“T形台”怎么说

下面是对“T型台”英译的讨论，先请看国内媒体的有关英文报道：

　　例一：Showing off Manly Beauty on T-stage （Shanghai Star September 6, 2004）

　　On Nov 28th in 1999, the PARK97 bar located in Fuxing Park set up the T-Stage and covered the red carpet on it. The foreign and domestic models walked on it, combining the tradition and future; art and fashion at ease.

　　例二：A model descents in the air along a vertical T-stage in a "Fashion Show in the Air" held on the bank of Taiping Lake in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 23, 2004. （Xinhua photo/Dong Hongjing）

　　例三：People's Daily Online - Fashion Week Turns Into Feast for the Eyes：At the biannual China Fashion Week, the models paraded along the T-stage brimming with energy, passion and a wild nature, which made them even more sexy and seductive.

　　从以上的例子中可以看出，作者想当然地认为“T型台”的英语说法就是 T-stage，而没有意识到这种说法有可能是错误的。我们在翻译这类词语时，应该具有一种意识：既然两种文化中共有同一概念或事物，那么在两种文字中必然会得到体现，而译者的责任就是要找到两种文字中对同一概念或事物的对应说法，在翻译时养成这种查证的习惯非常重要，它可以使我们避免许多不该出现的错误。人们大都知道 catwalk 是“走猫步”的意思，并不知道该词也有“T型台”的意思，请看 WordNet Dictionary 对 catwalk 的定义：

　　catwalk：the long, narrow stage that models walk along in a fashion show.

　　再看另外两个定义：

　　catwalk: narrow platform; "Models displayed clothes on a catwalk at the fashion show".

　　catwalk: a narrow platform extending from the stage into the audience in a theater or nightclub etc.

　　实际上，catwalk 还有一个意思是指建筑上悬在高空的狭窄过道（a narrow path, raised above the ground, often built for workers to walk on outside a building that is being built or repaired），这大概就是为什么用 catwalk 来表示时装表演的舞台的缘故吧。

　　时装模特表演的舞台有时也未必都是T型，还包括L型或直线型，除了catwalk的说法之外，runaway （ 机场跑道） 和ramp （高速公路的引接式坡道）也可以指时装模特表演的舞台。请看 WordNet Dictionary 对 runway 的定义:

　　runway: this is the place where you walk when you're giving a live fashion presentation. It is also referred to as a catwalk or ramp and is always elevated above the crowd. A runway can be shaped like a "T", an "L" or a straight line.