Saturday, February 15, 2025

How to remember "mean", "median", "mode"

Mean (the average value, 均值)
Median (the middle value, 中位数)
Mode (the most common value, 众数)

The three words are easy in Chinese because the the Chinese characters tell you what the terms mean. But the meanings of the English words may not be so obvious. It's worth thinking of a way to help remember them.

English 'mean' and 'median' are from the same Latin word 'medianus'. When it entered Old French, it lost the consonant 'd' (this is a regular change as it's between two unstressed vowels) and eventually entered English as 'mean', as early as the 14th century. This meaning was taken by the common people. Later, Latin 'medianus' entered French as a learned word, i.e. taken by the church scribes, who tried to preserve the original Latin pronunciation, so the 'd' was not omitted (even though the people on the street did not pronounce it). It's probably safe to say that the more popular or vulgar or low-status word 'mean' takes the more general meaning ("average value"), and the more learned or high-status word 'median' takes a more specialized meaning such as defined by mathematicians or statisticians as "middle value". As to 'mode', it's an entirely different word. Think of 'à la mode' or "in the fashion". What is in fashion is the most common. So 'mode' denotes the value that occurs the most in a set.

In general, it is not right to invoke etymology to explain the meaning especially a subtle one of a modern word in modern usage. That's considered an etymological fallacy. But in this case, it makes sense to use etymology to explain why 'mean' takes a more general sense while 'median' takes a more specialized one.

Monday, January 6, 2025

Chinese translation of "黑命贵"

Black Lives Matter的汉译

文章
---引文始---
试看“Black Lives Matter”哪一个正经媒体和体面人会译为“黑命贵”?那是恶意歪曲加种族歧视的垃圾。它的直译是“黑人的命同样重要”,而更为符合中文语法习惯而又准确表达原意的译法“黑人的命也是命”,是最通用的句式。 “黑命贵”抑或“黑人的命也是命”,正是区别人们认知能力与价值观的分野。你使用哪个句式,代表了你拥有什么世界观。
---引文终---

以前不曾思考过Black Lives Matter的多种译法,这里文章作者区分了(1)“黑命贵”、(2)“黑人的命同样重要”、(3)“黑人的命也是命”,认为(2)和(3)都暗示一种平等,即黑人与非黑人的命同样重要,但(1)——如果我没理解错的话——,却拔高了黑人的命。大家都是中文母语者,你觉得“黑命贵”这个说法有黑人的命更珍贵这层含义吗(注意“更”字)?“黑命贵”反过去直译为英文是Black people's lives are expensive,假如我问英美人,这句英语暗示黑人比非黑人的命更贵吗,我不确信答案,但猜想也许有人会认为有这层含义。

英语动词matter没有简单的汉译。It doesn't matter是“没关系”。It matters单独出现会很奇怪,更可能的是It does matter(紧接在另一人先说“没关系”后,译为“有关系”或灵活点“不能说关系”),或It matters to ...(“对…来说重要”)。但“重要”反译为英语是is important,而这并不完全对等matters,因为matters的语气稍弱,可译为“不可忽视”。因此,Black Lives Matter译作“黑人的命不可忽视”在强调的语气程度上更匹配。

比较作者的三种译法,(1)的确可能被部分读者理解为黑人比非黑人命更贵,(没有民调统计,我只是猜想。)那么这个译法确实应该放弃。(2)(3)都没有这层含义,跟我的“黑人的命不可忽视”相当。

评“黑命贵”:“贵”做表语指价格高,做定语指高贵。假如做表语还要取“高贵”的意思,就不能单用“贵”字。