对外交流与联系如邮件、简历、信件,发表英文论文等都需要标注工作单位和地址。地址翻译的准确性可减少交流和信件传递的麻烦。
今天开始专业英语的首次课程。首先介绍学校地址的英译和写法。一般地,地址由小到大排序,与中文顺序恰恰相反。
青岛经济技术开发区前湾港路579号,邮编:266590
579 Qianwanganglu Rd.,Qingdao Economic & Technological Development District, Qingdao 266590, China.
下课后,有一位学生勇敢地指出:老师,您有两处错误。当时,的确有点吃惊,也很欣喜。因为,平时很少有学生指出老师的错误,愿听其详。
第一:前湾港路不应该翻译成:Qianwanganglu Rd.,“路”不必翻译,而应该是Qianwangan Rd.。我回答她,根据传统的说法,也许你没错。但我偏向于把“路”翻译出来,Qianwanganglu(前湾港路)或许比Qianwangang (前湾港)更为合适。前者更加明确;而后者范围较大,可能指向前湾港码头。特别是,当外国人在中国打车、问路时,国人更容易理解和指明。
第二:“区”应该翻译为 Zone而不是District。实际上,两者都可以用。百度发现,的确有许多将开发区翻译为Economic & Technological Development zone。但District似乎更为符合实际情况,指行政区划。
通常,街道或路的翻译和简写有四种:
(1) Road, Rd.[1](路),a specially prepared hard surface for cars,buses, bicycles etc to travel on; used in addresses after the names of roads and streets.
(2) Street, St.(街道,大街)[1,2],a public road in a city, town or village that has houses, shops etc on one or both sides. 例如,10 Downing Street(唐宁街10号).
(3) Avenue, Av.(大道,大街,林荫路;〈美〉(南北向)街道)[1,2]:used in the names of streets in a town or city. 例如,Pennsylvania/fifth Avenue
(4) Boulevard, Blvd.[1,2](林荫大道,大马路):a wide road in a town or city, often with tress along the sides. 例如,Hollywood Boulevard.
Road范围宽泛些,包括乡村道路(country road)[1];
Stree,Avenue和Boulevard指城镇街道。

区的翻译包括以下两种:
(1) District[1]:
an area of a town or the countryside, especially one with particular features;
an area of a country, city etc that has official boders. 例如, a postal district (邮政区); residential district (街道办事处).
(2) Zone [1]: a larger area that is different from other areas around it in some way. 例如, parking zone (停车区).
District有明显的行政边界,而Zone没有此功能。
参考文献:
1.朗文当代英语辞典第四版,外语教学与研究社,2004
2.柯林斯词典
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