岁末年初，一个最吸引眼球的新闻热点就是异地高考，全国各地陆续公布了关于异地高考的实施方案。随着大量城市流动人口和进城务工农民工在异地工作时间的推移，其子女在流入地参加高考的问题日益迫切。迄今为止，全国除西藏之外的省市都已出台异地高考具体标准。异地高考踏上破冰之旅由此成为了2012年十大民生热点之一，也引起了国外媒体的关注。那么，“异地高考”用英文怎么说呢？说起来，事情不是那么简单。首先，“异地高考”属于典型的缩略语，而缩略语的背后往往具有十分复杂的背景。其次，缩略语的英译有着很多规律和原则需要重视和遵循。

语言始终随着时代的发展而变化。在每一个社会发展阶段，总会有一大批反映中国国情的时事新词新语不断涌现，极大地丰富了汉语词汇，同时也进一步反映了我国社会发展的成就。其中，为了节省口头表达的时间，或者节省书面表达的版面，在讲究效率的当今社会，汉语中的缩略语数量在不断增长。缩略语常常因为立意生动形象而使人难以忘记，或者因为其构造别致而迅速流传，为读者所喜闻乐见。

缩略语的翻译更是个复杂问题。它不只是直译和意译的问题，还涉及缩略语使用频率和译文的可理解性和可接受性问题。缩略语翻译成英语时很容易做到字面上的形式对等，但这种简单的字面对等不能传达缩略语所含的信息，因而不具有可理解性。所以，如何翻译言简意赅、内涵丰富、涵盖面广的缩略语，便是译者需要注意的又一难题。在汉语中，缩略语包含了丰富的文化因素，其所指涉及多方面的社会文化知识，具有百科性词语的性质，虽然短短的几个字，但其中却蕴涵了多层次的意思，所以作为译者，切不可望文生义，浅尝辄止，照着字面意思对等翻译，而应在翻译中吃透原文涵义，避免误译、漏译错误甚至产生政治歧义。

由此可见，要翻译好“异地高考”，显然必须首先了解这一具有高度概括性的缩略语背后的复杂背景。众所周知，随着大量城市流动人口和进城务工农民工在异地工作时间的推移，其子女在流入地参加高考的问题日益迫切。从2008年有全国人大代表提出解决外来务工人员子女就地高考问题，到《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要》征求意见，再到《教育规划纲要学习辅导百问》，“异地高考”这个议论了两年多的问题，在2011年3月7日十一届全国人大四次会议上颇有“拨云见日”的迹象。异地高考作为一个微观改革，经常被认为与宏观的户籍制度相冲突，也正因为异地高考属于社会系统性改革中的一环，所谓“牵一发而动全身”，尽管有人呼吁要以微观变量促进宏观变革，但由于诸多因素的掣肘，高考仍难与户籍剥离开来。一些外来务工者的子女，从学前就在流入地接受教育，向所在地缴纳了小学、初中、高中阶段的赞助费、借读费，却在高考来临时被打回原籍。

显而易见，“异地高考”的英文表达，绝非college entrance examination in different places这样的字面对应译文所能说清楚的，这样的译文不能传达缩略语所含的信息，因而不具有可理解性和可接受性。

下面让我们来看看我国的一些官方英文门户网站对“异地高考”是怎么说的。

中国国际广播电台（http://english.cri.cn）在报道“异地高考”破冰这一消息时用的新闻标题和导语分别是：

Migrant Students to Sit College Entrance Exam in Cities

Migrant students sitting for the National College Entrance Exam, or "gaokao," in where they live now or their hometowns has long been a topic of debate among the public. The Ministry of Education recently urged local education authorities to issue plans by the end of the year to enable the children of migrant workers to take the test in the city where they live.

新华网（http://news.xinhuanet.com/english）的相关报道的标题、导语和正文片段分别是：

"Migrant students" to be fairly treated when taking college entrance exam Household registration restrictions on "migrant students" to take the national college entrance exam (NCEE) should be eased beginning from the end of this year, according to an official guideline issued on Friday.

Provincial governments should publish measures which allow children of migrant workers to take the exam at places where they currently reside, instead of having to go back their birthplaces to take the exam, as what is stipulated at present, according to the document.

The ministry currently forbids high school graduates from taking the NCEE in places where they do not have local household registration, or "hukou," regardless of how long they or their family have lived there.

中国网（http://www.china.org.cn）相关报道的标题、导语和正文片段分别是：

Migrant children to sit gaokao in cities

Children who study in cities with their migrant worker parents will get fairer opportunities in the cutthroat college entrance exam, Minister of Education Yuan Guiren said on Thursday.

Yuan said the ministry is urging local education authorities to release plans by the end of this year to enable migrant workers' children to take the exam, also known as gaokao, in the city where they live.

So far, students can attend primary school and middle school in the city where their parents work and live, but they have to go back to their hometowns where they have hukou, or a permanent residence permit, to attend gaokao.

综合上文，我们不难看出，实施“异地高考”方案的核心要素就是打破户籍限制，允许农民工子女在他们父母的工作和生活所在地报名参加高考，而不是返回到他们的户籍所在地参加高考，所以在英译时必须译出其核心含义。

由此说来，“异地高考”的英文表达可以囊括如下：

（1）a national policy to enable migrant workers' children to take the college entrance exam in the city where their parents work and live rather than going back to their hometowns to attend the exam because of the restrictions of household registration, or "hukou".

（2）measures released by regional governments in China to allow children of migrant workers to take the college entrance exam at places where they currently reside, instead of having to go back their birthplaces to take the exam, as what is stipulated in the past.

如果需要简介一些，则可以表达为a national policy to enable migrant workers' children to take the college entrance exam in the city where their parents work and live，也就是说略去他们必须回到户口所在地参加高考的这一背景介绍。

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

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（作者王银泉 中国日报网英语点津 编辑陈丹妮）