But how do we we know that this means )#@$%(? Using a line of symbols to show obscenity

但我們怎麼知道 )#@$%( 的意思？ 用一串符號來表示粗口

is an established idea today, but it's as old as the early 1900s, when an entirely new

在今日是已經被確立的作法，但它的歷史可追溯到西元 1900 年代

visual language was being invented.

當時正要發明一個全新的視覺語言。

This is Beetle Bailey cartoonist Mort Walker,

這是《懶兵披頭》的漫畫家，Mort‧Walker

and in addition to making soldiers say stuff like !(@!@#(*, he coined the term “grawlixes”

除了讓士兵能夠說出 !(@!@#(* 的粗口，他還創造了「grawlixes」這個詞

for the obscenity symbols, in an essay published for comic artists and later anthologized.

來代表粗口的符號，發表在一篇為漫畫藝術家出版的評論中，並在之後被選上。

Other comic conventions include plewds — little sweat drops; Briffits - dust clouds when a

其他漫畫手法，包括「plewds」— 小汗滴；「Briffits」 — 當角色消失時以塵雲來表示

character disappears; and emanata — lines showing shock.

還有「emanata 」 — 用線表示震驚。

But Walker made a list of tropes — not an origin story.

但 Walker 創造了一大堆修辭 — 不是一個起源故事。

For that, you've got to go back to the turn of the !)@@!)$ century.

為此，你必須回到 !)@@!)$ 的 19 到 20 世紀交替時。

This is the madhouse of comics in 1896.

這是西元 1896 年，漫畫中的精神病院。

What we think of as comics basically started with Hogan's Alley, and later The Yellow Kid,

我們認為的漫畫基本上是從《霍根小巷》開始的，還有後來的《黃衣小孩》

a spin-off centered on the !@#$@# freakshow @#$*( (@!*#$ 8@@@!

一個《霍根小巷》的衍伸作品為主角的 !@#$@# 怪奇秀。

Irish-American urchin Mickey Dugan (this is him watching a cockfight).

愛爾蘭裔美國小孩，Mickey‧Dugan (這是他在看鬥雞)。

Comics were experimental.

漫畫還是實驗性質的。

Panels sometimes had to be numbered so you knew the order to read them in, and dialogue

有時候還須把分格標上數字才知道閱讀的順序

rarely appeared in speech bubbles.

對話也很少出現在對話框中。

Sometimes words showed up on the Yellow Kid.

有時候文字會出現在黃衣小孩身上。

Two comics pushed that innovation to the next level and invented a lot of what we know today

另外 2 部漫畫將這樣的創新推向新的高度，也發明了許多我們今日熟知的手法

- probably including grawlixes.

— 可能包括粗口符號。

The Katzenjammer Kids made a paneled story mainstream, showing some naughty little @()#*$s who always got spanked.

《頑童班》開創了分格故事漫畫的主流，畫出一些總是被打屁股的小 @()#*$s 孩的故事。

Katzenjammer's innovations included consistent speech bubbles and in the next couple of years,

《頑童班》的創新包括一致的對話框以及之後數年間

emanata indicating motion and maybe even swears.

以「emanata 」的方式顯示運動方向，甚至還有咒罵的表現方式。

Lady Bountiful, a comic about a rich lady who tried to help some urchins — notice

《慷慨的女士》，一部有關一位富裕的女士試著幫助頑皮孩子們的漫畫

an urchin theme here?

— 有注意到它們的主題都是頑皮的小孩嗎？ —

— joined in this idiomatic arms race.

也加入了這場漫畫慣用手法的軍備競賽。

She also had speech bubbles while other comics still used captions.

當其他漫畫還在使用字幕時，她也用了對話框。

Those speech bubbles were more visceral than captions.

那些對話框比字幕更內化到漫畫中。

They could show music and weird stuff like ideas, and this

對話框可以表現出音樂跟奇怪的東西，例如想法，還有這個

- the first known grawlix.

— 第一個為人所知的粗口符號。

Now it's hard to be certain that this really was the first grawlix.

現在很難確定它真的是第一個粗口符號。

But suddenly in 1902 and 1903, there were a @!@$$$ ton of them, and only a few comics

但突然在西元 1902 年跟 1903 年，有一大堆 @!@$$$ 的粗口符號出現

were innovative enough to employ the new device.

也只有少數漫畫夠創新來使用這個新的設計。

In December 1902, the Katzenjammer kids joined in with Lady B.

西元 1902 年 12 月，《頑童班》跟《慷慨的女士》聯手。

These trailblazing comics established how you talk in comics with speech bubbles,

這些開創性的漫畫建立了漫畫中如何用對話框對話的體系

and with the grawlix, they established how you showed you just don't give a !@#()!!.

還有粗口符號，他們建立了一個手法讓你知道如何表現，干我 !@#()!! 事。

This is a 1 kiloherz sine wave.

這是 1 千赫茲正弦波。

You might not recognize it.

你可能不知道它。

But it sounds like this.

但它聽起來就是這樣。

It solves a problem and creates a feeling.

它解決了一個問題並創造了一種感覺。

Just like the grawlix.

就像粗口符號。

It's the fun of transgression and the punishment, all in one smush of symbols.

這是犯罪與懲罰的樂趣，所有的一切都在這一串符號中。

Sure, Sarge gets mad at Beetle for breaking the rules.

當然，警官對於 Beetle 打破規定感到憤怒。

But Beetle, that little !@(#* !*@#( little @#($*@#($* skinny *@#$(*!)@ son of a ()@#()$*@ kind of *@(#$*(@#*$.

但 Beetle，那個小 !@(#* !*@#(、小 @#($*@#($*、()@#()$*@、()@#()$*@ 的瘦皮猴。

Sarge loves him, too.

警官也很愛他。

Hey, what's up @#)$*(@(#? Two things.

嘿，@#)$*(@(# 的各位好嗎？兩件事。

First, if you're interested in language nerdery like this, check out Language Log

首先，如果你像他們一樣對語言強烈感興趣的話，去看看 Language Log 網站

and the writing of Ben Zimmer.

以及 Ben‧Zimmer 寫的內容。

Both of those were instrumental in early research on the grawlix and it helped us get our start.

這兩個都有助於粗口符號的前期研究，也幫助我們開始這類研究。

However, I do not wanna brag here, but we did find some early grawlixes that are even

然而，我不是要自誇，但我們確實找到一些更早出現的粗口符號

earlier than the previously known ones.

比之前已知的還要更早。

If you want to learn about the research process for something as weird as a grawlix, Vox has

如果你想要知道一些像粗口符號一樣奇怪的事物的研究過程

a membership program called the Vox Video Lab where there are a ton of extra videos and information.

Vox 有個會員專屬節目叫做 Vox Video Lab，裡面有一大堆額外影片跟資訊。

In the Videolab, I have made a video about my research process and exactly how I nerded

在 Videolab，我有做了一支有關我的研究過程以及我如何宅進

out over these 1900s comics and found a ton of ()@#*$* grawlixes.

這些西元 1900 年代漫畫裡，找出一大堆 ()@#*$* 的粗口符號。

So, check it out if you want to see how it happened.

所以，如果你想知道是怎麼產生的，就去看看影片吧！