请看:They say that blood is thicker than water, that our relatives are more important to us than others.

怎么译?难道不是:他们说血浓于水,我们的亲戚对我们来说比其他人更重要。

这种译法总有一种让人很别扭的感觉,怎么会突然冒出一个他们来了呢?其实这是英语里一种比较固定的用法,这里的they泛指人们,一般不包括说话者和听话者。they say连用一般可译为“人们说”或“据说”,“有人这么说”等,请看以下经典例证:

So they say, but who has ever seen it?

有人这么说,可谁见过呢?

They say [ It is said that] he's a miser.

据说他是一个小气鬼。

They say ghosts haunt this house.

据说这所房子里常闹鬼。

以上三例均摘录自《汉英大词典》

This policy, they say, is at best confused and at worst non-existent

有人说这项政策往好里说是混乱不堪,往坏里说就是形同虚设。

摘录自《柯林斯高阶英汉双解学习词典》

They say he kept a whore in the White House, but I don’t suppose I ought to say that.

据说他在白宫养过一个妓女,但是我认为我不应当说出这一点。

They say Freddy plays only when he wants to.

人们说弗雷戴只是在愿意玩的时候才玩。

以上二例摘录自《Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage(1994)》

They say oil price will be going up soon.

据说石油价格很快就要上涨。

摘录自赵振才《英语常见问题解答大辞典》

综上所述,第一句话应该译为:

人们说血浓于水,我们的亲戚对我们来说比其他人更重要。

They say 真的是译为“他们说”吗