Well, I’ve never actually seen one - not even at Halloween.
好吧，我从来没有真正见过 —— 甚至在万圣节也没有。
Neil(尼尔)
How about dragons then? Or fairies and elves?
那龙呢？还是仙女和精灵？
Georgina(乔治娜)
Have you been reading fantasy books, Neil? Lord of the Rings?
尼尔，你一直在读奇幻书吗？指环王？
Neil(尼尔)
I have been reading a book, Georgina, but not Lord of the Rings. My book is about an amphibious creature – a creature that lives both on land and in water.
You’ve almost got the idea, Georgina, but think - woman, not man; and fish, not frog.
乔治娜，你差不多知道了，但想想 —— 女人，而不是男人；还有鱼，而不是青蛙。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Half-woman, half-fish? I’ve got it – a mermaid!
半女半鱼？我明白了 —— 美人鱼！
Neil(尼尔)
That’s right! Mermaids are magical creatures, half-woman, half-fish, that feature in the myths and legends of many cultures around the world.
没错！美人鱼是一种神奇的生物，半女半鱼，在世界各地许多文化的神话和传说中都有出现。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Like the Sirens, whose seductive singing shipwrecked Odysseus and his sailors in ancient Greek mythology.
就像古希腊神话中的塞壬一样，他们诱人的歌声使奥德修斯和他的水手们遇难。
Neil(尼尔)
The Sirens are perhaps the most famous, but certainly not the only, mermaids we’ll be hearing about. But before we dive into the programme, it’s time for my quiz question. The book I’ve been reading was, of course, The Little Mermaid.
Yes, I’ve seen the Disney movie. The mermaid is called Ariel.
是的，我看过迪斯尼电影。美人鱼叫爱丽儿。
Neil(尼尔)
Right – but the movie was based on a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. It became so famous that a statue of the Little Mermaid was built in the harbour of Andersen’s birthplace – but where? Was it: a) Amsterdam; b) Copenhagen, or c) Oslo?
OK, Georgina, I’ll tell you the answer later. Disney’s defenceless mermaid, Ariel, seems the total opposite to the seductive, dangerous Sirens in the Odyssey. In fact, descriptions and stories of mermaids have always changed from place to place.
One mermaid-like character found across Africa and the Americas is named, Mami Wata. Here’s British writer, Marcelle Mateki, talking about the origins of this legend to BBC World Service programme, The Forum:
Even the name, Mami Wata, which is pidgin English for ‘Mother Water’, so it’s loosely translated from pidgin English as ‘the mother of water’ and the characteristics that are commonly shared when speaking about Mami Wata across the West African coast is that this deity is the protector of the water kingdom.
甚至这个名字，Mami Wata，在洋泾浜英语中是“水母”的意思，所以它被从洋泾浜英语粗略地翻译为“水之母”，在西非海岸谈论 Mami Wata 时，通常共有的特征是这个神是水王国的保护者。
Neil(尼尔)
The name ‘Mami Wata’ comes from Nigerian pidgin English – a language which has developed from a mixture of two languages and is used as a way of communicating by people who do not speak each other’s languages.
Marcelle says that ‘Mami Wata’ means ‘the mother of water’ when loosely translated – translated in a way that carries over the basic ideas but using words which may not be so accurate.
Mami Wata is also described as the protector of the water kingdom and a deity – a god, goddess or other divine being.
Mami Wata 也被描述为水王国的保护者和神灵 —— 神、女神或其他神灵。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Another version of a mermaid-like creatures, called Selkies, are found in the remote Orkney Islands, north of the Scottish mainland. The Selkies can take human form and marry men but every now and then they return to their watery kingdom under the sea.
Cristina Bacchilega is co-editor of The Penguin Book of Mermaids. According to her, these different versions of mermaids share something in common - they force us to question our relationship to water and other beings in the natural world – and even to question how we see ourselves.
Here’s Cristina explaining more in the BBC World Service’s, The Forum:
以下是克里斯蒂娜在BBC世界服务论坛中解释的更多信息：
Cristina Bacchilega(克里斯蒂娜·巴奇莱加)
The beings, not just mermaids but Selkies and water deities and other water spirits are often shape-shifters, they have a certain kind of fluidity of being… So do we approach this world with humility, or do we really uphold a kind of anthropocentric view, human-centred view of life?
Mythical creatures are often shape-shifters – they have the power to change into a different shape or form.
神话中的生物通常是变形者 —— 它们有能力变成不同的形状或形式。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Moving between the sea and the Earth, mermaids link two natural worlds. Cristina thinks that, as humans, we should approach them with humility.
美人鱼在海洋和地球之间移动，连接着两个自然世界。克里斯蒂娜认为，作为人类，我们应该谦卑地对待他们。
Neil(尼尔)
Someone who has humility is not proud and doesn’t think they are better than others.
谦逊的人不会骄傲，也不认为自己比别人好。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Well, Neil, I don’t think I’m better than a ghost, a water spirit or a mermaid – it’s just that I've never seen one. But then again, I’ve never seen electricity – and I believe in that!
Maybe it would help if you saw a statue of a mermaid, if not the real thing?
如果你看到美人鱼的雕像，如果不是真的，也许会有所帮助？
Georgina(乔治娜)
Maybe – but where would I find one?
也许吧 —— 但我在哪里可以找到呢？
Neil(尼尔)
In my quiz question I asked where you’d see the statue of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid. What did you say, Georgina?
在我的测验问题中，我问你在哪里可以看到安徒生的小美人鱼雕像。你说什么，乔治娜？
Georgina(乔治娜)
I guessed b) Copenhagen.
我猜是 b） 哥本哈根。
Neil(尼尔)
Which was… the correct answer! The Little Mermaid statue is found in Andersen’s birthplace of Copenhagen. And it really is little – only 1 and a quarter metres high!
In this programme, we’ve been talking about mermaids – mythical half-woman, half-fish creatures which are amphibious – live both on land and in water.
在这个节目中，我们一直在谈论美人鱼 —— 神话中的半女人半鱼两栖生物 —— 生活在陆地和水中。
Neil(尼尔)
In some cultures, mermaids are deities – or goddesses. They can also be shape- shifters - imaginary creatures with the power to change into different shapes.
在某些文化中，美人鱼是神灵或女神。它们也可以是变形者 —— 具有改变不同形状的能力的想象生物。
Georgina(乔治娜)
One African mermaid is called, Mami Wata, in pidgin English - a mixture of English and local languages which enables people who do not share a common language to communicate.
Mami Wata means ‘Mother Water’ – but this is a loose translation – a translation which carries over the basic idea but using words which may not be so accurate.
Mami Wata 的意思是“母亲水” —— 但这是一个松散的翻译 —— 一个延续了基本思想的翻译，但使用的词语可能不那么准确。
Georgina(乔治娜)
That’s all for this programme, but the next time you’re near the sea, keep an eye out for a splash in the waves – you never know what you might see!
这就是这个项目的全部内容，但下次你靠近大海时，要留意海浪中的水花 —— 你永远不知道你会看到什么！
Neil(尼尔)
Join us again soon for more discussion and vocabulary here at 6 Minute English. And follow us on social media. Bye for now!
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