Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
便/就
English translation:
adverbial conjunctions indicating consequence in the order of events
Added to glossary by
Roddy Stegemann
Sep 30, 2006 05:37
17 yrs ago
Chinese term
便 (1/2)
Chinese to English
Social Sciences
Education / Pedagogy
Grammatical Analysis
Sentence: 「沒有消息便是好消息」這是不是一句英文成語呢?
First Attempt: "No news is good news" is an English saying, isn't it?
Question One: I am confused about the use of 便 in this the saying 沒有消息便是好消息. How does one translate it into English here? If I were to include it, I would translate the sentence as "No news is better than good news". As this cannot be right, I have simply left it out.
With your explanation please include other examples of the use of 便 with similar meaning.
Question Two: Is 句 the counter for 成語?
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
As always you are welcome to comment on other parts of the translation.
Warning: In order to provide ProZ.com users with the best glossary entries possible, more than one question for the same entry will be asked from time to time. Please keep in mind when responding that you will be graded on your responses to ALL questions asked.
First Attempt: "No news is good news" is an English saying, isn't it?
Question One: I am confused about the use of 便 in this the saying 沒有消息便是好消息. How does one translate it into English here? If I were to include it, I would translate the sentence as "No news is better than good news". As this cannot be right, I have simply left it out.
With your explanation please include other examples of the use of 便 with similar meaning.
Question Two: Is 句 the counter for 成語?
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
As always you are welcome to comment on other parts of the translation.
Warning: In order to provide ProZ.com users with the best glossary entries possible, more than one question for the same entry will be asked from time to time. Please keep in mind when responding that you will be graded on your responses to ALL questions asked.
Proposed translations
+1
7 hrs
Selected
FYI
No news is good news.
something that you say when you have not spoken to someone or heard any information about them and you are hoping that this is because nothing bad has happened to them. I haven't heard from Johnny for over a week now but I suppose no news is good news.
有這樣的假定﹕1。一切消息都是壞的,而沒有聽到壞的消息,倒是好事。
2。消息從來都是壞的,不會是好的。
若是指1。No news is good news"=「沒有消息便是好消息」
若是指2。"No news is good news"=「沒有消息是好消息」
因此﹕不用「便」就變成是2而不是1了。
something that you say when you have not spoken to someone or heard any information about them and you are hoping that this is because nothing bad has happened to them. I haven't heard from Johnny for over a week now but I suppose no news is good news.
有這樣的假定﹕1。一切消息都是壞的,而沒有聽到壞的消息,倒是好事。
2。消息從來都是壞的,不會是好的。
若是指1。No news is good news"=「沒有消息便是好消息」
若是指2。"No news is good news"=「沒有消息是好消息」
因此﹕不用「便」就變成是2而不是1了。
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Final Rendering: "No news is good news" is an English saying, isn't it?
Acknowledgment: I found everyone's comment very helpful, but it was PK's entry that made it easiest for me to solve the riddle of the presence of 便. Special thanks go to wherestip for his many examples that clearly explained the use and interchangeability of 便 and 就 in this context.
Though I am certain that Ozethai's entry would make an excellent gloss in a different context, it simply does not apply very well in the context at hand. Though I have deep respect for the rhythm and sound of individual languages, I am highly circumspect with regard to the meaninglessness of semantic placeholders. Which placeholder one uses is often a matter of choice, and the importance of 便 in this instance was well described by both wherestip and PK.
My thanks to anastasia, Agnes Woo, and Communease for their confirmatory support.
Discussion: Please see http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-2b-g.html#s12 for further discussion regarding the context of this question.
My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides."
+1
1 hr
conveniently; handily; aptly; as a matter of fact
2005年第三届华文传媒论坛 在这25 年中,西方媒体对中国的报道出现了明显的变化,可说从量变到质变,从零星到 全面,从肤浅到深入,从负面到正面。25年前,对中国来说是“没有新闻就是好新闻”(No news is good news), 因为那时候的中国新闻多是负面,没有新闻反而好。 ...
www.whtv.com.cn/zhuanti/2005hwcm/ltyw23.htm - 12k - 网页快照 - 类似网页
"No news is good news" is a popular saying in English. For example, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35306-2005Apr...
It has been translated in Chinese as appeared in some publications as 没有新闻就是好新闻, 没有新闻即是好新闻,没有新闻便是好新闻。
These three words are semantic fillers required in Chinese to express emphatic rhetorics. Without these words they would not sound like Chinese.
A back-translation into English would require that we don't translate it, as the concept is considered as a "hedge" in English semantics - unnecessary in other words.
Translation accuracy does require completeness from the translator; however, when word for word translation renders the target language non-native, it is best to stick with the common usage in the target language. To stubbonly insist that all words must be translated shows that we have not risen above the semantic level of accuracy. Many translators simply choose flow, rather than exact semantics to avoid the translation sounding awkward, or Chinglish in this case.
www.whtv.com.cn/zhuanti/2005hwcm/ltyw23.htm - 12k - 网页快照 - 类似网页
"No news is good news" is a popular saying in English. For example, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35306-2005Apr...
It has been translated in Chinese as appeared in some publications as 没有新闻就是好新闻, 没有新闻即是好新闻,没有新闻便是好新闻。
These three words are semantic fillers required in Chinese to express emphatic rhetorics. Without these words they would not sound like Chinese.
A back-translation into English would require that we don't translate it, as the concept is considered as a "hedge" in English semantics - unnecessary in other words.
Translation accuracy does require completeness from the translator; however, when word for word translation renders the target language non-native, it is best to stick with the common usage in the target language. To stubbonly insist that all words must be translated shows that we have not risen above the semantic level of accuracy. Many translators simply choose flow, rather than exact semantics to avoid the translation sounding awkward, or Chinglish in this case.
+4
7 hrs
therefore
便 is synonymous to 就. They have the meaning of "as a consequence" or "therefore", and in most cases are interchangeable.
Here are some examples:
沒有消息便是好消息 no news is (thus) good news
没事就好 no news is good news
你喜欢便好 as long as you like it
你不生我的气就好 as long as you're not mad at me
你很忙, 我们便不打搅了 You are busy, so we won't take your time
他很累, 便睡了 He was tired, so he went to bed
他们老打架, 便分开住了 they separated because of constant fighting
他一叫便到 he'd lend a hand as soon as asked
Here are some examples:
沒有消息便是好消息 no news is (thus) good news
没事就好 no news is good news
你喜欢便好 as long as you like it
你不生我的气就好 as long as you're not mad at me
你很忙, 我们便不打搅了 You are busy, so we won't take your time
他很累, 便睡了 He was tired, so he went to bed
他们老打架, 便分开住了 they separated because of constant fighting
他一叫便到 he'd lend a hand as soon as asked
Peer comment(s):
agree |
pkchan
11 mins
|
Thanks, pk
|
|
agree |
anastasia t (X)
1 hr
|
Thanks, anastasia
|
|
agree |
Philip Tang
5 hrs
|
Thanks, Commuease
|
|
agree |
Angus Woo
11 hrs
|
Thanks, Angus
|
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