小年也被视为过年的开端,因此这几天全国人民,都开始为迎春节做起了准备啦。
小年用英语怎么说?因为外国人不过小年,所以在英文中就没有准确的词汇可以对应到小年。
以下的翻译均来自国内媒体,大家也点评看看哪个更地道!
1. off year
这一解释出于《汉英大辞典》,
off year是目前使用最普遍的翻译。
但是要注意这个翻译却并不贴切,
因为off year在英文解释中表示“非大选年”的意思,
被中国人转义为“小年”,
同时off year在英文中还指果树、竹子的歉收年,
所以off year的译法,
与我们中国小年的祭灶习俗,
等活动完全是风马牛不相及。
2. Little New year
《中国日报》英文版使用了这种翻译,
来看看原话:
Little New Year (Chinese: Xiaonian) usually a week before the lunar New Year。
“小年”通常在农历新年前一周左右。
大家都知道小年最重要的习俗就是祭灶神,
因此有很多外媒将小年翻译成灶神节,
在新华社的报道中,
也将小年翻译成“The Kitchen God Festival ”。
除了以上三个常见的翻译外,
小年的英文说法还有:直接使用拼音Xiao Nian的,
根据意义翻译的preliminary eve,
或者是a lunar year in ,
which the last month has 29 days
小年习俗
祭灶
Kitchen God Worshipping
One of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God,
dispatching the god's spirit to Heaven to report on the family's conduct over the past year.
The Kitchen God is then welcomed back to the home through the pasting of a new paper image of him beside the stove.
小年最独特的一个传统就是焚烧灶王爷的画像,
以此派遣灶王爷的灵到天界去报告过去一年这个家庭的行为。
然后在灶旁贴一张他的新画像来欢迎他回家。
扫尘
Spring Dust
In Chinese, the character for "dust" is a homophone
of the character for “the old”. By giving the house a thorough cleanse on the day, Chinese people believe that this would rid them of their poverty and bad luck from the previous year,
so as to welcome a prosperous new year.
在中国,“尘土”的“尘”这个汉字与“陈旧”的“陈”同音。
中国人相信,当天通过彻底地清扫房子,
可以让他们摆脱过去一年的贫穷和霉运,
迎来一个繁荣的新年。
stick couplets and window decorations
贴春联和窗花
In the Little New Year,
old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival ,
are taken down, and new window decorations,
New Year's posters, and auspicious ,
decorations are pasted up.
在小年的时候,上个春节时贴的春联和窗花被摘了下来,
新的窗花、年画和喜庆的装饰品会被张贴起来。
洗浴理发
Bath and hair
The ancient Chinese believed ,
that a haircut in the first month ,
of the Lunar New Year would bring bad luck.
People usually wait until the second lunar month ,
to have their hair cut again... In order to fit ,
into the new clothes for the festival,
a haircut is highly recommended beforehand.
中国古人相信正月剪头会带来霉运,
所以人们常等到农历二月才再次剪发……因此,
为了配合春节穿的新衣服,
提前理发是非常推荐的。