Definition Translation Check

[Glenn]

Can I get a check and possibly suggestions for improvement of the translations of the following definitions and example sentences please?

1.以土木金屬或其他材料所製的神佛塑像。如：「基督教是禁止祭拜偶像的。」(a statue of the gods/Buddha made of earth, wood, metal, or other materials. ex.: "Christianity prohibits the offering of idols.")

2.比喻崇拜的對象。如：「他一直是青少年心目中的偶像。」(expresses the object of adoration. ex.: "He's the idol of every youth.")

Particularly, I'm curious if 基督教是禁止祭拜偶像的 means what I have, or if it means the offering to idols is prohibited. How would the two be distinguished? And basically I'm just iffy on the feel of the translation of the second example sentence (他一直是青少年心目中的偶像。). Is there some nuance I'm missing in the translation that can be better conveyed? Of course anything else you find that could be improved I'd like to hear about (like maybe "clay" is better for 土 than "earth" is, but... well, shouldn't it be 黏土 if it's "clay"?).

Thanks.

[Glenn]

*bump* Any help is appreciated.

[xiaocai]

How about "worshiping idols"? I'm not very sure but I think "offer of" means 以…为祭, isn't it?

[Glenn]

So "offering of idols" would be 以偶像為祭? OK. So 祭拜偶像 is just "worshiping idols"? That makes sense, I guess. The glosses given at MDBG don't suggest that, but your version certainly fits better. Of course, I suppose it's possible it's not actually 祭拜, but 祭 and then 拜... Anyway, thanks. I like that better, because it makes more sense.

Do you have any opinion on "he's the idol of every youth" for 他一直是青少年心目中的偶像? Thanks again. I appreciate it.

[Kenny同志]

1. 以土木金屬或其他材料所製的神佛塑像。如：「基督教是禁止祭拜偶像的。」

Statues of a god or Buddha that are made of clay, wood or metal. Ex. Christianity prohibits offering to idols (gods?).

Glenn, you got it right here. 祭拜(please note that it is not 崇拜) by definition, is to make an offering to a god or one’s deceased ancestor.

Some side views:

1. Because in China most statues of gods are usually made of clay (some are made of bronze), “clay” is better than “earth”.

2. The two parts of the original sentence are illogically connected because the second part has nothing to do with the first(this is no surprise as bad Chinese is prevalent). And moreover, the use of 偶像 might be inappropriate here.

2. 比喻崇拜的對象。如：「他一直是青少年心目中的偶像。」

2. Figurative of somebody or something that is idolized. Ex. He has been an idol of young people.

[Glenn]

Ah, so it's "prohibits the offering to idols", as in offering something to a statue (or whatever) isn't allowed, right?

Ex. He has been an idol of young people.

OK, so it looks like 心目中 here is pretty much untranslatable. I kind of felt that way because I didn't know what to do with it, but I wasn't sure whether there was some nuance that I was missing.

So it looks like I was close in my original attempt. Thanks for the help!

[Kenny同志]

Ah, so it's "prohibits the offering to idols", as in offering something to a statue (or whatever) isn't allowed, right?

It’s not that offering to an idol is not allowed; it’s just absurd. Imagine 罗嘉良 (an actor from Hong Kong) is my idol, don’t you think it would be ridiculous of me to make an offering to him?

以土木金屬或其他材料所製的神佛塑像。如：「基督教是禁止祭拜偶像的。」

As a native speaker of Mainland Chinese, I am of the opinion that 偶像 is improperly used here and it would be better to replaced it with 神像. I have noticed, however, that the sentence is in traditional Chinese so it is likely that this is a Hong Kong Chinese VS Mainland Chinese issue, that is, Hong Kongers refer to 神像 as 偶像.

Skylee or other native speakers of Hong Kong Chinese might run into this thread later and confirm my speculation. But even if my speculation is proved right, the sentence is still bad Chinese.

他一直是青少年心目中的偶像。

OK, so it looks like 心目中 here is pretty much untranslatable. I kind of felt that way because I didn't know what to do with it, but I wasn't sure whether there was some nuance that I was missing.

It’s translatable and if you’d like to include 心目中, the translation would be probably something like this: He has been an idol in the mind of young people. (I neglected the three characters in my earlier posting. Sorry about that.)

So it looks like I was close in my original attempt. Thanks for the help!

Yes, you were. No worries.

[creamyhorror]

「基督教是禁止祭拜偶像的。」

Making offerings to an idol is a specific (and very common) act of worship to it. Therefore I wouldn't say "worshipping idols" is a wrong translation, just one that's less literal.

. Ex. Christianity prohibits the offering to idols

Slight English correction here - it should be "the making of offerings to idols". Or "the offering of [something]", but that doesn't fit as well.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for correcting me Creamy.

Thanks for correcting me Creamy.

[Glenn]

Alright, thanks guys!