有些英文詞語表面跟中文很像，但意思相去甚遠，語言學上稱之為 false friend 或 false cognate。如 eat one’s words 意思是 “to admit that something you said in the past was wrong” (承認講錯話道歉，收回自己說的話)， 但以往有數十年台灣的大部分英漢辭典都直譯為「食言」，「食言」是說話不算數 (go back on one’s word)，意思幾乎相反。還有一個我上課常提到的諺語：A miss is as good as a mile. 它的意思是 “missing by a narrow margin has the same practical effect as missing by a wide one”，中文可依上下文譯為「反正沒 (考取/搭上…)」或「幸虧沒 (給撞到/打到…)」但常見誤譯為*「失之毫釐，謬以千里」。「失之毫釐，謬以千里」比較接近英文的 for want of a nail，見以下例句：
If only you'd taken your car in for an oil change when you were supposed to, this emergency trip to the mechanic could have been avoided. Ah, for want of a nail.
有些動植物的英文名稱因為字面上很像我們認識的某種動植物的中文，在翻譯時常會弄錯，譬如目前進入花期、原產巴西的園藝爬藤植物「炮仗花」(Pyrostegia venusta)，英文叫 flame vine，但台灣有些植物網站，如 kplant.biodiv.tw 及 Google Translate 把它從中文直譯為 *firecracker flower。問題是在英文世界裡 firecracker flower 早已名花有主，一般是用來指「鳥尾花」(Crossandra infundibuliformis)。見以下 Wikipedia對「炮仗花」 (flame vine) 與「鳥尾花」 (firecracker flower) 的解釋：
Crossandra infundibuliformis (鳥尾花), the firecracker flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae (爵床科), native to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is most often found in south Indian region Malenadu. Wikipedia
Pyrostegia venusta (炮仗花), also commonly known as flame vine or orange trumpet vine, is a plant species of the genus Pyrostegia (炮仗花屬) of the family Bignoniaceae (紫葳科) originally endemic to Brazil, but now a well-known garden species.
底下是「炮仗花」學名的字源由來：
Etymology- Pyrostegia is derived from the Greek word pyro meaning 'fire' and stegia, meaning 'roof'. Its name is in reference to the fiery colour of the upper lobes (裂片) of the corolla (花冠). Venusta means 'beautiful', 'charming', or 'graceful'.
(Jerome Su, March 15, 2020)
圖 1 & 2 炮仗花 余淑慧老師提供
圖 3 鳥尾花 kplant.biodiv.tw
