祝平

The Most Beautiful Bridge in Paris

法國人對自己的語言以及文化天生有一種自豪感，他們認(rèn)為法語是世界上最美麗的語言。本文作者Leo通過本學(xué)期在巴黎作交換生的機(jī)會(huì)，深入學(xué)習(xí)法語并深深被法語的語言魅力所吸引。語言不光是交流的工具，更是通向一個(gè)國家文明和文化的橋梁。

1. oral： 口頭的。

2. Sciences Po Paris： 巴黎政治學(xué)院；straddle： 跨越；contemporary： 當(dāng)代的。

3. mingle with： 交談，交往；interplay： 相互影響，相互作用；assimilation： 同化，吸引，后文assimilate為其動(dòng)詞形式；adaptation： 適應(yīng)。

4. Academie Fran?aise： 法蘭西學(xué)院； frequent： 經(jīng)常出入于；Hemingway： 歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威（Ernest Hemingway， 1899—1961），美國著名作家、記者，20世紀(jì)最著名的小說家之一；Sartre： 讓-保羅·薩特（Jean-Paul Sartre， 1905—1980），法國哲學(xué)家、文學(xué)家；clarity： 清晰，清楚。

5. rectify： 改正。

6. sear： 烙印，銘記。

7. interrupt： 打斷；accent： 強(qiáng)調(diào)，重讀；lurch： 突然傾斜。

8. 當(dāng)我結(jié)巴著說完整句話時(shí)，這個(gè)巴黎人就斜靠在他的椅子上——這是一幅滑稽的畫面，就像是一位滿意的君主剛剛將他的一部分財(cái)寶賞賜給他那些一貧如洗的臣子。stammer： 結(jié)巴著說出；recline on： 斜靠；splitting： 滑稽的；monarch： 君王，帝王；bestow： 授予；a portion of： 一份，一部分；impoverished： 貧困的；vassal： 封臣。

9. 這些打斷看上去很直接，但它表明了法國人想要將外國人同化進(jìn)法國文化影響范圍內(nèi)的那種老舊想法。blunt： 直率的；manifest： 顯示，表明；mentality： 心態(tài)，心理；sphere of influence： 勢力范圍，影響范圍。

10. mission： 使命；civilize： 教導(dǎo)，使文雅。

11. justified： 合乎情理的。

12. boast： 以有……為自豪；encompass： 包含；vibrant： 有活力的；intellectual： 知識分子；heritage： 傳統(tǒng)，遺產(chǎn)。

13. hole-in-the-wall： 簡陋的，狹小的；bespectacled： 戴眼鏡的；signal： 以動(dòng)作示意。

14. recite： 背誦；Victor Hugo： 維克多·雨果（1802—1885），法國文學(xué)史上最偉大的作家之一。

15. verse： 詩節(jié)；warring： 交戰(zhàn)的，敵對的；in vain： 沒有成功，徒勞；illuminate： 解釋。

16. lay the foundation of： 奠定……的基礎(chǔ)。

17. privilege： 殊榮，榮幸；legacy： 遺產(chǎn)；sophistication： 有教養(yǎng)，溫文爾雅。

18. conduct： 進(jìn)行；lightning： 閃電般的，快速的； arrogance： 自大，傲慢；goodwill： 友好，善意。

19. infuriating： 令人大怒的；integrate： 使成為一體。

20. merci： 法文中的“謝謝”；cultural gap： 文化差異；personify： 清楚體現(xiàn)；motto： 格言；batter： 猛擊，這句格言意為“任憑海浪擊打，也永不沉沒?！?/p>

21. hub： 中心；multilingualism： 多語制。

22. turn up ones nose at： 對……不屑一顧；refine： 改善；fluency： 流利。

23. Franglish： 英語和法語交互課程； encounter： 遇到；range from： 從……到……；nuclear engineer： 核能工程師；civil servant： 公務(wù)員。

24. a gleam in sb.s eye： 想法，愿望。

25. slip： 滑動(dòng)，這里指來回轉(zhuǎn)換。

26. light up： 面露喜色。

27. perpetual： 不斷的；self-renewal： 自我更新。

28. cosmopolitanism： 世界大同主義。

29. adorn： 裝飾；lampshade： 燈罩；trinket： 小玩意兒；Vietnam： 越南；Algeria： 阿爾及利亞；be obsessed with： 癡迷于；astound： 使驚愕；embrace： 接受；multiculturalism： 多元文化論。

30. peer： 這里指同學(xué)，同齡人。

31. furrowed brow： 緊皺的眉頭；splutter： 結(jié)結(jié)巴巴；waver： 動(dòng)搖。

32. 試圖接納法國國內(nèi)不同種族的人群，這或許說明了新一代法國人的文化價(jià)值觀發(fā)生了改變。accommodate： 容納； diversity： 多樣性；shift： 改變。

33. xenophobia： 仇外，排外；grip： 強(qiáng)烈地影響。

34. solely： 單獨(dú)地，唯一地；ethnicity： 種族劃分。

35. superiority： 優(yōu)越性。

36. insistence： 堅(jiān)持；encapsulate： 壓縮，概括。

37. by extension： 引申開來；unprecedented： 空前的，前所未有的。

38. glorious： 輝煌的，榮耀的；interconnected： 相互連接的。

39. Seine River： 塞納河，位于法國巴黎； snatch： 奪去。

A language does not just build bridges for oral1 communication， but also for cultural communication. Three weeks into my study abroad program at Sciences Po Paris， Ive straddled the border between traditional and contemporary French culture，2 as seen through the perspective of languages. Through mingling with locals and my fellow students， Ive opened my eyes to the interplay between the cultural assimilation and adaptation that takes place in Paris every day when we speak.3

The French are proud of their language， and not ashamed to make sure everyone gives it the proper respect. From the Academie Fran?aise to the cafés once frequented by Hemingway and Sartre， speaking French is not about clarity.4 Its about speaking correctly. The French will not hesitate to rectify5 a mistake. A conversation with an old Parisian seared6 this aspect of their culture in my memory. Two words. Thats all I was able to say before he interrupted with his correction， accented with widened eyes and a small lurch forward with his head.7 As I stammered through the rest of my sentence， the Parisian reclined on his chair： the splitting image of a pleased monarch who had just bestowed a portion of his treasure to his impoverished vassals.8 Blunt as it may seem， these interruptions manifest the old mentality of assimilating foreigners into the French cultural sphere of influence.9 In other words， a “mission to civilize.”10

Perhaps their behavior is justified11. The French not only boast of a literary tradition that encompasses some of the most vibrant intellectuals in human history， but also cannot wait to share that heritage with others.12 In the middle of lunch at a hole-in-the-wall café， the bespectacled owner shut the doors and signaled for silence.13 As all eyes turned to him， he began reciting a poem by Victor Hugo.14 With verses like： “For 6，000 years， war/ delights us warring peoples，/ and Gods work is in vain/ when he made the stars and the flowers”， the poem illuminates why the French consider their language as a gift，15 even a blessing， to be shared with the world. By knowing French， you open the door to experiencing firsthand the traditional ideas that have laid the foundation of16 modern political and literary thought. They consider it a privilege to assimilate into this rich legacy of sophistication.17 As I struggle through my classes that are all conducted in French， as well as interact with my fellow French classmates who speak at lightning speed， Ive realized that this arrogance is one way the French express goodwill.18 Each correction， however infuriating it may be， is simply meant to integrate me deeper into the gift of Frances cultural heritage.19 Tough love， as we say. But each time I smile and say “merci” after I am corrected once again， I know that Im slowly bridging the cultural gap by personifying the motto of Paris： “Battered by waves， but never sunk.”20

On the other hand， Paris has quickly adapted to its role as a global hub， especially in regards to multilingualism.21 For every Parisian who turns up his nose at learning English， another will seek out every opportunity to refine her fluency.22 Invited by my friends to a “Franglish” session， where native-English speakers are paired with French speakers， I encountered a colorful crowd ranging from nuclear engineers to civil servants in the French Foreign Service.23 Yet everyone shared the same hungry gleam in their eyes.24 A hunger to flow with the modern age. Over a couple of beers that relaxed the atmosphere， we slipped25 from French to English every seven minutes， and then back again. As I pointed out the minor mistakes as they spoke， I saw a reflection of myself. My language partners also lit up26 with a smile and made the change immediately， sometimes writing the correction down. Their drive to improve their English personifies the spirit of modern Paris， that of perpetual self-improvement and self-renewal.27

This drive extends to other languages as well， no matter the difficulty. Even though Paris is known for its cosmopolitanism28， there is nothing quite like it until you witness it with your own eyes. From a host family who has adorned their apartment with lampshades and trinkets from Vietnam to a French classmate from Algeria who speaks five languages and is obsessed with Korean dramas， I am always astounded by this embrace of multiculturalism.29 Among my French peers30， learning Chinese， Korean or Arabic is becoming increasingly popular. Despite the furrowed brows and splutters when they practice Chinese with me， their determination never wavers.31 By working to accommodate the diversity of peoples within its borders， perhaps this represents a shift in cultural values among the new generation of French.32 Perhaps they acknowledge that France needs the cooperation of all its peoples， no matter their origin， in order to bridge their classical country with the rapidly globalizing world. Despite the current wave of xenophobia gripping France，33 I am confident that the spirit of being battered， but never sunk will guide the French through this difficult time. After all， hating one another based solely on ethnicity is practically impossible once youve built bridges between cultures，34 especially through language.

The French people， especially Parisians， have established a mentality of cultural superiority35. Their insistence on speaking French， and speaking it correctly， encapsulates their traditional pride in the French intellectual heritage.36 But as Paris， and by extension France， faces an unprecedented challenge of integrating peoples from all over the world，37 perhaps this new spirit of looking outwards to new languages will guide France through these troubled times. After all， speaking a language builds bridges not only with the glorious legacies of the past， but also towards integrating those legacies with the interconnected world of the future.38 And among all the bridges along the Seine River that snatch your breath away，39 the language of cultural communication shines as the most beautiful bridge of them all.