.
上周四,有中国同事问Angry Editor, “‘双赢’英语怎么翻译”?
那时老板一听到我说“win-win”这个说法,就从办公室的另一边喊道:“Do not use win-win!”
他没听到的是,我也在恳求那位同事不要使用“win-win”。
如果逐字翻译“双赢”,应该是“win-win”。这个Angry Editor没法否定。不过,Angry Editor已经彻底看腻了“win-win”。我觉得它是中式英文里最常见的cliché(陈词滥调)之一。
除了Angry Editor和他的外国同事们(包括他的老板),很多人也有同感,例如: 5 Worst Business Clichés Ever。
当然,它很容易表示“双赢”这个意思… 当然,你会发现一些母语为英语的人也用过这个词…
但是,除非你被逼着逐字翻译,否则Angry Editor不想听任何借口。使用“win-win”来修饰“situation”, “relationship”,“deal”, “exchange”, “solution”等等说法常常是cliché;在中国,一看到这个词很多人就会知道不是母语为英语的人写的。
怎么办呢? 遗憾的是,没有一个完美的解决方案。Angry Editor认为最好paraphrase (换个说法)。例句: He found a solution that satisfied both parties. (他找到双赢的好办法了)。
或者,如果你真的需要一个对应的词,你可以用“mutual benefit”。例句:He found a mutually beneficial solution.


#1 by Carlon on 2010/02/16 - 12:36 pm
謝謝
#2 by Seeker on 2010/02/16 - 4:04 pm
的确,很多汉语词汇在英语中没有对应的词汇,有时一些英语初学者难免想当然了。
谢谢你的提醒!又学到新东西了。
#3 by yes on 2010/02/17 - 12:46 am
reciprocical行么
#4 by Shuke on 2010/02/17 - 10:21 pm
Let a hundred Anger Editors blossom!!!!!!
#5 by Angry Editor on 2010/02/18 - 2:50 pm
My final word on “win-win”: In my opinion, “win-win” is a cliche. I know that several others share that view. All you should take from my post is that there are at least some people who, if they read it, will hate to see the word “win-win” in your writing.
#6 by est on 2010/02/18 - 4:33 pm
not a zero-sum game.
#7 by janz on 2010/04/21 - 6:47 am
Hate it all you want, it’s part of English language now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Win_Win
cliché 只是用的人太多了,但这不是说win-win不是英文的理由。
#8 by Angry Editor on 2010/04/21 - 10:16 pm
I never denied it was part of English. I just said that it was a part that people shouldn’t use so much!
Thanks for the comment.