GCIOSGF Newsletter 會訊：
應景茶會
主持：會長
整理：會務
“四月一日天，花稀葉陰薄。泥新燕影忙，蜜熟蜂聲樂。 ”
從春分走向清明，我們迎來了溫暖新鮮的四月天。
你或許知道，春分的英文是equinox，這個詞其實來自拉丁語aequinoctium，表示白天與黑夜等長，這也就是春分的天文學意義：這一天太陽直射赤道，南北半球晝夜平分，標誌著春天的到來。
The word equinox comes from the Latin term aequinoctium, meaning equality between day and night (aequi = equal and noct = night). That is what today is after all: one of the two period of the year when the sun crosses the equator and the days and nights are in equal length all over the earth, marking our spin from winter to spring.
除此之外，正如我們用孟春、陽春、暮春、酣春等詞來形容不同的春天，英文裡也有許多關於春天的有趣表述。 下面來看看在這個艷麗的季節裡能用到的一些詞彙：
春天的代名詞
❶Primaveral: /ˌprɪməˈvɪrəl/ adj. 早春的
這個詞源於拉丁語的“初春”，能用來形容初春發生的所有事情。基於這個詞，春天也可以被稱為“黃金時間”（prime time or prime tide）。
❷Vernal: /ˈvɜːn(ə)l/ adj. 春天的
這個詞同樣可以用來形容春天發生或出現的一切，來自拉丁語“與春天有關的”。它也可以有很多種變形：
If you vernalize something, you make it spring-like. If something has spring-like qualities, you might note its vernality. And if a friend of yours has a lovely garden growing in the spring, you should probably compliment them on their impressive vernation.
如果你對某物實施春化處理，就是讓它看起來像在春天時一樣。如果某物有春天般的特質，你可能會注意到它的春日特性。如果你的一個朋友有一個可愛的花園在春日里充滿生機，你或許應該讚美這令人印象深刻的春天。
春天的不同階段
❶Mud-time: n. 泥濘期
在美國東北部，這個詞常用於形容初春地面的冰雪完全融化前，滿地泥濘的時期。 1902年的一份美國報紙寫道：“春天一來，人們就把舊鞋子拿出來修修補補，以便在泥濘期穿著。”
In the Northeast, the straightforwardly named mud time is the period of early spring before the ground is completely thawed and there is much mud. "As soon as spring opens, the people trot out their old shoes," wrote the New Hampshire Portsmouth Herald in 1902, "and have them patched up to wear through mud time."
❷Month-brother: n. 兄弟月
在英國詩人杰拉德·曼利·霍普金斯（Gerard Manley Hopkins）的筆下，三月和四月被稱作“兄弟月”，因為他們吵鬧而暴躁。相比之下，可愛溫和的五月則被稱為“姐妹月”。
Both March and April are known as "month-brothers," being the rowdier, stormier siblings to lovely May, known as a "month-sister." These names comes from the poetic stylings of Englishman Gerard Manley Hopkins.
❸Blackberry winter: n. 黑莓冬
主要用於美國南部地區，指晚春的一段寒冷天氣，或“寒流”。據說，這個詞的出現是因為每年黑莓開花後都會出現寒冷天氣，而此後的整個夏天美國人都會吃黑莓餡餅。
Used chiefly in the southern regions of America, this refers to a period of cold weather in the late spring, more boringly called a "cold snap". The term is said to come from chilly weather appearing after the blackberry plants have begun to bloom, which Americans will feast on in cobblers throughout summer.
同樣描述這段寒冷天氣的詞包括後冬（after-winter）,黑刺李冬（blackthorn winter）, 山茱萸冬（dogwood winter）和紫荊冬（redbud winter）。
組成春天的元素
❶Cuckoo: n. 杜鵑鳥
布穀鳥被稱作“春天的先兆”，因為它們會在四月遷徙回到春暖花開的地方。
These migratory birds are known as the "harbingers of spring," arriving in places like the British Isles in April.
因此，布穀鳥常常作為春天的使者出現，吉卜林（Joseph Rudyard Kilpling）就曾在詩中寫道：
布穀鳥，把你的歌帶來！
請出示搜查令、法令和傳票，
讓春天通過吧！
Cuckoo, bring your song here!
Warrant, Act and Summons, please,
For Spring to pass along here!
❷Chelidonian: adj. 和煦的（春風）
這個詞指春天的風，來源於希臘語中的“燕子”。據說，當遠方的第一隻燕子飛來時，就會吹來這一股春風。
This delicious adjective refers to spring winds, and is derived from the Greek word for swallow. Because the Chelidonian winds are said to arise at the first coming of yonder swallows.
❸Pishachi: n. 庇薩奇風
在南亞，春天刮的旋風被稱作pishachi。這個詞來自梵語，意為“女惡魔”。在非洲，春天裡“炎熱、乾燥而令人窒息的沙風”則被稱作simoom，來自阿拉伯語，意為“有毒的風”。
If you happen to be in South Asia this spring and experience a whirlwind, you should tell your friends you are in a pishachi, a word that comes from Sanskrit term for female demon. If you happen to be in Africa and stuck in a "hot, dry, suffocating sand-wind" which sweeps across the deserts at intervals during the spring, you should know that you are in a simoom.
描繪春天的詞語遠不止這些，古今中外都在這個季節唱起獻給青春與生命的歌。
郭沫若翻譯的托馬斯·納什（Thomas Nashe）的詩中說：“春，甘美之春，一年之中的堯舜”（Spring, the sweet spring, is the year's pleasant king）。
在這個甜蜜盛放的時節，看這篇文章的您們會用什麼詞句來勾勒春天呢？
沒有留言:
張貼留言