为什么烈性酒可以用spirits表示

时间:2021-11-16 04:20:23

(单词翻译:单击)

英语中有许多表示酒的单词,如alcohol,booze,drink,liquor都可以泛指酒类。除此之外,spirits也可以指烈性酒。Spirit有“精神,心灵,灵魂”的意思,那么酒精和灵魂有什么关系?为什么烈性酒可以用spirits表示?
 
According to VinePair, one theory suggests that we call some liquors spirits because of alcohol’s association with one spirit in particular: the Holy Spirit, which, together with God and Jesus, forms the Holy Trinity in most Christian1 denominations2. This theory is based primarily on certain places in the Bible where the effects of the Holy Spirit are juxtaposed with alcohol’s effects. In the New Testament3, for example, when Jesus’s disciples4 are “filled with the Holy Spirit” during Pentecost and begin to speak in other languages, some bystanders jokingly write off their strange behavior as a symptom of having drunk too much wine.
据VinePair网站称,一种理论认为,某些酒被称为“spirits”,是因为酒精与圣灵有特殊的关联,圣灵与上帝和耶稣一起构成了大多数基督教教派的三位一体。这种说法主要基于《圣经》,在某些篇章中圣灵的作用与酒精相同。例如,在《新约》中,当耶稣的门徒在五旬节期间“被圣灵充满”并开始说其他语言时,一些旁观者会戏称他们的奇怪行为是喝多了的表现。
 
A more likely explanation has to do with the etymology5 of the word alcohol, which is thought to have come from either of two old Arabic words. As Scientific American reports, the first option is al-ghawl, which literally6 means spirit and is even mentioned in the Qur’an as a spirit or demon7 that imbues8 wine with its intoxicating9 effects.
更有可能的一种解释是,与单词alcohol(酒精)的词源有关,人们认为alcohol源自两个古老的阿拉伯单词中的任一个。据《科学美国人》报道,第一种可能是al-ghawl,其字面意思是灵魂(spirit),《古兰经》中提到,al-ghawl是一种鬼魂或恶魔,能使葡萄酒产生醉人的效果。
 
Though that origin story seems logical enough, the second option, al-koh’l, is pretty plausible10, too. The word al-koh’l described an eyeliner made from a black powdery mineral called stibnite. Since the method of transforming stibnite into makeup11 was similar to how people distilled12 liquids, al-koh’l may have gotten co-opted to mean “anything that was distilled.” When alcohol showed up in English during the 16th century, it was used to describe the spirit or essence distilled from some other substance, as in “alcohol of wine.” All things considered, it’s not surprising that people eventually just started calling those spirits “spirits.”
虽然上述起源故事似乎很合乎逻辑,不过,第二种可能也相当合理,即spirits与al-koh‘l的词源相关。Al-koh'l指一种眼线笔,它是由一种被称为辉锑矿的黑色粉状矿物制成的。由于将辉锑矿转化为化妆品的方法类似于人们蒸馏液体的方法,因此al-koh'l可以指“任何蒸馏过的东西”。16世纪,当 alcohol 在英语中出现时,这个词被用来描述从其他物质中蒸馏出的精髓(spirit)或精华,如“alcohol of wine(葡萄酒的精华)”。综上所述,人们最终将这些酒称为“spirits”也就没什么奇怪的了。
 
说到烈性酒,就不得不提到中国的白酒。它与白兰地、威士忌、伏特加、朗姆酒和金酒一起并称为世界六大蒸馏酒。那么中国白酒的英文该如何翻译呢?
 
多年来,中国白酒缺乏一个官方的准确的英文名称,比如Chinese spirits(中国白酒), Chinese distilled spirits(中国蒸馏酒), Chinese liquor(中国烈酒)等都称为“中国白酒”。
 
经与海关总署税收征管局(京津)多次沟通,中国酒业协会于2020年4月25日正式向海关总署提出申请,建议将海关商品名录中中国白酒的英文名字由原来的“Chinese distilled spirits”更改为“Chinese Baijiu”。2021年1月11日,这一翻译方式正式官宣。
 
除了白酒,其他种类的酒用英文怎么说呢?一起来看《公共服务领域英文译写规范》给出的翻译吧:
 
米酒 Rice Wine
黄酒 Yellow Rice Wine或Shaoxing Wine
洋酒 Imported Wines and Liquors
红葡萄酒 Red Wine
白葡萄酒 White Wine
啤酒 Beer
果酒 Fruit Wine
开胃酒 Aperitifs

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1 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
2 denominations f2a750794effb127cad2d6b3b9598654     
n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 );教派;面额;名称
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 testament yyEzf     
n.遗嘱;证明
参考例句:
  • This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
  • It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明,编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。
4 disciples e24b5e52634d7118146b7b4e56748cac     
n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 );门徒;耶稣的信徒;(尤指)耶稣十二门徒之一
参考例句:
  • Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
5 etymology jiMzC     
n.语源;字源学
参考例句:
  • The hippies' etymology is contentious.关于嬉皮士的语源是有争议的。
  • The origin of OK became the Holy Grail of etymology.OK的出典成了词源学梦寐以求的圣杯。
6 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
7 demon Wmdyj     
n.魔鬼,恶魔
参考例句:
  • The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
  • He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。
8 imbues ac091e585acdf93211e8c67461f60fe9     
v.使(某人/某事)充满或激起(感情等)( imbue的第三人称单数 );使充满;灌输;激发(强烈感情或品质等)
参考例句:
  • Love for one's fellow creatures imbues every line of the drawing. 这张画的每一根线条都浸透着这种感情。 来自辞典例句
  • We cannot assume that merely learning a language imbues one with any kind of value system. 我们不能假定说,学习某种语文就会吸收某种价值观。 来自互联网
9 intoxicating sqHzLB     
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的
参考例句:
  • Power can be intoxicating. 权力能让人得意忘形。
  • On summer evenings the flowers gave forth an almost intoxicating scent. 夏日的傍晚,鲜花散发出醉人的芳香。
10 plausible hBCyy     
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的
参考例句:
  • His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
  • Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。
11 makeup 4AXxO     
n.组织;性格;化装品
参考例句:
  • Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
  • Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗?
12 distilled 4e59b94e0e02e468188de436f8158165     
adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 );从…提取精华
参考例句:
  • The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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