這些問題涉及到文化差異,在翻譯理論上來說,叫作“翻譯不對等”,不能死譯,或者說逐字翻譯,應該讓人聽明白即可.征求美國朋友意見后,翻譯如下：
1.你是家里老幾
先了解人家有沒有兄弟姐妹,此問題才有意義.
Do you have brothers or sisters?
當人家回答yes時,還存在兩種情況：兩個及兩個以上
兩個:Are you the youger/elder one?
Is your sister/brother elder/younger than you?
兩個以上：Are you the eldest/youngest one?
(說實話,老外的家庭觀念和我們不同,這問題沒多大意義)
2、你們班得了第幾名
What prize did your class get(in...
What place was your class ranked
3.你是第幾次來北京
這個問題最巧妙,我們只要說
Is this the first time you are in Beijing?或
How many times have you been in Beijing?