实战口语情景对话 第574期:Island Language 群岛上的语言

Joel: So I don't think we've met yet, what is your name?
乔尔：我想我们以前没有见过，你叫什么名字？

Patricia: Patricia. It's a pleasure to meet you.
帕特里夏：我叫帕特里夏。很高兴认识你。

Joel: You too. Where are you from?
乔尔：我也是。你来自哪里？

Patricia: I'm from Samoa.
帕特里夏：我来自萨摩亚。

Joel: Samoa? Where is that?
乔尔：萨摩亚？在哪里？

Patricia: It's in the South Pacific north of New Zealand.
帕特里夏：萨摩亚位于南太平洋，在新西兰北边。

Joel: Ok. Samoa. We call it Samoa in the United States. How do you pronounce it?
乔尔：好，萨摩亚。在美国我们是这么读萨摩亚的。你们怎么发音？

Patricia: Samoa.
帕特里夏：萨摩亚。

Joel: Samoa. Ok. Yeah, I've met a couple of people from Samoa.
乔尔：萨摩亚。好。我见过几个来自萨摩亚的人。

Patricia: Oh, really.
帕特里夏：哦，真的吗？

Joel: They are very large people. Is that pretty typical?
乔尔：他们都非常高大。萨摩亚人都是这样吗？

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：萨摩亚群岛由美属萨摩亚和西萨摩亚组成，西萨摩亚现在更名为萨摩亚，我就来自那里。美属萨摩亚人比我们萨摩亚人的身材高大。所以可能你见到的是美属萨摩亚人，你可能弄混了。

Joel: It must be. But you're English is very good so is English your native language?
乔尔：应该是。你的英语非常好，你的母语是英语吗？

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：对。我是混血儿，我有欧洲和波利尼西亚血统，大部分在萨摩亚岛上的混血儿都会说两种以上的语言。所以可以说我的母语是英语，我还会萨摩亚语。

Joel: Ok. And what is the Samoan language — is it related to any other language like is it similar to Hawaiian?
乔尔：好。萨摩亚语与其他语言有联系吗？和夏威夷语像吗？

Patricia: Spanish, Hawaiian, Malaysian. It's probably more closer to the Malaysian traditional...more...let's see...sorry...it'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：和西班牙语、夏威夷语和马来西亚语相关。可能与传统马来语更接近……让我想一下，抱歉，萨摩亚语与印尼语和马来语更接近，因为我们都起源于印尼和马来西亚附近的东南亚地区。

Joel: So you speak that language as well?
乔尔：所以你也说萨摩亚语？

Patricia: Yes.
帕特里夏：对。

Joel: And what did you learn in school though?
乔尔：你在学校都学些什么？

Patricia: In school I learned — you mean by language-wise?
帕特里夏：学校的学习，你是问和语言相关的学习吗？

Joel: Yes.
乔尔：对。

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：我们有两套语言课程。一种是你作为萨摩亚公民将萨摩亚语或者你的传统语言作为第二语言来学习，另一种是学习纯粹的萨摩亚语，而不是作为混血儿学习。我选择的课程是将萨摩亚语作为第二语言来学习，这个课程会教很多会话场景还有萨摩亚语的口语形式。

Joel: And when do you have a chance to use that. Do you use that when you go shopping or in the home or...?
乔尔：那你什么时候有机会使用萨摩亚语呢？是去购物的时候用还是在家或是……？

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：对。我经常说萨摩亚语。我父母既说英语也说萨摩亚语，所以在我们要强调观点的时候我们就会用萨摩亚语表达，而表达日常的、轻松的事情时我们就用英语。

Joel: I see. That's very interesting. Thanks Patricia.
乔尔：我明白了。非常有意思，谢谢你，帕特里夏。

Patricia: No worries.
帕特里夏：不客气。