菜单上的名字，不只是翻译

When a family restaurant adds an English menu, owner Fen asks two friends to review it. The first suggests keeping the original names of all dishes in roman letters. The second thinks every name should be replaced with a simple English description. Fen worries that either approach alone will leave something important out.

家庭餐馆增加英文菜单时，老板阿芬请两位朋友检查。第一位建议把所有菜的原名保留为罗马字母拼写，第二位认为每个名字都应该换成简单英文描述。阿芬担心，单用任何一种办法都会漏掉重要内容。

A visitor may want to learn a name, but also needs to know what will arrive on the plate. A poetic title does not reveal whether a dish is soup, noodles, or a cold dessert. On the other hand, replacing every unfamiliar word can make different dishes sound strangely similar. Several carefully prepared specialties might all become "rice with vegetables."

游客可能想学菜名，也需要知道端上来的是什么。诗意的标题无法说明菜是汤、面条还是冷甜点。另一方面，替换掉每个陌生词，又可能让不同菜听起来奇怪地相似。几道精心制作的特色菜，可能都变成“米饭配蔬菜”。

Fen chooses a combined format. Each item keeps its name, followed by a short description of its main ingredients and preparation. For one dish, she adds a sentence explaining when her family usually eats it. She asks staff to confirm ingredient questions directly rather than expecting customers to infer everything from the title.

阿芬选择组合格式。每道菜保留原名，后面加上主要食材和制作方式的简短说明。有一道菜还加了一句，解释她家通常何时吃它。她请员工直接核实食材相关问题，而不是期待顾客从菜名推断所有内容。

The new menu does not explain the entire history of the food, and it cannot represent every family's version. It does give visitors a useful starting point. They can order with a clearer idea of the meal and ask more informed questions. For Fen, good translation keeps the door open to unfamiliar words while providing enough support to step through it.

新菜单没有讲完食物的全部历史，也无法代表每个家庭的版本。但它为游客提供了有用起点。他们能更清楚地了解餐食，再提出更有依据的问题。对阿芬来说，好的翻译为陌生词留着一扇门，也提供足够帮助，让人能够走进去。

The name is followed by a short explanation.

名称后面接着一段简短解释。

Keep the name while explaining the main ingredients.

保留名称，同时解释主要食材。