I'm Neil,

我是尼爾。

and I'm Georgina.

我是喬治娜。

Do you believe in ghosts, Georgina?

你相信世界上有鬼嗎，喬治娜？

Well, I've never actually seen one,

我從來沒有親眼看過，

not even at Halloween.

即使在萬聖節也沒有。

How about dragons then?

那龍呢？

Or fairies and elves?

或仙女和精靈？

Have you been reading fantasy books, Neil?

尼爾，你最近是不是看太多奇幻小說了？

Lord of the Rings?

《魔戒》？

I have been reading a book, Georgina,

我最近的確在讀一本書，喬治娜，

but not Lord of the Rings.

但不是《魔戒》。

My book is about an amphibious creature,

我讀的書是關於兩棲生物，

a creature that lives both on land and in water.

可以在陸地和水中生活的生物。

Some kind of Frog-Man?

類似「青蛙人」？

You've almost got the idea, Georgina,

類似這個概念，喬治娜。

but think, woman, not man,

但對象是女人，不是男人，

and fish, not frog.

是魚，不是青蛙。

Half-woman, half-fish?

一半是女人，一半是魚？

I've got it! A mermaid.

我知道了！美人魚！

That's right! Mermaids are magical creatures,

沒錯！美人魚是神奇的生物！

half-woman, half-fish,

這種半人半魚的生物，

a feature in the myths and legends of many cultures around the world.

在世界各地許多神話和傳說中都曾出現過。

Like the Sirens,

就像海妖，

whose seductive singing shipwrecked Odysseus and his sailors in ancient Greek mythology.

在古希臘神話中，她誘人的歌聲讓奧德賽和他的水手深陷船難。

The Sirens are perhaps the most famous,

海妖也許是最有名的例子，

but certainly not the only mermaids we'll be hearing about.

但絕對不是我們今天要講的唯一美人魚案例。

But before we dive into the programme,

但在節目開始之前，

it's time for my quiz question.

我先進行問答環節。

The book I've been reading was, of course,

我在讀的書當然就是

"The Little Mermaid."

《小美人魚》。

Yes, I've seen the Disney movie.

嗯，我看過這部迪士尼電影。

The mermaid is called Ariel.

這條美人魚叫做愛麗兒。

Right, but the movie was based on a fairy tale

對，但這部電影是根據

written by Hans Christian Andersen.

安徒生的童話故事改編。

It became so famous that a statue of the Little Mermaid was built in the harbor of Andersen's birthplace.

這個故事非常有名，在安徒生出生地的港口甚至建了一尊小美人魚雕像。

But where?

那是哪裡？

Was it: a) Amsterdam, b) Copenhagen, or c) Oslo?

是：a）阿姆斯特丹，b）哥本哈根或 c）奧斯陸？

I'm going to say b) Copenhagen.

我猜是 b）哥本哈根。

OK, Georgina, I'll tell you the answer later.

好，喬治娜，我稍後會揭曉答案。

Disney's defenseless mermaid, Ariel, seems the total opposite to the seductive, dangerous Sirens in the Odyssey.

這位柔弱無依的迪士尼美人魚，愛麗兒，似乎跟奧德賽中誘人、危險的海妖完全相反。

In fact, descriptions and stories of mermaids have always changed from place to place.

事實上，關於美人魚的故事和描述因地而異。

One mermaid-like character found across Africa and the Americas is named Mami Wata.

在非洲和美洲曾發現名為「Mami Wata」的類美人魚生物。

Here's British writer, Marcelle Mateki, talking about the origins of this legend to BBC World Service programme, The Forum.

英國作家 Marcelle Mateki在 BBC 國際台 The Forum 中講述這個傳說的起源。

Even the name, Mami Wata, which is Pidgin English for "Mother Water."

Mami Wata 這個名稱在洋涇濱英語是「Mother Water」。

So, it's loosely translated from Pidgin English as "the mother of water."

粗略地翻譯洋涇濱英語就是「水之母」之意。

And the characteristics are commonly shared when speaking about Mami Wata across the West African coast is that this deity is the protector of the water kingdom.

在西非海岸，「水之母」擁有的共同特點是這個神靈是水上王國的守護者。

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.

Mami Wata 這個名字源於奈及利亞洋涇濱英語。它是由兩種語言混合而成的語言， 被用來與不懂彼此語言的人交流。

Marcelle says that Mami Wata means "the mother of water" when loosely translated, translated in a way that carries over the basic ideas

Marcelle 表示，Mami Wata意思是 「水之母」， 這是很粗略的翻法， 只傳達了基本概念，

but using words which may not be so accurate.

用詞可能不太準確。

Mami Wata is also described as the protector of the water kingdom

Mami Wata 也被描述為水上王國的守護者、

and a deity, a god, goddess, or other divine being.

神祇、男神、女神或其他神聖的存在。

Another version of a mermaid-like creatures, called Selkies, are found in the remote Orkney Islands, north of the Scottish mainland.

另一個類美人魚的生物叫做海豹精，出現蘇格蘭北部偏遠的奧克尼群島。

The Selkies can take human form and marry men,

海豹精可以變成人形並與男人結婚，

but every now and then, they return to their watery kingdom under the sea.

但每隔一段時間就會回到海底王國。

Cristina Bacchilega is co-editor of "The Penguin Book of Mermaids."

Cristina Bacchilega 是《The Penguin Book of Mermaids》的共同作者。

According to her, these different versions of mermaids share something in common.

據她所說，這些不同版本的美人魚有一個共同點。

They force us to question our relationship to water and other beings in the natural world,

她們令我們重新審視我們與海洋和自然界中其他生物之間的關係，

and even to question how we see ourselves.

甚至是我們看待自己的方式。

Here's Cristina explaining more in the BBC World Service's The Forum.

以下是 Cristina 在 BBC 國際台 The Forum 的說法。

The beings, not just mermaids,

這些生物，不僅是美人魚，

but Selkies and water deities and other water spirits are often shape-shifters, they have a certain kind of fluidity of being.

還有海豹精和水神以及其他水精靈，通常都是變形生物， 他們具有某種流動性。

So do we approach this world with humility, or do we really uphold a kind of anthropocentric view, human-centred view of life?

因此，我們是以謙卑的態度來看待世界，還是秉持人類中心主義， 即以人類為本的世界觀？

Mythical creatures are often shape-shifters.

神話中的生物往往是變形生物。

They have the power to change into a different shape or form.

他們可以改變形體。

Moving between the sea and the Earth, mermaids link two natural worlds.

由於遊走於海洋和地球之間，美人魚連接著兩個自然世界。

Cristina thinks that as humans, we should approach them with humility.

Cristina 認為，作為人類，我們應該以謙卑的態度看待他們。

Someone who has humility is not proud and doesn't think they are better than others.

謙卑的人不自傲，也不認為自己比別人優秀。

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.

尼爾，我不認為我比鬼、水精靈或美人魚強，只是我曾來沒有親眼見過他們。

But then again, I've never seen electricity, and I believe in that!

但話說回來，我也沒有親眼看過電， 但我卻相信它的存在！

Maybe it would help if you saw a statue of a mermaid, if not the real thing.

也許看到美人魚雕像會對你有幫助，即使它不是真的美人魚。

Maybe, but where would I find one?

也許吧，但雕像在哪裡？

In my quiz question, I asked you where you'd see the statue of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid.

剛才我問你的問題是：安徒生的小美人魚雕像在哪兒？

What did you say, Georgina?

你選了哪一個，喬治娜？

I guessed b) Copenhagen,

我說 b）哥本哈根。

which was the correct answer!

這就是正確的答案！

The Little Mermaid statue is found in Andersen's birthplace of Copenhagen.

小美人魚雕像就在安徒生的出生地，哥本哈根。

And it really is little, only one and a quarter meters high!

它真的很小，只有1.25公尺高！

In this programme,

在今天的節目中，

we've been talking about mermaids, mythical half-woman, half-fish creatures which are amphibious, live both on land and in water.

我們介紹了美人魚，一種半人半魚的兩棲生物，可以在陸地上和水中生活。

In some cultures, mermaids are deities or goddesses.

在一些文化中，美人魚是神祇或女神。

They can also be shape-shifters, imaginary creatures with the power to change into different shapes.

她們也可以是變形生物，即可以改變形體的奇幻生物。

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.

有一種非洲美人魚叫做 Mami Wata，源自洋涇濱英語，一種由英語和當地語言混合而成語言，讓語言不同的人能夠進行交流。

Mami Wata means "Mother Water," but this is a loose translation, a translation which carries over the basic idea,

Mami Wata 的意思是「水之母」，但這是粗略的翻譯， 只翻譯了基本概念，

but using words which may not be so accurate.

但用詞並非很準確。

That's all for this programme,

本節目在此告一段落，

but the next time you're near the sea, keep an eye out for a splash in the waves.

下次你去海邊的時候，仔細看看海水的浪花。

You never know what you might see!

你永遠不知道你可能會看到什麼！

Join us again soon for more discussion and vocabulary here at 6 Minute English,

歡迎繼續鎖定6分鐘英語，學習更多知識和詞彙。

and follow us on social media. Bye for now! Bye!

記得追蹤我們的社交帳號，再見！