“倒按揭”及其英譯

“按揭”一詞是英文“mortgage”的粵語音譯，大約于10年前從我國香港進入內地。《新詞語大詞典》對該詞的定義為：“一種先從銀行貸款購物（如汽車、房子等），然后分期歸還銀行本息的購物方式。”

雖然“按揭”的英文對應詞為“mortgage”，但并非所有由“按揭”構成的語言單位中都必然出現“mortgage”一詞，如“按揭成數loantovalue ratio”、“按揭尚欠余額outstanding loan balance”等。

近年來在上海等城市又出現了“倒按揭”的說法。例如，《第一財經日報》2006年3月10日就刊登了題為《兩會熱提“以房養老”，上海調研“倒按揭”可行性》的文章，相關報道在《解放日報》等主流媒體也屢見不鮮。

“倒按揭”又叫“住房反向抵押”，是指人們在年輕時為買房按揭多年，到老了再把房產抵押，按月領錢用于養老，辭世后住房由金融或保險機構收回還貸。“倒按揭”在國外興起只有一二十年時間，最早起源于荷蘭，在美國發展得最成熟。

“倒按揭”的英文對應詞為reverse mortgage。美國官方網站（http:∥www.aarp.org/money/revmort/revmort basics/a2003-03-21-newloan.html)解釋為：

A “reverse” mortgage is a loan against your home that you do not have to pay back for as long as you live there.With a reverse mortgage，you can turn the value of your home into cash without having to move or to repay the loan each month.The cash you get from a reverse mortgage can be paid to you in several ways:

all at once，in a single lump sum of cash;as a regular monthly cash advance;as a “creditline” account that lets you decide when and how much of your available cash is paid to you;or as a combination of these payment methods.

No matter how this loan is paid out to you，you typically don’t have to pay anything back until you die，sell your home，or permanently move out of your home.To be eligible for most reverse mortgages，you must own your home and be 62 years of age or older.

另外，“倒按揭”的英文對應詞還有conversion mortgage和home equity conversion mortgage(HECM)。因為“The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program enables older homeowners to withdraw some of the equity in their home in the form of monthly payments for life or a fixed term，or in a lump sum，or through a line of credit”（http:∥www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hecm/hecmabou.cf)，HECM與reverse mortgage在按揭目的、條件、方式等方面完全同義。

（華東師范大學英語系 上海 200062）

（責任編輯 宋 嵐）