用自己名字怎么取英文名,如何用自己的名字取英文名

首页 > 经验 > 作者:YD1662024-03-25 19:54:49

《经济学人》双语:非洲人如何取名字?

原文标题:

Names in southern Africa

Here comes Trouble

The creative and revealing process of deciding what to call a baby

非洲南部的名字

“麻烦”来了

富有创造性和启发性给孩子取名的过程

They illuminate the past as well as aspirations for the future

这些名字揭示了过去,也孕育了对未来的盼望

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IF HE IS in a tight spot, says Trouble Kalua, people mention his name, asking, “What do you expect?”

麻烦·卡鲁阿说,如果他陷入困境,人们会聊起他的名字并问他,“你还指望什么?”

Shortly before his birth in Malawi, his father had lost his job as a bus conductor, impoverishing the family.

在马拉维,他出生不久前,他父亲丢了公共汽车售票员的工作,全家因此陷入贫困。

Then the baby nearly died. “This boy is trouble,” his father said. “His name is Trouble.”

之后这个婴儿差点死了。他父亲说:“这个孩子是个麻烦。他名字就叫‘麻烦’吧”

用自己名字怎么取英文名,如何用自己的名字取英文名(1)

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Across Africa names can have a story behind them.

在整个非洲,每个名字背后都有一个故事。

Yewande, for instance, is a Yoruba name meaning “mother has paid me a visit”, given when an older female relative dies just before a girl is born.

比如,耶万德是一个约鲁巴人的名字,意思是“母亲来看我了”,如果有年长的女性亲人在女孩出生之前去世,就会起这个名字。

Kiptanui may hint at a difficult birth for mothers who speak one of the Kalenjin group of languages in Kenya.

基普塔努伊可能暗示着说肯尼亚某种卡伦津族语言的母亲分娩困难。

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But southern Africa stands out for nominative creativity, at least when it comes to English names.

但非洲南部在起名创意方面表现突出,至少在英文名方面是这样。

Ask Zimbabweans about their school friends and you will hear an eclectic register: Lovemore, Hopewell, Innocence, Tedious, Patience, Knowledge, Fortune, Brilliant, God Knows.

问问津巴布韦人他们学校朋友的名字,你会听到一份五花八门的人名单:多爱,祝好,天真,乏味,耐心,知识,财富,聪明,天知道。

A Malawian (himself Golden) lists friends named Goodfriday, Wisdom, Iron and BoyBoy.

一个自己名叫戈尔登的马拉维人列出了几个他朋友的名字,周五好、智慧、铁和男孩。

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Names illuminate power and oppression.

名字映射了权力和压迫。

Under apartheid in South Africa many black people took on English names, some under pressure from bosses too lazy to pronounce their real ones; others to avoid standing out in a system designed to strip black people of their history, dignity and identity.

在南非实行的种族隔离制度下,一些人迫于老板的压力(因为老板懒得叫他们的本名),许多黑人起了英文名字;另一些人则是为了避免在一个意图剥夺黑人历史、尊严和身份的制度中过分显眼。

In his memoir, “Born A Crime”, Trevor Noah, a comedian, says that since African names were used at home, English ones often received little thought.

喜剧演员特雷弗·诺亚在他的回忆录《生而有罪》中说,由于在家中一般使用非洲名字,所以很少用到英文名字。

He recalls the example of his friend Hitler, who was named because the original Hitler “was so powerful that…black people had to go and help white people fight against him”.

他回忆起他的朋友希特勒的例子,起这个名字是因为原本的希特勒“太强大了…以至于黑人要帮助白人一起去抵抗他。”

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In Zimbabwe children were long given African names with meaning.

在津巴布韦,孩子们一直以来都起的是有寓意的非洲名字。

This practice switched after British colonisation, when having an English name was seen as a way of getting ahead.

这种起名法在英国殖民后就变了,起英文名字被视作是一种超前的做法。

Names may refer to circumstances around the birth, a quality parents see in the child, an aspiration for them—or even for the country.

名字可能与出生时的环境有关,父母在孩子身上看到的优秀品质,对孩子的期望——甚至是对国家的期望。

Under white rule some children were called Democracy, Freedom or, allegedly, Polling Station. Other names suggested progress.

在白人统治之下,孩子们被起名为民主、自由,或据说还有人叫“投票站”。其他的名字则暗示着社会进展。

One venture capitalist recalls school friends named Computer and, unless he was winding your correspondent up, Crankshaft.

一位风险投资家回忆起,他在学校时的朋友名字叫“电脑”,还有一个叫“曲轴”,除非他是在忽悠记者。

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Do names shape character? Zimbabweans wryly noted that one Reward Marufu, a late brother-in-law of Robert Mugabe, did well out of his relative’s corrupt regime.

名字会影响性格吗?津巴布韦人挖苦地说道,罗伯特·穆加贝已故的大舅子,奖励·马鲁夫,从其亲戚的腐败政权中获利颇多。

But Mr Kalua says he is Trouble by name, not by nature.“Great sense of humour, friendly, patient, kind, loving. Nothing like trouble at all!”

但是卡鲁阿先生说“麻烦”只是他的称呼,而不是他的本性。“我有良好的幽默感,友好,耐心,善良,有爱心。一点也不像个麻烦嘛!”

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Names, and the language they are in, reflect changing times, too.

名字和它所使用的语言也反映了时代的变迁。

In Zimbabwe, whose economy is collapsing, one comes across people named No Money.

在经济崩溃的津巴布韦,你会遇到一批叫“没钱”的人。

In many places African names are supplanting English ones.

在许多地方,非洲名字正在取代英文名。

In recent years in South Africa, Enzokuhle (“to do good” in Xhosa), has become one of the most popular names, perhaps inspired by a popular song, “Enzo”.

近年来在南非,或许是受到流行歌曲“恩佐”的启发,恩佐库勒(科萨语中“积德”的意思)成为了最受欢迎的名字之一。

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It may be that names such as Salad Nthenda will become relics.

像沙拉·恩森达这样的名字可能会成为历史。

The Malawian, whose mother ate lots of vegetables when pregnant, says his “name felt good from day one”.

这位马拉维人的母亲在*时吃了很多蔬菜,他说“从第一天起我就觉得我的名字很好听”。

He loves the “uniqueness”. Although he is teased at times, he does not give a toss.

他喜欢这种独特感。尽管总被人打趣,但他不屑一顾。

(恭喜读完,本篇英语词汇量600左右)

原文出自:2022年2月26日《The Economist》Middle East & Africa版块。

精读笔记来源于:自由英语之路

本文翻译整理:Fei Min

本文编辑校对: Irene

仅供个人英语学习交流使用。



【补充资料】(来源于网络)

特雷弗·诺亚(Trevor Noah):人称“崔娃”,1984年2月20日出生于南非约翰内斯堡,南非喜剧演员、脱口秀表演者、电视以及电台节目主持人。2015年,特雷弗·诺亚接手了美国深夜政治吐槽节目《每日秀》。2017年和2018年,特雷弗·诺亚被《好莱坞记者报》评为“纽约媒体35位最具影响力人物”之一,《时代》杂志也在2018年将他评为世界上最具影响力的100人之一。

《生而有罪》“Born A Crime”:与一般高大上的“名人自传”不同,崔娃的自传写得非常实诚和接地气。他在书中毫不掩饰自己各种并不十分光彩的成长经历,比如偷盗、刻录光碟以维持生计,因为被怀疑偷车而被拘留等等。但正是因为这些故事才显得这本书格外真实。

也写了南非种族隔离制度最严重的时期,白人占据着整个国家最富饶的土地,接受最好的教育,而黑人却只能聚集在贫民区,接受的教育也非常落后。即使在黑人内部也划分出很多不同的部落,讲不同的语言,白人还不断挑拨黑人间的矛盾,让他们内耗以加固自己的统治。作者的成长经历深深受到这些大环境的影响,童年时动荡不安,青年时期只能靠蒙坑拐骗以维持生计。但好在崔娃有一个伟大的母亲。在如此恶劣的生存和教育环境下,母亲却将自由、平等、坚韧、好奇、诚实等优秀品质教给了他,避免他走上弯路。

罗伯特·加布里埃尔·穆加贝(Robert Gabriel Mugabe,1924年2月21日-2019年9月6日),津巴布韦前总统。

1951年穆加贝在赫尔堡大学毕业并获文学学士。1980年津巴布韦独立后,出任实权总理。1987年,津巴布韦改行总统制后担任总统,并于1990年、1996年、2002年、2008年和2013年连任,连续六次出任总统。

从政期间,穆加贝支持泛非主义、非洲独立。他在国内建立混合经济,大力引进外资,20世纪80年代,津巴布韦经济发展取得了突出成绩。


【重点句子】
(3个)

But southern Africa stands out for nominative creativity, at least when it comes to English names.

但非洲南部在起名创意方面表现突出,至少在英文名方面是这样。

Names illuminate power and oppression.

名字映射了权力和压迫。

Names, and the language they are in, reflect changing times, too.

名字和它所使用的语言也反映了时代的变迁。

用自己名字怎么取英文名,如何用自己的名字取英文名(2)

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