從“亞歷山大”到“壓力山大”

王逢鑫

Alexander是英語男性名字（first name），源自古希臘語，譯名為“亞歷山大”。例如：

1. British writer Alexander Pope was a central figure in the Neoclassical movement of the early 18th century. 英國作家亞歷山大·蒲柏是18世紀初新古典主義運動的中心人物。

2. Alexander as a first name originally meant “defender of men”. Historically， it gained worldwide fame through Alexander the Great. “亞歷山大”作為名字原義為“人的保護者”。從歷史上看，“亞歷山大”因亞歷山大大帝而世界聞名。（亞歷山大大帝即古希臘北部小國馬其頓的國王亞歷山大三世，是古代著名軍事家和政治家。）

當今社會，人們在升學、就業、工作、婚姻、住房、子女教育、健康、養老諸方面面臨巨大壓力。人們用“亞歷山大”的諧音“壓力山大”，以詼諧、調侃的方式表達“壓力像山一樣大”或“壓力比山大”的焦慮和緊張心情。

“壓力山大”的英譯，一是與“緊張”（stress）相關：名詞為stress，形容詞為 stressful、stressed，動詞為to be/feel stressful、to be/feel stressed out。例如：

3. As a heavy mortgage is strangling me， my stress is mountainous / is as large as a mountain！ 沉重的房貸壓得我透不過氣來，我壓力山大啊！

4. This heavy job is really stressful. 這繁重的工作真是壓力山大！

5. At the end of a long， stressful day， all he wants to do is to go home and zone out in front of the television. 在漫長而壓力山大的一天結束時，他想做的就是回家坐在電視機前發呆。

6. I have been so stressed in the pandemic days. 在疫情流行的日子里，我一直壓力山大。

7. Whenever I get together with the bad-tempered man， I will feel upset， anxious， and stressed out. 每當我跟這個壞脾氣的人在一起的時候，我會感到不安、焦慮和壓力山大。

8. He often feels stressed out with too much of workload. 他因工作負擔太重而經常感到壓力山大。

9. I badly need a vacation， because Im stressed out with this tiring job. 我非常需要休假，因為這份累人的工作讓我壓力山大。

“壓力山大”的英譯，二是與“壓力”（pressure）相關，包括under enormous pressure、under far too much pressure、under a mountain load of pressure。例如：

10. Im under enormous pressure because I have to finish all the work by Friday！ 我壓力山大，因為我得在星期五之前完成所有工作。

11. Most of his peers have got married and had children. But he is still single， so he feels he is under far too much pressure. 他的同齡人大多數都結婚生子了。但是，他依然單身，因而他覺得壓力山大。

12. The general manager of the company is under a mountain load of pressure， because his company has plunged into a debt crisis due to shortage of funds. 這個公司的總經理壓力山大，因為公司由于資金短缺而陷入債務危機。

pressure cooker的原義是“壓力鍋”或“高壓鍋”，比喻義是a situation or environment that is fraught with emotional or social pressures，即“充滿情感壓力或社會壓力的高壓形勢或高壓環境”。例如：

13. Pressure cooker was invented by a Frenchman Denis Papin in 1697. It is a strong metal pot with a tight lid that cooks food quickly by steam under high pressure. 高壓鍋是法國人丹尼斯·帕潘在1697年發明的。它是一種帶有密封蓋的堅固的金屬鍋，通過蒸汽在高壓下快速蒸熟食物。

14. The new boss of the company has turned the office into a pressure cooker. 這個公司的新老板已將辦公室變成一個高壓環境。