# 充滿傳奇的色彩



## azhong

In the sentence,

那些古老而有趣的店舖，充滿傳奇的色彩，我們決定去看看它們。(西西， <店鋪>首句)

請問，「充滿傳奇的色彩」直譯成 “full of the colors of legends" 適合嗎？

Is it idiomatic to translate "充滿傳奇的色彩" into something like “full of the colors of legends"?

謝謝。


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## gingerbread-mann

​我的观点是，"传奇的色彩"  这里应该考虑意译， 直译为colors of legends，一是在英语中搭配不当，二是使用"legends"似乎有些夸张了。

我大致参考了一下原文，我猜测"传奇的色彩"在这里指的是某种"厚重的历史,饱经沧桑(through so many changes)"。

然后我找到了一个比较正式的词"vicissitudes", 但是例句中都是用作"个人生活饱经沧桑"，所以也就不太适用了。

Changes which happen at different times during the life or development of someone or something, especially those which result in conditions being worse(剑桥高级词典)

_-You could say that losing your job is just one of the vicissitudes *of* life._

You use vicissitudes to refer to changes, especially unpleasant ones, that happen to someone or something at different times in their life or development.(科林斯)

_-Whatever the vicissitudes of her past life, Jill now seems to have come through._

我个人英文水平有限，暂时还没有想出比较合适的翻译，担心译文太过直白简单会破坏原文的美感。


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## Lostcause

感觉直接用动词steep就不错，be steeped in
例句：The castles is steeped in history and legend
       这座城堡充满着历史和传奇的色彩。


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## Lamb67

"Quaint "🤩 but it has more to with the very beginning though.
Edit: "We have decided that those quaint shops are worth visiting."
Actually I am puzzled by it as it's usually a person or place rather than a "shop" to have such qualities.
Anyway " a legendary shop" i.e." a famous shop" should be ok while " se cai " or " colours" cannot be translated .


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## gingerbread-mann

参考了Lostcause和Lamb67的建议，给出如下译文：
The quaint stores steeped in a long history in a small street are waiting for our visit.

更正:  The famous quaint shops are so attractive that we decide to have a visit.
("steeped in a long history"与 "quaint" 表达的含义重复。)


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## gingerbread-mann

(附上部分原文供各位讨论)

那些古老而有趣的店鋪，充滿傳奇的色彩，我們決定去看看它們。我們步過那些寬闊的玻璃窗櫥，裏面有光線柔和協調的照明，以及季節使它們不斷變更的陳設。然後，我們轉入曲折的小巷，在陌生但感覺親切的樓房底下到處找尋。(西西,《店鋪》第一段)


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## azhong

gingerbread-mann said:


> 参考了Lostcause和Lamb67的建议，给出如下译文：
> The quaint stores steeped in a long history in a small street* are waiting for our visit.


那些古老而有趣的店舖，充滿傳奇的色彩，我們決定去看看它們。

(你"超前部署"了，薑麵包，這一句還沒提到 “小巷”呢。
你認得好多我不認得的深奧字彙，怎麼會不知道 巷 alley?)

同時也謝謝大家的建議。沒有一個是我認識的，好慘。。。


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## gingerbread-mann

azhong said:


> 那些古老而有趣的店舖，充滿傳奇的色彩，我們決定去看看它們。
> 
> (你"超前部署"了，薑麵包，這一句還沒提到 “小巷”呢。
> 你認得好多我不認得的深奧字彙，怎麼會不知道 巷 alley?)
> 
> 同時也謝謝大家的建議。沒有一個是我認識的，好慘。。。


不好意思，我犯了中式英语的思维错误。我把"小巷"提前是因为，原文提到店铺的话，我感觉最好提一下具体是哪里的店铺比较好。应该有更好的译文。


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## Lamb67

Those quaint shops are inviting us to visit 🤩 "充滿傳奇的色彩" is just impossible to translate.

Edit : A quirky and quaint shop.


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## dojibear

Lamb67 said:


> "充滿傳奇的色彩"


"full of ancient Chinese style"
"brimming with legendary flavor"

My dictionaries translate "*色彩*" literally as "coloring" but figuratively as "flavor; character; characteristic quality".
Here "flavor" means "style; feeling; nature", not "taste in the mouth".

I don't think "quaint" is used for styles that are hundreds of years old. They are normally more recent.

EDIT: added 彩


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## gingerbread-mann

> dojibear said:
> 
> 
> 
> I don't think "quaint" is used for styles that are hundreds of years old. They are normally more recent.
Click to expand...

I have a different idea,
The writter make a comparison between modern shops and the old shops in the paragraph 14 of this prose:
當大街上林立著百貨公司和超級市場，我們會從巨大玻璃的反映中看見一些古老而有趣、充滿民族色彩的店鋪在逐漸消隱。那麼多的店：涼茶鋪、雜貨店、理髮店、茶樓。舊書攤、棺材店、彈棉花的繡莊、切麵條的小食館、荳漿鋪子，每一間店都是一個故事。




（I find a picture of a tea shop in old style）




(another tea shop)
Therefore the quaint shops is acceptable


> "full of ancient Chinese style"


I accept this translation, but I think the the adjective "ancient" is a little bit too old. Maybe "traditional Chinese style" is better?


> "brimming with legendary flavor"


And I am not sure that the adjective "legendary" can be used here. I think it is not reasonable that there are so many shops with "legendary flavor" . "legendary" may refer to something very rare?


> A quirky and quaint shop.


examples of quirky：
_the SoHo store known for its modern, often quirky home accessories …— Marianne Rohrlich（webster website）_

but I think the accessories in these shops are not quirky... , they are just traditional, elegant.

Here is my another answer: quaint shops associated with prosperity in past days.
"传奇的色彩" may refer to the "往日的繁华"(flourishing trades long time ago).


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## azhong

dojibear said:


> "brimming with legendary flavor"





gingerbread-mann said:


> And I am not sure that the adjective "legendary" can be used here. I think it is not reasonable that there are so many shops with "legendary flavor" . "legendary" may refer to something very rare?
> ...
> Here is my another answer: quaint shops associated with prosperity in past days.
> "传奇的色彩" may refer to the "往日的繁华"(flourishing trades long time ago).



I think "legendary" is fine according to one definition in the Cambridge dictionary: 


> *legendary*: of or relating to an old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories that people tell about a famous event or person.


And I think it also meets the connotation of "往日的繁华" (the prosperity in the past) according to the definition. 
And "the legendary flavor" ties very tightly to the original text. I personally like it.

"To brim with sth." is  another expression I can learn. I guess it means the liquid is so "full" that it comes already to the "brim" of the container.

Thank you all.


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## azhong

dojibear said:


> "full of ancient Chinese style"


Just a discussion: I personally will leave out "Chinese" because there is no corresponding term in the original test. I think the connotation of "Chinese-styled" should also be revealed later in the translation text if the original text did so, but I'm not in the field of translating articles.

Curious to ask: Do you have any particular consideration to add it?


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## skating-in-bc

azhong said:


> 那些古老而有趣的店舖, 充滿傳奇的色彩, 我們決定去看看它們。


文中 "充滿傳奇的色彩" 是什麼意思? 我覺得是 "充滿一種讓人覺得處處都具有歷史文化價值及奇特不尋常故事的情趣格調" (loaded with historical and cultural appeal and imbued with unique and unusual stories), 換言之,「每一間店都是一個故事」(Each store has a story to tell)。

傳奇 = 離奇不尋常的故事
色彩 = 情調 = 情趣(appeal)格調(flavor)
充滿...*色*彩 = imbued with... (i.e., filled up with a feeling or quality as if by dyeing 染*色*)


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## azhong

skating-in-bc said:


> 文中 "充滿傳奇的色彩" 是什麼意思? 我覺得是 "充滿一種讓人覺得處處都具有歷史文化價值及奇特不尋常故事的情趣格調" (loaded with historical and cultural appeal and imbued with unique and unusual stories), 換言之,「每一間店都是一個故事」(Each store has a story to tell)。
> 
> 傳奇 = 離奇不尋常的故事
> 色彩 = 情調 = 情趣(appeal)格調(flavor)
> 充滿...*色*彩 = imbued with... (i.e., filled up with a feeling or quality as if by dyeing 染*色*)


I agree with you, Skater. But I think this is just your explanation, not your final translation? Could you please share with us your translation?


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## Lamb67

传奇
chuánqí
〖saga〗∶可以指长篇连续的英雄故事,情节曲折,然而又不特别离奇,讲述人或团体的历史或传说(或两者都有的)
Xin Hua Zi Dian online

A shop is full of history.
The Shaolin monks are legendary.

So to repeat, the OP is an impossible task🤩


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## skating-in-bc

azhong said:


> Could you please share with us your translation?


I don't have a good suggestion for it.  Perhaps, "Those age-old quaint stores, _imbued with the romance of the past_..." might fit the bill.

Romance: a mysterious or fascinating quality or appeal, as of something adventurous, heroic, or strangely beautiful.


Lamb67 said:


> 传奇
> chuánqí
> 〖saga〗∶可以指长篇连续的英雄故事,情节曲折,然而又不特别离奇,讲述人或团体的历史或传说(或两者都有的)


雖然樓主引用的 "傳奇" 不是你說的 "傳奇" (长篇英雄故事), 但你說的這個 "傳奇", 其實也對應英語的 "romance".

百度百科: "Romance 即羅曼史。羅曼史是指歐洲在資產階級革命以前的封建社會里流行的一種傳奇文學。這是一種非現實的、封建形態的文學。羅曼史強調的傳奇色彩和浪漫特色實際上也為文藝復興打下基礎。Romance 也有浪漫、傳奇故事，浪漫小説，浪漫曲的意思。"

知乎: 罗曼司(Romance)是欧洲封建社会的传奇文学，最早用罗曼语(Roman)写成。最有名的是中世纪的骑士系列，后来专指长篇英雄故事，或"传奇".


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## henter

充滿傳奇的色彩」直譯成 “full of the colors of legends？我觉得不对。Dojibear翻译的好多了


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