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Contiluo Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary
diffusing fragrance
Dear teachers,
I was asked to translate a Chinese four-character idiom into English. According to Chinese grammar, the first two-character is subject, the third character is verb, the fourth character is object.
The subject may relate with: atmosphere of literature, or the fragrance of books.
The verb may be relevant to chant, sing, or hymn.
The object may refer to: Chinese bayberry (also known as arbutus tree) which stands for the tree of Yang-Mei City because its Chinese pronunciation is homonymic to Yang-Mei, or Yang-Mei Junior High School (YMJHS).
So, I tried to translate it into English as follows. Among them, which is acceptable and better? Please help me make them sound natural. Thanks a lot.
1. The fragrance of books, wafting far and wide in the campus, sings a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
2. The fragrance of books, prevailing over the campus, chants a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
3. The fragrance of books, spreading to the campus far and wide, sings a hymn of praise to Chinese bayberry.
4. The atmosphere of literature, diffusing to the campus, chants a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
5. The diffusing book fragrance is singing a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
I was asked to translate a Chinese four-character idiom into English. According to Chinese grammar, the first two-character is subject, the third character is verb, the fourth character is object.
The subject may relate with: atmosphere of literature, or the fragrance of books.
The verb may be relevant to chant, sing, or hymn.
The object may refer to: Chinese bayberry (also known as arbutus tree) which stands for the tree of Yang-Mei City because its Chinese pronunciation is homonymic to Yang-Mei, or Yang-Mei Junior High School (YMJHS).
So, I tried to translate it into English as follows. Among them, which is acceptable and better? Please help me make them sound natural. Thanks a lot.
1. The fragrance of books, wafting far and wide in the campus, sings a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
2. The fragrance of books, prevailing over the campus, chants a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
3. The fragrance of books, spreading to the campus far and wide, sings a hymn of praise to Chinese bayberry.
4. The atmosphere of literature, diffusing to the campus, chants a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
5. The diffusing book fragrance is singing a hymn of praise to YMJHS.
Top answer
contiluo I was asked to translate a Chinese four-character idiom into English. The word "idiom" suggests that the meaning in Chinese is not literal. If so, a literal translation into English would most likely not convey the meaning.
- contiluo I was asked to translate a Chinese four-character idiom into English.
- The word "idiom" suggests that the meaning in Chinese is not literal.
- If so, a literal translation into English would most likely not convey the meaning.
- Does the phrase in Chinese mean something different from the literal sum of its parts?
- What is the purpose of the phrase?
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6 Answers
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contiluoI was asked to translate a Chinese four-character idiom into English.The word "idiom" suggests that the meaning in Chinese is not literal. If so, a literal translation into English would most likely not convey the meaning. Does the phrase in Chinese mean something different from the literal sum of its parts? What is the purpose of the phrase?
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The purpose of this phrase is for one of the slogans of school vision. Its literal meaning is the environment of our school, YMJHS, permeates the atmosphere of literature, art, elegance, and humanization.
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contiluo environment (1) of our school, (2) YMJHS (3), permeates (4) the atmosphere (5) of literature 65), art (7), elegance (8), and humanization(9).I know that some Chinese characters require several words in English, but are you sure that your four suggest all these different concepts?
The fragrance of books permeates the air of YMJH seems
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I agree with fivejedjon as far as an English translation to convey the meaning is concerned; for example, if you want to say "the meaning of the school's motto is ...". To create English phrasing that would actually sound good as a real school motto is harder.
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