己翻譯『you』 ... 」 好了,祝你好運。 至於把這段視頻翻譯成 各種語言的志工們: 嗄 ... 非常的抱歉!