Counterpart 的用法與實例

2021/11/03閱讀時間約 8 分鐘

Django in production is a different beast from its development counterpart. First, Django in development has a local server that can serve static files, that is, JavaScript, images, and CSS. However, the same development server can’t handle production loads, let alone the security around a production setup.

這裡我要特別來解析這一句 Django in production is a different beast from its development counterpart

1. Be a different beast from/than

beast是野獸，這裡隱喻為難以處理的事情/問題/主題等等
A is a different beast from B 仔細看，其實隱藏的訊息是
A is a beast. B is a beast too.
因此A和B都是難以處理的事情
different 表示是不一樣但是難以處理的事情

different習慣會配的介係詞是from; 但是最近的年輕人比較喜歡用different than，因此個都可以

此處的A是 Django in production
此處的B是 its development counterpart

要了解這個句子的意思必須要了解counterpart這個很難翻譯的字

2. Counterpart的用法

counterpart很難翻譯，但是基本的意思「只有某一處與原本被比較的事物不同的事物」。基本的用法有幾個特點：

要有「比較」的語境，例如A is better than B; A is as good as B; A is a different beast from B也算比較
counterpart前面會有一詞去凸顯想要比較的地方，不會只講counterpart，會講XXX counterpart. 其中XXX就是要凸顯的地方
要有所有格，也就是，會說 A is better than “A’s/its/their“ XXX counterpart(s).

以下純屬虛構的例子用”Young Django developers in Taiwan”當作主要被比較的對象這個對象可以拆解成幾的要素 #Young , #Django, #Developers, #inTaiwan

Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, enjoy Django less than their user counterparts.

counterparts前面的字會是想要凸顯的比較的地方，這時要凸顯的對象是 user，應該是相對於#developers，沒有被凸顯要比較的地方是一樣的，因此是指#Young, #Django以及#InTaiwan的特質都是一樣的。
所以their counterparts在這裡指的是Young Django "users" in Taiwan.
因此，整句的意思是 Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, enjoy Django less than young Django users in Taiwan. (年輕的臺灣Django工程師整體來說比年輕的臺灣的Django使用者還要不喜歡Django)

Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, are paid less than their Japanese counterparts.

這時要凸顯的對象是Japanese，應該是相對於#inTaiwan 所以their counterparts在這裡指的是Young Django developers in Japan. 因此，整句的意思是 Young Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, are paid less than young Django developers in Japan. (日本的Django工程師整體來說薪水比同等條件的台灣的高)

Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, are more satistifed with their jobs than their non-Django counterparts.

同理，這裡是指Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, are more satistifed with their jobs than young non-Django developers in Taiwan.　(年輕的台灣Django工程師整體來說比同樣也是年輕的台灣的非Django工程師要更滿意自己的工作)

Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, are more likely to quit their jobs than their elder counterparts.

同理，這裡是指Young Django developers in Taiwan, in general, are more likely to quit their jobs than elder Django developers in Taiwan.　(年輕的台灣的Django工程師整體來說比年紀比較大的台灣的Django工程師更可能離職)

3. 整句的意思

了解了Counterpart的用法之後，我們知道
A is a different beast from B
A = Django in production，可以拆解成 #Django 和 #inProduction
B = its development counterpart, 強調的是"development”
依常識，我們知道#development相對的是#inProduction，因此
B = its development counterpart = Django in development.

因此，整句的意思是
Django in production is a different beast from from Django in development.

也就是
Django in production is a beast. (真正實務上要產出給客戶用的Django很麻煩)
Django in development is also a beast. (寫Django code也很麻煩)
Django in production is a different beast from from Django in development. (真正實務上要產出給客戶用的Django跟Django code麻煩在不一樣的地方)