纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 069瓦斯特克女神雕像（1）

 

069：EPISODE 69 - Sculpture of Huastec Goddess 瓦斯特克女神雕像

Sculpture of Huastec goddess (made between tenth and fifteenth century). Stone statue; from Mexico

If you want to test the old clich that an act of translation is always an act of betrayal¹, then the internet automated² translation services will give you lots of happy ammunition³. I fed into it the sentence which is the theme for this week's programmes. "This week", I typed, "we're spinning the globe, looking at some of the world's religions around seven hundred years ago, and at how different cultures used objects to bring gods and humans nearer to each other." Once this sentence had been translated from English into French, from French into Greek and then from Greek back to English, it read: "This week we turn ball, that looks at certain of religions of world this there at about seven hundred years, and the way which different cultures has adopted objects to bring more almost gods and humans from each other."It's an amusingly⁴ crude exercise, but when it comes to translating complex ideas from a lost culture with no written language, we can't be confident of doing much better, as we work our way through layers of later interpretation⁵ by people with quite different ways of thinking.

To get anywhere near an original understanding of this programme's object, we have to go through a filter of two later cultures with two different languages - and even then, we're not quite sure where we stand. It's an object that's always intrigued⁶ me, and I'm less and less sure that I understand it - it's the statue of a woman, from what is now northern Mexico, but which around 1400, was the land of the Huastec people.

"It's absolutely essential that she should be female. One of the aspects of human experience that all myths⁷ and all religions address, is sex." (Marina Warner)

瓦斯特克女神雕像

石制雕像，来自墨西哥

公元900年至公元一五二一年

有一句古训说，翻译是一种背叛。想要翻译没有文字的失落文明的复杂思想，情况也一般无二：我们常常需要穿过后世的重重解读去找寻真相，而这些做出解读的人常有着与失落族群不同的思维方式，本族语言中也并没有能表达他们思想的现成词汇。

想理解这件文物最初的意义，首先要排除两种之后出现的、使用不同语言的不同文化的过滤作用，但即便如此，我们也无法肯定到底能探究出多少。这件物品一向使我着迷，但我越来越不确定自己是否了解它。它是一尊女性雕像，来自今墨西哥北部，而在公元一千四百年左右，这里是瓦斯特克人的土地。

1 betrayal   

n.背叛，暴露

参考例句：

• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。
• His defection to the other side was the ultimate betrayal.他变节投向另一方是最终的背叛。

2 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

3 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

4 amusingly   

adv.有趣地，好笑地

参考例句：

• The play was amusingly written, but its subject was a serious one. 剧本写得风趣逗笑，但其主题则是严肃的。 来自辞典例句
• He talked lightly and amusingly of kings and cardinals. 他悠闲和风趣谈及国王和枢机主教。 来自互联网

5 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

6 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

7 myths   

n.神话( myth的名词复数 )；杜撰出来的人[事物]

参考例句：

• They drew the material of their plays chiefly from myths and legends. 他们主要从神话传说中提取剧本的素材。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jasper White is one of rare people who believes in ancient myths. 贾斯珀。怀特是少有的相信古代神话的人之一。 来自新概念英语第二册