美语情景对话 第1125期:Power of Personality 性格的力量

Abidemi: So Rory, in the last conversation we were talking about changing your personality and you never said what you thought of that.

阿比德米：罗瑞，上次我们讨论了改变个性，可是你没有说你的想法。

Rory: Well, I think, I think when you learn a language often your personality does change. I notice with my students that they often seem quite different when they speak English to when they speak Japanese. I'm not sure if that's a language thing or a cultural thing. But I mean you speak more than one language.

罗瑞：我认为，在学习其他语言以后，你的个性就会发生改变。我注意到，我的学生在说英语和日语时完全不同。我不确定这是否与语言或文化有关。我知道，你不只会一种语言。

Abidemi: Yes, I do.

阿比德米：没错。

Rory: Do you think your personality is different in each language?

罗瑞：你在说不同语言时性格有不同吗？

Abidemi: That's a really good question. Just thinking of it right now, I think maybe for me it's more a question of the culture because I think when I am in an environment where I'm expected to be more extroverted, I tend to try to live up to that.

阿比德米：这是一个非常好的问题。就目前来说，我认为这是文化问题，因为当我在一个应该更外向的环境中时，我会尽量达到这一预期。

Rory: Right.

罗瑞：好。

Abidemi: I tend to try to be more cheerful, more open, more friendly or friendlier, I should say. But when I'm somewhere where I know that it's expected of me to be quieter, I do tend to become more quiet.

阿比德米：我会尽量更开朗、更开放、更友好。但是当我在应该更安静的环境中时，我会保持安静。

Rory: Right.

罗瑞：好。

Abidemi: So I don't know. That's a really good question.

阿比德米：我也不太清楚。不过这是个好问题。

Rory: And do you think there might be something in languages which make them like a more extroverted language or a more introverted language? Like I think about Italians – maybe it's a stereotype of Italians, but they seem to be very extroverted and the language seems to help them in that extroversion.

罗瑞：在你看来，是不是语言中的某些东西让人们的性格发生了变化？比如更外向的语言或更内向的语言？我认为意大利人，也许这是人们对意大利人的刻板印象，不过意大利人看起来非常外向，而且看起来意大利语助推了意大利人的外向性格。

Abidemi: That's true. That's very true. That's a good question because I'm just trying to think of culture and languages in general, and there's that debate of how cultures and languages are intertwined. Is it the culture that came first or is it the language that made the culture the way it is. So I don't know. I really don't know. But I would love to read more research and find out.

阿比德米：没错。的确是这样。这是一个很好的问题，我在从总体上来考虑文化和语言，人们在辩论文化和语言是如何互相交织在一起的。是先有文化还是语言塑造了文化？我也不知道。虽然我不知道，但是我很想阅读更多研究，找出答案。

Rory: Yeah. I mean, I noticed since I moved to Asia, to countries like Japan and Korea, the people do seem more introverted and the language also seems more introverted. So I wonder if the language or like you say, I wonder which came first, the language or the culture?

罗瑞：嗯。我搬到亚洲以后发现，日本和韩国等国家的民众看起来更内向，他们的语言也更内向。就像你说的，我也想知道是先有语言还是先有文化？

Abidemi: And I think to add on to that, when I think of Asian students that I've noticed speaking English, which to some people is a more extroverted language, they always seem more confident.

阿比德米：除此之外，我注意到，因为英语是偏外向的语言，所以亚洲学生在说英语时，看上去也更自信。

Rory: Yeah.

罗瑞：对。

Abidemi: They seem friendlier. They seem more open to talking about themselves, their family life. But when you talk to them in their native language, it seems like they revert back to their cultural norms which would probably be less...

阿比德米：他们看上去更友好。更愿意谈论自己的情况和家庭生活。但是当你用他们的母语和他们谈话时，他们会回归他们的文化规范，不太愿意谈太多。

Rory: Right, yes.

罗瑞：对，没错。

Abidemi: Yeah, so maybe there is something there.

阿比德米：对，也许有值得研究的东西。

Rory: Yeah. And I guess the culture over here in Asian countries is people are less likely to share information. There's less – I mean, in the West especially recently, there's quite a pressure on you to be more open.

罗瑞：对。我认为这是亚洲国家的文化，人们不太愿意共享信息。在西方国家尤其是最近，人们面临着很大压力，要越来越开放。

Abidemi: That's true.

阿比德米：没错。

Rory: Whereas maybe in Korea, Japan and China, people are more closed and just have different boundaries.

罗瑞：可是在韩国、日本和中国等国，人们更为封闭，有不同的界限。

Abidemi: I'm just trying to think of African countries, like being a Nigerian myself, we've had the issue of colonization and where the Western British culture is valorized. So coming from that aspect, I wonder before how we were. Were we more introverted? Because in a lot of ways we're very similar to Asian cultures and Asian values. We have a lot of that as well. But now it's true that being able to speak English and express yourself in a more Western way is a lot. It weighs a lot. It means a lot, so people really enjoy that. People really take their value from that.

阿比德米：我在想非洲国家的情况，我是尼日利亚人，我们有殖民问题，政府推行西方国家英国的文化。所以从这方面来看，我想知道我们以前是什么样子的。我们更内向吗？因为我们的很多生活方式和亚洲国家以及亚洲价值观更相似。我们也有很多亚洲的文化。但是现在我们说英语，用更西方的方式表达自己。现在西方的文化更盛行。人们很喜欢。人们从西方文化中获取价值观。

Rory: Right.

罗瑞：好。

Abidemi: So yeah, I think it's a really interesting topic.

阿比德米：我认为这是一个值得深思的话题。

Rory: Because I mean people often see England or British people as a bit introverted and a bit quiet, a bit cold and yet we share the same language as America. And people tend to think that people from North America are quite brash and extroverted.

罗瑞：人们通常认为英国人更内向，很安静，有点冷漠，可是我们和美国说同样的语言。人们倾向于认为北美人很傲慢，更外向。

Abidemi: That's true.

阿比德米：没错。

Rory: So like I said it's more cultural than language-based.

罗瑞：所以我认为相对于语言基础来说，这更像是文化问题。

Abidemi: Yeah, maybe. Maybe we've come to a solution then.

阿比德米：可能吧。也许我们可以得出结论了。

Rory: Okay.

罗瑞：好。

Abidemi: We've found it. It is the culture more than the language then. Okay.

阿比德米：我们找到答案了。结论就是这不只是语言问题，更是文化问题。

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重点讲解：
1. live up to 遵守（诺言）；符合，不辜负（期望）；
例句：Sales have not lived up to expectations this year.
今年的销售额不尽如人意。
2. in general 总的来说；总体上来看；大体上；
例句：I was in general agreement with this strong policy.
总的说来,我同意这种强硬的政策。
3. come first (表示顺序或名次)处于，位列；
例句：Public affairs should come first.
还是公事要紧。
4. be open to 愿意接受（建议、观点等）的；虚怀若谷的；
例句：I'm open to any suggestions that you may have.
我愿意接受你的任何忠告。