?主播:翩翩(中國)+梅莉(法國)
?音樂:boundaries
最近中國有一部新電影很火,叫做《好東西》,它的英文翻譯很有意思,是“herstory”。
01. The English Translation ofHerstory《好東西》的英文翻譯
It is a play on the word “history”,replacing “his”with “her”.這是一種文字游戲。The term “herstory”is used to emphasize the importance of women’s experiences and contributions(強(qiáng)調(diào)女性經(jīng)驗(yàn)與貢獻(xiàn)的重要性).
其實(shí)近年來,英語中有很多詞匯和用法都在因現(xiàn)代文化(包括女權(quán)主義、LGBTQ+權(quán)利運(yùn)動(dòng)等)而發(fā)生變化。
And “herstory” is a great example. The idea is to highlight women’s narratives, rather than sticking to “history,” which some see as hinting at (暗示)“his story.” 有些人可能會(huì)覺得history是“his + story”,是男性的故事,但其實(shí)并非如此。
The word “history”comes from the Greek(希臘) word “?στορ?α(historía)”, which means “inquiry”. 這個(gè)詞最初的意思是“調(diào)查”、“知識(shí)”或“詢問”,其實(shí)跟男性沒有什么關(guān)系。
Even though “history” itself doesn’t come from “his story,” the change is symbolic(象征性的).這讓人們更關(guān)注女性在歷史中的角色。It is probably to hint that it’s about female empowerment(女性力量).
那除了“herstory”之外,英語中還有哪些因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)代文化和社會(huì)運(yùn)動(dòng)而改變的語言現(xiàn)象呢?
02. Pronouns代詞
Many people now use “they” as a singular pronoun(單數(shù)人稱代詞).
這個(gè)有一個(gè)文化背景要了解,就是現(xiàn)在在西方,尤其是美國,已經(jīng)不是單一的二元分類——male和female了。There is Non-binary(非二元性別的).
非二元性別是指那些不完全認(rèn)同傳統(tǒng)男性或女性性別的人。他們的性別可能是流動(dòng)的、混合的或介于兩者之間。Genderfluid(性別流動(dòng))就是他們覺得自己的性別在不同情況和場合下是不同的。除此之外還有Agender(無性別)這一類,指的是那些不認(rèn)同任何性別的人。
此外,還有很多其他的性別種類。所以,單數(shù)“they”被廣泛用于代替“he/she”,以避免性別限定。
For example, someone left their bag here. 這里的they就是單數(shù)用法,代替 his/her。再或者:Alex said they would join us later.這里的they 就是用來描述非二元性別者。
2019年,“they”被《韋氏詞典》選為年度詞匯,顯示其流行度。
You can see the impact of modern culture, like feminism and the LGBTQ+ rights movement, on the English language.現(xiàn)代文化對(duì)于英文的影響真的是令人瞠目。
03. Changes in job titles and the use of “Ms.”職業(yè)稱呼的變化和“Ms.”的使用
像以前的“policeman”現(xiàn)在常說“police officer”,“fireman”也變成了“firefighter”。
Another interesting shift is in how we talk about relationships. Instead of “boyfriend” or “girlfriend,” many people say “partner” to avoid implying gender and to be more inclusive of all types of relationships.因?yàn)椤皃artner”適合各種類型的情侶關(guān)系,不論性別或取向。
As for the popularity of “Ms.", it’s used to replace "Miss" or "Mrs." to emphasize that a woman’s identity doesn’t depend on her marital status(強(qiáng)調(diào)女性身份不需要基于婚姻狀態(tài)).
There are so many changes Maelleisalso confused sometimes.
Language mirrors cultural shifts. As people become more aware of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism, the language has also been English adapted.語言是活的,它也反應(yīng)著當(dāng)代英語世界的價(jià)值觀。
So next time you see “herstory,” “they” used as a singular pronoun, “partner” instead of “girlfriend,”or “spouse”instead of“husbandor wife”, remember there’s a cultural story behind it.
之后再遇見這些用法,我們可能就會(huì)明白背后的文化背景和價(jià)值取向。希望今天的播客借助電影《好東西》的英文譯名,能幫助大家在學(xué)習(xí)英文時(shí),也感受到一些文化層面的東西。
請(qǐng)?jiān)谠u(píng)論區(qū)告訴我們:
你還知道英語中有哪些類似的的語言現(xiàn)象呢?