F. D. B. W. A. Szeto Ho Secondary School
17th September, 2015
Morning Assembly by 6A
A meaningful summer
A: Chung Chek Yin, Ivan
B:
A:
B:
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B: Tang Wing Yan, Joey
Remember the translation(翻譯) programme that we took in the university during the summer
holiday? We attended class with around 100 students from different schools and background. I think
it was an eye-opening(眼界大開) experience to me!
I think so! I like the atmosphere(氣氛) as the lecturer taught us in a dynamic way. It could arouse
my interest(引起興趣) in translation. All the topics covered, like the translation of movie titles,
lyrics and literature could be found in our daily life.
Some may think translation is dull. In fact, translation can be fun. One of the examples is the
translation of international brands. Let me tell you something about Coca-Cola.
Great! It’s my favourite coke! I have heard the story that Coca-Cola translated into Chinese meant
“bite the wax tadpole(蝌蚪)”, isn’t it?
Yes. When Coca-Cola was first sold in China in 1927, it was obvious to the Coke employees in
China that the Coca Cola trademark must be transliterated into Chinese characters. To find the
nearest phonetic equivalent(對等) to “Coca-Cola” required a separate Chinese character for each of
the four syllables. Out of the 40,000 or so characters, there were only about 200 that were
pronounced with the sounds the Company needed, and many of these had to be avoided because of
their meaning.
A:
While doing the research for four suitable characters, the employees found that a number of
B:
shopkeepers had also been looking for Chinese equivalents for Coca-Cola—without giving a thought
to the meaning of the characters used. One of these homemade signs sounded like “Coca-Cola” when
pronounced, but the meaning of the characters came out something like “female horse fastened with
wax” and another meant “bit the wax tadpole.” That’s where the myth(傳說) comes in!
The character for “wax(蠟)”, pronounced “La”, appeared because that was the sound makers were
looking for. Anyone who knew Chinese would recognize(辨別) the signs as a crude(粗糙) attempt
to make up an arbitrary(隨意) phonetic combination—and get a laugh from the meaning!
Oh I see. All Chinese characters had more than one meaning, and Coca-Cola is translated as “可口可
樂” in Chinese now. I think it is an excellent translation as it can keep the “sound” and literally, it
A:
means it is so tasty ( “可口” ) that can make you happy ( “可樂” ).
B:
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Agree. This combination for the Chinese trademark meant “to permit mouth to be able to rejoice” –
showing the pleasure that could come from drinking Coke. That definition was a stroke of luck!
Indeed. We’ve learnt so many things there! It’s different to learn in the university and the secondary
school. Learning autonomy(自主學習) is valued and it changes the way we learn. We should take
charge of our learning.
Exactly! Hope all of you can grasp(抓緊) the chance to take part in the university programmes. I am
sure you’ll have an unforgettable and fruitful experience!
Useful phrases
Example
get a laugh
The joke got a big laugh, which encouraged me to continue.
a stroke of luck
By a stroke of luck, someone happened to be selling very cheaply exactly the
book that I needed.
grasp the chance
I grasp the chance to study overseas as it is a very valuable experience to me.