# with a saving sense of humour



## Lamb67

...with a saving sense of humour...

我的感觉中文的自嘲是最好的解读。

What do you think? thanks.


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## viajero_canjeado

我從來沒聽過saving跟sense of humor在一起喔, 所以不太懂原文的意思. 還有些上下文吧?


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## Lamb67

Hi, you can find a Saint with a saving sense of humour by goolge

Another is from a book I remember about 孔子, another Saint.http://www.google.com/search?client=gmail&rls=gm&q=with%20a%20saving%20sense%20of%20humour

现在我有新的想法：拯救性的幽默，可是中文不好听呀。


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## xiaolijie

The expression "saving sense of humour" is common/ transparent enough to be readily understood.


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## Lamb67

浅显易懂的。。I got it thanks.


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## viajero_canjeado

xiaolijie said:


> The expression "saving sense of humour" is common/ transparent enough to be readily understood.



Perhaps for you, but I'm afraid I was unfamiliar with the phrase. A bit of explanation, however, made it "readily understood." 

Lamb, I think you're on the right track with the 拯救性的幽默. From the usage I saw, it means that going through life with a good sense of humor can make hard times less burdensome. It "saves" you and helps you rise above a situation which might otherwise be too much for you - that is, cause you to perish.


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## Lamb67

Hello V.C, I am afraid you are not convincing me!

Let's put it in this way, the readers are always find it hard to understand the Saints' words.

What a relief it would be if the Saints put in some everyday jokes in their works.


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## viajero_canjeado

Pardon my ignorance (again!), but I'm not sure what Saints you're referring to. Do you mean "saints" in the Catholic sense? As a side note, I wasn't suggesting that the phrase was jocular in nature.


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## Lamb67

Humour was imported from the West about 100 years ago, so 诙谐 =jocular is more Chinese, don't you agree?

To my unrefined mind, I cann't tell the difference between them unfortunately.

Back to your post now, perhaps we are interpreting it from opposite sides, yours is the writer's while mine from the readers'. It is only that mine happens to be more natural while 拯救性的幽默 would not catch a wider readership.


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## viajero_canjeado

I know I'm being a bit hard-headed, but I still feel lost without the original text. Did you say you're quoting from a book about 孔子?
As for the difference between 詼諧 and 幽默, they seem similar to me too, except that 幽默 also functions as a noun.


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## Lamb67

拯救性的幽默 sounds unnatural--It's the key.
Of course if you are crediting the Saint, it sounds fine.
浅显易懂 DE 幽默 sounds ok because Saints' supposedly cultured jokes sometimes are too hard to understand for us.

But your views are unsterstandable to me now, I am glad I am having a saving sense of humour now.

In the end it's really 50-50.


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## xiaolijie

> Perhaps for you, but I'm afraid I was unfamiliar with the phrase. A bit of explanation, however, made it "readily understood."


Ok, I think the quote below will do the job better:
_I could not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a *saving sense of humour*._
__ 
__


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## Lamb67

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks%3A1&q=with+a+saving+sense&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Here you will find out a saving sense of(a) reputation,sin,etc.

I think I still vote for XLJ's super#4.


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## BODYholic

viajero_canjeado said:


> Pardon my ignorance (again!), but I'm not sure what Saints you're referring to. Do you mean "saints" in the Catholic sense?



No, that's not what the writer meant. It was a direct translation from a Chinese word, '圣人', which has nothing to do with immortal in this context. As an example, Chinese regards Confucius as a '圣人'.


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## Ghabi

Lamb67 said:


> I think I still vote for XLJ's super#4.


Have I missed something? What do you suggest in your post, Xiaolijie? In any case, I think the translation will be different from one context to another.


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## Lamb67

Hi Ghabi, Dont you think that the collocation of saving sense could be translated as what Xiaolijie said in SUPR#4?
....common enough to be readily understood.


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## samanthalee

Lamb67 said:


> Hi Ghabi, Dont you think that the collocation of saving sense could be translated as what Xiaolijie said in SUPR#4?
> ....common enough to be readily understood.


Hi Lamb67，当  Xiaolijie 说: "The expression 'saving sense of humour' is common/ transparent enough to be readily understood."时，他的意思是 “这句话从字面就能理解”. 他并不是在说“'saving sense of humour' 的意思是‘common enough to be readily understood’"。

Hi xiaolijie, it is, as you can see, not "readily understood". 




Lamb67 said:


> ...with a saving sense of humour...
> 
> 我的感觉中文的自嘲是最好的解读。
> 
> What do you think? thanks.



这句话不容易翻译，要视情况来译。尤其是在中文文化里没有这样的概念。
Xiaolijie 在#12贴写的例句：
I could not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a _*saving sense of humour*._
字面是说：若非时刻保持幽默感，我当时就无法安然涉险过关。（不管多艰难，都还能够自嘲或看到好笑的东西，就不会忧郁绝望，也就不会轻言放弃）在这个例句里其中一个接近的中文概念是“不屈不挠的精神”。


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## Lamb67

Hi Sam, I am glad you seem to be agreeing with my OP and thanks.


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## Ghabi

I just want to add a few points:

1) "a saving sense of humour" simply means "a sense of humor that serves as a remedy". A remedy for what? It has to depend on the context.

2) "a sense of humour" doesn't need to be translated as 幽默, 詼諧, 自嘲, 滑稽 etc. We often say "it helps to have a sense of humor", 就是不用太認真太執著,凡事大可一笑置之的意思.


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## Lamb67

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=humour&searchmode=none

For a deep understanding of HUMOUR see above. 幽默的含义颇深呀！a footnote for Ghabi's 'a sense of humor that serves as a remedy'.这很好解释了为什么有‘saving sense of humour'有这个固定的搭配。

'若非时刻保持幽默感' by Sam 这样的不直译的方法好。‘乐观向上的’也是不错的想法。

Thanks everyone really.


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## Lamb67

全球通史 The stuff I should have been able to provide with in the beginning.

I found out the above link and agreed with it's translation of 可取的幽默感( in the middle of the page on 孔子)

Just
like ' saving grace' given in our English  Chinese dictionary😃

We even can see this :

His sense of humor is his saving grace.


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## Skatinginbc

> 全球通史: 这些记录使人相信他能够*恢复平静*，此外，他还*具有一种可取的幽默感*。


論語的記錄使人相信孔子能*苦中作樂*，畢生為*重建和平*賣力??


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## Lamb67

A GLOBAL HISTORY STAVRIANOS PDF


Anyone can find the text from the link please?

Or someone have the book copy ? ( I used to own one but lost it)


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## Skatinginbc

Lamb67 said:


> with a saving sense of humour...我的感觉中文的自嘲是最好的解读。
> What do you think?


"To say that your question is somewhat lacking in context and background is the understatement of the century."

It is true that "_your question is somewhat lacking in context and background_" because "_a bit of explanation_" (viajero_canjeado #6) would help a lot in interpretation although some people may think the phrase (i.e., "a saving sense of humor) is already "_common_/_transparent enough to be readily understood_" (xiaolijie #4) and therefore no context is needed. Even without context, 解读 of the phrase has been successfully done by samanthalee (#17 ) and Ghabi (# 19 ), and we could declare a case closed or problem solved. However, it is when you started to demand a translation (more than simply 解读) that "_somewhat lacking in context_" became "_the understatement of the century_." Translations are very context-specific. Without the original English text, they cannot be meaningfully done. All I can do is venture a guess, that is, 能苦中作樂 or 具有苦中作樂的能力 (#22).
Saving: redeeming a negative situation (e.g., 苦).
Sense (as in _sense of humor_) refers to a faculty or ability 能力.


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## philchinamusical

抱歉，就是露个头：没想到shuku.net到现在还在...都是上世纪的事情了...


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