一環扣一環的英文長句，搞清楚它的意思已經不容易，懂了之後，頭腦tune到了英語的思維，要把它用中文譯出來，又是另一個挑戰。
直譯很容易，但是有多少讀者會看得懂？
現在崇尚平易英語，很少老師會主張學生寫這麼複雜結構的句子，但是研究學術，卻要與這些舊式的典雅英語搏鬥。
現在崇尚平易英語，很少老師會主張學生寫這麼複雜結構的句子，但是研究學術，卻要與這些舊式的典雅英語搏鬥。
翻譯行家Victor Hui ，在FB貼出了一段20世紀英國經濟學家凱恩斯（J.M. Keynes）在1930年的名言：
讀懂它的意思之後，你會發覺這些句子結構的文字，也有其迂迴之美。
為了而眉目清楚，我把文字分成幾行，又加上意思間隔：
1. When the accumulation of wealth/ is no longer of high social importance, /there will be great changes in the code of morals.
2. We shall be able to rid ourselves /of many of the pseudo-moral principles / which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, / by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities/ into the position of the highest virtues.
3. We shall be able to afford to dare / to assess the money-motive at its true value.
4. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money / as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity,/ one of those semi-criminal, / semi-pathological propensities/ which one hands over with a shudder / to the specialists in mental disease......
有沒有讀者願意接受挑戰，試試譯為中文？玩一段也可以。
。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。
*倘有留言未能即時上板，是自動過濾去了spam之故，諸君稍安無躁，版主每日檢查幾次，一有發現便會救回*
When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall be able to rid ourselves of many of the pseudo-moral principles which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities into the position of the highest virtues. We shall be able to afford to dare to assess the money-motive at its true value. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease......
讀懂它的意思之後，你會發覺這些句子結構的文字，也有其迂迴之美。
為了而眉目清楚，我把文字分成幾行，又加上意思間隔：
1. When the accumulation of wealth/ is no longer of high social importance, /there will be great changes in the code of morals.
2. We shall be able to rid ourselves /of many of the pseudo-moral principles / which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, / by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities/ into the position of the highest virtues.
3. We shall be able to afford to dare / to assess the money-motive at its true value.
4. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money / as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity,/ one of those semi-criminal, / semi-pathological propensities/ which one hands over with a shudder / to the specialists in mental disease......
有沒有讀者願意接受挑戰，試試譯為中文？玩一段也可以。
。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。
*倘有留言未能即時上板，是自動過濾去了spam之故，諸君稍安無躁，版主每日檢查幾次，一有發現便會救回*
(文章允許轉貼，請具作者名字：梁煥松)
我沒讀過凱恩斯，不過試試吧：
回覆刪除1. When the accumulation of wealth/ is no longer of high social importance, /there will be great changes in the code of morals.
當累積財富在社會顯得不重要時，那意味著道德（準則）上有很大的轉變。
2. We shall be able to rid ourselves /of many of the pseudo-moral principles / which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, / by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities/ into the position of the highest virtues.
a. 其實我們可以擺脫二百多年來纏繞我們不少的虛假道德準則，這些所謂的準則將人性的醜惡扭曲成最高尚的美德。
b. 二百多年來，不少的道德準則都是虛假的，它們把人性最醜惡的地方扭曲成最高尚的美德。但是，我們有能力擺脫它們。
3. We shall be able to afford to dare / to assess the money-motive at its true value.
我們其實能夠在真正的價值觀下，明瞭金錢的意義。
4. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money / as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity,/ one of those semi-criminal, / semi-pathological propensities/ which one hands over with a shudder / to the specialists in mental disease......
喜愛擁有金錢，跟喜愛利用金錢享受或實踐生活是截然不同的，其分野取決於是否可以導致精神疾病的不健康（半罪惡、半病態）特質。
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但如果把四句合併起來，譯法又不同：
當累積財富在社會顯得不重要時，那意味著道德（準則）上有重大的轉變。二百多年來，不少的道德準則都不是真正的準則，因為它們把人性最醜惡的地方扭曲（或顛倒）成最高尚的美德。不過，我們有能力擺脫它們，從而接受真正的價值觀，繼而能明瞭背後不同的金錢動機：學會從不健康（半罪惡、半病態），甚至導致精神疾病的特質，去分辨何謂喜愛擁有金錢，以及何謂喜愛利用金錢享受或實踐生活。
五體投地。
刪除好嘢。
刪除好料！享受到两种语文的优美。谢谢。
刪除梁兄，譯得簡而清 。
回覆刪除你那邊悉尼恐龔搞到香港人啦，你彈結他唔好嘈住你的好鄰居呀。譯得簡而清 。
我用8寸喇叭結他amp，嘈極有限。
刪除Chris 偏偏在 hku 風雨飄搖時刻
回覆刪除揀這一段 經濟學 大師 的 文字
翻譯是如何 好不好 不是重點
讀者要重讀幾次多次
意會 凱恩斯 寫什麼呢？
何必要轉彎抹角 批判 hku 班友！
本文只是研究英文和翻譯，與香港近事無關。
刪除評論時事，你又話人一係移民，唔係就要接受，唔好阿芝阿佐；
唔講喇，你又懷疑是轉彎抹角來講。
老兄都幾難服侍。
我看不出此文如何"轉彎抹角批判hku 班友"。
刪除HKU's recent business is certainly a very important matter, but the world is never a one-issued world.
Thanks to 梁兄， I now know that Keynes was not merely a world class economist, but one with a heart.