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几个有关婚姻的法律英语词汇
1979年8月14日上海《文汇报》关于“钱圩公社党委按照法律办事”的一则通讯指出:“在婚礼问题上,由于几千年封建习惯势力的影响,过去钱圩公社存在着两种情况:一是未婚先孕,二是……”。这“未婚先孕”英语该怎么译呢?
还是先从“未婚先孕”的直接原因说起吧。旧社会有的人有“婚前性生活”的行为,即所谓“先*后娶”,亦即英语的"premarital ***"。 “premarital *** ”这种不文明行为引起的不文明结果就是“未婚先孕”:“premarital pregnancy”。有问:“为什么不用"extramarital pregnancy”,而用“premarital pregnancy”译“未婚先孕”呢?回答是“extramarital”(多指已婚女子)含义比"premarital"广,而“premarital pregnancy”(多指未婚女子,且孕后还是可婚的)更紧扣原文。
“未婚先孕”者如果符合婚姻法关于结婚的规定,当然势必抓紧结婚。这种“奉子女之命”的婚姻,英语有个现成的词儿——“shotgun marriage"。下例中的"shotgun wedding"正是这种婚姻的婚礼。请看,连伴郎都没有,多狼狈啊:
One morning there was a shotgun wedding with no
串通一气
——Albert Eile:Almost to the Presidency,US 1972,p.37
封建习惯势力在婚姻方面的反映便是“溺杀女婴”、“童养媳”,“包办婚姻”、索取“财礼”、“男尊女卑”、“纳妾”和“卖淫’;等等一请看下例中的黑体部分:
禹王庙
It is impossible to consider the physical and emotionalaspects of individual ***ual attitudes and behaviour with—out considering some of the history of female infanticide,bound feet,child marriage,arranged marriage,dowry,wifely subjugation,concubinage and widespread prostitution。
——ChinaNow,May/June 1978,p。17
上文我们已经指出了“extramarital”的含义比"premarital"广,这里还可以得到进一步说明:上例中的"concubinage"必涉及“extramarital ***",却不能说是"premarital ***”。但是,上例中虽提到了指“童养媳”的"child marriage”却没有提到另一种不文明的婚姻陋习——“早婚”。早婚早在拿破仑时代就遭到否定了。请看下例:
Early marriage must be discouraged to keep the birthrate down.
一Will&Ariel Durant:The Age of Napoleon;NY 1975,p.402
诉讼代理委托书“早婚”与否的标准,取决于各国法律所规定的“可以结婚的年龄”,即英语"marriageable age"或“marriage age”:未满法定结婚年龄结婚者为早婚。我国新《婚姻法》对早婚而提倡晚婚。这“晚婚”,英语就是"late marrmge”,请看:
广西的大学
Marriage is bad On comradeship,and late marriage is encouraged so that people don't make rash mistakes in choosing a partner。
——China Now,March/April 1979,p.16
一般法律只规定满多少岁可以结婚,至于男女双方一定要年龄相同与否以及最多可以相差几岁,则是不加规定的。所以事实上各种情况都有。其中,男方年龄超过女方很多的,姑称之为“老夫少妻”式婚姻吧,英语叫做"May-(to)December marriage",请看:
Firmly fixed at the center Of Cannon's personal life is her 13-year-old daughter,Jannifer,
the product of herMay-to-December marriage to Gary Grant,which endedin a stormy divorce and custody battle.
——Look,April 30,1979,p.78旅游手抄报
严格地说英语"May-(to—)December marriage”中的"May"系指女方、“December"系指男方。所以用它译“红颜白发”也许更合适。反之,如果女方年龄比男方大许多,那么这种“老妻少夫”式的婚姻,该译做"December-May marriage"了吧。这种双方年龄悬殊的婚姻,大半如同上例所示,其终于"ended in a stormy divorce",是不足为奇的了。
说到“divorce”,就令人联想到美国的一种离婚——“旅行离婚”;而说到“旅行离婚”,又令人联想到“旅行结婚”。同汉语“旅行结婚”相当的英语大概要算"honeymoon"了——特别是作为“新婚休假旅行”解的"honeymoon"。别怕我伤心张信哲
至于什么叫旅行离婚、“旅行离婚”的英语原文是怎么说的以及美国“旅行离婚”的来龙去脉,请看下例,特别是黑体印刷的部分
The Federal system gave ri to the practice Of“migratory'’divorce,with people traveling
around the Republic to take advantage Of liberal states’laws.But Nevadawas determined to crush the competition.In 1931,it enacted a six-week residency requirement for divorce,and 1egalized gambling to boot.The marriage,so to speak,of divorce and gambling produced a growth industry.
王江民一Newsweek,M—1—78-96
请注意:上例末句中的“marriage”可不是“结婚”,而是“结合”。这句的意思是:内华达把“离婚业”和“赌博业”两者“结合”起来,从而形成了它所特有的一种“新兴实业”。
离婚,有能力的一方要向有需要而又无能力的对方支付抚养费(旧时汉语做“赡养费”)。这种抚养费即赡养费,如众所周知,便是"alimony"。不用说,“alimony"的前提是夫妇关系。如果只是所谓“朋友(pals)关系,则双方在结束“朋友”关系时,当然谈不上谁给谁"alimony"的问题。但当前的美国男女,关系复杂——不结婚也不准备结婚而公然同居者大有人在。这种关系终止时,“alimony"虽谈不上,而一方却要对方给一笔钱,那又怎么办呢?这笔钱英语怎么说好呢?
好办得很:双方虽非夫妇,也总算“朋友”(pals)了一阵;虽无离婚夫妇间的"alimony"可谈,却有“朋友”的“抚养费”即“朋友”十“抚养费”:=“pal+alimony”=“palimony"可以争取。这个由此产生的融合词"palimony"近年来颇为引人注目,姑举三例:
Michelle Triola Marvin filed a breach“contract claim against actor Lee Marvin for half Of his $3.6 mil—lion earnings during the period of six and a half years when they lived together,but were not married.Ms. Marvin said the actor had expresd the intention of sharing his asts with her;therefore,she argued,at the dissolution Of their relationship she derved a property ttlement comparable to that due a wife.In a 1976 landmark ca,the California Supreme Court overruled 2 lower courts,deciding that Ms. Marvin had the right to sue for payment of such “palimony”.
-The World Almanac&Bookas per The Study of Currenttember 1980,p.35
Palimony,the term for sharing money after an unmarried couple have split, survives the Lee Marvin ca
——Time,January 28,1980,p.60
Not since the Lee Marvin“Palimony'’ea has a Hol—lywood courtroom drama attracted such attention.
——Time,March 23,1981,p.58
• 如前所述,这种尚未结婚也不打算结婚而又经常公然一起同居的男女在美国大有人在。这种人的存在给英语造成了一定的困难:既不能称之为"fiance(e)”,又不能名之以“boy/girl friend”!究竟如何称呼是好呢?有说“live-in boy/girl friend"的,有说“chamber-mate"的,似乎都不贴切。这就是下例中提出来的“语言难题” (linguist problem)。美国人口调查局总给了这种人一个比较确切的名称——“合用住所的异性伙伴”。请看:
How to handle the linguistic problem of what to call the person with whom one`s daughter lives?...The Census Bureau call them“Partners of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters'’or PossLQs.
——Time,November 27,1978,p.49
A woman from Dallas took her PossLQ home for the weekend recently to meet her parent
s.