欧美人文风情第99篇:荷兰还是尼日兰?

 Welcome to the great nation of Holland, where the tulips grow, the windmills turn, the breakfast is chocolaty, 欢迎来到大荷兰王国，在这里虑金香丛生、风车转动、早餐充满巧克力、

the people are industrious¹ and the sea tries to drown it all, except this country isn't Holland. 人们勤奋而海水试着将全部淹没，只是这个国家不是荷兰。

It's time for the difference between Holland and the Netherlands, and a whole lot more. 是时候来说明荷兰和尼日兰的差异，还有很多其他的。

The correct name for this tulip-growing, windmill-building, hagelslag-eating, 这个种植郁金香、建造风车、吃碎屑巧克力、

container ship-moving, ocean-conquering nation is the Netherlands. 货柜船集散、征服海洋的国家的正确名字叫尼日兰。

But confusion² is understandable. 但混淆是可以理解的。

The general region has been renamed a lot over a thousand years, 这儿一般的地区在一千多年以来曾经历多次重新命名，

including as the Dutch Republic, the United States of Belgium and the Kingdom of Holland. 包含如荷兰共和国、比利时合众国和荷兰王国。

But it's not just history that makes this country's name confusing, 但并非只有历史让这个国家的名字令人困惑，

because the Netherlands is divided into twelve provinces: Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Gelderland, 因为尼日兰被划分为十二个省份：Groningen、Drenthe、Overijssel、Gelderland、

Limburg, North Brabant, Zeeland (which by the way is the Zeeland that makes this Zealand new), Limburg、North Brabant、Zeeland(顺道一提，正因为Zeeland(西兰省)才让这个Zealand变成新的(纽西兰))、

Friesland (with the adorable little hearts on its flags), Flevoland, Utrecht, Friesland(国旗上有着可爱的小颗爱心图案)、Flevoland、Utrecht，

and here's the confusion—Noord (North) Holland and Zuid (South) Holland. 然后这里是让人混淆的地方──北荷兰和南荷兰省。

These provinces make calling the Netherlands "Holland" like calling the United States "Dakota." 这些省份使得称尼日兰为“荷兰”，就像是把美国叫成“Dakota(达科他州)”一样。

Though, unlike the Dakotas, which are mostly empty, save for the occasional Jackalope, 然而，不像Dakota州(南、北达科他州)，那里大多是空旷的，除了偶然出现的Jackalope(鹿角兔身的想像动物)，

the two Hollands are the most populated provinces and have some the biggest attractions, like Amsterdam and Keukenhof. 这两个荷兰省是人口最多的省份，且拥有某些像是阿姆士特丹和库肯霍夫等的最热门观光景点。

Chances are, if it's Dutch and you've heard of it, it's in one of the Hollands. 如果它是荷兰文(地名)而且你也有听说过，那有可能，它就在这两个荷兰省的其中之一里面。

Even the government's travel website for the country is Holland.com, officially because it sounds friendlier, 甚至连政府的国家观光网站都是Holland.com，官方上是因为它听起来较亲近，

but unofficially, it's probably what people are actually searching for. 但非官方原因它也许是人们实际上所搜寻的东西。

Confusion continues because people who live in the Hollands are called Hollanders, 混淆持续，因为住在荷兰省的人被称作Hollanders，

but all citizens of the Netherlands are called Dutch, as is their language. 但所有尼日兰的公民如同他们的语言，都被叫做Dutch。

But in Dutch they say, "Nederlands sprekende Nederlanders in Nederland," 但用Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰话)他们说：“尼日兰人在尼日兰说尼日兰语”，

which sounds like they'd rather we call them Netherlanders speaking Netherlandish. 那听起来好像他们宁愿我们叫他们尼日兰人说尼日兰话。

Meanwhile, next door in Germany, they're "Deutsche sprechen Deutsch in Deutschland," 同时，在隔壁德国，他们是“德国人在德国说德语”，

which sounds like they'd rather be called Dutch. 那听起来就像他们宁愿被叫做Dutch(音似Deutsch的德文发音)。

This linguistic³ confusion is why Americans call the Pennsylvania Dutch "Dutch," even though they're Germans. 这语言上的混淆正是何以美国人称德裔宾州人“Dutch”的原因，即便他们是德国人。

To Review: This country is the Netherlands, its people are Dutch, and they speak Dutch. 来复习一下：这个国家是尼日兰，这里的人民是Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰人)，而且他们说Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰语)。

There is no country called Holland, but there are provinces of North and South Holland. 没有一个叫做荷兰的国家，但有北荷兰省和南荷兰省。

Got it? Great, because it's about to get more complicated. 懂了吗？很好，因为它将会变得更复杂。

The Netherlands is part of a kingdom with the same name: 尼日兰是有着同样名称的王国：

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is headed by the Dutch royal family. 尼日兰王国的一部分，尼日兰王国是由Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰)皇室领导。

The Kingdom of the Netherlands contains three more countries, 尼日兰王国包含了另外的三个国家，

and to find them we must sail from the icy North Sea to the Caribbean and Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten. 而要找到它们，我们必须从冰封的北海航行到加勒比海，Aruba(阿鲁巴)、Curacao(库拉索)以及Sint Maarten(荷属圣马丁)。

These are no territories, but self-governing countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 这些不是领土，而是尼日兰王国内的自治国。

And as such they have their own governments and their own currencies. 而就这一点而言，他们有自己的政府和自己的货币。

Geography Geek Side Note here: While Aruba and Curacao are islands, Sint Maarten is just the southern half of a tiny island also named Saint⁴ Martin, 这是给地理狂热者的页边注解：尽管Aruba(阿鲁巴)和Curacao(库拉索)是岛屿，但Sint Maarten(荷属圣马丁)只是一个也叫作圣马丁的小岛的南半边，

the other half of which is occupied by France and also named Saint Martin. 其另一半边被法国人占领，也名为Saint Martin(法属圣马丁)。

So despite being separated by Belgium on the European map, 所以尽管在欧洲地图上被比利时分开，

The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Republic share a border on the other side of the world on an island so nice they named it thrice. 尼日兰王国和法兰西共和国在世界的另一边，一个太棒了以至于他们将其命名三次的小岛上，共享边界。

But why does the Kingdom of the Netherlands reach to the Caribbean anyway? 但到底为什么尼日兰王国会来到加勒比海？

Because: Empire. In the 1600s the Dutch, always looking to expand business, laid their hands on every valuable port they could. 因为：帝国。在1600年间Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰人)，总是冀望着扩展贸易，尽其所能地染指每一有价值的港埠。

For a time, America's East Coast was "New Netherland," with its capital city of "New Amsterdam." 一度，美国的东岸是“新尼日兰”，有着首都城市“新阿姆士特丹(现在的纽约)”。

There was New Zealand, as mentioned previously⁵, and nearby, the king of the islands, New Holland. 还有先前提到的纽西兰，还有附近的，诸岛之王，新荷兰(现在的澳洲)。

Though the empire is gone, these three Caribbean nations remain. 虽然帝国已逝，但这三个加勒比海国仍留存。

And while four countries in one kingdom isn't unheard of, it doesn't stop there, 而尽管四国一体的王国并非前所未闻，但不只那样，

because the country of the Netherlands also extends its border to the Caribbean and three more islands: 因为尼日兰国还将它的版图延伸到加勒比海及另外三个岛屿：

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. Bonaire(波内赫)、Sint Eustatius(圣尤斯特歇斯)和Saba(萨巴)。

These are not countries in the kingdom but are cities in the country of the Netherlands, 他们并非王国中的国家，而是尼日兰国里的城市，

and they look the part. 且他们看起来颇适合这个角色。

Residents of these far-flung cities vote in elections for the Dutch government just as any Hollander would. 这些遥远城市的居民正像任何荷兰人一样在选举中投票选出Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰)政府。

Though weirdly⁶ they don't belong to any province, and they don't use the Dutch currency of Euros. 然而怪异的是他们不属于任何省，也不使用Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰的)欧元货币。

They use dollars instead. It's kind of like if Hawaii wasn't a state, 而是使用美金。这就有点类似假设夏威夷不是一个州，

but technically⁷ part of the District of Columbia, all the while using yen⁸. 而在技术上是哥伦比亚特区之一部分，总是使用日币。

These cities of the country of the Netherlands and these countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands are together known as the Dutch Caribbean. 这些尼日兰国的城市和尼日兰王国中的国家合起来称为荷属加勒比海。

And their citizens are Dutch citizens, which, because the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a member of the European Union, 而他们的公民是Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰)公民，因为尼日兰王国是欧盟的一员，

means that these Dutch Caribbeans are also Europeans. 那意谓着这些荷属加勒比海人也是欧洲人。

So in the end, there are six Caribbean islands, four countries, twelve provinces, two Hollands, two Netherlands, and one kingdom...all Dutch. 所以最后，有六个加勒比海岛屿、四个国家、十二个省份、二个荷兰省、二个尼日兰和一个王国...全部都是Dutch(荷兰/尼日兰)。

 

1 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

2 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

3 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

4 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。

7 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

8 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。