美語情景對話 第574期:Island Language 羣島上的語言

Joel: So I don't think we've met yet, what is your name?

喬爾：我想我們以前沒有見過，你叫什麼名字？

Patricia: Patricia. It's a pleasure to meet you.

帕特里夏：我叫帕特里夏。很高興認識你。

Joel: You too. Where are you from?

喬爾：我也是。你來自哪裏？

Patricia: I'm from Samoa.

帕特里夏：我來自薩摩亞。

Joel: Samoa? Where is that?

喬爾：薩摩亞？在哪裏？

Patricia: It's in the South Pacific north of New Zealand.

帕特里夏：薩摩亞位於南太平洋，在新西蘭北邊。

Joel: Ok. Samoa. We call it Samoa in the United States. How do you pronounce it?

喬爾：好，薩摩亞。在美國我們是這麼讀薩摩亞的。你們怎麼發音？

Patricia: Samoa.

帕特里夏：薩摩亞。

Joel: Samoa. Ok. Yeah, I've met a couple of people from Samoa.

喬爾：薩摩亞。好。我見過幾個來自薩摩亞的人。

Patricia: Oh, really.

帕特里夏：哦，真的嗎？

Joel: They are very large people. Is that pretty typical?

喬爾：他們都非常高大。薩摩亞人都是這樣嗎？

Patricia: Samoa consists of 2 islands, there's American Samoa and Western Samoa which is now called Samoa where I'm from. The American Samoan people or more of the big physique than the Samoans on my island. So perhaps you might have met the American Samoans and mixed them up perhaps.

帕特里夏：薩摩亞羣島由美屬薩摩亞和西薩摩亞組成，西薩摩亞現在更名爲薩摩亞，我就來自那裏。美屬薩摩亞人比我們薩摩亞人的身材高大。所以可能你見到的是美屬薩摩亞人，你可能弄混了。

Joel: It must be. But you're English is very good so is English your native language?

喬爾：應該是。你的英語非常好，你的母語是英語嗎？

Patricia: Yes. The thing with me is that I am "half-caste" which means that I'm European-blooded and Polynesian-blooded which means that most of the halfcasts individuals or families on the island, they should have 2 languages, speak two language or more. So probably our first language is English and then Samoan.

帕特里夏：對。我是混血兒，我有歐洲和波利尼西亞血統，大部分在薩摩亞島上的混血兒都會說兩種以上的語言。所以可以說我的母語是英語，我還會薩摩亞語。

Joel: Ok. And what is the Samoan language — is it related to any other language like is it similar to Hawaiian?

喬爾：好。薩摩亞語與其他語言有聯繫嗎？和夏威夷語像嗎？

Patricia: Spanish, Hawaiian, Malaysian. It's probably more closer to the Malaysian 's 's closer to the Indonesian and Malaysian language because we are supposed to be from Southeast Asia which is around the Indonesian and Malaysian area.

帕特里夏：和西班牙語、夏威夷語和馬來西亞語相關。可能與傳統馬來語更接近……讓我想一下，抱歉，薩摩亞語與印尼語和馬來語更接近，因爲我們都起源於印尼和馬來西亞附近的東南亞地區。

Joel: So you speak that language as well?

喬爾：所以你也說薩摩亞語？

Patricia: Yes.

帕特里夏：對。

Joel: And what did you learn in school though?

喬爾：你在學校都學些什麼？

Patricia: In school I learned — you mean by language-wise?

帕特里夏：學校的學習，你是問和語言相關的學習嗎？

Joel: Yes.

喬爾：對。

Patricia: Ok, we have 2 sets of language courses. One is you take the Samoan your traditional or your native language as a second language itself while you're still a Samoan citizen or you take Samoan as a pure Samoan which is local pure but not Halfcast. And the course I took was Samoan as a second language which teaches you basically more conversation and more oral form of Samoan.

帕特里夏：我們有兩套語言課程。一種是你作爲薩摩亞公民將薩摩亞語或者你的傳統語言作爲第二語言來學習，另一種是學習純粹的薩摩亞語，而不是作爲混血兒學習。我選擇的課程是將薩摩亞語作爲第二語言來學習，這個課程會教很多會話場景還有薩摩亞語的口語形式。

Joel: And when do you have a chance to use that. Do you use that when you go shopping or in the home or...?

喬爾：那你什麼時候有機會使用薩摩亞語呢？是去購物的時候用還是在家或是……？

Patricia: Oh yes. Often. We can, at home, my parents speak both English and Samoan so we use Samoan only when you really want to make a point and English is more on a basis of everyday relaxing sort of thing.

帕特里夏：對。我經常說薩摩亞語。我父母既說英語也說薩摩亞語，所以在我們要強調觀點的時候我們就會用薩摩亞語表達，而表達日常的、輕鬆的事情時我們就用英語。

Joel: I see. That's very interesting. Thanks Patricia.

喬爾：我明白了。非常有意思，謝謝你，帕特里夏。

Patricia: No worries.

帕特里夏：不客氣。

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重點講解：
1. consist of 由…組成；由…構成；
例句：The book consists of nineteen chapters.
全書共分19章。
2. mix up 混淆；弄混；弄錯；
例句：People often mix me up with other actors.
人們常常把我同其他演員弄混。
3. be related to 相關；有關聯；
例句：The Belgian language is closely related to French.
比利時語與法語密切相關。
4. be similar to 相像的；相仿的；類似的；
例句：My attitude towards life is similar to yours.
我對生活的態度與你的很相似。
5. be supposed to do sth. 認爲；覺得；相信；
例句：At the present moment he is supposed to in town.
估計現在他是在城裏。