- dharma-translation → translation: stripped conventions, kept only technique - Deleted mpi-project-conventions: all content now in AGENTS.md - References moved: meditation-translation, markdown-to-djot → translation/ translation-pitfalls, proofreading-patterns → translation-review/ - Updated AGENTS.md, readme.dj, memory, pdf skill cross-reference - 7 skills → 6 skills
78 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
78 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
# Translation Pitfalls — MPI Buddhist Texts
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Patterns found in CN→EN translation review. Add to this file as new patterns emerge.
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## Terminology conflation
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### 关爱/关怀 → compassion (WRONG)
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Chinese 关爱 and 关怀 mean "care" or "loving care." They are NOT 慈悲 (compassion / karuṇā).
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Conflating them obscures two distinct Buddhist concepts.
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Check every occurrence of "compassion" in a translation against the source:
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- If source is 关爱/关怀 → "care"
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- If source is 慈悲 → "compassion" (correct)
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- If source is 悬壶济世 → "compassionate mission" (correct — the healing spirit)
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### 生存层面 → making a living (WRONG)
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生存层面 = the existential/survival dimension. Not just earning wages.
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→ "survival-level needs" or "the level of basic existence"
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## Loss of Dharma meaning
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### 生生增上 → continuously elevate our life (INCOMPLETE)
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生生 = life after life (multi-life Buddhist perspective). The single-life rendering
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"continuously elevate our life" loses the Dharma meaning entirely.
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→ "continuously elevate our life, life after life"
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## False implication
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#### 因病返贫 → "back into poverty"
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"返贫" means becoming poor due to illness, not returning to previous poverty. Use "into poverty" or "driven into poverty."
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#### Diacritics: use DB form, not academic Sanskrit
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| Wrong | Right | Source |
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|---|---|---|
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| `Mahāsthāmaprāpta` | `Mahasthamaprapta` | 佛教术语 |
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| `Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra` | `Yogacarabhumi-Sastra` | 经论名 |
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| `Avalokiteśvara` | `Guanyin` | 佛教术语 |
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| `pravāraṇā` | `Pavarana` | BAICKZ |
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Exception: `Kṣitigarbha` — DoT定稿 uses diacritics, so keep them.
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When in doubt, search the DB and follow the highest-priority source. See dharma-translation skill `references/diacritics-convention.md`.
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返贫 = become poor (from a non-poor state) due to medical costs. "Back" implies
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the person was previously poor — not necessarily true. This is about medical bankruptcy.
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→ "into poverty" or "fall into poverty" (no "back")
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## DoT定稿 term drift
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### 念死 → recollection of death (WRONG per DoT定稿)
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DoT定稿 has "Cultivating mindfulness of death" / 佛教术语 has "contemplating the
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impermanence of death". The established term is "mindfulness of death", not
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"recollection of death." → "mindfulness of death" / "death-mindfulness"
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### 三级修学 → Three-Level Study Program (WRONG per DoT定稿)
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DoT定稿 has "Three-Stage Practice." → "Three-Stage Practice"
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### 下士道/中士道/上士道
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DoT定稿: "Path for Persons of Small/Medium/Great Capacity" — not "path of the
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initial/middle/great scope."
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### 观音菩萨 → Avalokiteśvara (AVOID in MPI translations)
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佛教术语 has "Guanshiyin/Guanyin Bodhisattva." Use "Guanyin Bodhisattva."
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## Workflow pitfall
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### Translating before consulting terms DB
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Always search key terms BEFORE translating. The dharma-translation skill says to do
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this, but it's easy to skip. Use the CLI: `/home/user/documents/mpi/terms-search/search.py <query>`.
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Prioritize DoT定稿 > 内部特色词 > 佛教术语 > 经论名.
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