Mysteries of vernacular: Ukulele - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

神秘的词源：尤克里里—Jessica Oreck与Rachael Teel

翻译人员: Minglei Wang 校对人员: Zhiting Chen

Mysteries of vernacular:

神秘的词源：

Ukulele,

尤克里里，

a small, four-stringed guitar.

是一种小巧的四弦吉他。

Oddly enough, the word ukulele,

奇怪的是，“尤克里里”这个词

in its native Hawaiian,

在夏威夷语中的

literally translates to jumping flea.

直译是“跳跃的跳骚”。

Even more surprising,

更惊奇的是，

the instrument itself did not originate in Hawaii.

这种乐器本身并非源自夏威夷。

So, how did a Hawaiian word

那么，一个夏威夷词语怎么会

come to describe a non-Hawaiian instrument?

用来形容一种非夏威夷的乐器呢？

Back in the late 1800s,

19世纪末，

King Kalākaua was the last reigning king

卡拉卡瓦国王是最后一位

of the kingdom of Hawaii.

夏威夷王国的统治者。

He was nicknamed "The Merry Monarch"

他也被称为“快乐的国王”，

because of his joy for life

这是因为他对生活的热爱

and, in particular, his love of music.

以及对音乐尤其的热衷。

In the King's court,

在王宫中，

there was a former British army officer

有一名前英国军官

named Edward Purvis.

叫作爱德华•珀维斯。

Though a small man,

尽管身材矮小，

he was quite lively,

可他却十分活跃，

and his nickname was "Jumping Flea,"

因此他被冠以“跳跃的跳骚”这一绰号，

"Ukulele" in Hawaiian.

其夏威夷语为“尤克里里”。

Like the King, he was a great lover of music.

同国王一样，他也十分热爱音乐。

In 1879, a group of Portuguese immigrants

1879年，一群葡萄牙移民

arrived on the islands of Hawaii,

来到了夏威夷群岛，

bringing with them a small, four-stringed guitar

他们带着一种小巧的四弦吉他，

known as a braguinha.

他们称其为braguinha。

Purvis was immediately taken with the instrument

珀维斯顿时被其所吸引

and helped spread its popularity

并使这种乐器

throughout the King's court.

在王宫里流行起来。

As the story goes,

据说，

it was not long before his nickname, Ukulele,

不久后，“尤克里里”

jumped from the man to his favorite instrument.

便从一个男人的绰号变为了他最喜爱乐器的名称。

As demand grew, several Portuguese families

随着需求的增长，一些葡萄牙家庭

began to manufacture

开始

the minuscule guitar on the islands,

在岛上生产这种小型的吉他，

making small modifications

经过细微的改进，

until it became the same ukulele we recognize today.

它便成为了今天我们所熟知的尤克里里。