The true story of 'true' - Gina Cooke

关于“真实”的真实故事- Gina Cooke

翻译人员: Xuwen Zhu 校对人员: Zhiting Chen

Everyone knows that stories

众所周知，

are made up of words,

故事是由词组成的，

from short poems

不管是短短的叙事诗

to epic novels.

还是长篇史诗小说。

But did you know

但是你知道吗

that a single word itself

有一个单词

can tell an entire story?

自己就有一个完整的故事。

You see, just as we can look at a story's plot,

正如我们可以研究一个故事的情节，

setting,

设置

and characters,

和人物，

we can also study the history

我们也可以研究

of an individual word,

一个单词的历史，

where it developed,

看这个词如何演化

and the cultures and people

以及在成形过程中起作用的

who helped shape it.

文化和人。

Looking into the story of a word

研究一个单词自己的故事

is like counting the rings of a tree.

就像数一棵树的年轮。

Newer words, like Google

新的单词，比如Google（谷歌）

or cyborg,

或cyborg(半机械人)，

have shorter stories.

它们自己的故事很短。

But the older the word,

而一个单词的“年纪”越大，

the longer the story

它的故事就越长，

and the more it stands to reveal to us

向我们展示的

not only about itself,

不光关于这个单词，

but about ourselves and our history.

还有关于我们自己和我们的历史 的信息，也越多。

The oldest words in present-day English

在当今英语的最古老的单词

are those that come from Old English,

都来自古英语。

the ancestor of our modern language

古英语是我们现代语言的始祖

whose first seeds were planted

起源于

about 1500 years ago.

大约1500年前。

Compared to languages like Greek or Chinese

相对于希腊语和中文

that date back thousands of years,

这些历史长达几千年的语言，

English is just a sapling in the lexical forest.

英语在语言森林里只是一棵小树苗。

But the stories of its words

但英语单词的故事

often start long before English itself took root.

却早在英语发源之前就开始了。

One such word is the familiar word true,

其中一个这样的词是我们熟悉的“真”(true)

as in true stories.

用法比如“真实的故事”(true stories).

Let's take a look.

让我们来看一下。

True usually means factual, correct,

True通常指事实性的，正确的，

or faithful to reality.

或符合现实的。

It can also mean exact,

它也可以指精确，

properly positioned,

恰当放置的，

upright,

正直，

or straight.

或笔直。

A true friend is loyal,

“真正的朋友”(A true friend)是忠诚的，

reliable,

可靠，

faithful,

忠实，

and steadfast.

和坚定的。

The word true is a simple word,

True是一个简单的词，

and we can add some affixes

我们可以添加一些词缀

to grow its family tree

在这个词的家谱上造出更多衍生词

with words like truer,

比如“更真实”(truer)

truest,

最真实（truest），

truly,

真实地(truly)，

truth,

and untruth.

事实（truth），

以及虚假(untruth)。

But if we go in the other direction

但如果我们反其道而行

to look at the roots of true itself,

去追溯true这个词的根源，

we find even more relatives

我们会在老家谱上

further up the family tree.

找到更多亲戚。

The words trust,

信任（trust），

bethroth,

订婚（betroth），

and truce

以及停战(truce)

all derive from the same source as true,

这些词都和true有一样的词源，

and these words all denote faithfulness

都一样有着“忠诚”

or confidence.

或“信任”的意味。

A thousand years ago,

一千年前，

the word true looked and sounded

true这个词不管拼写还是发音

different than it does today.

都和今天很不一样。

In several Old English dialects,

在几种古英语方言里，

the word treow was a noun

这个词treow是一个名词

that meant good faith or trust,

意思是忠诚的信仰，或者信任，

a pledge or a promise.

是一种誓言或承诺。

But it also had another definition,

但它也有另外一层意思

tree,

树

and that's no coincidence.

而这并非巧合。

If we trace the roots back even farther,

如果我们追溯到更远的历史

we find that both meanings

我们发现，这两个含义（诚信和树）

derive from a common origin,

来自一个相同的起源，

where some of the earliest expressions

在那里，

of the concept of truth

一些有关“真实”这个概念的表述

were associated with the uprightness of an oak,

是和橡树的笔直，

the steadiness of a silver birch,

白桦树的稳固，

and the fidelity of an orchard baring fruit

以及年复一年生产水果的果园表现出的那种尽责

year after year.

联系在一起的。

This may sound like a stretch at first,

这乍听起来有些牵强，

but trees are the oldest living organisms

但别忘了，树是这个星球上

on this planet.

最古老的生命体。

Some that would have been called treow long ago

一些当年会被人们称为treow的树

still stand today.

今天仍然存在。

The Fortingall Yew in Scotland

苏格兰的福廷格尔红豆杉

is more than 2,000 years old.

已经活了2000多年了。

A Californian Bristlecone Pine

加州有一棵狐尾松

is more than 5,000.

有5000多岁。

And Utah's Pando-quaking Aspen Grove

犹他州有一片山杨树林

has a single root system

他们有一个共用的根系

that dates back more than 80 millennia.

其历史可以追溯到八万多年前。

Trees have also held a sacred place

历史上，树也在诸多文化中

in many cultures throughout history.

占有神圣的地位。

The Celtic peoples

凯尔特民族

who first inhabited the British Isles

一开始居住在英伦三岛，

believed that trees housed deities.

他么相信树里居住着神。

And, in fact, the ancient Druids take their name

而事实上，古德鲁伊教的名字

from the same ancient root as tree.

就来自于同样古老的树名。

Planting a tree is itself an act of faith

植树本身就是一种代表信仰

and commitment.

和承诺的行为。

Not only are trees upright and prototypically straight,

不仅因为树木在形态上是向上而且通常是笔直的

but they are actual, solid, and real,

更因为它们如此真实而坚固，

something you can see and touch.

是你可以亲眼看到、亲手触摸的东西。

And they are as reliable and steadfast to us today

而且，就和千年以前一样，

as they were a millennium ago,

树木始终那么可靠坚定，

nurturing us,

养育我们，

sheltering us,

庇护我们，

and providing the pages of our books.

以及贡献我们书本的纸张。

Philosophers and poets,

哲学家和诗人，

people in search of the truth,

这些寻求真理的人，

have often sought it in trees.

经常会从树木上去寻找（真理）。

"What did the tree learn from the Earth

“树从土地里学到了什么东西

to be able to talk with the sky?"

让它能和天空交谈？”

asked Pablo Neruda.

诗人巴勃罗·聂鲁达这样问道。

"A tree falls the way it leans,"

“树倒的方向也是它倾斜的方向” （意为你的认知、信仰、向别人展示的态度 ，都可能会成为你的短板)

says an old proverb.

这是一个古老的谚语。

Just as trees mark our landscapes

正如树木成就了我们的风景

and witness our histories,

并见证我们的历史，

the stories of words landscape our language,

单词的故事就是语言这幅风景画的树木，

capturing the rains and sunshine of generations

收集一代代人智慧的阳光雨露

and sending roots and branches far and wide.

将根和枝叶伸得更远。

As there is a whole orchard in a single seed,

就像一颗种子可以长成一个果园

there is a whole story in a single word,

一个单词里也有一整个故事。

and that's the truth.

真的。