你好，helloHello, hello

Hello. I’m Catherine.
大家好，我是凯瑟琳。
Hello. I’m Rob.
大家好，我是罗伯。
We both started with what is probably the best-known greeting in English and one of the first words English language students learn, and that is ’hello’! So today in 6 Minute English we’re digging a little deeper into the world of greetings and the fascinating history of ’hello’.
我们都是以英语里熟知的问候语开始的，它是英语学习者学到的第一个单词，那就是"hello"！所以今天在六分钟英语，我们将深入研究问候语以及"hello"的精彩历史。
Surprisingly, the word ’hello’ is not as old as you might think. But when did it first appear in print in English?Was it a) in the 1890s b) the 1950s or c) the1820s ?
吃惊的是，"hello"这个词或许并不像你认为得那样悠久。但是它在英语中首次印刷是什么时候？是a)19世纪90年代 b)20世纪50年代 还是c)19世纪20年代？
Well, I think English changes really quickly, so I’m going to say b) the 1950s. And we’ll say ’hello again’ to ’hello’ a little later in the programme.
好吧，我觉得英语变化非常快，所以我选b)20世界50年代。并且稍后在节目中我们会再次见到"hello"这个词。
First, greetings. They can be a bit of a minefield, a subject full of uNPRedictable difficulties.
首先，问候方式。它们有些像雷区，一个充满未知困难的主体。
While in many places a handshake or bow is normal, there’s also the tricky question of kisses and hugs.
虽然在一些地方握手和鞠躬很正常，但亲吻和拥抱还是一个复杂的问题。
Awkward. Should you kiss? How many times? And should your lips touch their cheek?
很棘手。应该亲吻吗？亲吻几下？而且嘴唇需要接触他们的脸颊吗？
No, Rob, definitely an air-kiss! Close to the cheek, but don’t touch, much safer.
不，罗伯，绝对是空吻。挨着脸但是不接触，更加安全保险。
Greetings are the subject of a new book, by former British diplomat Andy Scott, called One Kiss or Two: In Search of the Perfect Greeting. Here he is on a BBC radio show Word of Mouth. Why are greetings so important?
问候语是前英国外交官安迪?斯科特新作的主题，书的名字是《亲吻一下还是两下：寻求最完美的问候方式》。这是他做客的BBC广播节目Word of Mouth。为什么问候方式如此重要？
These are the first moments of interaction we have with people. And it’s in those first moments.And using those verbal and physical rituals that we have and we can get in such a muddle about, that we’re kind of recognising each other and reaffirming our bonds or even testing our bonds and our relationships with each other.We’re signalling our intentions towards each other, despite the fact we might not necessarily be conscious when we’re doing them.Scott says we need to communicate our intentions to each other and acknowledge our relationships.
它们是我们和他人刚见面时的互动。刚见面时我们互相问候。并且通过那些让我们略感困惑的口头方式或肢体方式的问候来确定彼此是相熟的，再次强化彼此间的联系，或者甚至来考验自己与他人之间的关系。我们向对方传达自己的意图，即使事实上我们或许并不是下意识做这些的。斯科特称我们需要交流彼此的意图，确定彼此的关系。
Well, that’s what greetings do. One word he uses to mean ’relationship’ or ’connection’ is bond. We can reaffirm our bonds, which means we confirm them and make them stronger.
好吧，那就是问候的作用。他用来指代关系或者联系的词是"bond"。我们可以再次强化彼此的联系，那是指我们确认并加强彼此的联系。
And we do it through rituals - patterns of behaviour that we do for a particular purpose. So there are the phrases such as ’hello’, ’good afternoon’, ’nice to meet you’, and as well as the physical rituals – handshakes, bows and kisses.
我们通过社交礼节来强化彼此的联系——人们出于特殊目的的行为模式。所以就有了像“你好”，“下午好”，“很高兴见到你”这些短语，以及握手，鞠躬和亲吻这些肢体礼节。
Though he also said we sometimes want to test our bonds. We might want to check if our friendship has grown by offering something warmer than usual, like a hug instead of a handshake.Now, Scott acknowledges how difficult greetings can be, using the very British slang phrase – to get in a muddle. If you get in a muddle, you become confused or lost. You might get in a muddle if one person expects two kisses and the other expects only one.
尽管他同样称我们有时也是想要考验彼此的关系。我们或许会用比平时要热情的问候方式来考验彼此间的友谊是否加深了，像用拥抱代替握手。现在，斯科特承认问候很困难，他用非常地道的英国俚语短语——困惑来表示有多困难。如果你get in a muddle就是指你变得困惑或者迷茫。如果一个人想要亲吻两下，而另一个人只想亲吻一下的话，你或许会变得困惑。
Though Scott does believe that the details don’t really matter.Because another important purpose of greetings is to reduce tension. So if you get it wrong, just laugh about it.
然而斯科特相信细节并不重要。因为打招呼的一个主要目的就是缓解紧张情绪。所以如果你做错了，只要笑笑就好。
OK, let’s get back to the one word we really shouldn’t get in a muddle about - ’hello’.
好吧，让我们回顾一下我们真的不需要困惑的一个单词-"hello"。
Let’s listen to Dr Laura Wright, a linguist from Cambridge University, also speaking on the BBC Word of Mouth radio programme. Where does ’hello’ come from?
让我们听一下剑桥大学语言学家劳拉·怀特博士是怎么说的，她同样做客了BBCWord of Mouth的节目。"Hello"这个词源于哪里呢？
It starts as a distant hailing."I see you miles over there and I’ve got to yell at you." It’s not until the invention of telephones we really get to use hello as a greeting to each other. And even then it wasn’t initially used as a greeting.It was used more as an attention-grabbing device. You are miles away, the line is about to be cut, I need to attract the attention of the operator as well. And so everybody would call ’hello’ to each other as this long-distance greeting form.
它最初是用于远距离呼喊。“我看到你在几公里外的地方，我不得不朝你呼喊。”直到发明了电话，我们才开始把“你好”当做彼此的问候方式。但即使在那时候，它也不是被当做问候方式。它更多是被当做一种吸引注意力的方式。你在数里之外的地方，电话要被挂断，而我也要吸引你的注意。所以人们都会用"hello"作为远距离打招呼的方式。
Laura says ’hello’ hasn’t always meant ’hello’.Originally it was just a shout to attract someone’s attention. And we call this kind of shouting hailing.
劳拉称"hello"并不总是指“你好”。最初它只是为了吸引他人注意的喊叫。我们把这叫做大声呼喊。
The shout would vary in form. It could sound like a ’hollo’! or a ’hulloa’!
呼喊的声音不定。它可以听起来像'hollo'或者是'hulloa'！
We continued this kind of hailing when telephones first appeared. People would keep repeating ’hello, hello’ while they were waiting to be connected. And before long, this became the actual way to greet somebody on the telephone. Anyway, before we say ’goodbye’ to ’hello’, let’s have the answer to today’s question.
电话最初出现的时候，我们仍继续使用这种呼喊方式。等待电话接通的时候，人们会重复说"hello, hello"。不久之后，"hello"就变成了人们打电话时问候语了。不管怎么说，在和"hello"说再见之前，让我们看下今天问题的答案吧。
I asked when the word first appeared in print in English. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was in 1826. Other spellings appeared before that.
我问"hello"这个单词什么时候在英语里被首次印刷。根据《牛津英语词典》，首次印刷是在1826年。在那之前有其它的拼法出现过。
Ah, you see, I was thinking English changes really quickly, but not that quickly.
啊，你看，我认为英语变化得很快，但没那么快。
Not that quickly.
没那么快。
So before we go, let’s have a look at today’s vocabulary again. A minefield is something that is full of uncertainty and even danger. This sense comes from the literal meaning – a field full of explosive landmines!
所以在我们结束节目之前，让我们再次看一下今天的单词。雷区指的是充满未知甚至危险的事物。这个意思来源于它的字面意思——一块充满地雷的领域！
And then we had air-kiss, which is when you kiss the air beside someone’s face instead of the face itself!Like this: mwah.
然后是空吻这个词，指的是你亲吻别人脸颊旁边的空气，而不是脸颊本身。就像这样：muah（空吻的声音）。
And we had bond – a connection. There’s a close bond between us I think, Rob.
然后是bond-联系。我认为我们之间联系紧密，罗伯。
Which is good, because when I get in a muddle, you’re always very understanding!
那很不错，因为每次我困惑的时候，你总会非常理解我。
Yeah.
是的。
To get in a muddle means to become confused.
To get in a muddle指的是变得困惑。
Ritual was another word.Rituals are certain behaviours that people perform in certain contexts. I have a morning ritual, brush my teeth, eat breakfast.I didn’t say it was an interesting ritual, Rob!
Ritual是另一个我们要说的词。那是指人们在特定的环境下的特定行为。我早上习惯刷牙然后吃早饭。我没说它是非常有趣的习惯，罗伯。
No, that’s true. Finally, to hail.It’s to greet someone loudly, especially from a distance. I hailed my friend when I saw her at the airport.
无趣，那是真的。最后，to hail。它是指向某人大声打招呼，特别是从很远的距离。当我在机场看见我的朋友时，我向她大声喊。
And that’s it for this programme. For more, find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and of course our website bbclearningenglish.com.Bye!
以上就是今天的节目。更多内容，请查看我们的Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube，当然还有我们的网址bbclearningenglish.com。再见！
Bye-bye!
再见！