關於元宵的英文翻譯
有關元宵節的英語
元宵節英語之元宵習俗
根據道教所言，農曆正月的第15天又稱「上元」"，英文為「Official of Heaven"，所以元宵節(Lantern Festival)又稱「上元節」。
團圓飯(reunion dinner)
猜燈謎(guess lantern riddles)
觀花燈(watch lantern)
放煙花(set off fireworks)……
可惜的是很多古人有趣的習俗，都隨著時間的推移漸漸被人遺忘了，這些被人遺忘的元宵傳統，你想知道嗎?
約會 Finding love
Some have dug into the festival' s origin and found that it was truly a romantic day as ancient Chinese girls grew up at home and hardly had chance to go outside to meet people. But the Lantern Festival was an exception. On that particular day, young women were allowed to go outdoors at night to see the lantern displays, offering them an opportunity to meet young men.
有人深扒元宵節的淵源發現，在古代中國這真是一個浪漫的節日：中國古代深閨之中的女孩很難外出見人。但是元宵節是個例外。在那天，年輕女子被允許晚上外出逛夜會，並有機會和男孩約會。
「去年元夜時，花市燈如書;月上柳梢頭，人約黃昏後。」(歐陽修)
迎廁姑(卜紫姑) Sciomancy/Planchette writting
廁姑又稱紫姑，據說她原本是大戶人家的小妾(concubine)，因遭人嫉妒於正月十五被人害死在廁所。被天帝憐憫的紫姑升天為神。於是百姓在這一天祭拜她，祈求豐收平安，卜紫姑又可以卜問來年農耕、桑織之事。
「正月望夜，迎廁姑謂之紫姑……」(《夢溪筆談》)
打十番 Playing drums
又稱打鑼鼓。大家子弟7-10人成組，每人配備樂器一件敲至天明(唱打交融 "drum-beating" and " dialectal singing")。
「人行月中，音度水上，殊有清趣……」(《歲華憶語》)
請春酒 Spring wine
南京舊時習俗。一桌新鮮蔬菜——多為剛發芽的農作物，招呼親友品嚐，為婦女老人慶祝，寓意祝福親朋好友健康長壽，還有「天人合一」(Harmony of Man with Nature)的意思。
元宵節英語之詩詞英譯
元宵佳節，怎麼不說一說古代詩詞!
辛棄疾的《青玉案·元夕》一詞膾炙人口。英文翻譯有很多。最著名的非許淵沖老先生翻譯的版本莫屬了。
許淵沖——詩譯英法唯一人 ，北京大學教授，翻譯家。在國內外出版中、英、法文著譯六十本，包括《詩經》、《楚辭》、《李白詩選》、《西廂記》、《紅與黑》、《包法利夫人》、《追憶似水年華》等中外名著，是有史以來將中國歷代詩詞譯成英、法韻文的唯一專家。1999年被提名為諾貝爾文學獎候選人。
青玉案·元夕 辛棄疾
東風夜放花千樹，更吹落，星如雨。寶馬雕車香滿路，鳳蕭聲動，壺光轉，一夜魚龍舞 。
蛾兒雪柳黃金縷，笑語盈盈暗香去。眾裡尋他千百度，驀然回首，那人卻在，燈火闌珊處。
The Lantern Festival Night - to the tune of Green Jade Table
by Xin Qiji
(1)許淵沖、許明譯，簡稱許譯
One night's east wind adorns a thousand trees with flowers
And blows down stars in showers.
Fine steeds and carved cabs spread fragrance en route;
Music vibrates from the flute;
The moon sheds its full light
While fish and dragon lanterns dance all night.
In gold-thread dress, with moth or willow ornaments,
Giggling, she melts into the throng with trails of scents
But in the crowd once and again
I look for her in vain.
When all at once I turn my head,
I find her there where lantern light is dimly shed.
(2)譯者U君，簡稱U譯
The east wind at night has flowered a thousand trees,
Bringing showers of glowing stars down streets,
Fleeting our scented chariots and stately steeds.
Phoenix-cooing flutes resounding,
Jade-pot-flashing lanterns revolving,
Dolphins and dragons are dancing away--
All night long it』s bright as day.
See the grain moths silvern, the tassels golden?
See the snow-clad willow twigs of the maidens
Passing with laughter gurgling, fragrance floating?
Far and near, among the crowds surging,
Tens of thousands of rounds for one I』ve been searching;
Only on a glance cast backward do I behold:
There she is, where lights are burning so low!
(3)溫哥華陶先生譯，簡稱陶譯
Night lights a thousand trees in bloom
A shower of stars blown
By the east wind
Ornate carriages drawn by gallant horses
Filled the boulevards with a sweet fragrance
Voice of the magic flute flowing
Luster of the jade white urn turning
All night the fishes and the dragons danced
Butterflies, willows, charms of gold
Gone -- that angelic laughter, that subtle perfume
In the crowds for her I』d searched a thousand times
Perchance I turned
And there she was
Where lights were few and dim
三篇譯文簡潔，流暢，有詩意，而且比較忠實於辛公原作。音韻上，三篇中許譯和U譯都押韻，念起來很有音樂感。陶譯基本上不押韻，念起來比較平淡。
文字上，各有千秋。例如雕車一詞，許譯直接用雕車(carved cabs)，U譯用香車(scented chariots)，陶譯用華車，裝飾華麗的車 (ornate carriages ) 。這一詞，許譯比較忠實於原來文字。寶馬的馬字，許譯和U譯用英語詩中常用的馬字(steeds)，比較好。而陶譯則用普通的馬字(horses)。
鳳簫一詞，U譯用( Phoenix-cooing flutes)最好，有鳳之形和鳳之聲。Cooing 是鳥類的鴣鴣聲，也可以是人類的喁喁情話。想像一下，鳳簫聲動，發出如鳥鳴，如情話之聲，多麼美。許譯只簡單地用簫(flute)一字，沒有譯鳳字。陶譯則用神奇的簫(magic flute)代替,也沒有用鳳字。
暗香一詞，U譯成浮香(fragrance floating)，說出香的形態而沒有說是微淡的香。陶譯成幽香(subtle perfume), 許譯成縷香(trials of scents)都很好。但是，如果根據林和靖詠梅詩：「疏影橫斜水清淺，暗香浮動月黃昏。」則暗香的形態可以是浮動的。因此，如果U譯加一字，改成暗香浮動(faint fragrance floating)，就貼切了。
「暗香去」的去字，U譯和陶譯用過去(passing, gone)不及許譯用融入(melts into)好。
「驀然回首」一詞中的驀然，陶譯比較簡單，只用偶然(perchance )一字， U譯用匆匆一瞥(only on a glance)，兩者都未能表達出驀然一詞中有突然的意思。許譯成突然(when all at once), 最貼切了。
由上可見，詩詞的英文翻譯要做到簡潔，流暢，有韻律，有詩意，貼切，忠實於原作，並不容易。
元宵節英文知識及祝福語，你造麼?
常用詞彙：
the Lantern Festival 元宵節
rice glue ball 元宵
glutinous rice 糯米
lion / dragon dance 舞龍/舞獅
guess lantern riddles 猜燈謎
play couplets game 對對聯
enjoy beautiful lanterns 賞花燈
snuff 燈花
exhibit of lanterns 燈會
dragon lantern dancing 耍龍燈
walking on stilts 踩高蹺
land boat dancing 劃旱船
yangko/yangge dance 扭秧歌
beating drums while dancing 打太平鼓
drum dance 腰鼓舞
fireworks party 焰火大會
traditional opera 戲曲
variety show/vaudeville 雜耍
Lantern Festival's temple fair 元宵廟會
colored lanterns' temple fair 綵燈廟會
2
句型篇
經典句型:
How shall we celebrate the Festival of Lanterns?
我們怎麼慶祝元宵節呢?
A:How shall we celebrate the Festival of Lanterns?
甲:我們怎麼慶祝元宵節呢?
B:Let's enjoy the colorful lanterns in the evening.
乙:我們晚上去賞綵燈吧。
A:I prefer to go to the dragon dances.
甲:我更想去看舞龍。
We eat yuanxiao in this festival.
我們在這個節日吃元宵。
A:What do you eat in the Festival of Lanterns?
甲:你們在元宵節吃什麼呢?
B：We eat yuanxiao in this festival.
乙:我們在這個節日吃元宵。
A:Is that the rice glue ball?
甲:就是用糯米粉做的元宵?
B:Yes, it's delicious. We have other activities like the lantern riddles.
乙:是的，很好吃。我們還有其他的活動，比如猜燈謎。
A:it's so interesting.
甲:真有趣。
元宵節的習俗
中國傳統的過年，一般要持續到元宵節，元宵節一過也象徵過年的結束，人們就要恢復正常的生產和生活了。在元宵節期間，人們舉行各種民俗活動，賞月、觀花燈、猜燈謎、放煙花、舞龍燈、舞獅子、跑旱船、踩高蹺、扭秧歌，普天同慶，其樂融融。元宵節也成為中國諸多傳統節日當中最熱鬧的一個，可以稱為中國的「狂歡節」。
Eating Yuanxiao吃元宵
Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a dessert.
元宵是元宵節的特色食品。據說，元宵是因漢武帝時期的一位名叫元宵的宮女而得名。元宵是一種帶餡兒的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的餡料製成。元宵節就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹製方法非常簡單，將元宵倒入裝滿沸水的鍋中煮幾分鐘就可以了。
Guessing lantern riddles猜燈謎
"Guessing lantern riddles"is an essential part of the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.
猜燈謎也是元宵節活動的一個基本組成部分。燈籠的所有者將謎語寫在一張紙條上，然後將紙條展示在燈籠上。如果賞燈者猜出謎語，就將紙條取出，然後找燈籠所有者確認答案。打對的話，他們就可以領取一份小禮品。這個活動起源於宋朝(960——1279)。猜燈謎活動極富情趣和智慧，因此在全社會廣受歡迎。
Watch fireworks 看煙火
In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.
元宵節的白天會有舞龍舞獅、劃旱船、扭秧歌、踩高蹺。而在晚上，除了各種大型燈會，燦爛的焰火也是一幅美麗的畫卷。很多家庭在春節時會留下一部分煙花等著元宵節放。有的地方政府甚至會組織焰火晚會。當新年的第一輪圓月升上夜空時，人們都會因燃放的煙火和空中的明月而興奮。