時尚雙語:“沒有性生活的雞”走出菜單
If you fancy "chicken without sexual life", "husband and wife's lung slice" or even "bean curd made by a pock-marked woman" then you will have to look elsewhere.
"Spring chicken", "pork lungs in chili sauce" and "stir-fried tofu in hot sauce" are the correct translations of dishes at some Beijing restaurants, according to an initiative designed to help visitors navigate bilingual menus.
Currently, odd translations of food served up in the capital's eateries are causing food for thought.
The Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, and the Beijing tourism administration, is about to change all that.
The project is part of Beijing's municipal tourism administration's preparation for the Olympic Games next year, when at least 500,000 foreigners are expected to visit.
Beginning March 2006, the translation project gathered a database of dishes and drinks from 3-star rated hotels and large restaurants. A draft list was put online at the end of last year seeking public feedback.
Subsequently, a second draft added more than 400 common dishes at restaurants in Beijing's Houhai and Wangjing districts, where foreigners like to gather.
The recent draft has been online since last Saturday, at and .
The finished draft is likely to be published in October, said an official with the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, quoted by the Beijing News.
The final version will be published online and "recommended" to restaurants.
如果你愛吃“沒有性生活的雞”、“丈夫和妻子的肺切片”或“麻臉女人做的豆腐”，估計你得到別處看看了。
在一項旨在幫助遊客看懂雙語菜單的活動中，北京一些餐館的菜名翻譯得以規範，“Spring chicken（童子雞）”、“pork lungs in chili sauce（夫妻肺片）”以及“stir-fried tofu in hot sauce（麻婆豆腐）”纔是以上幾種菜餚的正確譯法。
目前，北京一些餐館食品名的奇怪譯法引發了人們的思考。
“北京市民講外語活動”組委會與北京旅遊局表示將改變這一現狀。
這項活動是北京市旅遊局爲迎接明年奧運會所做的準備工作之一，屆時，預計將有至少50萬名外國遊客來北京觀光。
規範菜單譯名項目於去年3月啓動，有關部門從三星級酒店和大飯店收集了一個菜餚和酒水飲料譯名的數據庫。譯名初稿於去年年底在網上公佈，以徵求市民意見。
之後，第二稿又增加了400多種普通菜餚，這些菜餚主要來自於後海、望京等外國人密集地區的餐館。
最新一稿已於上週六在北京市民講外語網和北京旅遊局信息網上公佈。
《新京報》援引“北京市民講外語活動”組委會一位官員的話說，終稿可能將於十月份公佈。
最終定稿將在網上公佈，並供餐館“參考”。
