11月5日聊天室——肢體語言

央視國際 2003年11月11日 10:45

　　Movie excerpt from Roman Holiday 羅馬假日.

　　Mr. Bradley (Gregory Peck) is at an outdoor caf岢 with the Princess (Audrey Hepburn). Bradley knows that Hepburn is the escaped princess that everyone has been looking for, but the Princess does not know that he knows. Bradley wants to keep her from finding out that he is actually a reporter, and so has lied to her, telling her he is a businessman. As they are having their drinks, Bradley’s friend Irving shows up.

　　Bradley: Irving! Well, am I glad to see you! [Bradley stands to greet Irving and they shake hands.]

　　Irving: Why? Did you forget your wallet?

　　Bradley: Pull up a chair, Irving. Sit down with us. [The two men remain standing up, the princess remains seated.]

　　Irving: So aren’t you going to introduce me?

　　Bradley: Yes. This is a very good friend of mine, Irving Radovich. Anya, Irving.

　　Irving: Anya…?

　　Princess: [quickly inventing a surname] Smith.

　　Irving: Hiya, Smitty.

　　Princess: Charmed.

　　Irving: [Irving is puzzled by the Princess’ very formal response to his casual greeting. He sits down and suddenly notices that she strongly resemblies the missing princess.] Hey, anybody ever tell you you’re a dead ringer for¾?

　　[Bradley interrupts Irving by kicking his leg under the table. Irving is puzzled. Thinking that Bradley is signaling him to leave, Irving stands up to go.] Well, I guess I’ll be going…

　　Bradley: Oh, don’t do anything like that, Irving. Sit down, join us.

　　Irving: Well, just till Francesca gets here.

　　Princess: Tell me, Mr. Radovich, what is a “ringer”?

　　Irving: [Irving spots the waiter and wants to order a drink] Oh, waiter!

　　Bradley: It’s an American term, and it means anyone who has a great deal of charm.

　　Princess: [To Irving] Oh, thank you.

　　Irving: You’re welcome. [At this point two lovely Italian woman come by and greet Irving. They are clearly former girlfriends.] Ciao, ciao! [Italian for “Hello”.] Cousins. [Irving, slightly embarrassed, pretends the girls are his cousins.]

　　Princess: Mr. Bradley’s been telling me all about his work.

　　Irving: Hm, I’d like to have heard that.

　　Princess: What do you do?

　　Irving: I’m in the same racket as Joe, only I’m a ph¾ [Bradley intentionally spills his drink on Irving to prevent him from revealing that he is a newspaper photographer.]

　　Bradley: I’m awfully sorry, Irving.

　　Irving: For the love of¾ What are you¾?

　　Bradley: I’m sorry, Irving.

　　Irving: [angry] Look, I can take a hint. [Shaking hands with the princess] I’ll see you around.

　　Princess: Your drink’s just here. Please sit down.

　　Bradley: Yeah, Irving, take it easy. I’m sorry about that. Sit down, that’s a good fellow. That’s a boy.

　　Irving: You’re twisting my arm, you know. [He sits down]

　　Bradley: Just be a little more careful not to spill.

　　Irving: Spill? Who’s been doing the spilling?

　　Bradley: You.

　　Irving: Me?

　　Bradley: Yeah.

　　Irving: [to the Princess] Where did you get this loony?

　　English points:

　　1. “Well, am I glad to see you!” Notice the reversal of the usual word order “I am glad to see you.” The form of the sentence seems to be a rhetorical question, but in English, this structure expresses emphasis. Notice the Chinese subtitles read “我很高興見到你”, but actually a better translation would be “你可來了！” or “你終於到了！” Irving’s joking response “Why? Did you forget your wallet?” implies that Bradley is always borrowing money from him, and so the most likely reason he is glad to see him is that he wants to borrow money.

　　2. “Pull up a chair.” A very casual, friendly way of inviting someone to join you.

　　3. “So aren’t you gonna introduce me?” In ordinary conversation, Americans almost never say “going to”. Going to ¾> gonna

　　4. “Anya¾?” By pausing after her name, Irving indicates he is asking for her surname. When she replies “Smith”, he greets her with “Hiya, Smitty.” “Hiya” is a very casual form of “Hi”, and by calling her by a nickname “Smitty”, he is indicating an immediate easy-going friendship and casual intimacy. The Princess replies with “Charmed”, which is a rather formal, aristocratic way of saying “Nice to meet you.” Irving is temporarily puzzled by her polite, formal response to his typical American casualness. But of course, he does not yet know that she is a Princess. Also note that the Princess continues to address him politely as “Mr. Radovich”, despite him already addressing her with the very casual “Smitty”. Here we see the interesting and amusing contrast between the usual American casualness and the European tendency to retain a degree of formality on first meeting.

　　5. “Hey, anybody every tell you you’re a dead ringer for¾” He wants to say “a dead ringer for the princess” but Bradley prevents him from finishing his sentence. Note two things.

　　—“dead ringer” 意思是某人特別特別像某人， The fixed phrase is “X is a dead ringer for Y”, meaning, “X looks exactly like Y”.

　　6. “I’m in the same racket as Joe.” “Racket” is a slang term (and jokingly derogatory) for “job, occupation”.

　　7. “I can take a hint.” This a more-or-less a fixed phrase meaning “I understand I’m not welcome, not wanted, etc., and I will leave accordingly.”

　　8.“You’re twisting my arm.” To “twist someone’s arm” is to force them to do something they don’t want to.

　　—意思就是我是被你勉強才答應這麼做的。

　　9.“Be a little more careful not to spill.”

　　—這是一個雙關語，字面上的意思是不要撒豆子，但實際他的意思是不要露餡了。 So Bradley is subtly reminding Irving not to reveal their occupations to the princess.

　　10.“Loony” or “loon” is a slang term for “crazy person”.

　　—瘋子，神經病。

　　Where did you find this loony?意思就是你在哪找到的這個神經病。

　　Body language/ men vs. women

　　In the movie scene, Irving greets the princess standing up, while the princess remains seated. This is the usual pattern of deference or respect for women, the aged, high-ranking leaders/officials, or anyone that is accorded respect in society. Irving shakes her hand when greeting her, and shakes it again when taking his leave.

　　Talking points:

　　1.Greetings in different cultures. In some cultures men and women may shake hands when greeting, while in other cultures this is discouraged or considered inappropriate. Are there any differences in Chinese and American culture in this regard? What about cultures such as France, where a greeting between friends may involve kissing on the cheek? In many cultures two men may hug each other upon greeting or parting. How does Chinese culture fit into these patterns? Is the situation changing? Do young people in Chinese culture have a different set of behavior patterns from their elders?

　　2.In the movie scene, Irving shakes hands with both Bradley and the princess, but note that the handshake is different in each case. What is the difference? What does this indicate about male-female differences in interaction?

　　3.What parts of the body are considered “safe” to touch in different cultures? For most Americans, the shoulder is a “neutral” area that men and women may touch in order to show friendliness or support. Is this the case for Chinese culture? In what kinds of situations is touching a member of the opposite considered appropriate?

　　4.In China, women friends may hold hands when walking out in public. This is less common in the U.S. What about other cultures? What about similar behavior between two men?

　　5.In the movie scene note Irving’s posture as he sits at the table, and contrast this with the way the Princess is sitting. What does posture (sitting or standing) signify?