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TaiyeSelasi_2014G-_不要问我来自哪个国家,问我来自哪个地方_
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Last year, I went on my first book tour. |
我懂她说的意思。 |
In 13 months, I flew to 14 countries and gave some hundred talks. |
在13个月里,我飞了14个国家, 并且举办了数百场的演说。 |
Every talk in every country began with an introduction, and every introduction began, alas , with a lie: "Taiye Selasi comes from Ghana and Nigeria," |
在每一个城市的每一个的演讲, 都有一段讲者介绍, 而每一次的讲者介绍,唉....都是以谎言开始: Taiye Selasi 来自加纳及尼日利亚, |
alas:int.唉(表悲伤,遗憾,恐惧,关切等等);
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or "Taiye Selasi comes from England and the States." |
或者是,Taiye Selasi 来自英国及美国。 |
Whenever I heard this opening sentence, no matter the country that concluded it -- |
无论什么时候我听到这样的介绍开场白.... 不管提到的是哪个国家, |
concluded:v.断定:得出结论:终止:达成:缔结(协定)(conclude的过去分词和过去式)
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England, America, Ghana, Nigeria -- |
英国、美国、加纳还是尼日利亚, |
I thought, "But that's not true." |
我都会想, 这不是真的啊! |
Yes, I was born in England and grew up in the United States. |
是的,我在英格兰出生,在美国长大。 |
United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
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My mum, born in England, and raised in Nigeria, currently lives in Ghana. |
我的母亲,在英格兰出生,在尼日利亚被抚养, 现在住在加纳。 |
currently:adv.当前;一般地;
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My father was born in Gold Coast, a British colony , raised in Ghana, and has lived for over 30 years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . |
我的父亲在黄金海岸出生,是一个英国的殖民地, 在加纳长大, 在沙特阿拉伯生活了三十多年。 |
colony:n.殖民地;移民队; Saudi:adj.沙乌地阿拉伯(人或语)的;n.沙乌地阿拉伯人; Arabia:n.阿拉伯半岛(亚洲西南部,等于ArabianPeninsula);
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For this reason, my introducers also called me " multinational ." |
因为这些原因,我的引言人也常介绍我为:多国家人 |
multinational:adj.跨国公司的;多国的;n.跨国公司;
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'"But Nike is multinational," I thought, "I'm a human being." |
但是耐克 (Nike)才是多国家的, 我在想,“我是一个人啊” |
Then, one fine day, mid-tour, |
后来,有一天,在旅行的途中, |
I went to Louisiana , a museum in Denmark where I shared the stage with the writer Colum McCann. |
我去了路易斯安那,一个丹麦的博物馆, 在那里我和作家Colum McCann同台, |
Louisiana:n.美国路易斯安那州;
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We were discussing the role of locality in writing, when suddenly it hit me. |
我们讨论了「地方」在写作中扮演了什么角色 ? 突然间我领悟到...... |
locality:n.所在;位置;地点;
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I'm not multinational. |
我并不是一个多国家的人 |
I'm not a national at all. |
我根本就不属于哪个国家。 |
How could I come from a nation? |
我怎么会来自某个国家呢? |
How can a human being come from a concept? |
一个人怎么能来自一个概念? |
It's a question that had been bothering me for going on two decades. |
这个问题持续困扰了我20年之久。 |
bothering:v.使某人烦恼或担忧;打扰;(bother的现在分词)
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From newspapers, textbooks, conversations, |
从报纸,书本,对话中, |
I had learned to speak of countries as if they were eternal , singular , naturally occurring things, but I wondered: to say that I came from a country suggested that the country was an absolute, some fixed point in place in time, a constant thing, but was it? |
我了解到当我们在谈论国家时, 好像它们是永恒、独一、自然发生的事情, 但是我仍有疑问: 说我来自某一个国家, 是说明那个国家是一个绝对的概念, 时空下某个固定的点, 是持续不变的事情,但是是这样吗? |
eternal:adj.永恒的;不朽的; singular:adj.单数的;单一的;非凡的;异常的;n.单数; naturally:adv.自然地;自然而然地;轻而易举;天生地;大方地; occurring:n.事件;事故;事变;
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In my lifetime, countries had disappeared -- Czechoslovakia; appeared -- Timor-Leste; failed -- Somalia. |
在我这一生中,我看到有国家消失了,像捷克斯洛伐克; 有国家出现了,像东帝汶;有的失败了,像索马里。 |
disappeared:adj.消失的;消失了的;v.消失,失踪;(disappear的过去式和过去分词)
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My parents came from countries that didn't exist when they were born. |
我父母来自的国家,在他们出生的时候还不存在。 |
To me, a country -- this thing that could be born, die, expand , contract -- hardly seemed the basis for understanding a human being. |
对我而言,国家会诞生,死亡,扩张,缩小— 几乎不能作为了解一个人的基础。 |
expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开; contract:v.收缩;感染;订约;n.合同;婚约;
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And so it came as a huge relief to discover the sovereign state. |
所以当我明白「主权国家」这概念时真是松了一口气。 |
relief:n.救济;减轻,解除;安慰;浮雕; sovereign:adj.至高无上的; n.君主;
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What we call countries are actually various expressions of sovereign statehood , an idea that came into fashion only 400 years ago. |
我们现在所称的「国家」,其实是, 对于「主权国家」的各种不同说法。 这种想法在400年前才开始流行起来。 |
expressions:表达,表情(expression的复数) statehood:n.国家地位;州的状态或地位;
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When I learned this, beginning my masters degree in international relations, |
当我了解到这些的时候,我才刚开始我的国际关系硕士的学习, |
I felt a sort of surge of relief. |
我如释重负。 |
surge:n.汹涌;大浪,波涛;汹涌澎湃;巨涌;v.汹涌;起大浪,蜂拥而来;
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It was as I had suspected . |
这和我猜想的一样, |
suspected:v.怀疑;不信任;(suspect的过去分词和过去式)
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History was real, cultures were real, but countries were invented. |
历史是真实的,文化也是真实的, 但是国家是被人创造的。 |
For the next 10 years, I sought to re- or un-define myself, my world, my work, my experience,beyond the logic of the state. |
在接下来的十年,我用超越「国家」的这个逻辑 来重新定义或否定义我自己的世界、工作、经历。 |
sought:v.seek(寻求、寻找)的过去式和过去分词形式; logic:n.逻辑;逻辑学;逻辑性;adj.逻辑的;
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In 2005, I wrote an essay, "What is an Afropolitan," |
2005年,我写了一篇论文,“ 什么是大非洲人? |
sketching out an identity that privileged culture over country. |
描述一种以「文化」而不是「国家」来定义身份。 |
sketching:v.画素描;画速写;概述;简述;(sketch的现在分词) identity:n.身份;同一性,一致;特性;恒等式; privileged:adj.有特权的; v.给予特权; (privilege的过去式和过去分词)
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It was thrilling how many people could relate to my experience, and instructional how many others didn't buy my sense of self. |
我很兴奋的是,很多人能认同我的经验, 也很受教,有关于很多人无法认同我对我自己的感觉。 |
thrilling:adj.惊心动魄的; v.使非常兴奋; (thrill的现在分词) instructional:adj.教学的;指导的,教育的;
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'"How can Selasi claim to come from Ghana," one such critic asked, "when she's never known the indignities of traveling abroad on a Ghanian passport?" |
有一个评论家这么说,“当她从不明白在旅行时 持有加拿护照所受到的侮辱时,” “ Selasi 她怎能自称是加纳人? ” |
claim:v.要求;声称;需要;认领;n.要求;声称;索赔;断言;值得; critic:n.评论家;反对者;批评者; indignities:n.侮辱;轻蔑;有伤尊严;无礼举动; abroad:adv.在国外;到海外;adj.往国外的;n.海外;异国;
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Now, if I'm honest, |
我现在要说,如果我是诚实的话, |
I knew just what she meant. |
我懂她说的意思。 |
I've got a friend named Layla who was born and raised in Ghana. |
我有一个叫蕾拉的朋友,出生并在加纳长大。 |
Her parents are third-generation Ghanians of Lebanese descent . |
她的父母是第三代黎巴嫩裔迦纳人。 |
Lebanese:adj.黎巴嫩的;n.黎巴嫩人; descent:n.下降;血统;袭击;vt.除去…的气味;使…失去香味;
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Layla, who speaks fluent Twi, knows Accra like the back of her hand, but when we first met years ago, I thought, "She's not from Ghana." |
蕾拉会说一口流利的加纳方言,对首都阿克拉了如指掌, 但是当我们数年前第一次见面时,我想着,「她不是迦纳人。」 |
fluent:adj.流畅的,流利的;液态的;畅流的;
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In my mind, she came from Lebanon , despite the patent fact that all her formative experience took place in suburban Accra. |
在我心中,她是黎巴嫩人, 除去显而易见的事实,她过去形成的经历, 都在阿克拉的郊区发生。 |
Lebanon:n.黎巴嫩(西南亚国家,位于地中海东岸); despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; patent:vt.授予专利; adj.专利的; n.专利权; formative:adj.形成的;造型的;格式化的;n.构词要素; suburban:adj.郊区的,城郊的;土气的;见闻不广的;n.郊区居民;
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I, like my critics , was imagining some Ghana where all Ghanaians had brown skin or none held U.K. passports. |
我,就像评论我的人一样, 当时在想迦纳人都是棕色皮肤, 或没人有英国护照。 |
critics:n.评论家;批评者;吹毛求疵的人(critic的复数);
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I'd fallen into the limiting trap that the language of coming from countries sets -- the privileging of a fiction, the singular country, over reality: human experience. |
我当时已陷入自我设限的陷阱中, 即陷入了我们都来自某个国家的固定说法 -- 某个虚构的主权、单一国家 而不是实际性:人文的经历。 |
trap:v.使陷入困境;卡住;夹住;收集;吸收;n.陷阱;圈套;捕捉器;诡计; privileging:n.特权; v.给…以特权; (privilege的现在分词);
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Speaking with Colum McCann that day, the penny finally dropped. |
和作家Colum McCann谈话的那天,终于让我了解了这件事。 |
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
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'"All experience is local," he said. |
“ 所有的经历都与地方有关 ”,他说 |
'"All identity is experience," I thought. |
“ 所有的身份都与经历有关 ”,我这么想 |
'"I'm not a national," I proclaimed onstage . |
“ 我不是某个国民 ”,我在台上这么宣称 |
proclaimed:公告; onstage:adj.台上的;台上演出的;adv.上台;上场;
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'"I'm a local. I'm multi-local." |
“我是某地的居民 ,我是多地方的居民。” |
See, "Taiye Selasi comes from the United States," isn't the truth. |
你看,“ Taiye Selasi 来自美国 ” 不是事实, |
I have no relationship with the United States, all 50 of them, not really. |
我和美国没有任何关系, 跟50个州,都没有关系。 |
My relationship is with Brookline , the town where I grew up; with New York City, where I started work; with Lawrenceville, where I spend Thanksgiving. |
我只与布鲁克林有关系,因为那是我成长的地方。 和纽约有关,那是我开始工作的地方; 和劳伦斯维尔有关,我在那里度过感恩节。 |
Brookline:n.布鲁克莱恩(美国城市);
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What makes America home for me is not my passport or accent , but these very particular experiences and the places they occur. |
让美国成为我的家乡的原因,不是我的护照或者口音, 而是那些特别的经历, 和那些经历发生的地方。 |
accent:n.口音;重音;强调;特点;重音符号;v.强调;重读;带…口音讲话;
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Despite my pride in Ewe culture, the Black Stars, and my love of Ghanaian food, |
尽管我对加纳的文化、 国家足球队“ 黑星 ”和我最爱的加纳食物引以为傲。 |
Ewe:n.[畜牧]母羊;
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I've never had a relationship with the Republic of Ghana, writ large. |
我却与加纳共和国没有任何关系,非常明显。 |
writ:n.[法]令状;文书;法院命令;
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My relationship is with Accra, where my mother lives, where I go each year, with the little garden in Dzorwulu where my father and I talk for hours. |
我和阿克拉有关系,我妈妈住在那里, 我每年都会去那里, 与左乌鲁的小花园有关,我父亲和我会在那里畅谈几个小时。 |
These are the places that shape my experience. |
这些都是塑造我经历的地方。 |
My experience is where I'm from. |
我的经历就是我来自的地方。 |
What if we asked, instead of "Where are you from?" -- "Where are you a local?" |
与其问你来自哪个国家, 不如问,你是哪个地方的人 ? |
What if:如果…怎么办?
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This would tell us so much more about who and how similar we are. |
这会让我们更加了解我们是谁,我们有多么相似。 |
Tell me you're from France, and I see what, a set of clichés? |
你说你从法国来,我会意识到什么?陈腔滥调? |
Adichie's dangerous single story, the myth of the nation of France? |
阿迪奇的危险故事?法国的神话? |
myth:n.神话;虚构的人,虚构的事;
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Tell me you're a local of Fez and Paris, better yet, Goutte d'Or, and I see a set of experiences. |
你说你是菲斯或者巴黎人, 甚至你说你是巴黎古德多区的人,我看到的就是很多的生活经历。 |
Our experience is where we're from. |
我们的经历就是我们来自的地方。 |
So, where are you a local? |
所以,你是哪个地方的人? |
I propose a three-step test. |
我提议来一个三步测试, |
propose:v.建议;提议;求婚;打算;
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I call these the three "R’s": rituals, relationships, restrictions . |
我称这些为三「R」测试:分别为习惯,关系,和限制。 |
restrictions:n.限制规定;限制;约束;制约因素;(restriction的复数)
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First, think of your daily rituals, whatever they may be: making your coffee, driving to work, harvesting your crops, saying your prayers. |
首先,回忆一下你的日常习惯,不管是什么都没关系: 煮咖啡、开车上班、 收割庄稼、祷告。 |
What kind of rituals are these? |
这些是什么样的生活习惯? |
Where do they occur? |
它们在哪里发生的? |
In what city or cities in the world do shopkeepers know your face? |
这世界上有哪个城市或哪几个城市有店家认识你? |
shopkeepers:n.店主,老板;
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As a child, I carried out fairly standard suburban rituals in Boston , with adjustments made for the rituals my mother brought from London and Lagos. |
当我还是一个孩子的时候,我在波士顿有着标准的郊区生活习惯, 还携带着我母亲从伦敦和拉戈斯带来的习惯。 |
fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直; standard:n.标准;水准;旗;度量衡标准;adj.标准的;合规格的;公认为优秀的; Boston:n.波士顿(美国城市); adjustments:n.调整;调节;调整,适应;(adjustment的复数)
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We took off our shoes in the house, we were unfailingly polite with our elders, we ate slow-cooked, spicy food. |
我们在室内脱鞋, 我们对长辈总是彬彬有礼, 我们吃慢炖的辛辣食物。 |
unfailingly:adv.可靠地;无穷尽地;不倦地; spicy:adj.辛辣的;加有香料的;刺激的;
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In snowy North America , ours were rituals of the global South. |
在大雪纷飞的北美,我们带着南半球的习惯。 |
North America:n.北美洲; global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的;
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The first time I went to Delhi or to southern parts of Italy, |
我第一次去德里及意大利南方时, |
Delhi:n.德里(印度城市名);
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I was shocked by how at home I felt. |
我被似家的感觉吓到了, |
The rituals were familiar . |
那里的习惯太相似了, |
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
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'"R" number one, rituals. |
第一个“R”,习惯(rituals) |
Now, think of your relationships, of the people who shape your days. |
现在,想想你和参与你每一天的人们之间的关系, |
To whom do you speak at least once a week, be it face to face or on FaceTime ? |
和你一周至少会说一次话的人的关系, 无论是面对面还是通过视频通话的人, |
FaceTime:视频聊天;视频通话;露面时间;会面时间;
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Be reasonable in your assessment; |
评估时要合理。 |
reasonable:adj.合理的,公道的;通情达理的;
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I'm not talking about your Facebook friends. |
我不是在说你的脸书上的朋友, |
I'm speaking of the people who shape your weekly emotional experience. |
而是在说每星期会影响你情绪的朋友。 |
emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的;
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My mother in Accra, my twin sister in Boston, my best friends in New York: these relationships are home for me. |
我母亲在阿克拉,我的双胞胎妹妹在波士顿上学, 我最好的朋友在纽约。 这些关系对我就像家的感觉。 |
'"R" number two, relationships. |
这是第二个“R”,关系(relationships) |
We're local where we carry out our rituals and relationships, but how we experience our locality depends in part on our restrictions. |
我们在哪里带着习惯过日子、产生关系,我们就是那里的人, 但是我们在某地的经历, 一部分受我们限制的影响。 |
By restrictions, I mean, where are you able to live? |
我说的限制是指,你能在哪里生活? |
What passport do you hold? |
你持有的是哪个地方的护照? |
Are you restricted by, say, racism , from feeling fully at home where you live? |
你是否受到像种族主义的限制,住的地方没有充满家的感觉? |
restricted:adj.受限制的;保密的;v.限制(restrict的过去式和过去分词); racism:n.种族主义,种族歧视;人种偏见;
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By civil war, dysfunctional governance , economic inflation , from living in the locality where you had your rituals as a child? |
是否受内战、政局失衡、经济通胀限制, 这些因素导致你不能住在小时候养成习惯的地方。 |
civil:adj.公民的;民间的;文职的;有礼貌的;根据民法的; dysfunctional:机能失调的,功能障碍的; governance:n.管理;统治;支配; economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的; inflation:n.膨胀;通货膨胀;夸张;自命不凡;
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This is the least sexy of the R’s, less lyric than rituals and relationships, but the question takes us past "Where are you now?" |
这是3R中最不迷人的一个, 比习惯和关系更难表述, 但是这个问题能带我们超越“ 你现在住在哪? ” |
lyric:adj.抒情的;吟唱的;n.抒情诗;歌词;
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to "Why aren't you there, and why?" |
到“你现在为什么不住在那里?为什么?” |
Rituals, relationships, restrictions. |
习惯、关系、限制。 |
Take a piece of paper and put those three words on top of three columns , then try to fill those columns as honestly as you can. |
拿出一张纸, 将这三个词写在这张纸的最上面, 然后尽可能的诚实地填满这三项。 |
columns:n.柱:(通常为)圆形石柱:(书,报纸印刷页上的)栏(column的复数)
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A very different picture of your life in local context , of your identity as a set of experiences, may emerge . |
一个全然不同的你,在某个地方生活的样子, 你的经历勾勒出的身份, 可能因此出现。 |
context:n.环境;上下文;来龙去脉; emerge:v.浮现;显现;暴露;露出真相;
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So let's try it. |
所以我们一起尝试一下, |
I have a friend named Olu. |
我有一个朋友叫做“ Olu ” |
He's 35 years old. |
他今年35岁了, |
His parents, born in Nigeria, came to Germany on scholarships . |
他的父母出生在纳吉利亚,通过奖学金到德国。 |
scholarships:n.奖学金;学问;学术;学术研究;(scholarship的复数)
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Olu was born in Nuremberg and lived there until age 10. |
Olu 在纽伦堡出生,十岁之前都在那里生活。 |
When his family moved to Lagos, he studied in London, then came to Berlin. |
当他一家搬到拉戈斯时,他在伦敦学习。 然后去了柏林, |
He loves going to Nigeria -- the weather, the food, the friends -- but hates the political corruption there. |
他喜欢去纳吉利亚, 喜欢那里的气候,食物和朋友, 但是讨厌那里腐败的政治。 |
corruption:n.贪污,腐败;堕落;
|
Where is Olu from? |
Olu 从哪里来的呢? |
I have another friend named Udo. |
我有另外一个朋友叫做 Udo |
He's also 35 years old. |
他今年也是35岁了, |
Udo was born in Córdoba, in northwest Argentina , where his grandparents migrated from Germany, what is now Poland ,after the war. |
Udo 出生在科尔多瓦,阿根廷的西北方, 他的祖父战后从德国,现在已是波兰,移民到那里, |
northwest:adj.西北的;来自西北的;n.西北;adv.在西北;来自西北; Argentina:n.阿根廷(位于拉丁美洲); migrated:v.(随季节变化)迁徙;移居;迁移;移动;转移;(migrate的过去分词和过去式) Poland:n.波兰(欧洲国家);
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Udo studied in Buenos Aires, and nine years ago came to Berlin. |
Udo在布宜诺斯艾利斯读书,九年前到了柏林。 |
He loves going to Argentina -- the weather, the food, the friends -- but hates the economic corruption there. |
他很喜欢阿根廷,那里的气候、食物和朋友, 但是讨厌那里的经济腐败, |
Where is Udo from? |
Udo 是来自哪里呢? |
With his blonde hair and blue eyes, Udo could pass for German, but holds an Argentinian passport, so needs a visa to live in Berlin. |
从他的金发碧眼可以判断,他可能是德国人, 但是他持有阿根廷护照,所以需要签证才能住在柏林。 |
blonde:n.金发女郎;adj.金黄色的; visa:n.签证;vt.签发签证;
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That Udo is from Argentina has largely to do with history. |
Udo 来自阿根廷,与历史有很大关系。 |
largely:adv.主要地;大部分;大量地;
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That he's a local of Buenos Aires and Berlin, that has to do with life. |
说他是布宜诺斯艾利斯和柏林人, 必定和他的生活有关。 |
Olu, who looks Nigerian, needs a visa to visit Nigeria. |
Olu,看起来像是奈及利亚人,却需要签证才能去奈及利亚。 |
He speaks Yoruba with an English accent, and English with a German one. |
他说的非洲优卢巴话带有英国口音, 说英语却有德国口音。 |
To claim that he's "not really Nigerian," though, denies his experience in Lagos, the rituals he practiced growing up, his relationship with family and friends. |
但是如果你说他不是真正的奈及利亚人, 则否定了他在拉戈斯的经历、 他成长过程中养成的习惯、 他和他家人朋友的关系。 |
denies:v.否认;否定;拒绝接受;拒绝;(deny的第三人称单数)
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Meanwhile , though Lagos is undoubtedly one of his homes, |
同时,尽管拉戈斯无疑是他的家园之一, |
Meanwhile:adv.同时,其间;n.其间,其时; undoubtedly:adv.确实地,毋庸置疑的;
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Olu always feels restricted there, not least by the fact that he's gay. |
Olu 在那里总觉得很受限制, 尤其是他是同性恋的这个事实。 |
Both he and Udo are restricted by the political conditions of their parents' countries, from living where some of their most meaningful rituals and relationships occur. |
他和 Udo 都受到来自 父母国家的政治环境束缚, 无法住在他们可以培养出最有意义的习惯, 和关系的地方。 |
meaningful:adj.严肃的;重要的;重大的;意味深长的;
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To say Olu is from Nigeria and Udo is from Argentina distracts from their common experience. |
说 Olu 是奈及利亚人,Udo 是阿根廷人, 转移了我们对他们共同经历的注意力。 |
distracts:v.转移(注意力);分散(思想);使分心;(distract的第三人称单数)
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Their rituals, their relationships, and their restrictions are the same. |
他们的习惯,他们的关系,和他们受到的限制是一样的。 |
Of course, when we ask, "Where are you from?" |
当然,当我们问起,你是从哪国家来的? |
we're using a kind of shorthand . |
我们好像在使用速记法。 |
shorthand:n.速记;速记法;adj.速记法的;
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It's quicker to say "Nigeria" than "Lagos and Berlin," |
说起 “奈及利亚” 比 “拉戈斯” 及 “柏林” 快得多, |
and as with Google Maps, we can always zoom in closer, from country to city to neighborhood . |
并且通过谷歌地图,我们可以放大来看, 从国家到城市到地区。 |
Google:谷歌;谷歌搜索引擎; neighborhood:n.附近;地区;街坊;adj.附近的;
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But that's not quite the point. |
但是这不是重点, |
The difference between "Where are you from?" |
“ 你是哪国人 ” |
and "Where are you a local?" |
和 “你是哪个地方的人” 之间的区别, |
isn't the specificity of the answer; it's the intention of the question. |
不在于有非常明确的答案, 而在于问题本身的目的。 |
specificity:n.[免疫]特异性;特征;专一性; intention:n.意图;目的;意向;愈合;
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Replacing the language of nationality with the language of locality asks us to shift our focus to where real life occurs . |
将「国籍」这种表达法以「地方」来取代, 是要我们转移焦点到现实生活发生的地方。 |
shift:n.移动;变化;手段;轮班;v.移动;转变;转换; occurs:v.重现(occur的第三人称单数);
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Even that most glorious expression of countryhood, the World Cup, gives us national teams comprised mostly of multilocal players. |
甚至在最能展现国家辉煌的时刻,比如世界杯, 参赛的国家球队也是由来自各地的队员组成。 |
glorious:adj.光荣的;辉煌的;极好的; comprised:v.包含(comprise的过去分词);由…组成;
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As a unit of measurement for human experience, the country doesn't quite work. |
用「国家」作为人文经历的测量单位, 实在不怎么好用。 |
measurement:n.测量;度量;长度;
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That's why Olu says, "I'm German, but my parents come from Nigeria." |
这就是为什么 Olu 说,我是德国人,但是我的父母来自奈及利亚。 |
The "but" in that sentence belies the inflexibility of the units, one fixed and fictional entity bumping up against another. |
在这个句子中的“ 但是 ”反映了这个测量单位的不灵活, 一个固定的、虚构的实体彼此冲突碰撞着。 |
belies:vt.掩饰;与…不符;使失望;证明…虚假错误; inflexibility:n.不屈性,缺乏弹性;顽固;不变性; fictional:adj.虚构的;小说的; bumping:v.碰上,撞上;颠簸行进(bump的现在分词)
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'"I'm a local of Lagos and Berlin," suggests overlapping experiences, layers that merge together , that can't be denied or removed. |
“我是拉戈斯和柏林人”暗示了我有重叠的经历, 层层交叠,不能被否认或者抹去。 |
overlapping:v.(物体)部分重叠,交叠;使部分重叠;(overlap的现在分词) layers:n.层;表层;层次;阶层;v.把…分层堆放;(layer的第三人称单数和复数) merge together:混合起来; denied:v.否认;拒绝;否定;不承认;(deny的过去分词和过去式)
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You can take away my passport, but you can't take away my experience. |
你可以拿走我的护照, 但是你无法拿走我的经历。 |
That I carry within me. |
它与我密不可分。 |
Where I'm from comes wherever I go. |
我从哪里来,源自于我去过哪里。 |
To be clear, I'm not suggesting that we do away with countries. |
我要说清楚,我不是要建议我们要脱离国家, |
do away with:v.废除,去掉;弄死;
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There's much to be said for national history,more for the sovereign state. |
民族的历史很多时候比国家的历史谈的更多。 |
Culture exists in community , and community exists in context. |
文化存在于社会,而社会存在于背景。 |
community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体;
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Geography, tradition, collective memory: these things are important. |
地理,传统,共同的记忆,这些都很重要。 |
collective:adj.集体的;共同的;集合的;集体主义的;n.集团;集合体;集合名词;
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What I'm questioning is primacy . |
我质问的是哪个是首位? |
primacy:n.首位;卓越;大主教的职位;
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All of those introductions on tour began with reference to nation, as if knowing what country I came from would tell my audience who I was. |
在旅行的时候所有的介绍都是从国家开始, 好像知道我从哪个国家来可以让读者了解我是一个什么样的人。 |
with reference to:关于(等于inreferenceto);
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What are we really seeking , though, when we ask where someone comes from? |
但是,在我们问某人来自哪一国时,我们真正想问的是什么? |
seeking:v.寻找;寻求;谋求;争取;(向人)请求(seek的现在分词)
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And what are we really seeing when we hear an answer? |
我们听到的答案时我们真正明白了什么? |
Here's one possibility: basically , countries represent power. |
其中一个可能性是, 基本上,国家代表势力, |
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; represent:v.代表;表现;描绘;回忆;再赠送;
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'"Where are you from?" Mexico. Poland. Bangladesh. Less power. |
你是从哪国来的?墨西哥,波兰,孟加拉,力量弱一点。 |
America. Germany. Japan. More power. |
美国,德国,日本,更强大一点。 |
China. Russia. Ambiguous . |
中国,俄罗斯,不确定。 |
Ambiguous:adj.模糊不清的;引起歧义的;
|
(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
It's possible that without realizing it, we're playing a power game, especially in the context of multi-ethnic countries. |
有可能我们在无意间玩权力游戏。 特别是在多种族的国家里。 |
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; multi-ethnic:多种族的;多民族的;
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As any recent immigrant knows, the question "Where are you from?" or "Where are you really from?" |
就像每一位新移民者所知道的, “你从哪里来” 或者 “你真正从哪里来” 的问题, |
immigrant:n.(外来)移民;外侨;adj.侨民的;
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is often code for "Why are you here?" |
常常是“ 你为什么来这里 ”的代名词。 |
Then we have the scholar William Deresiewicz's writing of elite American colleges. |
然后我们有William Deresiewicz的文章 , 一位美国菁英大学的学者, |
elite:n.精英;精华;杰出人物;
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'"Students think that their environment is diverse if one comes from Missouri and another from Pakistan -- never mind that all of their parents are doctors or bankers." |
他说,“ 学生认为他们的环境很多元 ”, “如果有一个同学来自密苏里,另一个来自巴基斯坦,” “却不去管他们的父母都是医生或银行家。” |
diverse:adj.不同的;多种多样的;变化多的; Missouri:n.密苏里(美国州名); never mind:没关系;
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I'm with him. |
我赞同他的看法, |
To call one student American, another Pakistani , then triumphantly claim student body diversity ignores the fact that these students are locals of the same milieu . |
说某个学生是美国人,另一个是巴基斯坦人, 然后得意地说,学生群体很多元, 忽略了一个事实,就是这些学生在相同的成长背景下长大。 |
Pakistani:adj.巴基斯坦的;n.巴基斯坦人; triumphantly:adv.成功地;耀武扬威地; student body:全体学生;学生的总称; diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化: ignores:v.忽视;对…不予理会;不予理睬;(ignore的第三人称单数) milieu:n.环境;周围;出身背景;
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The same holds true on the other end of the economic spectrum . |
这同样适用于经济情况。 |
spectrum:n.光谱;频谱;范围;余象;
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A Mexican gardener in Los Angeles and a Nepali housekeeper in Delhi have more in common in terms of rituals and restrictions than nationality implies . |
一个在洛杉矶的墨西哥园丁,和来自尼泊尔的管家, 在习惯和限制上有很多相同的地方, 比国籍显示出的意义还多。 |
gardener:n.园丁;菜农;园艺爱好者; housekeeper:n.管家,杂务主管;房间清洁工; implies:v.意味着(imply的第三人称单数);蕴含;暗指;
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Perhaps my biggest problem with coming from countries is the myth of going back to them. |
可能我最大的问题在于“来自于某个国家” 是回到那个国家的迷思。 |
I'm often asked if I plan to "go back" to Ghana. |
我常被问到有没有”回“ 迦纳的打算。 |
I go to Accra every year, but I can't "go back" to Ghana. |
我每年都会去阿克拉,但我不会「回去」迦纳。 |
It's not because I wasn't born there. |
这不是因为我不在那里出生。 |
My father can't go back, either. |
我父亲也不会回去 |
The country in which he was born, that country no longer exists. |
那个他出生的国家, 那个国家已不存在。 |
We can never go back to a place and find it exactly where we left it. |
我们不会在故地重游时发现所有的事情都是依旧的, |
Something, somewhere will always have changed, most of all, ourselves. |
总有一些事情在改变。 大多数是我们自己改变了, |
People. |
人。 |
Finally, what we're talking about is human experience, this notoriously and gloriously disorderly affair. |
最后,我们谈论的是人文的经历, 这个声名狼藉又辉煌无比的混乱事件。 |
notoriously:adv.众所周知地;声名狼藉地;恶名昭彰地; gloriously:adv.光荣地;辉煌地;壮观地,壮丽地; disorderly:adj.混乱的,无秩序的;骚乱的;无法无天的;adv.杂乱地,无秩序地;
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In creative writing, locality bespeaks humanity . |
在创意写作中,地方性代表人性。 |
creative:adj.创造性的; bespeaks:vt.表示;预约;证明;预示;显示; humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科;
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The more we know about where a story is set, the more local color and texture , the more human the characters start to feel, the more relatable, not less. |
我们愈了解故事的发生地点, 地方色彩就越浓厚, 感受到的角色就越真实。 就越能产生认同感,而不是更少。 |
texture:n.质地;纹理;结构;本质,实质;
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The myth of national identity and the vocabulary of coming from confuses us into placing ourselves into mutually exclusive categories . |
对国籍的迷思和从哪里来的词汇, 混淆了我们,使得我们置身于相互排斥的类别中。 |
confuses:v.使糊涂;使迷惑;(将…)混淆;使更难于理解;(confuse的第三人称单数) mutually:adv.互相地;互助; exclusive:adj.独有的;排外的;专一的;n.独家新闻;独家经营的项目;排外者; categories:n.(人或事物的)类别,种类(category的复数)
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In fact, all of us are multi -- multi-local, multi-layered. |
事实上,我们每一个人都是多地方的,多层次的人。 |
To begin our conversations with an acknowledgement of this complexity brings us closer together, I think, not further apart. |
以承认这样的复杂度来开始我们的对话, 我觉得使得我们变得更近,而不是更远。 |
acknowledgement:n.承认;确认;感谢; complexity:n.复杂性;难以理解的局势
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So the next time that I'm introduced, |
所以在下一次我做自我介绍的时候, |
I'd love to hear the truth: "Taiye Selasi is a human being, like everybody here. |
我很乐意听到实话, “ Taipei Selasi 这个人,就跟在座各位一样 ” |
She isn't a citizen of the world, but a citizen of worlds. |
“ 她不是某个地区的公民,但是是多个地区的公民。 ” |
She is a local of New York, Rome and Accra." |
她是个在地的纽约人,罗马人和阿拉克人。 |
Thank you. |
谢谢。 |
(Applause) |
(掌声) |