翻譯公司帶你學(xué)雙語知識：怎樣翻譯“素質(zhì)教育”？

開展素質(zhì)教育是我國教育改革的重要舉措。對外宣傳中，“素質(zhì)教育”無疑也是個(gè)非常重要的短語，國內(nèi)一些媒體通常將其翻譯為 quality education，例如：The Ministry of Education has worked out new policies to further promote quality education that highlights the cultivation of independent thinking, creative spirit and practical ability, said a senior official. (chinadaily.com.cn 11/13/2000)

再看另外一個(gè)翻譯例子：為了消除當(dāng)前教育體制的弊端，我們要在全國范圍內(nèi)全面實(shí)施以德育為核心，以創(chuàng)新精神和實(shí)踐能力為重點(diǎn)的素質(zhì)教育。（原文）To overcome disadvantages in current educational system, we must carry on the quality education centering on moral education and emphasizing creativity and practice all over the country.（譯文）

對于將“素質(zhì)教育”翻譯成 quality education 的情況早已有人提出異議，并給出了一些不同的譯法。如：education for all-round development，quality-oriented education和competence-oriented education等。但上述各種譯法均有不足，education for all-round development 改變了切入點(diǎn)，指的是讓學(xué)生得到全面發(fā)展的教育；quality-oriented education 與 quality education 并無本質(zhì)上的區(qū)別；而 competence-oriented education中的 competence 一詞僅僅表示“能力”，這在一般的字典里都能查到，“素質(zhì)教育”的內(nèi)涵要遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超出 competence 所能覆蓋的意義。

那么“素質(zhì)教育”應(yīng)如何翻譯呢？這就需要通過大量查證來進(jìn)行反復(fù)研究。我們學(xué)習(xí)研究的結(jié)果表明，quality education 的意思是實(shí)際上是“高質(zhì)量的教育”，香港的一些網(wǎng)站將quality education 翻譯為“優(yōu)質(zhì)教育”。英語中有大量“形容詞+quality+名詞”的用法，例如 high quality service，high quality education，good quality equipment，good quality office space，top quality cotton 等等 ；同時(shí)用“quality+名詞”表示“高質(zhì)量的某種東西”的情況也很多，最常見的例子是 quality products，而 quality products 實(shí)際上就等于 products of high quality。類似的情況還有 quality printed output，quality display 等。再看下面的例句，注意句子中的 quality assurance systems 表示“高質(zhì)量的（人壽）保險(xiǎn)體系”。The aim of the guidelines is to establish quality assurance systems for the industry and to create a sound basis for further improvement in the areas of health, safety and the environment.

再看下面的幾個(gè)例句, 其中的 quality education 均表示“高質(zhì)量的教育”：1. St Mary's is a good school providing quality education.

2. All young people have the right to quality education.

3. The demise of quality education, once the jewel in Britain's crown, has been a feature of the three Conservative administrations since 1979.

4. Making parents aware of the virtues of the school, the buildings, the playing fields, the swimming pool etc. isn't necessarily related to providing quality education.

值得注意的是，quality 一詞如果用作復(fù)數(shù)名詞, 或者放在 personal quality 這個(gè)詞組中，也可指人的具體的素質(zhì)表現(xiàn)，例如：

1.A young senior manager still committed and working to high standards would be "successful" as would an older manager with the same qualities progressing more slowly to senior levels.

2. The officials, the MPs and the industrialists get together over sandwiches to mark each candidate for their intellectual capacity, the ability to speak, write and organize, and personal qualities like their influence on others, their sense of responsibility or determination.

3. Personal qualities and work characteristics, such as self-confidence, co-operation, enthusiasm, leadership, attitudes, initiative and so on.

4. Hodgson et al (1984) also found that some schools required qualifications whereas others looked for personal qualities such as flexibility and good interpersonal skills. （在這里，學(xué)歷qualifications 和素質(zhì)personal qualities正好形成了對照）5. The third element covers personal and social skills, communication and relationships, the ability to work in groups and personal qualities such as initiative, responsibility, self-reliance and leadership.

既然 quality education 不等同于“素質(zhì)教育”，那么“素質(zhì)教育”應(yīng)該怎樣譯成英語呢？ 有一篇專門論述“素質(zhì)教育”的文章，其“素質(zhì)教育”的英譯是 EQO (Essential-qualities-oriented) Education："Trans-century EQO (essential-qualities-oriented, called su yhi jiao zu in Chinese) Education Project".United Nations in China 網(wǎng)站報(bào)道中的“素質(zhì)教育”也是essential-qualities-oriented schooling：The (Chinese) government's recent promotion of a shift from examination-oriented to essential-qualities-oriented schooling (suzhi education), is being followed up with guidelines on curriculum restructuring and textbook compilation (after the National Conference on Education, 1999).

前面提到的兩個(gè)翻譯例子中還有一些其他問題，特別是“創(chuàng)新精神”和“實(shí)踐能力”的英譯與原文精神有距離。此處重點(diǎn)討論的是“素質(zhì)教育”的英譯問題，因此對其他問題不再贅述， 現(xiàn)提供一個(gè)重譯供參考：To overcome the drawbacks of the prevailing education system we must promote throughout the country the essential-qualities-oriented education that stresses the cultivation of moral integrity and emphasizes the development of creativity of the mind and hands-on abilities.Caliber 一詞也可以用來指人的素質(zhì)。根據(jù) Chambers 21st Century Dictionary 的定義，caliber一詞的意思是“quality；standard；ability”；Webster's New World Dictionary將其解釋為“degree of worth or value of a person or thing; quality or ability”。

由此可見，caliber大致相當(dāng)于我們所說的“素質(zhì)”。我們在一英語國家的網(wǎng)站見到過這樣一則招聘廣告，標(biāo)題是：Looking For High Caliber Talent（招聘高素質(zhì)人才）。類似的例子還有：persons of caliber and substance（有素質(zhì)、有內(nèi)涵的人），management staff of the highest caliber（高素質(zhì)的管理人員）以及This man was a person of high caliber.（此人素質(zhì)很高。）