翻译研究 | 何为“阅读比赛”?

“世界杯”期间,常会听到解说员说某支球队或某个队员“阅读比赛”的能力。在体育转播中,这个说法很常见,理解起来也没什么问题,但仔细想想它仍是“英式中文”。

根据《现代汉语词典》“阅读”的意思是“看(书报)并领会其内容”。除了“阅读比赛”这一说法外,似乎也想不出其他“阅读”与非文字类宾语搭配的情况。“阅读形势”、“阅读处境”、“阅读环境”这样的说法都不存在。“阅读比赛”虽然可能因为出现频率较高,听起来好像比这些表达更自然一些,但要想说清楚什么是“阅读比赛”也不容易,归根结底还是因为“阅读”与“比赛”的搭配有问题。

笔者认为,“阅读比赛”很可能是来自英文read the game。一些例子:

"Their attitude is vitally important," says Reid. "Psychological and mental factors mean a great deal provided the player brings the right technical capability and ability to read the game.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/4758480/England-playing-a-game-of-patience.html

It’s staggering to think that Maldini achieved what he did, without ever really needing to lunge in.

It speaks volumes for a man whose positioning and ability to read the game was second to none.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/football/169264/paolo-maldini-the-defender-so-good-he-didnt-even-need-to-tackle/

LeBron was in command of the game offensively and handling the basketball. LeBron can read the game better than anyone in the league.

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/nba/recap.asp?g=2018020705

这里的read是其最基本意思“阅读”的引申义,在《韦氏词典》中的对应解释为:

to recognize or interpret as if by reading: such as

  1. to learn the nature of by observing outward expression or signs reads him like a book
  2. to note the action or characteristics of in order to anticipate what will happen a good canoeist reads the rapids a golfer reading a green; also : to predict the movement of (a putt) by reading a green
  3. to anticipate by observation of an opponent's position or movement.

在足球和篮球这种对抗性体育比赛中,to read the game不是看透比赛的本质,不是learn the nature of the game。对赛场各个要素的思考和解析最终只有一种体现形式,即基于这些思维活动做出的判断,而赛场上的所有判断都只有一个目的:比对手抢先一步。对于进攻球员来说,就是比防守队员抢先进入有威胁的区域,对于防守队员来说,就是抢先站好位置,封堵对方进攻的线路。这种先人一步的基础就是预判,也就是read释义中的anticipate。

以下两段关于read the game的文字也证明了这一点:

Reading the game in rugby helps you know what opponents are about to do. You do it so you and your team stay ahead of the opposition.

https://www.rugbyhow.com/reading-the-game.html

Reading the game is absolutely essential and any player who cannot anticipate an opponent’s next move is likely to struggle against better opposition.

https://www.completesoccerguide.com/importance-able-read-game/

可见,read the game就是比赛中的预判能力,如果非要和“读”扯上关系的话可以说“解读比赛”,不过意思上和“阅读比赛”一样模糊。除了意思更为清晰外,“预判能力”是一种积极思维,暗示丰富的后续动态,而“阅读比赛”感觉相对消极、平稳,更像是没有直接参加比赛的球迷和足球专业分析人士做的事情。

“阅读比赛”这样的表达之所以出现,很可能是因为人们只关注了read较为基本的含义。当这些词出现在表示其他含义的语境中时,这种变化并没有体现在翻译目标语言中。

“固守”词语基本解释的主要原因很可能是中文母语者没有意识到相关词语在英语语言中的复杂性,觉得差不多就把一些经不起推敲的译法保留了下来。长此以往,目标语言会被这些生硬表达污染,原表达的意思也无法正确、充分体现,是一种“双输”。

(中国翻译研究院)