Not long ago, someone was translating a news story on Islam and Muslims from English to Chinese. One of the Muslims in the story was quoted as saying: "We believe in God." What the translator did was to render the word 'God' as 'Shangdi' (上帝) in Chinese.
    不久前，有人把一則以回教和回教徒為主的英文新聞報道翻譯成華文。報道引述其中一名回教徒說：“We believe in God.”這名翻譯員竟把它譯成：“我們相信上帝�！�

　　Now the definition of Shangdi is 'God', but this word is used almost exclusively for, and is widely understood to be referring to, the God of the Christian faith.

　　“上帝”的確是“God”，但“上帝”一詞幾乎只用在基督教的范圍內，而一般人也了解“上帝”指的是基督教的神。

　　We do not know why the translator made that mistake. Probably he had used that Chinese word without being aware of the religious nuances inherent in that word.

　　我們不知道那名翻譯員為何會犯下這個錯誤�；蛟S他在選用那個中文字的時候，并未體會到那個字所附帶的宗教含義。

　　The above anecdote serves to remind us that it is imperative for translators and interpreters to be aware of the differences between peoples and cultures. A correct word used in a wrong cultural or religious context is a wrong word.

　　以上的例子提醒我們，翻譯員和通譯員必須意識到不同種族和宗教之間的差異。一個正確的字用在一個不適當的文化或宗教背景里，也將成為一個錯字。

　　But the world today is being transformed at an unprecedented pace. Things around us are changing all the time ----new technology, new inventions, new cultures. New words are being churned out at an amazing speed.

　　然而，世界正以史無前例的步伐演進。我們周遭的事物不停地在改變——新科技、新發明、新文化。新的詞匯也以驚人的速度出爐。

　　Thus, one of the challenges for translators and interpreters is to learn to appreciate differences and also to keep up with the constant change that is happening all around us.

　　因此，翻譯員和通譯員所面對的挑戰之一就是意識到差異的存在，以及趕上我們周圍所不斷發生的變化。

　　There are many examples of mis-translations or bad translations because the translators were ignorant of the cultural differences between languages.

　　很多時候，翻譯員因不熟悉語文之間的文化差異，而作出錯誤或不妥的翻譯。

　　I remember watching a movie a few years back in which one character asked another whether or not he wanted a nightcap. The context of that scene clearly indicated that the former was talking about having a drink before going to bed. But I was rather amused by the Chinese subtitles which had the first character asking the second whether he wanted something to put on his head before going to bed.

　　前幾年我看過一部電影。劇中人物問另一個人物要不要來個“nightcap”。那一幕的劇情清楚地顯示，前者所指的是一杯睡前的飲料。然而，電影中的中文字幕卻出現“要不要來頂夜帽”的翻譯，不禁叫人莞爾。

　　I once attempted to read an English translated version of the Chinese

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