Knowlegde can change your fate and English can accomplish your future.

"七夕"用英語怎麼說？

七夕，這個古老的節日近幾年再度受到熱捧，星空之上的愛情故事看來的確比大洋彼岸的情人節更加讓我們心動~如何用英語介紹這個美麗的傳說呢？一起來學學“七夕”用英語怎麼說吧！

Chinese Valentine's Day falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunarcalendar. In China, this day is also known as "The Begging Festival".

陰曆7月7日是中國的情人節——七夕。在中國，七夕又稱“乞巧”節。

The seventh daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, the Weaving Maid, and an orphanedcowherdwere separated by the Emperor; the girl was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd, to the star Altair. They were only allowed to meet on the magpiebridge over the Milky Way once a year on the day of seventh day of seventh lunar month - Chinese Valentine's Day.

七夕的來歷，是因爲玉皇大帝的女兒織女愛上了窮小子牛郎，兩人被強行分開，一年之中，只有七夕當晚才能在鵲橋上見面。

“七夕”在網上有很多種翻譯方法：Qixi Festival(七夕節)，Double Seventh Festival(雙七節)甚至Magpie Festival(喜鵲節)。

七夕關鍵詞：

lunar calendar：陰曆，現在通行的陽曆是solar calendar。lunar表示“月亮的”，英文名Luna其實是月亮女神的名字，有取這個名字的女生是不是覺得很開心呢？

cowherd：放牛人，也即牛郎；同樣的一個詞是shepherd，羊倌，兩個詞都有一個-herd後綴，herd有“放牧人”的意思，不過通常都是作爲後綴來構成“XX牧人”的詞。

magpie：喜鵲，幫助牛郎織女見面的大功臣哦。雖然在七夕的傳說中，喜鵲給情人們帶來幸福，但是magpie這個詞卻有一個貶義的用法，就是用來形容話多的人：She chatters like a magpie. 她說起話來就沒個完。

其實這些翻譯都有捨近求遠之嫌，不瞭解中國文化的外國人是不會明白的。下面我們來學習一段前些年的BBC新聞，看一看“七夕”如何翻譯比較好。

以下新聞摘自BBC官網(節選)

Celebrated this year on August 15, the Chinese Saint Valentine's Day was created in memory of two ancient lovers who were separated by a goddess and only allowed to meet once a year.

Many Chinese also commemorate the Western Valentine's Day on February 14, with shop owners and florists cashing on the rush of flowers and gifts for loved or desired ones and restaurants fully booked.

【語言點解析】

1. the Chinese Saint Valentine's Day 中國情人節(七夕)。筆者認爲，這是最務實，最有效率的翻譯方法。類似地，“梁山伯與祝英臺”其實翻譯爲Chinese Romeo and Juliet(中國的羅密歐與朱麗葉)就可以了。

2. in memory of 紀念(死去的人)。文中的...was created in memory of...這個句型常常可用來解釋一個節日，如中國的端午節：The Dragon Boat Festival was created in memory of an ancient Chinese poet, Qu Yuan.

【例】a statue in memory of those who died in the war 一座紀念陣亡人士的紀念碑

(來源：Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

3. lovers 情侶。請注意，lover用複數通常表示“情侶”，而不是有着不正當關係的“情人”。

【例】young lovers strolling in the park 在公園漫步的年輕情侶

(來源：Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary)

4. commemorate /kəˋmɛməˏret/ 慶祝;紀念

【例】We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday. 我們放假一日以慶祝國慶。

(來源：Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary)

5. florist /ˋflɔrɪst/ 花店老闆;花商

6. cash on(以不道德的手段)獲取利潤。還可以說成cash in on。

【例】The shops are cashing in on temporary shortages by raising prices. 商店趁一時缺貨而提高價格從中獲利。

(來源：Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary)

7. desire /dɪˋzaɪr/ 希望獲得;想得到

【例】We all desire happiness and health. 我們都希望幸福和健康。