“现代”和“当代”英译述评

A Survey of the English Translations of “Xiandai" and “Dangdai"

作为时间概念,"现代"和"当代"英译看似简单,其实不然。原因有二:一是翻译界确实存在将它们等而视之的情形;二是一些词典对二者的界定也是大同小异,很难区分。本文采取定量分析和定性分析相结合的方法,尝试对"现代"和"当代"的英译进行澄清和规范,旨在加深人们对这两个概念的理解。

The Chinese time concepts "Xiandai" and "Dangdai" are actually two tricky terms for translators when rendering them into English. There are two possible reasons for consideration. One is the common misconception among translators that the two terms are basically the same, and the other is the confusingly similar definitions of the two terms in many dictionaries. This paper is an attempt to clarify the English translation of the two terms, which is based on both quantitative and qualitative analyses. This effort will hopefully help people develop a deeper understanding of them.