转载：Lost in translation: A Rose is a Rose is a Rose?
By
Ma Huiqin
When I was asked for an
English-Chinese
list of wine
grape varieties
for this blog, I considered the best way to provide this information. Should I include ‘霞多丽’, ‘莎当妮’, or ‘夏多内’, since
all three
have been used as a translation of
Chardonnay
? Similarly, should I include ‘美乐’, ‘梅鹿辄’, or even ‘梅尔诺’ as a translation of Merlot?
Wine is not a part of daily life in China, so it is hardly surprising that most people are
unaware of grape variety names
. Even students majoring in English or French are unlikely to study them.
And while there is a
standard translation
of grape varieties, few people know about it in China beyond viticulturist and enologist societies. This is understandable, since before 1990, the translation of grape names did not constitute a major issue - the wine industry was quite
small and homogenuous
, competition was not so fierce, and few representative of foreign wines were in the market.
Translation
has since become a much
bigger business
, with an
increasing number
of
imported wines
and with new wine distribution companies and agents emerging almost daily.
Unfortunately, many
translations
used in the market were done by
university students
who majored in English or by
companies
with no background in wine. When they came across a grape variety they did not know, they usually grabbed any
Chinese characters
that “
sounded right
” and published these as the translation, without checking professional wine books or the
standard translation dictionary
.
The problem is that
careless translations
based simply on sound go against the nature of the
Chinese language
. Unlike English, which uses an alphabet, Chinese is constructed of
ideograms or characters
. A Chinese word is usually made of two (and sometimes more) such characters, and the meanings of each is
combined to create a new word
.
From this point of view ‘霞多丽’ (
rosy cloud
/
many
/
beautiful
) is the best translation for
Chardonnay
, whereas the alternatives ‘莎当妮’ or ‘ 夏多内’ mean nothing because the characters offer no synergy.
Getting consensus on these terms will be a difficult task, especially since
individual companies
have spent many years and much money promoting their brands. Thus, we can expect to find
Huangdong
(’莎当妮’),
Dragon Seal
(’夏多内’), and
Great Wall
(’霞多丽’) to continue to provide consumers many ways of saying the same thing - Chardonnay.
Here are some standard definitions from the
Chinese Society of Viticulturists
:
Red
Barbera 巴贝拉Carménère 佳美娜Carbernet Franc 品丽珠Cabernet Sauvignon 赤霞珠Cinsaut 神索Malbec 玛尔贝克Merlot 美乐Nebbiolo 内比奥罗Petit Verdot 小味儿多Pinot Noir 黑比诺Sangiovese 桑娇维塞Shiraz / Syrah 西拉Tempranillo 堂比尼罗Zinfandel 增芳德
White
Aligoté 阿利歌特Arneis 阿尼斯Chardonnay 霞多丽Chenin Blanc 白诗南Colombard 鸽笼白Gewürztraminer 琼瑶浆Petit Manseng 小芒森Müller-Thurgau 米勒.吐尔高Muscat of Alexandria 亚历山大玫瑰Pinot Gris 灰比诺Riesling 雷司令Roussanne 胡桑Sauvignon Blanc 长相思Sémillon 赛美蓉Silvaner / Sylvaner 西万尼Viognier 维欧妮
Ma Huiqin
When I was asked for an
English-Chinese
list of wine
grape varieties
for this blog, I considered the best way to provide this information. Should I include ‘霞多丽’, ‘莎当妮’, or ‘夏多内’, since
all three
have been used as a translation of
Chardonnay
? Similarly, should I include ‘美乐’, ‘梅鹿辄’, or even ‘梅尔诺’ as a translation of Merlot?
Wine is not a part of daily life in China, so it is hardly surprising that most people are
unaware of grape variety names
. Even students majoring in English or French are unlikely to study them.
And while there is a
standard translation
of grape varieties, few people know about it in China beyond viticulturist and enologist societies. This is understandable, since before 1990, the translation of grape names did not constitute a major issue - the wine industry was quite
small and homogenuous
, competition was not so fierce, and few representative of foreign wines were in the market.
Translation
has since become a much
bigger business
, with an
increasing number
of
imported wines
and with new wine distribution companies and agents emerging almost daily.
Unfortunately, many
translations
used in the market were done by
university students
who majored in English or by
companies
with no background in wine. When they came across a grape variety they did not know, they usually grabbed any
Chinese characters
that “
sounded right
” and published these as the translation, without checking professional wine books or the
standard translation dictionary
.
The problem is that
careless translations
based simply on sound go against the nature of the
Chinese language
. Unlike English, which uses an alphabet, Chinese is constructed of
ideograms or characters
. A Chinese word is usually made of two (and sometimes more) such characters, and the meanings of each is
combined to create a new word
.
From this point of view ‘霞多丽’ (
rosy cloud
/
many
/
beautiful
) is the best translation for
Chardonnay
, whereas the alternatives ‘莎当妮’ or ‘ 夏多内’ mean nothing because the characters offer no synergy.
Getting consensus on these terms will be a difficult task, especially since
individual companies
have spent many years and much money promoting their brands. Thus, we can expect to find
Huangdong
(’莎当妮’),
Dragon Seal
(’夏多内’), and
Great Wall
(’霞多丽’) to continue to provide consumers many ways of saying the same thing - Chardonnay.
Here are some standard definitions from the
Chinese Society of Viticulturists
:
Red
Barbera 巴贝拉Carménère 佳美娜Carbernet Franc 品丽珠Cabernet Sauvignon 赤霞珠Cinsaut 神索Malbec 玛尔贝克Merlot 美乐Nebbiolo 内比奥罗Petit Verdot 小味儿多Pinot Noir 黑比诺Sangiovese 桑娇维塞Shiraz / Syrah 西拉Tempranillo 堂比尼罗Zinfandel 增芳德
White
Aligoté 阿利歌特Arneis 阿尼斯Chardonnay 霞多丽Chenin Blanc 白诗南Colombard 鸽笼白Gewürztraminer 琼瑶浆Petit Manseng 小芒森Müller-Thurgau 米勒.吐尔高Muscat of Alexandria 亚历山大玫瑰Pinot Gris 灰比诺Riesling 雷司令Roussanne 胡桑Sauvignon Blanc 长相思Sémillon 赛美蓉Silvaner / Sylvaner 西万尼Viognier 维欧妮
