我看葡萄牙My Views of Portugal

上小學(xué)的時候，課堂上老師提到“葡萄牙”，我覺得這個國家的名字很有意思1，怎么會以“葡萄”命名？ 且是一個“老牌帝國主義國家”，在遙遠(yuǎn)的歐洲，曾經(jīng)航海很厲害，有很多殖民地，但日后衰落了。

When “Portugal” was mentioned by my primary school teacher in class， I was curious to know how come a country could be named after “grapes” （since “Portugal” in Chinese is pu tao ya， and pu tao share the same characters as “grapes”）. And I was told that it is an “old imperialist country”， located in faraway Europe， which used to be an important maritime power with many colonies in the past but has been in decline for a long time.

后來我有幸到澳門一所大學(xué)任教，走進(jìn)了這座曾被葡國占領(lǐng)了四百余年的城市。從巴洛克風(fēng)格的建筑、葡萄牙風(fēng)味的美食、土生葡人，到身邊的葡國同事，使我覺得對于葡萄牙觸手可及2了，盡管在地理上依舊遙遠(yuǎn)。于是，我有興趣更多地了解該國的歷史、政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化、語言等。那時，澳門“回歸祖國”已將近三年，有很多“中葡論壇”之類的活動，我都積極參加，更拉近了我與葡國的心理距離。

Later， I was fortunate enough to be invited to teach at a university in Macao， a city occupied by Portugal for more than four hundred years. At the time， I was overwhelmed by things Portuguese， such as the Baroque-style architecture， Portuguese cuisine， locally-born Portuguese， not to mention my Portuguese colleagues. It seemed that Portugal was within reach， despite its geographical distance. This sparked my interest in learning more about the country’s history， politics， economy， culture， language and more. Since Macao had just been “returned to its motherland” for nearly three years， there were many activities related to “China-Portuguese Forums” in which I was actively involved， bringing me psychologically closer to Portugal.

其實(shí)“葡萄牙”的名字源于拉丁文，意為“港口”，可見它與海洋的淵源。原來，這是一個有著悠久歷史和豐富文化的南歐國家。公元前218年，它被納入羅馬帝國，隨后在公元5世紀(jì)被日耳曼人征服，又在公元8至12世紀(jì)被摩爾人統(tǒng)治了400余年。直到1249年，葡萄牙才驅(qū)逐了所有入侵者，基本形成了今天的版圖。15至16世紀(jì)是葡萄牙的輝煌時期，憑借其強(qiáng)大的航海實(shí)力，他們繞過好望角，建立了一個橫跨亞洲、非洲和南美洲的帝國，成為當(dāng)時的世界強(qiáng)國。

The name “Portugal”， in fact， comes from Latin （Portus Cale）， meaning “port”， showing its connection with the sea. It turns out that this is a Southern European country with a long history and rich culture. It was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 218 BC， conquered by the Germanic peoples in the 5th Century， and ruled by the Moors from the 8th to the 12th centuries， for over 400 years. It was not until 1249 that Portugal expelled all invaders and roughly formed today’s territory. The 15th and 16th centuries witnessed Portugal’s glorious period. With its strong maritime power， it rounded the Cape of Good Hope and established an empire spanning Asia， Africa and South America， becoming a world power at the time.

在澳門期間，我有機(jī)會到過馬六甲海峽，知道1511年葡萄牙也占領(lǐng)了那里，控制了這一連接印度洋與太平洋的海上通道，成為其進(jìn)行香料貿(mào)易的重要樞紐。那里的人得知我是從澳門來的，竟然因都曾受到葡國的殖民統(tǒng)治而感到格外親切，并一口咬定我會講葡語，這倒促使我回來后好好補(bǔ)了補(bǔ)語言課。

During my stay in Macao， I had the opportunity to visit the Strait of Malacca and learned that Portugal also occupied this area in 1511， controlling this maritime passage connecting the Indian and Pacific Ocean， making it an important hub for its spice trade. Knowing I was from Macao， the locals showed me particular affinity due to our shared history of Portuguese colonial rule， and insisted that I spoke Portuguese， which motivated me to brush up on my language skills upon returning.

但有輝煌便有坎坷，因爭奪勢力范圍，葡萄牙曾與西班牙、法國、英國等多次發(fā)生戰(zhàn)爭，耗費(fèi)了大量資源，還導(dǎo)致了領(lǐng)土的喪失和經(jīng)濟(jì)的破壞。特別是，1808年，由于拿破侖軍隊(duì)的入侵，為了避免被俘3，葡萄牙王室和大部分貴族逃到了其殖民地巴西，并在那里設(shè)立了臨時首都里約熱內(nèi)盧，這使得里約熱內(nèi)盧成為歐洲國家的第一個海外首都，也使得巴西成為南美唯一講葡語的國家。難怪4這兩個國家的關(guān)系非同尋常。在澳門也有許多巴西人，經(jīng)營他們的店鋪，但葡人與巴西人說的葡語，我一聽便能識別出來5。

Portugal’s thriving had a glorious history but not without setbacks. It had many wars with Spain， France and Britain over territorial disputes， consuming vast resources and leading to loss of territories and economic damage. Especially， confronted with Napoleon’s invasion in 1808， the Portuguese royal family and most of the nobility fled to their colony in Brazil， establishing a temporary capital in Rio de Janeiro， making the city the first overseas capital of an European country and Brazil the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America. Understandably， the two countries have had an unusual relationship ever since. There are also many Brazilians in Macao running their businesses. As for the Portuguese spoken by the peoples of two countries， I can tell the differences as soon as they open their mouths.

從在澳門的葡國人那里我了解到，如今的葡萄牙已遠(yuǎn)非其大航海時代了，主要是其工業(yè)化進(jìn)程的相對滯后，國際競爭力不夠。政治上，1974年康乃馨革命雖推翻了獨(dú)裁政權(quán)，帶來了民主制度，但現(xiàn)代化改革和經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展依然面臨諸多挑戰(zhàn)。早在1986年葡萄牙便加入歐盟，但在里面是個窮國6，每年要從中接受救濟(jì)，補(bǔ)貼生活。

I learned from the Portuguese people in Macao that there is no comparison between today’s Portugal and its glorious past during the Age of Exploration， mainly due to its sluggish industrialization and impotent international competitiveness. Politically， although the Carnation Revolution in 1974 overthrew its dictatorship and brought in democracy， Portugal’s modern reforms and economic development still face many challenges. Portugal joined the European Union as early as 1986， but it remains one of the poorer members， receiving subsidies and aid annually.

2024年6月，我終于來到這個幼時便感到新奇的國家，貼到跟前看一看。先到了著名的羅卡角，因?yàn)檫@里是歐洲大陸的最西端，號稱是“大地的盡頭，海洋的開端”，感覺到葡國不但在地理位置，而且在實(shí)力版圖上都處于歐洲的邊緣地帶，但當(dāng)年卻不是；正是憑借這種“邊緣優(yōu)勢”使其成為迅速崛起的海洋大國，一度橫跨歐、亞、非、南美，不可一世7。站在懸崖邊，望著無際的滔滔海水，我仿佛看到了葡萄牙昔日的輝煌逐漸被席卷而去。大浪淘沙，風(fēng)水輪流轉(zhuǎn)，一切都在變遷。

This June， I finally visited the country that intrigued me since childhood， having a first-hand experience. Initially， I went to the famous Cabo da Roca， the westernmost point of the European continent， known as “the edge of the earth and the beginning of the ocean”. I had a sense that this country has been marginalized not only geographically but also geopolitically. However， that wasn’t the case in the past. It was precisely this kind of “peripherization advantage” that made Portugal a rapidly rising maritime power， building a formidable empire across Europe， Asia， Africa， and South America. Standing on the cliff and looking at the vast ocean， I seemingly saw the glory of Portugal being swept away. Yes， “the wheel turns”， everything changes as time goes by.

接著，我來到了有“伊甸園”美譽(yù)的辛特拉山頂?shù)呐寮{宮。這里曾是葡萄牙國王的離宮，金碧輝煌，色彩斑斕，融合了巴洛克式、哥特式、文藝復(fù)興式、摩爾式和曼努埃爾式的建筑風(fēng)格，對于歐洲的皇室建筑、宮廷生活有著深遠(yuǎn)的影響，1995年被聯(lián)合國教科文組織列為世界遺產(chǎn)。

Consequently， I visited the Pena Palace at the top of Sintra Mountain， known as the “Eden”. It was once the summer palace of the Portuguese kings， magnificent and colorful， combining the architectural styles of Baroque， Gothic， Renaissance， Moorish and Manueline， exerting a profound influence on European royal buildings and court life. In 1995， it was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

和這里的普通人接觸，發(fā)現(xiàn)鮮有極富和極貧的，主要是稅收和福利制度起了重要的調(diào)節(jié)作用。移民到此的中國人，也大都喜歡這里的平淡生活。人們不再雄心勃勃、冒險、躁動，似乎也不再稀罕往日的大富大貴，而是甘于日常的平靜，甚至“無聊”。其實(shí)，這不正是生活的本色嗎？

Interacting with some local people， I found there are rarely extremely rich or poor people， mainly due to the tax and welfare system playing a significant regulatory role. Most Chinese immigrants here also enjoy its peaceful life. It seems that the people are no longer ambitious， adventurous or restless， nor interested in their worthy past. Instead， they prefer daily tranquility， even “boredom”. Isn’t this the true nature of life？

* 博士，杭州師范大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院翻譯研究所特聘教授，本刊編委。

1“很有意思”沒有如通常譯成“… very interested in …”，而變通為“… was curious to know… ”， 更體現(xiàn)一種少年的好奇心。" "2“觸手可及”一般可譯成“… close enough to touch”“… near at hand”等；此處通過前后語境“… was overwhelmed by”“… was within reach”體現(xiàn)出來。

3“為了避免被俘”沒有特意譯出，如to avoid being captured等，因其意已體現(xiàn)在“… fled to their colony in Brazil”。" 4“難怪”一般譯為no wonder，此處變通為understandably，以利于句式表達(dá)。

5這種同一“官方語”由不同國家/地區(qū)人講出來的語言變異現(xiàn)象（linguistic variations）普遍存在，例如：加拿大魁北克語區(qū)人與法國人說的法語；阿根廷人與西班牙人說的西班牙語；奧地利人、瑞士人與德國人說的德語；等等。只要對該種語言有一定常識，都可識別出來。" 6這里的“窮國”不是一般的poor country，而實(shí)際情況是（one of） the poorer members。" 7此處的“不可一世”不是一般意義上的extremely arrogant、be insufferably arrogant 等，而是融合在了formidable （empire） 之中。