“拿鐵”新解
There’s Iron in My Coffee
【圖片來源于某咖啡廳】 企圖表達（正確）：
Latte
拿鐵咖啡
實際表達（錯誤）：
Take the coffee of iron
把鐵制咖啡拿走
分析
On this beverage menu, the drink “拿鐵咖啡(latte)” was mistranslated as “take the coffee of iron把鐵制咖啡拿走”. Of course, “拿鐵” has nothing to do with either “take” or “iron”; it is simply a transliteration of the word “l(fā)atte”.
上面這份飲料菜單中的“拿鐵咖啡(latte)”被誤譯為“take the coffee of iron把鐵制咖啡拿走”。我們固然明白，“拿鐵”和“take”以及“iron”風(fēng)馬牛不相及。隨意直譯的滑稽可見一斑。
知識擴展
How many coffee beverages can you name in English? Here are some of the popular ones that you’ll find at cafés in China and around the world. If some of the spellings look difficult, it’s because many of these words are derived from Italian or French.
Here are some common expressions containing the word “iron”:
ironman ['ai?nm?n] n. 鐵人（在運動方面有過人的忍耐力或持久力的男性）
cast-iron stomach 強壯的胃（什么都消化得了）
have too many irons in the fire 同時要做的事情太多
iron out the kinks 解決小問題，消除缺陷
iron sth. out 解決（問題、困難等）
pump (some) iron 舉重，鍛煉肌肉
rule with an iron fist 嚴加管理，控制得很嚴
Strike while the iron is hot. 趁熱打鐵。
說不清道不明
A Clear Blunder
True Story
One weekend, I went to a restaurant to have lunch with an old friend who had recently completed a law degree. Out of curiosity, I asked him, “How did you first decide to become a lawyer?” My friend paused for a moment before replying, “I can’t speak clearly.” At first, I was startled. My friend’s English wasn’t perfect, but his pronunciation was excellent. I tried to encourage him: “Your English is fine,” I said. After seeing the puzzled expression on his face, I realized what he had really wanted to say:“It’s hard / difficult to say. (我說不清。)”
某個周末，我和一位老朋友去下館子，這位朋友剛拿到了法律學(xué)位。我好奇地問道：“你當(dāng)初是怎么決定要成為律師的呢？”朋友頓了頓，然后答道：“I can’t speak clearly.（我發(fā)音不清。）”乍一聽，我吃了一驚。這位朋友的英文雖然不能算特棒，但發(fā)音挺標(biāo)準的。我試著鼓勵他：“Your English is fine.（你的英文還不錯啊。）”看到他一臉困惑的樣子，我才知道他先前其實想要說的是：“It’s hard / difficult to say.（我說不清。）”
知識擴展
與“發(fā)音”相關(guān)的詞匯：
accentuate [?k'sentjueit] v. 重讀或以重音讀出
articulate [ɑ:'tikjulit] v. 發(fā)音，清晰并仔細地發(fā)音
enunciate [i'n?nsieit] v. 發(fā)音，念字
mouth [mauθ] v. 做口形，無聲地說
pronounce [pr?'nauns] v. 發(fā)音
……
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