作者：丁衡祁 陳小全

將"全面建設(shè)小康社會(huì)"翻譯成英語(yǔ)，首先要把握"小康"一詞的含義。《辭海》對(duì)"小康"的解釋是：經(jīng)濟(jì)比較寬裕可以安然度日；儒家所說(shuō)的比"大同"理想較低的一種社會(huì)。因此，從歷史的角度看，"小康"一詞的基本含義是"經(jīng)濟(jì)上比較富裕"。現(xiàn)在我們所說(shuō)的"小康"，是指溫飽和富裕之間的那個(gè)階段。根據(jù)"十六大"文件中的有關(guān)內(nèi)容，"小康社會(huì)"的意義包括：到2020 年，國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值比2000年翻兩番；社會(huì)主義民主和法制更加完善；全民的思想道德素質(zhì)、科學(xué)文化素質(zhì)和健康素質(zhì)明顯提高；可持續(xù)發(fā)展能力不斷增強(qiáng)，生態(tài)環(huán)境得到改善。因此，我們今天所說(shuō)的"小康"含義要寬廣得多，但歸結(jié)起來(lái)是指我國(guó)社會(huì)總體發(fā)展達(dá)到一種較好的水平。

　　在翻譯"小康"時(shí)，我們不可能將其所有含義譯出，必須抓住其核心意思。通過(guò)學(xué)習(xí)，我們認(rèn)為《三個(gè)代表重要思想通俗讀本》中的一段話可作為"小康"的中心意義，在此基礎(chǔ)上將其翻譯成英語(yǔ)。這段話是這樣說(shuō)的："人均國(guó)民生產(chǎn)總值達(dá)到大約800美元，老百姓生活雖不富裕，但日子比較好過(guò)，這就算達(dá)到小康水平。"因此，我們可從日子"不富裕"，但"比較好過(guò)"出發(fā)，在英語(yǔ)中尋找最接近的表達(dá)方式。

目前，一些書(shū)籍和出版物大多采用well off表達(dá)"小康"的概念，"全面建設(shè)小康社會(huì)"的英譯雖有不同，但均在well off的基礎(chǔ)上擴(kuò)展而成。例如：building a well-off society in an all-round way；develop the well-off standard of living；bring China into a well-off society of a higher level等等。經(jīng)研究我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，well off的意義相當(dāng)不確定，用它來(lái)表達(dá)"小康"的意思并不妥當(dāng)。例如，Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary所給的定義是rich，例句是Her family was very well-off.。很顯然，我們所說(shuō)的"小康"還夠不上rich。Random House Dictionary 所給的定義是live in a satisfactory condition with sufficient possessions for a comfortable living。另外，Random House Learner's Dictionary 對(duì) well-off 的解釋是 well-to-do和 prosperous; 而對(duì)well-to-do 的解釋又是comfortably prosperous和 wealthy。這些定義和解釋的意思很清楚：well-off是指令人滿意的生活條件，具備充足的物質(zhì)條件，可以過(guò)上愜意舒適的生活。按照該定義，如果說(shuō)一個(gè)人well off，他就應(yīng)該有自己的房子和汽車(chē)，衣食住行游，樣樣不用愁。但從我國(guó)總體情況來(lái)看，我們所說(shuō)的"小康"依然夠不上這樣的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。另一方面，許多英語(yǔ)母語(yǔ)人士也認(rèn)為，well off 比我們所說(shuō)的"小康"更富裕。我們?cè)賮?lái)看Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary (10th Edition) 對(duì)well off的定義：1 : being in good condition or favorable circumstances 2 : having no lack -- usually used with for 3 a : being in easy or affluent circumstances b : suggesting prosperity。從該定義中，我們可以看出well off一詞的意義并不確定。關(guān)于well off意義的不確定，有大量例句可以證明，現(xiàn)選少量列出：

　　1. Because my parents were not well off, I would have to win a scholarship.（指一般意義上的富裕）
2. Our family, which lived in Renishaw Road in Nottingham, was always well off, if never rich. （指中等程度的富裕）
3. We were born on the same council estate - Shiregreen, in Sheffield, both were well off by council house standards first with a telly and matching frocks and knickers. （指低標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的富裕）
4. Can there remain any public consensus on the social structure if divisions between the well-off and the poor widen? （與貧窮相對(duì)應(yīng)）
5. They are fine in Cookstown when you are looking at a working population of 8 or 9,000 people, but in Belfast travel-to-work area you are looking at something like 150,000 people and that confuses the well-off and the very impoverished. (與赤貧相對(duì)應(yīng))
6. Mr. Shahiduddin is well off by village standards, but still he is not a very rich man,' replied Dr. Haidar. （按農(nóng)村標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的富裕）
7. The poor or less well off who cannot afford private health and pay school fees. （比貧窮稍好一些的富裕）
8. His parents are well-off farmers in Somerset, and although he went to the prestigious Ampleforth school, he spent only a year after taking his A levels at agricultural college before becoming a BMW car salesman.（富裕農(nóng)民）
9. Children from well-off families would rather play computer games than go outside. （富裕家庭）
10. It's a pity her two husbands left her so well off that she hasn't had to worry about money. （富裕到花錢(qián)不用愁的地步）
11. Except for a very few rich people, they are all financially much less well off than they were. （比富人差一些的富裕）