「Hydrography」內涵與中譯探討

On the Content of Hydrography and its Chinese Translation

地球上「海洋」面積大於陸地，是人類生存環境的重要一部，也是不可忽視的資源。「航海」在人類文明歷程中，是發展與經濟的重要面向。以「航海」為目的，對海洋的探索與了解，因而是「Hydrography」一詞，在歷史上的發展主軸。「Hydrography」的中譯名詞有許多版本，「海道測量」、「海洋測量」、「水文地理」，均有採用的場景。本文嘗試探討「Hydrography」的內涵，並由字義與實務，討論「海道測量」、「海洋測量」、「水文地理」適用之情境。

The coverage of water area is significantly larger than land on the Earth. Ocean and sea are important aspect for human survival, and substantial resources. Navigation is a subtle dimension for the development of civilizations with high economic values. Consequently, the exploration and study of ocean and sea with the objective of navigation have been the major content of “Hydrography” historically. The Chinese translation of “Hydrography” has several versions, the one focused on navigable passage, focused on the surveying of ocean and sea, and the most general one, the study of geography with water aspect. This writing discusses the meaning of each translation from both the root of the word, and the practical implementation.