对于“turned down",是不是这样翻译最符合原文？

wherestip wrote:


J.H.,

Thanks so much. I'm really here just to chat. Like I said once before, it's an outlet for me. I'd rather speak to you guys than some strangers on Facebook.

You and James are doing a great job. I think everyone here appreciates it.

J.H. Wang wrote:



Li Jie，


谢谢你为大家分享你的译文。我粗略读了一下，感觉大体上来说，翻译得很不错。不过，有的地方还有待进一步推敲，特提出来，供你参考。

“幸福是一种灾难”，从我们的直觉和常识来说，觉得颇为费解。

J.H. Wang wrote:
I would guess that happiness has ruined many a life since it was invented, which may not have been so long ago. 中 since it was invented，意思应该是：自从产生幸福这个观念以来。

J.H. Wang wrote:
‘I want,’ spoken with or without an object for the verb.” object 的意思是语法中的”宾语“。

J.H. Wang wrote:
还有，你对 Only then is the survival brain turned down and the personality fever cooled. 的翻译，在我看来，过于偏离原意。

Li Jie wrote:


理解不同，我现在不指望求同存异了，直接认错。

J.H. Wang wrote:




我也是喜欢争辩的人。目标是为了求真，求得正解。有不同意见是正常的，无须认错。:-)

Li Jie wrote:

另外，我倒觉得有时语言上的问题，可能没有什么归一的“真”和“正解”。

J.H. Wang wrote:



主要是语言也在流变之中，词语的意思也不是一成不变的。这个只要把一两百年前中国的书和今天的书对比一下就可以明白了。但是，在具体某个时代，语言的运用也有一定的常规。

J.H. Wang wrote:




For happy discussions, happy exchanges of views, happy sharing, happy .......

Ying Wang wrote:


不知道这样说是否容易理解些：这篇文章中的“happy” 更多的是“无所求”，就像“漫卷诗书喜欲狂”里的“喜”，就像我们在这里的讨论。而中文的“幸福”本身就是有所求，是所求得到满足之后的心理。

Li Jie wrote:


是意义的解读。

Li Jie wrote:

只是有些帖子的语言刺激了我脆弱的神经，让我感到很受伤、很难堪，所以在当时的环境下有所回应。我并不想在别人开心的日子给人添堵。也请有些发帖人想想别人的感受。不再回应任何让我不开心的帖。

wherestip wrote:



Ying,

I agree with you. 喜悦 is what the author refers to. But the "happiness" in the Declaration of Independence is usually translated to 幸福. To be consistent, I would just go along with it.

BTW, my sister brought back an airline napkin for me once. It had coke's advertising on it. The English is "Open happiness". And the Chinese translation was "something, something 幸福"。 She thought it was so off-the-wall that she brought the napkin back to show me.

I think J.H. is right. Language evolves, and some terms get new meaning.

Ying Wang wrote:



Thank you, Steve, for the reference. I think the translation of the Declaration of Independence is appropriate, because 幸福 is what people are pursuing.

While in the article we discussed, the author himself had changed his opinion of happiness. And he referred to Buddha's teaching of true happiness. This reminded me of 《吉祥经》，where happiness is also translated as 幸福. You and J. H. are right, the language has indeed evolved to incorporate wider meaning.