为什么「中国有很多人」不能翻译成「China has many people.」？ 第1页

先问是不是。其实吧，语法一点毛病都没有。问题在于，阁下您是哪根葱啊？

首先，“中式英语”/Chinglish/翻译腔是个坑，因为绝大多数中国人是没有辨别能力的。

今天在某个QQ群里，有人说，Chinadaily里面都是中式英语，和外刊英语表达完全不一样，一眼就能看出来。刚好我有时间，就做了个小测试：

1/ China’s commerce ministry says it will take “all necessary measures” in response to new U.S. restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei’s ability to use American technology, calling the measures an abuse of state power and a violation of market principles.

2/ A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said, “Secretary Pompeo recommended the move, and President Trump agreed.” Another U.S. official confirmed that Pompeo supported Linick’s firing in discussions with Trump.

3/ Three think tanks working to restore full hospital services － Nuffield Trust, King's Fund, and Health Foundation － said the need for personal protective equipment, additional cleaning, and other considerations mean it will take time for things to return to normal in many hospital departments.

一共3段话，请问哪一段是外刊里的呢？

还有个小测试：

1/ Time to prepare, warns WHO

2/ World agog as Trump fails

3/ Ministry of Education says schools safe to reopen

一共个标题，哪个标题是Chinadaily上的呢？

如果觉得标题太短了，再来个小测试：

1/ A Chinese rocket that became one of the largest pieces of space debris plummeted toward Earth and landed in the Atlantic Ocean on May 11. The rocket’s empty core stage, weighing nearly 18 tons, is the largest piece of space debris to fall uncontrolled back to Earth since 1991.

2/ According to experts, the problem is projected to get worse. By 2025 as many as 1,100 satellites could be launching each year. The number of satellites orbiting Earth is projected to quadruple over the next decade.

这两段话，哪一段是外刊上的呢？

回到这个问题上来。之所以很多人会觉得China has many people.是中式表达，是因为我们学语法的时候，老师曾经强调过：

there be表示存在，have表示拥有/所有

但问题在于，China能不能拥有many people呢？

我们不能只看语法规则，还得看表达习惯。

换言之，我们得看英国人、美国人到底是怎么用的。

因为关于语法，有一条铁律：

凡有规则，必有例外。

所有的语法规则，都有例外情况存在。

既然英语不是我们的母语，我们就老老实实去google，或者去查语料库。

我大致查了一下：

好像，这种用法也没什么不对的？

但如果要仔细追究一下，我们会发现：

1、这些例子里，people前面除了many，一般会多一个形容词。

2、xxx has many people xxx 后面一般会跟后置修饰语，这种情况非常多。

综上所述：

1、China has many people并不能算错，但需要上下文支撑。

2、China has many +形容词＋people就地道、顺畅了很多。比如China has many bright people/rich people/business people.

3、如果要说中国有很多人，还是建议说：China has a large population.

的确不能这样翻译。

“China has many people”在语法上是没问题的。

但在语义上是有问题的。

因为中国的人口可不是“many”能形容得了的。

十几亿人你用“many”来形容不是开玩笑么？

应该说：China has a huge population。

用格调更高一点儿的说法则是：China boasts a huge population。Boast在这里是“自豪的拥有”的意思：