Good morning! Are you awake? They took my name tag, but I wanted to ask you, did anyone here write their name on the tag in Arabic? Anyone! No one? All right, no problem.
早晨! 大家瞓醒未呀? 佢哋收走咗我塊名牌 但我想問下大家 有冇人係用阿拉伯文寫塊名牌㗎? 有冇呀?冇? 好啦,唔緊要
Once upon a time, not long ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with my friend, ordering food. So I looked at the waiter and said, "Do you have a menu (Arabic)?" He looked at me strangely, thinking that he misheard. He said, "Sorry? (English)." I said, "The menu (Arabic), please." He replied, "Don't you know what they call it?" "I do." He said, "No! It's called "menu" (English), or "menu" (French)." Is the French pronunciation correct? "Come, come, take care of this one!" said the waiter. He was disgusted when talking to me, as if he was saying to himself, "If this was the last girl on Earth, I wouldn't look at her!" What's the meaning of saying "menu" in Arabic? Two words made a Lebanese young man judge a girl as being backward and ignorant. How could she speak that way?
冇幾耐之前 我同個朋友去間餐廳食嘢 我用阿拉伯話問個侍應︰ 「有冇餐牌可以睇睇?」 佢好奇怪咁望實我,好似聽錯咗咁款 佢用英文講︰「咩話?」 我話︰「(阿拉伯話)餐牌,唔該。」 佢答返話︰ 「乜你唔知呢份嘢叫咩名㗎咩?」 我話:「我知。」 佢話︰「你根本就唔知! 份嘢叫做(英文)『餐牌』, 又或者(法文)『餐牌』!」 我啲法文準唔準呀? 個侍應就同個同事講︰ 「嚟嚟嚟,呢張枱你搞掂佢!」 同我講嘢嗰陣,佢一臉不屑 好似同緊自己講: 「就算地球剩返佢一個女人, 我都唔會睺佢!」 咁用阿拉伯文講「餐牌」 有乜咁大件事呢? 呢兩粒字就足以 令一個黎巴嫩嘅後生仔覺得 一個女人落後無知 「有乜理由用阿拉伯話㗎?」
At that moment, I started thinking. It made me mad. It definitely hurts! I'm denied the right to speak my own language in my own country? Where could this happen? How did we get here?
嗰一刻,我個腦係咁轉 愈諗愈嬲 我覺得好委屈! 我喺自己國家 講自己母語嘅權利都被剝奪? 咁嘅事都有? 點解會變成咁㗎?
Well, while we are here, there are many people like me, who would reach a stage in their lives, where they involuntarily give up everything that has happened to them in the past, just so they can say that they're modern and civilized. Should I forget all my culture, thoughts, intellect and all my memories? Childhood stories might be the best memories we have of the war! Should I forget everything I learned in Arabic, just to conform? To be one of them? Where's the logic in that? Despite all that, I tried to understand him. I didn't want to judge him with the same cruelty that he judged me.
喺呢度,有好多人同我一樣? 佢哋人生行到嚟某個階段 被迫放棄自己嘅根? 先能夠證明畀人哋睇 自己係有文化、有地位 我係咪要抹走晒我嘅生活方式 思想、知識同記憶呢? 戰亂嘅時候,童年回憶可能 就成為我哋最大嘅情感寄託! 為咗合群,我就要抹走晒 我母語賜畀我嘅所有嘢? 然後隨波逐流? 究竟道理何在? 撇除呢堆諗法 我都想去理解呢個侍應 雖然佢用歧視嘅目光睇我 但我唔想掉轉頭批判返佢
The Arabic language doesn't satisfy today's needs. It's not a language for science, research, a language we're used to in universities, a language we use in the workplace, a language we rely on if we were to perform an advanced research project, and it definitely isn't a language we use at the airport. If we did so, they'd strip us of our clothes. Where can I use it, then? We could all ask this question! So, you want us to use Arabic. Where are we to do so? This is one reality.
阿拉伯話滿足唔到當今嘅需要 做科研唔會用到佢 大學課堂同職場上唔會用佢 做高級研究亦用唔著佢 喺機場就更加唔在講啦 咁做嘅話 啲人肯定會搜我哋身都似 咁仲有邊度可以? 我哋好應該反思一下 你要我哋用阿拉伯話 但邊度先用得到呢? 事實擺在眼前
But we have another more important reality that we ought to think about. Arabic is the mother tongue. Research says that mastery of other languages demands mastery of the mother tongue. Mastery of the mother tongue is a prerequisite for creative expression in other languages.
但有一樣嘢更需要我哋思考 阿拉伯話係我哋嘅母語 研究話,想掌握其他語言 首先要掌握好母語 如果想用其他語言做創作
How? Gibran Khalil Gibran, when he first started writing, he used Arabic. All his ideas, imagination and philosophy were inspired by this little boy in the village where he grew up, smelling a specific smell, hearing a specific voice, and thinking a specific thought. So, when he started writing in English, he had enough baggage. Even when he wrote in English, when you read his writings in English, you smell the same smell, sense the same feeling. You can imagine that that's him writing in English, the same boy who came from the mountain. From a village on Mount Lebanon. So, this is an example no one can argue with.
前提係要掌握好母語 點解? 黎巴嫩詩人 Gibran Khalil Gibran 第一次創作就係用阿拉伯文 佢嘅所有諗法、想像同感悟 都嚟自佢細個喺村莊裡面 聞過、聽過、思考過嘅嘢 所以當佢開始用英文創作嘅時候 佢彈藥充足 即使佢寫嘅係英文 你睇嘅係英文 味道質感同樣依舊 你會想像得到用英文寫作嘅佢 依然係嗰個喺黎巴嫩山長大嘅男仔 呢個例子毋庸置疑
Second, it's often said that if you want to kill a nation, the only way to kill a nation, is to kill its language. This is a reality that developed societies are aware of. The Germans, French, Japanese and Chinese, all these nations are aware of this. That's why they legislate to protect their language. They make it sacred. That's why they use it in production, they pay a lot of money to develop it. Do we know better than them?
第二,啲人經常話 要一個國家滅亡 唯一方法就係消滅佢嘅語言 發達國家亦意識到呢個現實 德國、法國、日本、中國 呢啲國家都深明呢個道理 因此佢哋會立法保護佢哋嘅語言 佢哋令自己嘅母語變得有地位 所以當地人好多時都會用到母語 佢哋花好多錢發展佢哋嘅語言 我哋比佢哋更清楚語言嗎?
All right, we aren't from the developed world, this advanced thinking hasn't reached us yet, and we would like to catch up with the civilized world. Countries that were once like us, but decided to strive for development, do research, and catch up with those countries, such as Turkey, Malaysia and others, they carried their language with them as they were climbing the ladder, protected it like a diamond. They kept it close to them. Because if you get any product from Turkey or elsewhere and it's not labeled in Turkish, then it isn't a local product. You wouldn't believe it's a local product. They'd go back to being consumers, clueless consumers, like we are most of the time. So, in order for them to innovate and produce, they had to protect their language. If I say, "Freedom, sovereignty, independence (Arabic)," what does this remind you of? It doesn't ring a bell, does it? Regardless of the who, how and why.
好 我哋嘅國家唔發達 民智未開 但我哋要追上世界文明嘅步伐 有啲曾經同我哋同樣景況嘅國家 努力發展同做科研 去趕上發達國家 譬如如土耳其、馬來西亞 喺發展嘅同時,佢哋捍衞自己嘅語言 珍而重之咁去捍衞 佢哋始終冇離棄過自己嘅語言 所以如果你喺土耳其買嘢 見到標籤冇土耳其文 嗰樣嘢一定唔係當地物產 你亦唔會相信係當地物產 以至商人會從消費者出發 代入返我哋呢班消費者嘅思維 所以為咗創新同生產 佢哋需要捍衞自己嘅語言 如果我講 「(英語)自由、尊嚴、獨立」 你會諗到乜嘢? 冇共鳴,係咪? 無論從邊個、點樣同點解嘅方向諗 始終都係冇共鳴
Language isn't just for conversing, just words coming out of our mouths. Language represents specific stages in our lives, and terminology that is linked to our emotions. So when we say, "Freedom, sovereignty, independence," each one of you draws a specific image in their own mind, there are specific feelings of a specific day in a specific historical period.
語言唔係剩係用嚟傾偈 唔係齋係由我哋口裡面講出嚟嘅字 語言標誌住我哋人生嘅不同階段 盛載住一啲牽動我哋情感嘅詞語 所以當我哋講「自由、尊嚴、獨立」 你哋個個腦海中都會畫咗一幅畫 你會聯想起某個歷史時刻 勾起某種情感
Language isn't one, two or three words or letters put together. It's an idea inside that relates to how we think, and how we see each other and how others see us. What is our intellect? How do you say whether this guy understands or not? So, if I say, "Freedom, sovereignty, independence (English)," or if your son came up to you and said, "Dad, have you lived through the period of the freedom (English) slogan?" How would you feel? If you don't see a problem, then I'd better leave, and stop talking in vain.
語言並唔係幾個單字拼湊埋一齊 語言係關乎我哋點樣思考 我哋點睇其他人 其他人又點睇我哋 咁樣,智力係指乜嘢? 你會點樣判斷人 明唔明白一樣嘢、聰唔聰明? 如果我講「(英語)自由、尊嚴、獨立」 然後你個仔同你講 「爸爸,你經歷過 (英語)自由標語嘅時代嗎?」 你會有咩感覺? 如果你唔覺得有問題 咁我都唔應該再講落去,費事嘥氣
The idea is that these expressions remind us of a specific thing. I have a francophone friend who's married to a French man. I asked her once how things were going. She said, "Everything is fine, but once, I spent a whole night asking and trying to translate the meaning of the word 'toqborni' for him." (Laughter) (Applause) The poor woman had mistakenly told him "toqborni," and then spent the whole night trying to explain it to him. He was puzzled by the thought: "How could anyone be this cruel? Does she want to commit suicide? 'Bury me?' (English)" This is one of the few examples.
啱啱嘅對話令我諗起一件事 我有個識得講法文嘅朋友 嫁畀咗一個法國人 有一次我問佢近況如何 佢話︰「一切都好好,但就有一次, 我花咗成晚去向我老公解釋 阿拉伯文裡面『toqborni』嘅意思。」 (笑聲) (掌聲) 呢個可憐嘅女人唔小心 同佢講咗「toqborni」 之後花咗成晚解釋個字 佢丈夫好困惑: 「(英語)點解會有人咁長氣 講個字嘅解釋呢? 佢想殺死我嗎?」 呢個只係其中一例咋 我個朋友冇可能會解釋得到
It made us feel that she's unable to tell that word to her husband, since he won't understand, and he's right not to; his way of thinking is different. She said to me, "He listens to Fairuz with me, and one night, I tried to translate for him so he can feel what I feel when I listen to Fairuz." The poor woman tried to translate this for him: "From them I extended my hands and stole you --" (Laughter) And here's the pickle: "And because you belong to them, I returned my hands and left you." (Laughter) Translate that for me. (Applause)
因為佢老公實唔會明 唔明亦好合理 因為兩個思維唔一樣 我朋友同我講: 「佢會陪我一齊聽 黎巴嫩歌手 Fairuz 啲歌。 有一晚,我嘗試譯畀佢聽, 等佢體會下 我聽 Fairuz 嗰陣嘅感覺。」 呢個可憐嘅女人嘗試咁樣譯: 「由佢哋,我伸隻手出嚟, 偷你嘅 ——」 (笑聲) 呢句仲棘手: 「因為你屬於佢哋, 我收返隻手,離開你」 (笑聲) 唔該你哋譯咗佢嘞! (掌聲)
So, what have we done to protect the Arabic language? We turned this into a concern of the civil society, and we launched a campaign to preserve the Arabic language. Even though many people told me, "Why do you bother? Forget about this headache and go have fun." No problem! The campaign to preserve Arabic launched a slogan that says, "I talk to you from the East, but you reply from the West." We didn't say, "No! We do not accept this or that." We didn't adopt this style because that way, we wouldn't be understood. And when someone talks to me that way, I hate the Arabic language. We say-- (Applause)
為咗阿拉伯話,我哋做過啲咩? 我哋令社會關注語言保護 我哋發起咗一場運動保護阿拉伯話 雖然好多人同我講 「你點解要攞苦嚟辛呢? 咪掂呢啲麻煩嘢啦, 輕鬆過下咪算囉。」 冇所謂! 呢個運動有個口號: 「我從東方向你說話, 你從西方回答我。」 我哋冇話: 「唔得!我哋唔認同呢樣嗰樣。」 我哋冇咁樣講 咁樣盞更加冇人明白我哋 如果有人咁同我講嘢 我會憎咗呢個語言 我哋… (掌聲)
We want to change our reality, and be convinced in a way that reflects our dreams, aspirations and day-to-day life. In a way that dresses like us and thinks like we do. So, "I talk to you from the East, but you reply from the West" has hit the spot. Something very easy, yet creative and persuasive. After that, we launched another campaign with scenes of letters on the ground. You've seen an example of it outside, a scene of a letter surrounded by black and yellow tape with "Don't kill your language!" written on it. Why? Seriously, don't kill your language. We really shouldn't kill our language. If we were to kill the language, we'd have to find an identity.
我哋想改變現狀 想堅守我哋嘅夢想、抱負同生活方式 就只係咁樣 所以我哋話「我從東方向你說話, 你從西方回答我」 呢句話講中曬 呢句口號好簡單 但就好有創意同說服力 嗰次之後,我哋又發起另一個運動 我哋喺地下堆砌一啲字母出嚟 你喺出面都睇到其中一個作品 一個字母被黑色同黃色膠紙圍封住 上面寫著「唔好殺死你嘅語言!」 點解? 真係唔好毀滅你嘅語言 我哋真係唔應該殺死我哋嘅母語 如果我哋失去咗我哋嘅母語
We'd have to find an existence. We'd go back to the beginning. This is beyond just missing our chance of being modern and civilized.
我哋就要搵返我哋嘅身份 我哋就要搵返我哋存在嘅意義 以至到我哋要從頭開始 我哋仲會失去造就現代文明社會嘅機會
After that we released photos of guys and girls wearing the Arabic letter. Photos of "cool" guys and girls. We are very cool! And to whoever might say, "Ha! You used an English word!" I say, "No! I adopt the word 'cool.'" Let them object however they want, but give me a word that's nicer and matches the reality better. I will keep on saying "Internet" I wouldn't say: "I'm going to the world wide web" (Laughs) Because it doesn't fit! We shouldn't kid ourselves. But to reach this point, we all have to be convinced that we shouldn't allow anyone who is bigger or thinks they have any authority over us when it comes to language, to control us or make us think and feel what they want.
之後,我哋發佈咗小朋友 身穿阿拉伯字母嘅相 相裏面我哋用到 cool(酷)呢個英文字 但如果有人話 「哈!你用咗英文嘅字!」 我會答返 「唔係!我只係將 cool 呢個字 融會落去阿拉伯文。」 但如果佢哋堅持要反對就又得佢哋啦 我剩係知道我需要 更好、更切合現實嘅詞語 所以我會繼續話「互聯網」 而唔會話「我要去上世界萬維網」 (笑聲) 因為嗰個字同現實脫節! 我哋唔應該喺度自欺欺人 但係講到呢度,我哋都應該認同 唔能夠畀任何有勢力過我哋 或者喺語言方面比我哋話得事嘅人 控制我哋,逼我哋行佢哋嗰套
Creativity is the idea. So, if we can't reach space or build a rocket and so on, we can be creative. At this moment, every one of you is a creative project. Creativity in your mother tongue is the path. Let's start from this moment. Let's write a novel or produce a short film. A single novel could make us global again. It could bring the Arabic language back to being number one. So, it's not true that there's no solution; there is a solution! But we have to know that, and be convinced that a solution exists, that we have a duty to be part of that solution.
創意係關鍵 即便我哋上唔到太空 唔能夠造到支火箭等等 我哋仍然可以有創意 到呢一刻,你哋每個人 都係一個創意嘅項目 你母語裏面蘊含嘅創造力 就係我哋要遵循嘅道路 等我哋由宜家開始 寫一部小說,拍一齣微電影 一本小說就可能令我哋重新喺世界出名 佢可能令阿拉伯語重返世界第一語言 邊個話冇出路!我哋有辦法! 但係我哋必須知道而且相信我哋有辦法 同埋我哋有責任去執行呢啲辦法
In conclusion, what can you do today? Now, tweets, who's tweeting? Please, I beg of you, even though my time has finished, either Arabic, English, French or Chinese. But don't write Arabic with Latin characters mixed with numbers! (Applause) It's a disaster! That's not a language. You'd be entering a virtual world with a virtual language. It's not easy to come back from such a place and rise. That's the first thing we can do.
總結嚟講,你今日可以做啲咩? 宜家,推特 邊個宜家喺度發緊推特貼文? 拜託,我求你 雖然我演講嘅時間好快完 唔理你用阿拉伯文、英文 法文,定係中文 請唔好喺發阿拉伯文時 夾雜拉丁字母同數字! (掌聲) 如果你咁做嘅話,係非常大鑊嘅! 因為你唔係用緊語言 你只係喺虛擬世界用緊虛擬語言 而且要由虛擬語言返返嚟係難嘅 呢個係我哋可以做嘅第一件事
Second, there are many other things that we can do. We're not here today to convince each other. We're here to bring attention to the necessity of preserving this language. Now I will tell you a secret. A baby first identifies its father through language. When my daughter is born, I'll tell her, "This is your father, honey (Arabic)." I wouldn't say, "This is your dad, honey (English)." And in the supermarket, I promise my daughter Noor, that if she says to me, "Thanks (Arabic)," I won't say, "Dis, 'Merci, Maman,'" and hope no one has heard her. (Applause)
第二,仲有好多事可以做 我哋今天嚟到呢度唔係爲咗說服彼此 而係爲咗令大家注意到 保護阿拉伯語有幾重要 宜家我要話畀你哋知一個秘密 嬰兒係通過語言第一次認出父親 當我個囡出生時,我會同佢講: 「(阿拉伯語)呢個係你爸爸,囡囡。」 我唔會話: 「(英語)呢個係你爸爸,囡囡。」 喺超級市場,我同我個女 Noor 保證 如果佢用阿拉伯文同我講「多謝」 我唔會用法文同佢講 「你應該講『多謝你,媽咪』」 然後希望冇人剛才聽到佢講阿拉伯語 (掌聲)
Let's get rid of this cultural cringe.
我哋一齊嚟擺脫文化上嘅卑躬屈膝! 唔好再為我哋嘅文化而自卑!
(Applause)
(掌聲)