文
man-4
Essay
Caution: This story is an unusal mixture
of past and present tense. Though the Chinese past tense can
be easily conveyed with English past tense, much of what is rendered
in the Chinese simple present tense must be converted into English
past tense to be meaningful.
方先生有一個女兒，很美，也很會唱歌，新的歌，快的歌，她都會唱，可是舊的歌，慢的歌，她都不要唱。買衣服也是這樣，她天天都要買新的衣服，可是過了一天，她說舊了，不要了。方先生是有錢的人，可是不是很有錢，住的地方也不很大。他看見這樣多的衣服，也有點兒生氣。後來有一個賣衣服的朋友教他說：你給我你女兒的舊衣服，要是有人買，可以賣給他們，這樣，我可以賣的衣服多些，你的錢也可以多些。
過了一個月，方先生不再生氣了。因為他的錢多了些可以給女兒買新的衣服，舊的衣服也有地方去了。買衣服的人也可以用少一點兒錢來買好看的衣服。這樣，人人都好，個個都歡喜。
翻譯
fan-1 yik-9
Translation
Mr. Fong has a daughter, who is pretty and can
sing well. Although she can sing new and fast songs, she does
not like to sing old and slow songs. When buying clothes its
the same; she always wants new clothes. One day she decided that
her clothes were too old and no longer wanted. Mr. Fong is a
wealthy man with little money; even the place where he lives
is not very big. Seeing so many clothes made him angry. After
some time a friend who sells clothes told him "Give me your
daughter's old clothes, and I will try to sell them for you.
In this way I get to sell more and you get more money".
A month passed without Mr. Fong becoming angry.
This is because his money grew and he was able to buy new clothes
for his daughter. Also, the old clothes had found a new home,
and their new owners were able to pay obtain very nice clothes
with little money. Thus, everyone benefitted, and each was happy.
176 words
Notes
Note 1: Literally translated 一個女兒 means "one
daughter". In this context the indefinite article "a"
is more appropriate. Not only does it convey the meaning of one,
but it also introduces the reader to someone hitherto unknown.
Note 2: The large number of commas in the first
sentence leaves much to be desired grammatically, but for the
Chinese beginner, it is probably an effective way to convey meaning
without first having to learn so many grammatical rules.
Note 3: The use of 不要 in the phrase 她都不要唱 can probably
be translated in many different ways. Here it likely means "does
not want to", "has no desire to", or more conveniently
"does not like to".
Note 4: The term 這樣 in the phrase 買衣服也是這樣 has the
meaning of "so" "in like manner". In combination
with 也, the base pattern becomes Ａ也Ｂ這樣. Thus, the phrase 買衣服也是這樣
when translated literally means "buying is in like manner".
Note 5: 天天 is a way of saying all of the time --
literally "day after day", or "days on end".
Note 6: 過了一天 appears to be idiomatic and probably
means "one day" in the sense of "one day it occurred
that ...". 過了 is the past tense of 過, which means to pass.
Note 7: The use of 了 in the phrases 舊了 and 不要了
expresses similar meaning -- namely, a completed transition to
a new state. In this case 舊了indicates that the clothes "have
become old", and 不要了means that the clothes "are no
longer needed or wanted".
Note 8: 有錢的人 means literally "person who has
wealth". Thus, someone who is wealthy or a rich person.
That someone, who has wealth, does not have much money 不是很有錢
is somewhat of a contradiction. This contradiction can be resolved
in either of two ways: Mr. Fong wealth is not very liquid, or
that he has enough money to live comfortably, but not so much
that he can easily satisfy his daughter's desire for new clothes.
不是很有錢 appears to mean the same as 沒有很多錢.
Note 9: The use of 這樣 in the phrase 這樣多的衣服 can
also be translated as "so", but the meaning is not
the same as that explained in Note 4. Here it means "more
than one would normally expect". Thus, the whole phrase
becomes "so many clothes", where 這樣多的 is an adjectival
modifier of 衣服. In spoken Cantonese the term 這樣 would be replaced
with the word 咁 (gam-2).
Note 10: 點兒 in the phrase 有點兒生氣
apparently means the same as 一點兒 or "a little". 有生氣
means to be angry. Thus, the entire phrase means to be a little
angry.
Note 11: 教他說 can probably
be best translated as "instruct him", in the sense
of both teaching and telling. As the instruction is coming from
a friend, however, "told" seems to offer a better rendering
in English.
Note 12: Literally translated the phrase 要是有人買，可以賣給他們
means "if there are people to buy, [I] can sell to them".
Note 13: 這樣 functions here in the same way as in
Note 4, and is replaced in spoken Cantonese by the word 噉 (gam).
Note 14: 多些 means "more", and if translated
literally in this context it would mean "is more".
As this is hardly proper English, the sentence in which 多些 occurs
twice can be tranlated differently by different people, but with
the same meaning.
Note 15: The word 過了 in the two expressions 過了一個月
and 過了一天 probably should not be translated the same. Whereas
過了一天 appears idiomatic and means "one day", 過了一個月literally
mean that "a month passed".
Note 16: The use of 了 in the phrase 不再生氣了 appears
to be similar as to that which we observed in Note 7 -- namely,
indication of complete transition. In this case Mr. Fong does
not become angry again. Notice the placement of the word 再 after
不 to indicate "not again".
Note 17: 多了: If one walks away with no other lesson
from this text, it is the use of 了 to mean "become".
In this instance "to increase". I have translated it
here as grow, as Mr. Fong's action was a kind of investment.
Note 18: 也有地方去了: In this phrase the old clothes
that precede it are personified actors, that now "have a
place to which they can go".
Note 19: The base pattern for the phrase 用少一點兒錢
is apparently 用少Ａ, which means "use little of Ａ". The
additional phrase 一點兒 appears redundant -- perhaps mean very
little.
Note 20: 這樣 functions here as in Notes 4 and 13
and means "in this way".
Note 21: 人人 and 個個 are a typical phenomenon in
both Chinese and English -- the doubling of characters to produce
extended or new meaning. In the first instance 人人 means "everyone",
and in the second 個個 means "each" or "each and
every".
Note 22: 歡喜 (fun-1 hei-2) is a new word that means
"be happy".
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