Mysteries of vernacular: Robot - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

拆文解字: 機器人--潔西卡．奧瑞克和瑞秋．提爾

譯者: Elaine Cheng 審譯者: Wen Yuan Chen

Mysteries of vernacular:

拆文解字:

Robot,

機器人

a machine capable of carrying out

是一台能夠執行一系列

a programmable series of actions.

由電腦編碼所設計的行動的機器

The origin of the word robot

"Robot" (機器人)這個單字

dates back more than a thousand years

來自一千多年前，

to the era of serfdom in central Europe

在中歐存在農奴制度的時代

when servitude was the currency for rent.

當時，租金可用奴役來相抵。

In those days,

那時，

the Old Church Slavonic word rabota

"robata"這個單字在古教會斯拉夫語中

described the forced labor of the people.

有被迫做苦勞的意思。

A slight adjustment of spelling,

再稍微改變一下拼字，

and rabota became the Czech robota,

"robata" 就變成了捷克語中的 "robota"

which, in addition to defining the toil of the serfs,

"robota"除了有農奴的辛勞的意思以外

was also used figuratively

也被用來比喻

to describe any kind of hard work or drudgery.

任何的苦差事

In 1920, Czech writer Karel Capek published

在1920年，捷克作家卡雷爾˙恰佩克出版了

a science fiction play called "R.U.R.",

一本名為"R.U.R"的科幻小說，

short for "Rossum's Universal Robots."

R.U.R.則是"Rossum's Universal Robots" (羅素姆的全能機器人)的縮寫

The story featured automated machines

這本小說描述的是

with distinctly human features

有著人類特徵的自動化機器

that, until they revolt,

最終起義反抗

catered to the whims of the people of Earth.

他們的製造者--人類--的無理需求

Capek originally considered

恰佩克原本打算

calling these hard-working machines labori

把這些努力做事的機器取名為 "labori"

from the Latin word for labor,

就像拉丁文裡的"labor" (勞力)

but he worried it sounded a bit too scholarly.

但他擔心會聽起來太文謅謅

He opted, instead, to emphasize their enslaved state

所以他選擇叫這些機器"roboti"

by naming them roboti,

或是古英文的"robot"

or robot in English.

來強調它們被奴役的處境。

"R.U.R." was wildly successful,

"R.U.R"這本小說非常暢銷，

and when it was translated into English in 1923,

在1923年出版了英譯本後，

the word robot was enthusiastically embraced.

"robot"(機器人)這個單字被廣泛的接受了。

Though most of today's robots look

雖然大部分現代的機器人

quite different than Capek imagined,

跟恰佩克所想像的長得不太一樣，

they've become just as popular as he predicted.

恰佩克到是準確的預言了機器人受歡迎的程度

Unlike in "R.U.R.", though,

跟"R.U.R."不同的是，

our robots haven't risen up against us,

我們的機器人還沒起來反抗人類，

and here's hoping it stays that way!

希望以後也是一直如此囉!