美語情景對話 第1007期:Langauge Zones 語言區

Todd: So, Abidemi, we've been talking about your country, Nigeria. Now, you've mentioned that there's different langauges in different regions.

託德：阿比德米，我們繼續來談你的祖國尼日利亞。你提到過尼日利亞不同地區有不同的語言。

Abidemi: That's correct.

阿比德米：沒錯。

Todd: Now, are they similar or are they completely different?

託德：這些語言是有相似之處還是完全不同？

Abidemi: I believe they're completely different. Nigeria has over 250 languages.

阿比德米：我認爲這些語言完全不同。尼日利亞有超過250種語言。

Todd: Whoa, really, 250 for the whole country?

託德：哇哦，整個國家有250種語言？

Abidemi: Yes. Yes. So that's not even counting the dialects, when you start breaking them down into dialects, I believe there are over 500, maybe even thousands of dialects, because Nigeria was a British colony, so these were distinct communities and groups of people before the British came in. So that's why, one of the reasons we have so many languages. However, we have four official languages, of course English, we need that to unite everybody. And in schools people learn English. We all have Yoruba in the southwestern part of Nigeria, which is my native language. We have Igbo in the southeastern part and Hausa in the northern part of Nigeria, yes.

阿比德米：對，沒錯。這甚至還沒有算上方言，如果按方言劃分的話，我想大概有500種以上，甚至可能有數千種方言，因爲尼日利亞曾是英國殖民地，所以這些不同的社區和不同的人羣是在英國殖民統治以前形成的。這就是尼日利亞有如此多語言的原因。我們有四種官方語言，英語當然是其中一種官方語言，因爲我們要把所有人團結起來。學校裏也教英語。尼日利亞西南部地區說約魯巴語，這也是我的母語。另外，尼日利亞東南部地區說伊格博語，北部地區說豪薩語。

Todd: Wow! Can you talk a little bit about each language? Now, you said your language is Yoruba?

託德：哇哦！你每種語言都會嗎？你的母語是約魯巴語？

Abidemi: Yes, that's correct, Yoruba is a tonal language like Chinese or Cantonese, unlike Cantonese, we have three tones and not four, so ba, ba, ba, I don't know if you can tell the difference between those three words but they are different, three different words. Igbo, I'm not so sure, but it's a completely different language, if somebody's speaking it I would not be able to understand.

阿比德米：對，沒錯，約魯巴語同漢語和粵語一樣是聲調語言，不過同粵語不同的是，我們只有3個聲調，而不是4個，我們的聲調是這樣的，我不知道你能不能聽出這3個詞的區別，不過的確是有區別的。我不太瞭解伊格博語，那是一種完全不同的語言，如果有人說伊格博語，我基本上聽不懂。

Todd: And what region is that in?

託德：哪個地區使用這個語言？

Abidemi: It's in the southeastern part of Nigeria. And then finally Hausa, it's more ... it's closer to Arabic I believe and a lot of Hausas are Muslims, so I think there's that relationship between those two languages.

阿比德米：尼日利亞的東南部地區。我認爲豪薩語更接近阿拉伯語，許多豪薩族人是穆斯林，所以我認爲豪薩語和阿拉伯語之間存在聯繫。

Todd: So they sound completely different from each other?

託德：這些語言聽起來完全不同嗎？

Abidemi: Completely different, and because we have so many languages sometimes you would have a neighboring community but people can't understand each other unless they speak in English because their languages are nothing alike, yeah.

阿比德米：完全不同，因爲我們的語言太多了，有時雖然生活在鄰近社區，但人們聽不懂對方說的話，除非他們說英語，因爲他們的語言完全不同。

Todd: So how common is it to find somebody who speaks all three languages, the three major languages?

託德：那會說這三種主要語言的人多嗎？

Abidemi: There are some people who do. There are some people who do, especially businessmen, a lot of Yorubas and Igbos are very business oriented, but Traditionally men, they will travel to different parts of Nigeria and some other countries in West Africa to do trade. So for those people it was essential to learn languages, so those people can. Nowadays most people just speak two, you speak English and your native language. So maybe it's becoming rarer and rarer to find people who speak all three languages.

阿比德米：有些人三種語言都會。基本上商人都會，許多約魯巴族人和博格族人經商，通常經商的都是男性，他們在尼日利亞各個地區和其他西非國家做生意。對這些人來說，學習不同的語言非常有必要，所以他們可以說三種語言。現在大部分人會說兩種語言，英語和母語。也許現在越來越難找到會說三種語言的人了。

Todd: So are these languages all taught in the school system?

託德：那學校裏會教這些語言嗎？

Abidemi: For the most part no, which I think it's very unfortunate, I think it's something we should be very proud of. But now the emphasis is on English. So a lot of parents want their children to learn English in school, the top schools are mainly English and the onus is on the families to teach their children their native languages at home or maybe if you live in a neighborhood, for example if you're Yoruba like I am, if you live in a neighborhood where there are other Igbos, of course you would have Yoruba at home and Igbo being spoken to you by your friends and you might be able to pick it up that way, but generally no. So for me, when I was growing up I went to English speaking schools so I learned English at school, I never learned my native language at school at all. But at home I tried by myself, I studied my language by myself, so that's how I learned to speak.

阿比德米：基本上不教，我認爲這非常不幸，這本來應該是我們引以爲傲的事情。但是現在的教學重點是英語。許多父母希望他們的孩子在學校學習英語，一些頂級學校也以英語教學爲主，家庭則承擔起在家教孩子母語的任務，如果你鄰近的社區……舉個例子，如果你和我一樣是約魯巴族，如果你住的社區有博格族人，你可以在家學習約魯巴語，和朋友們學習博格語，你也可以這樣來學習，不過學校上基本上不教這些語言。我小時候上的是英語教學的學校，所以我在學校學習英語，我完全沒有在學校學過母語。不過我在家自學了母語，我就是這樣學會母語的。

Todd: So do you think you'll pass on the language to your children some day?

託德：那你將來會教你的孩子語言嗎？

Abidemi: I want to, most definitely, yes. I think from learning different languages myself, I speak French as well, I think it's really important, my native language is my language and as much as English is important in the world today, I think my native language, Yoruba, is part of my identity. And for my children too, I think it's important for them to learn, so yes, I would like them to speak it.

阿比德米：我當然會。我也會說法語，我學習了不同的語言，我的母語是我的本土語言，和世界語言英語同樣重要，我認爲我的母語約魯巴語是我身份的一部分。對我的孩子來說也是如此，我認爲讓他們學習母語非常重要，所以我會教他們。

Todd: Oh, I agree, one's native language is always the most important.

託德：好，我同意你的觀點，一個人的母語是最重要的。

Abidemi: Exactly. Exactly.

阿比德米：沒錯，沒錯。

Todd: That's cool though, so you've got three distinct different languages, more.

託德：這真酷，你們有3種不同的語言，實際上你們有更多語言。

Abidemi: More. More.

阿比德米：對，更多。

Todd: More, but three major distinct languages.

託德：更多，不過這3種是主要的語言。

Abidemi: Yes, these are the three major ethnicities — ethnic groups in Nigeria, yes.

阿比德米：對，尼日利亞有三大主要的民族。

Todd: Well thanks.

託德：謝謝你。

Abidemi: Thank you.

阿比德米：謝謝。

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重點講解：
1. break down 分解；將…分成若干部分；
例句：Most Americans tend to break down addresses into number street, maybe unit number, city, state, zip code.
多數美國人往往把地址分成街道號、街區號、城市、州和郵政編碼。
2. each other 彼此；互相；
例句：The two plans meshed with each other smoothly.
這兩個計劃互相配合得很好。
3. for the most part 大部分；多半；通常；
例句：The contributors are, for the most part, professional scientists.
投稿者大多是專業科學家。
4. pass on 將…傳給；將…交給；
例句：Tradition is passed on by the elders of the tribe.
部族的傳統由長者承襲相傳。