如何翻译“T形台”_翻译点滴

 
        下面是对“t型台”英译的讨论，先请看国内媒体的有关报道：

 

例一：showing off manly beauty on t-stage (shanghai star september 6, 2004)

 

on nov 28th in 1999, the park97 bar located in fuxing park set up the t-stage and covered the red carpet on it. the foreign and domestic models walked on it, combining the tradition and future; art and fashion at ease.

 

例二：a model descents in the air along a vertical t-stage in a "fashion show in the air" held on the bank of taiping lake in shanghai, east china, oct. 23, 2004. (xinhua photo/dong hongjing)

 

例三：people's daily online - fashion week turns into feast for the eyes：at the biannual china fashion week, the models paraded along the t-stage brimming with energy, passion and a wild nature, which made them even more sexy and seductive.

 

从以上的例子中可以看出，作者想当然地认为“t型台”的说法就是 t-stage，而没有意识到这种说法有可能是错误的。我们在翻译这类词语时，应该具有一种意识：既然两种文化中共有同一概念或事物，那么在两种文字中必然会得到体现，而译者的责任就是要找到两种文字中对同一概念或事物的对应说法，在翻译时养成这种查证的习惯非常重要，它可以使我们避免许多不该出现的错误。人们大都知道 catwalk 是“走猫步”的意思，并不知道该词也有“t型台”的意思，请看 wordnet dictionary 对 catwalk 的定义：

 

catwalk：the long, narrow stage that models walk along in a fashion show.

 

再看另外两个定义：

 

catwalk: narrow platform; "models displayed clothes on a catwalk at the fashion show".

catwalk: a narrow platform extending from the stage into the audience in a theater or nightclub etc.

 

实际上，catwalk 还有一个意思是指建筑上悬在高空的狭窄过道（a narrow path, raised above the ground, often built for workers to walk on outside a building that is being built or repaired），这大概就是为什么用 catwalk 来表示时装表演的舞台的缘故吧。

 

时装模特表演的舞台有时也未必都是t型，还包括l型或直线型，除了catwalk的说法之外，runaway ( 机场跑道) 和ramp （高速公路的引接式坡道）也可以指时装模特表演的舞台。请看 wordnet dictionary 对 runway 的定义:

 

runway: this is the place where you walk when you're giving a live fashion presentation. it is also referred to as a catwalk or ramp and is always elevated above the crowd. a runway can be shaped like a "t", an "l" or a straight line.