作者：丁衡祁 陈小全

将"全面建设小康社会"翻译成英语，首先要把握"小康"一词的含义。《辞海》对"小康"的解释是：经济比较宽裕可以安然度日；儒家所说的比"大同"理想较低的一种社会。因此，从历史的角度看，"小康"一词的基本含义是"经济上比较富裕"。现在我们所说的"小康"，是指温饱和富裕之间的那个阶段。根据"十六大"文件中的有关内容，"小康社会"的意义包括：到2020 年，国内生产总值比2000年翻两番；社会主义民主和法制更加完善；全民的思想道德素质、科学文化素质和健康素质明显提高；可持续发展能力不断增强，生态环境得到改善。因此，我们今天所说的"小康"含义要宽广得多，但归结起来是指我国社会总体发展达到一种较好的水平。

　　在翻译"小康"时，我们不可能将其所有含义译出，必须抓住其核心意思。通过学习，我们认为《三个代表重要思想通俗读本》中的一段话可作为"小康"的中心意义，在此基础上将其翻译成英语。这段话是这样说的："人均国民生产总值达到大约800美元，老百姓生活虽不富裕，但日子比较好过，这就算达到小康水平。"因此，我们可从日子"不富裕"，但"比较好过"出发，在英语中寻找最接近的表达方式。

目前，一些书籍和出版物大多采用well off表达"小康"的概念，"全面建设小康社会"的英译虽有不同，但均在well off的基础上扩展而成。例如：building a well-off society in an all-round way；develop the well-off standard of living；bring China into a well-off society of a higher level等等。经研究我们发现，well off的意义相当不确定，用它来表达"小康"的意思并不妥当。例如，Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary所给的定义是rich，例句是Her family was very well-off.。很显然，我们所说的"小康"还够不上rich。Random House Dictionary 所给的定义是live in a satisfactory condition with sufficient possessions for a comfortable living。另外，Random House Learner's Dictionary 对 well-off 的解释是 well-to-do和 prosperous; 而对well-to-do 的解释又是comfortably prosperous和 wealthy。这些定义和解释的意思很清楚：well-off是指令人满意的生活条件，具备充足的物质条件，可以过上惬意舒适的生活。按照该定义，如果说一个人well off，他就应该有自己的房子和汽车，衣食住行游，样样不用愁。但从我国总体情况来看，我们所说的"小康"依然够不上这样的标准。另一方面，许多英语母语人士也认为，well off 比我们所说的"小康"更富裕。我们再来看Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary (10th Edition) 对well off的定义：1 : being in good condition or favorable circumstances 2 : having no lack -- usually used with for 3 a : being in easy or affluent circumstances b : suggesting prosperity。从该定义中，我们可以看出well off一词的意义并不确定。关于well off意义的不确定，有大量例句可以证明，现选少量列出：

　　1. Because my parents were not well off, I would have to win a scholarship.（指一般意义上的富裕）
2. Our family, which lived in Renishaw Road in Nottingham, was always well off, if never rich. （指中等程度的富裕）
3. We were born on the same council estate - Shiregreen, in Sheffield, both were well off by council house standards first with a telly and matching frocks and knickers. （指低标准的富裕）
4. Can there remain any public consensus on the social structure if divisions between the well-off and the poor widen? （与贫穷相对应）
5. They are fine in Cookstown when you are looking at a working population of 8 or 9,000 people, but in Belfast travel-to-work area you are looking at something like 150,000 people and that confuses the well-off and the very impoverished. (与赤贫相对应)
6. Mr. Shahiduddin is well off by village standards, but still he is not a very rich man,' replied Dr. Haidar. （按农村标准的富裕）
7. The poor or less well off who cannot afford private health and pay school fees. （比贫穷稍好一些的富裕）
8. His parents are well-off farmers in Somerset, and although he went to the prestigious Ampleforth school, he spent only a year after taking his A levels at agricultural college before becoming a BMW car salesman.（富裕农民）
9. Children from well-off families would rather play computer games than go outside. （富裕家庭）
10. It's a pity her two husbands left her so well off that she hasn't had to worry about money. （富裕到花钱不用愁的地步）
11. Except for a very few rich people, they are all financially much less well off than they were. （比富人差一些的富裕）

　　由于well off的意义不确定，因此在表达不同富裕程度的时候，常常在前面加上副词，用以修饰和限定其意义。从收集的大量例句中我们发现，用以限定well off的词数量可观，如more, less, most, least, fairly, quite, pretty , relatively, comfortably, financially, reasonably, moderately等。下面是几个相关的例句:
1. Some rich men took utterly destitute people into their houses, where they performed menial services, and it was usual for even the moderately well-off to invite poor men and strangers off the street to eat meals at home.
2. His work implies that there is a typical "housing history" at least for relatively well-off people in contemporary Britain.
3. However, many townsmen were reasonably well-off by the standards of the time and were able to rebuild their modest dwellings.
4. I was the middle-class son of a comfortably well-off Glasgow bookie; I was even educated at George Heriot's in Edinburgh.

　　以上论述旨在说明用well off表达"小康"的概念意思上并不准确。除此之外，将"小康社会"翻译成well off society从搭配上看也有问题。well off往往比较具体，用以修饰具体的人、家庭、或社会中的某个群体。例如：well-off families，well-off home owners，well-off pensioners，the least well off in our society等等。也正是由于well off的这一特点，它也很少与society, nation, country等词联用。我们从互联网语料库上百个例句中均未发现有 well-off society, well-off country, well-off nation的搭配情况，也很难找到well-off life, well-off standard的说法。我们只找到了以下两个相关的句子：
1. Tobacco profits jumped 16%, thanks to the growth in smoking in less well-off parts of the world.
2. The government has been quick to say that it plans to continue the economic policies that have pleased businessmen and kept the country relatively well-off.
最后，从语言风格上看，well-off 比较口语化, 不够正式庄重。而"小康社会"是我国当前政治生活中的一个中心词，所阐述的是我国的大政方针，也是全国人民的奋斗目标，同时又是对外宣传的一个重点。因此，用该词表述一个国家的奋斗目标也不十分妥当。

　　那么应该如何翻译"小康"或"小康社会"呢？我们知道，英语中prosperity （prosperous）表示"富裕"，而这种"富裕"并非指某个家庭或个人生活上的富裕，而是指一个国家或地区总体上的繁荣，因而也自然可以同 society, nation, country 等词搭配联用。例如，美国总统布什在其2003年的《国情咨文》中说过这样一句话：We will work for a prosperity that is broadly shared, and we will answer every danger and every enemy that threatens the American people. 再看下面的一些例句：
1. Mr. Gorbachev's strategy of turning the USSR into a prosperous society in which intelligent Russians can take pride will be doomed.
2. Socialists believe in greater equality in society: A more equal society will be a more prosperous society and a more peaceful society
3. The implication is that we must adopt the same system in Britain if we are to become a modern, prosperous nation.
4. That alone will provide the resources that are essential if we are to build a steadily more prosperous society.

既然"小康"是指"不富裕"，但"比较好过"，那么，在prosperity （prosperous）一词的前面加上修饰词 moderate (moderately) 便是我们所说的"小康"了。请看下面的例句：
1. That is why we prefer to meditate about Lord Spencer's death than worry about the election, when the nation will choose between a future of moderate prosperity and happiness, or one of bitterness and penury.
2. The second half of the 18th century began to see some big changes in the parish and it is from this period, which was one of expansion and moderate prosperity, that the present houses and buildings begin to date.

从语言风格上看，prosperity（prosperous）是书面语，适用于正式场合。另外，prosperity（prosperous）除了指经济上的富足之外，还有更加广泛的相关意义，该词的这一特点使我们有理由相信，选择该词作为"小康"的英译更为合适，因为我们在前面谈到，我们所说的"小康"并不单纯是指经济方面。请看例句：
1．It gave Hazel an impression of good feeding, of health and of a certain indolence, as though the other came from some rich, prosperous country where he himself had never been.
2．The steps we outline in this paper are necessary to create a fair, democratic and prosperous society, in which individuals are able to make their voice heard and develop their talents and skills to the full.

其实，用moderate prosperity指我们所说的"小康"国外媒体多有报道，例如，有一位外国记者对"小康"的解释就是：A Confucius term of 3000 years, xiaokang means a condition of moderate prosperity. 这也从一个侧面证实了moderate prosperity的译法比较可取。

综上所述，我们建议对"全面建设小康社会" 采取以下几种翻译方法：
1. To build/turn/advance China into a moderately prosperous society/country/nation in an all-round / well-rounded way
2. To bring moderate prosperity to China in a well-rounded/all-round way
3. To implement in a well-rounded / all-round way the strategy of building/turning China into a society/country/nation of moderate prosperity
4. To attain the well-rounded / all-round goal of building/turning China into a society/country/nation of moderate prosperity
5. To adopt a well-rounded / all-round / total approach to create a society/country/nation of moderate prosperity

　　这里顺便提一下如何翻译"全面建设小康社会，开创中国特色社会主义新局面"的问题。一些正式出版的刊物把"全面建设小康社会，开创中国特色社会主义新局面"翻译为 Build a well-off society in an all-round way and create a new situation in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. 很显然，从句子结构上看，"全面建设小康社会" 和 "开创中国特色社会主义新局面" 这两部分之间的关系并不是并列的，而是前提与后果的关系，即通过全面建设小康社会达到开创中国特色社会主义新局面的目的。那么，应如何翻译这个句子呢？这里提出两种译文供参考：一是照字面上将其翻译成Build China into a moderately prosperous society in an all-round / well-rounded way, opening new prospects for the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics；另外一种更加"英语化"也较简短的译文是Implement the "moderate prosperity" program in an all-round / well-rounded way，opening up new vistas for the China-specific socialist cause。这两个译文不但意思上更准确、更贴近原文，同时也更生动、更符合英语习惯，可读性更强。