How the jump rope got its rhythm | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Translator: Krystian Aparta Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Howel Wang

If you do it right, it should sound like:

如果你做對了，聽起來應該是這樣：

TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat.

滴答，滴答，滴答， 滴答，滴答，滴答。

If you do it wrong, it sounds like:

如果錯了，聽起來會是：

Tick-TAT, tick-TAT, tick-TAT.

滴答，滴答，滴答。

[Small thing. Big idea.]

〔小東西。大點子。〕

[Kyra Gaunt on the Jump Rope]

〔凱拉岡特談跳繩〕

The jump rope is such a simple object.

跳繩是個很簡單的物品。

It can be made out of rope, a clothesline, twine.

可以用繩索、曬衣繩、繩索來做。

It has, like, a twirl on it. (Laughs)

它上面有個……旋轉。（笑聲）

I'm not sure how to describe that.

我不太確定怎麼稱呼它。

What's important is that it has a certain weight,

重要的是，它有一定的重量，

and that they have that kind of whip sound.

且會有一種鞭打的聲音。

It's not clear what the origin of the jump rope is.

跳繩的來源並不清楚。

There's some evidence that it began in ancient Egypt, Phoenicia,

有證據顯示，在古老的埃及 腓尼基就開始有跳繩了，

and then it most likely traveled to North America with Dutch settlers.

很可能接著就被荷蘭 移民者傳到了北美。

The rope became a big thing when women's clothes became more fitted

跳繩熱門起來是因為 女性的衣服變得更合身，

and the pantaloon came into being.

且馬褲開始出現。

And so, girls were able to jump rope

所以，女孩就可以跳繩了，

because their skirts wouldn't catch the ropes.

她們不會有裙子絆到繩子的問題了。

Governesses used it to train their wards to jump rope.

女家教訓練她們監護的 未成年人跳繩。

Even formerly enslaved African children in the antebellum South

甚至在南北戰爭前的南方， 被奴役的非洲孩童

jumped rope, too.

也會玩跳繩。

In the 1950s, in Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,

1950 年代，在哈林區、布隆克斯區、 布魯克林區、皇后區，

you could see on the sidewalk, lots of girls playing with ropes.

都可以看到許多女孩 在人行道上玩跳繩。

Sometimes they would take two ropes and turn them as a single rope together,

有時她們會把兩條繩子變成一條，

but you could separate them and turn them in like an eggbeater on each other.

但也可以把兩條繩子分開， 變成像打蛋器那樣。

The skipping rope was like a steady timeline --

跳繩就像是條穩定的時間線──

tick, tick, tick, tick --

滴，滴，滴，滴──

upon which you can add rhymes and rhythms and chants.

你可以在上面加上 韻律、節奏、吟唱。

Those ropes created a space

那些繩子能創造出一個空間，

where we were able to contribute to something

在那空間中，我們能促成

that was far greater than the neighborhood.

超越街坊的東西。

Double Dutch jump rope remains a powerful symbol of culture and identity

對於黑人女性來說， 相繞繩單人跳仍然是

文化和身份的強大象徵。

for black women.

Back from the 1950s to the 1970s,

在 1950 年代到 1970 年代之間，

girls weren't supposed to play sports.

女孩是不能玩運動的。

Boys played baseball, basketball and football,

男孩可以玩棒球、籃球、足球，

and girls weren't allowed.

女孩卻不被允許。

A lot has changed, but in that era,

很多已經改變了，但在那個年代，

girls would rule the playground.

女孩能主宰遊樂場。

They'd make sure that boys weren't a part of that.

她們會確保男孩不能進入。

It's their space, it's a girl-power space.

那是她們的空間， 「女孩力量」的空間。

It's where they get to shine.

在那裡，她們能發光。

But I also think it's for boys,

但我認為男孩也能玩，

because boys overheard those,

因為男孩無意間聽到那些，

which is why, I think, so many hip-hop artists

我認為，這就是為什麼 有許多嘻哈藝術家

sampled from things that they heard in black girls' game songs.

會參考他們聽到的 黑人女孩的遊戲歌曲。

(Chanting) ... cold, thick shake, act like you know how to flip,

（吟唱）……冷又濃的奶昔， 表現出你知道如何輕跳，

Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, french fries, ice cold, thick shake,

麥香魚，四盎司牛肉堡， 法式薯條，冰冷，濃奶昔，

act like you know how to jump.

表現出你知道如何跳躍。

Why "Country Grammar" by Nelly became a Grammy Award-winning single

尼力的單曲《家有家規》 之所以能贏得葛萊美獎，

was because people already knew

是因為人們已經知道

"We're going down down baby your street in a Range Rover ... "

「寶貝，我們要開著 Range Rover 前往你的那條街……」

That's the beginning of "Down down, baby, down down the roller coaster,

那後面接的是「下來， 寶貝，從雲霄飛車下來，

sweet, sweet baby, I'll never let you go."

甜蜜的寶貝，我永遠不會讓你走。」

All people who grew up in any black urban community

在任何黑人城市社區中長大的人，

would know that music.

都會知道那音樂。

And so, it was a ready-made hit.

它是現成的熱門金曲。

The Double Dutch rope playing helped maintain these songs

因為玩相繞繩單人跳， 讓這些歌曲得以傳下去，

and helped maintain the chants and the gestures that go along with it,

配合歌曲的吟唱和手勢 也都能延續下去，

which is very natural to what I call "kinetic orality" --

這對於我所謂的「運動的 口頭形態」而言是很自然的──

word of mouth and word of body.

嘴巴和身體的言詞。

It's the thing that gets passed down over generations.

它能被世世代代傳下去。

In some ways, the rope is the thing that helps carry it.

在某種意義上，跳繩 協助帶著它傳下去。

You need some object to carry memory through.

你需要某些物品當媒界來帶著記憶。

So, a jump rope, you can use it for all different kinds of things.

所以，你可以把跳繩 用在各種事物上。

It crosses cultures.

它跨越了文化。

And I think it lasted because people need to move.

我想，它會延續下去 是因為人需要動。

And I think sometimes the simplest objects can make the most creative uses.

我認為，有時，最簡單的東西 就能做最有創意的使用。