TED英語演講：我的閱讀世界年

Word文檔TED英語演講：我的閱讀世界年安.摩根認為自己擅于閱讀，直到她在自己的書架上發(fā)覺到不得了的文化盲點;在眾多的英、美作家之列，極少作品出自英語世界以外的作家。所以她訂出一個豪情萬丈的目標-「在一年的歷程閱讀世界各國的一本書」;現(xiàn)在她鼓舞其他的崇尚英風者們?nèi)ラ喿x翻譯作品。下面是我為大家收集關(guān)于TED英語演講：我的閱讀世界年，歡迎借鑒參考。

演說題目：我的閱讀世界年!

演說者：AnnMorgan

Itsoftensaidthatyoucantellalotaboutapersonbylookingatwhatsontheirbookshelves.Whatdomybookshelvessayaboutme?Well,whenIaskedmyselfthisquestionafewyearsago,Imadeanalarmingdiscovery.Idalwaysthoughtofmyselfasafairlycultured,cosmopolitansortofperson.Butmybookshelvestoldaratherdifferentstory.PrettymuchallthetitlesonthemwerebyBritishorNorthAmericanauthors,andtherewasalmostnothingintranslation.Discoveringthismassive,culturalblindspotinmyreadingcameasquiteashock.

AndwhenIthoughtaboutit,itseemedlikearealshame.IknewtherehadtobelotsofamazingstoriesouttherebywritersworkinginlanguagesotherthanEnglish.AnditseemedreallysadtothinkthatmyreadinghabitsmeantIwouldprobablyneverencounterthem.So,Idecidedtoprescribemyselfanintensivecourseofglobalreading.20xxwassettobeaveryinternationalyearfortheUK;itwastheyearoftheLondonOlympics.AndsoIdecidedtouseitasmytimeframetotrytoreadanovel,shortstorycollectionormemoirfromeverycountryintheworld.AndsoIdid.AnditwasveryexcitingandIlearnedsomeremarkablethingsandmadesomewonderfulconnectionsthatIwanttosharewithyoutoday.

Butitstartedwithsomepracticalproblems.AfterIdworkedoutwhichofthemanydifferentlistsofcountriesintheworldtouseformyproject,IendedupgoingwiththelistofUN-recognizednations,towhichIaddedTaiwan,whichgavemeatotalof196countries.AndafterIdworkedouthowtofitreadingandbloggingabout,roughly,fourbooksaweekaroundworkingfivedaysaweek,

IthenhadtofaceuptothefactthatImightevennotbeabletogetbooksinEnglishfromeverycountry.Onlyaround4.5percentoftheliteraryworkspublishedeachyearintheUKaretranslations,andthefiguresaresimilarformuchoftheEnglish-speakingworld.Although,theproportionoftranslatedbookspublishedinmanyothercountriesisalothigher.4.5percentistinyenoughtostartwith,butwhatthatfiguredoesnttellyouisthatmanyofthosebookswillcomefromcountrieswithstrongpublishingnetworksandlotsofindustryprofessionalsprimedtogooutandsellthosetitlestoEnglish-languagepublishers.So,forexample,althoughwellover100booksaretranslatedfromFrenchandpublishedintheUKeachyear,mostofthemwillcomefromcountrieslikeFranceorSwitzerland.French-speakingAfrica,ontheotherhand,willrarelyevergetalook-in.

TheupshotisthatthereareactuallyquitealotofnationsthatmayhavelittleorevennocommerciallyavailableliteratureinEnglish.Theirbooksremaininvisibletoreadersoftheworldsmostpublishedlanguage.Butwhenitcametoreadingtheworld,thebiggestchallengeofallformewasthatfactthatIdidntknowwheretostart.HavingspentmylifereadingalmostexclusivelyBritishandNorthAmericanbooks,Ihadnoideahowtogoaboutsourcingandfindingstoriesandchoosingthemfrommuchoftherestoftheworld.IcouldnttellyouhowtosourceastoryfromSwaziland.IwouldntknowagoodnovelfromNamibia.Therewasnohidingit--Iwasacluelessliteraryxenophobe.SohowonearthwasIgoingtoreadtheworld?

Iwasgoingtohavetoaskforhelp.SoinOctober20xx,Iregisteredmyblog,,andIpostedashortappealonline.IexplainedwhoIwas,hownarrowmyreadinghadbeen,andIaskedanyonewhocaredtotoleaveamessagesuggestingwhatImightreadfromotherpartsoftheplanet.Now,Ihadnoideawhetheranyonewouldbeinterested,butwithinafewhoursofmepostingthatappealonline,peoplestartedtogetintouch.Atfirst,itwasfriendsandcolleagues.Thenitwasfriendsoffriends.Andprettysoon,itwasstrangers.

FourdaysafterIputthatappealonline,IgotamessagefromawomancalledRafidahinKualaLumpur.Shesaidshelovedthesoundofmyproject,couldshegotoherlocalEnglish-languagebookshopandchoosemyMalaysianbookandpostittome?Iacceptedenthusiastically,andafewweekslater,apackagearrivedcontainingnotone,buttwobooks--RafidahschoicefromMalaysia,andabookfromSingaporethatshehadalsopickedoutforme.Now,atthetime,Iwasamazedthatastrangermorethan6,000milesawaywouldgotosuchlengthstohelpsomeoneshewouldprobablynevermeet.

ButRafidahskindnessprovedtobethepatternforthatyear.Timeandagain,peoplewentoutoftheirwaytohelpme.Sometookonresearchonmybehalf,andothersmadedetoursonholidaysandbusinesstripstogotobookshopsforme.Itturnsout,ifyouwanttoreadtheworld,ifyouwanttoencounteritwithanopenmind,theworldwillhelpyou.WhenitcametocountrieswithlittleornocommerciallyavailableliteratureinEnglish,peoplewentfurtherstill.

Booksoftencamefromsurprisingsources.MyPanamanianread,forexample,camethroughaconversationIhadwiththePanamaCanalonTwitter.Yes,thePanamaCanalhasaTwitteraccount.AndwhenItweetedatitaboutmyproject,itsuggestedthatImightliketotryandgetholdoftheworkofthePanamanianauthorJuanDavidMorgan.IfoundMorganswebsiteandIsenthimamessage,askingifanyofhisSpanish-languagenovelshadbeentranslatedintoEnglish.Andhesaidthatnothinghadbeenpublished,buthedidhaveanunpublishedtranslationofhisnovelTheGoldenHorse.Heemailedthistome,allowingmetobecomeoneofthefirstpeopleevertoreadthatbookinEnglish.

Morganwasbynomeanstheonlywordsmithtosharehisworkwithmeinthisway.FromSwedentoPalau,writersandtranslatorssentmeself-publishedbooksandunpublishedmanuscriptsofbooksthathadntbeenpickedupbyAnglophonepublishersorthatwerenolongeravailable,givingmeprivilegedglimpsesofsomeremarkableimaginaryworlds.Iread,forexample,abouttheSouthernAfricankingNgungunhane,wholedtheresistanceagainstthePortugueseinthe19thcentury;andaboutmarriageritualsinaremotevillageontheshoresoftheCaspianseainTurkmenistan.ImetKuwaitsanswertoBridgetJones.

AndIreadaboutanorgyinatreeinAngola.

Butperhapsthemostamazingexampleofthelengthsthatpeoplewerepreparedtogototohelpmereadtheworld,cametowardstheendofmyquest,whenItriedtogetholdofabookfromthetiny,Portuguese-speakingAfricanislandnationofS?oTomandPrncipe.Now,havingspentseveralmonthstryingeverythingIcouldthinkoftofindabookthathadbeentranslatedintoEnglishfromthenation,itseemedasthoughtheonlyoptionlefttomewastoseeifIcouldgetsomethingtranslatedformefromscratch.Now,Iwasreallydubiouswhetheranyonewasgoingtowanttohelpwiththis,andgiveuptheirtimeforsomethinglikethat.But,withinaweekofmeputtingacalloutonTwitterandFacebookforPortuguesespeakers,IhadmorepeoplethanIcouldinvolveintheproject,includingMargaretJullCosta,aleaderinherfield,whohastranslatedtheworkofNobelPrizewinnerJosSaramago.Withmyninevolunteersinplace,ImanagedtofindabookbyaS?oTomanauthorthatIcouldbuyenoughcopiesofonline.Heresoneofthem.AndIsentacopyouttoeachofmyvolunteers.Theyalltookonacoupleofshortstoriesfromthiscollection,stucktotheirword,senttheirtranslationsbacktome,andwithinsixweeks,Ihadtheentirebooktoread.

Inthatcase,asIfoundsooftenduringmyyearofreadingtheworld,mynotknowingandbeingopenaboutmylimitationshadbecomeabigopportunity.WhenitcametoS?oTomandPrncipe,itwasachancenotonlytolearnsomethingnewanddiscoveranewcollectionofstories,butalsotobringtogetheragroupofpeopleandfacilitateajointcreativeendeavor.Myweaknesshadbecometheprojectsstrength.

ThebooksIreadthatyearopenedmyeyestomanythings.Asthosewhoenjoyreadingwillknow,bookshaveanextraordinarypowertotakeyououtofyourselfandintosomeoneelsesmindset,sothat,forawhileatleast,youlookattheworldthroughdifferenteyes.Thatcanbeanuncomfortableexperience,particularlyifyourereadingabookfromaculturethatmayhavequitedifferentvaluestoyourown.Butitcanalsobereallyenlightening.Wrestlingwithunfamiliarideascanhelpclarifyyourownthinking.Anditcanalsoshowupblindspotsinthewayyoumighthavebeenlookingattheworld.

WhenIlookedbackatmuchoftheEnglish-languageliteratureIdgrownupwith,forexample,Ibegantoseehownarrowalotofitwas,comparedtotherichnessthattheworldhastooffer.Andasthepagesturned,somethingelsestartedtohappen,too.Littlebylittle,thatlonglistofcountriesthatIdstartedtheyearwith,changedfromaratherdry,academicregisterofplacenamesintoliving,breathingentities.

Now,Idontwanttosuggestthatitsatallpossibletogetaroundedpictureofacountrysimplybyreadingonebook.Butcumulatively,thestoriesIreadthatyearmadememorealivethaneverbeforetotherichness,diversityandcomplexityofourremarkableplanet.Itwasasthoughtheworldsstoriesandthepeoplewhodgonetosuchlengthstohelpmereadthemhadmadeitrealtome.Thesedays,whenIlookatmybookshelvesorconsidertheworksonmye-reader,theytellaratherdifferentstory.Itsthestoryofthepowerbookshavetoconnectusacrosspolitical,geographical,cultural,social,religiousdivides.Itsthetaleofthepotentialhumanbeingshavetoworktogether.

And,itstestamenttotheextraordinarytimeswelivein,where,thankstotheInternet,itseasierthaneverbeforeforastrangertoshareastory,aworldview,abookwithsomeoneshemaynevermeet,ontheothersideoftheplanet.IhopeitsastoryImreadingformanyyearstocome.AndIhopemanymorepeoplewilljoinme.Ifweallreadmorewidely,theredbemoreincentiveforpublisherstotranslatemorebooks,andwewouldallbericherforthat.

Thankyou.

常說看一個人的書架就能了解到這個人許多事情那么我的書架是怎么呈現(xiàn)我的呢?嗯，當幾年前我問自己這個問題時我被自己嚇了一跳我始終覺得自己是一個有教養(yǎng)的比較與時俱進的人但我的書架呈現(xiàn)的卻是另一回事大部分的書都是英國或北美的基本沒什么翻譯過來的書在我的閱讀里，我發(fā)覺了這個浩大的文化盲點的確挺驚人的

當我認真去想的時候，真的挺圓滿的我知道在這個世界上除了英語肯定還有許多其他語言的好玩的故事而我的閱讀習慣意味著我估量永久也不會去接觸這一類書這想起來讓人有點難過所以我下定決心把自己的閱讀范圍擴大到世界級的范圍20xx年對于英國來說是特別國際化的一年這一年倫敦舉辦了奧運會所以我打算把它當成一個時間段去嘗試從世界上不同的國家里選一本小說來讀，不管是短篇的還是自傳的所以我這么做了特別刺激我學到許多有用的東西也了解到許多好玩的聯(lián)系讓我很想今日跟大家共享

但萬事開頭難當我整理出這個世界不同國家的列表后我又對比了聯(lián)合國認證的國家列表所以我增加了臺灣(中國)所以總共有196個國家在我算出如何在一周內(nèi)一周五天的時間內(nèi)讀完并記錄日志后，

我不得不面對這么一個現(xiàn)實就是我可能無法獵取每個國家書籍的英文版大約在英國出版的有翻譯版本的書籍僅占全部的4.5%對于世界上講英語的其他地區(qū)來說，這個數(shù)字也差不多盡管在很多其他國家翻譯出版的書籍的比例要高許多4.5%對剛開頭來說雖然足夠但這個數(shù)字并沒有告知你的是這些書中許多會來自擁有強大出版網(wǎng)絡的國家而且當中許多專業(yè)人士也很想把這些書賣給英文出版社例如，雖然每年有超過100本的法語書會譯成英文在英國發(fā)行但大部分是來自法國或瑞士另一方面，在非洲講法語的地區(qū)則幾乎沒有機會涉及到

結(jié)果就是，有許多許多國家根本進不了英文文學的商業(yè)區(qū)根本進不了英文文學的商業(yè)區(qū)對世界上發(fā)行語言受眾最多的讀者來說這些國家的書籍鮮為人知但當談到閱讀世界這一做法時對我來說最大的困難就是我不知道從何入手我這一生幾乎都在閱讀英國和北美的書籍我根本不知道該怎么搜尋查找去選擇世界上大部分其他地方的作品我沒方法告知你要怎么去搜尋斯威士蘭的文學作品我不知道納米比亞有哪些好的文學作品這些作品并沒有被藏起來我在文學上就是一個外盲那么我究竟要怎么去閱讀這個世界呢?

我不得不尋求關(guān)心在20xx年10月，我注冊了我的博客然后我發(fā)了一條簡短的求助我解釋我是誰我的閱讀面有多窄我問有沒有人情愿給我留言，建議我應當去讀這個世界上其他地方的那些書我當時不知道有沒有人會給我留言但在我發(fā)了求助后的幾個小時內(nèi)人們開頭給我回復了一開頭，是伴侶和同事然后就是伴侶的伴侶很快，就是生疏人

在我在網(wǎng)上留了那條求助之后的第四天我收到了一條消息它來自一位在吉隆坡叫Rafidah的女士她說她很喜愛我這個項目的意義問她能不能去當?shù)氐挠⑽臅耆缓髱臀疫x馬來語書籍然后發(fā)給我?我滿腔熱忱地接受了幾個星期后包裹來了，里面不是一本，是兩本Rafidah選的一本是馬來西亞的書還有一本也是她選的，來自新加坡的書當時，我都驚呆了一個遠在6000英里之外的生疏人會如此專心去幫一個她從未見過的生疏人

但Rafidah的和善，成了那一年的常規(guī)一次又一次，人們用他們的方式來幫我有些人幫我做了討論有些人在假期或出差的時候特地跑一趟書店幫我找書事實證明，假如你想閱讀這個世界假如你想用開放的思維去與之溝通那么整個世界都會幫你對于那些在商業(yè)上沒什么機會進入英文文學界的國家來說人們會更努力地去幫我

這些書籍的來源常常讓我出乎意料舉個例子，我的巴拿馬閱讀，是來自推特上我和“巴拿馬水道”這個賬號的對話是的，巴拿馬水道在有推特賬號的當我在推特上發(fā)布我這個項目的消息時它建議說，我可能會想要去讀一讀一位叫JuanDavidMorgan的巴拿馬作家的作品我找到了作家的網(wǎng)站，然后給他發(fā)了一條消息問他，他的西語小說有沒有被翻譯成英文的他答復說目前還沒有出版但他的確有一份未出版的英文譯文一本名叫《金馬》的小說他用郵件把譯文發(fā)給我允許我成為第一批閱讀這本書的英文版本的讀者之一

Morgan并不是唯一一個情愿用這種方式和我共享他的作品的作家從瑞典到帕勞作家和翻譯家給我發(fā)來他們自己出版的書籍還有未被以英文為母語的出版商挑中的或者是不再有機會發(fā)表的全部未出版的手稿這讓我有機會一窺某些精彩的世界比如說，我讀了關(guān)于南非國王Ngungunhane的書籍他在19世紀領(lǐng)導抵抗葡萄牙人我也讀了土庫曼斯坦的里海岸邊那些偏僻村莊的結(jié)婚儀式我還讀了科威特版本的《BJ單身日記》

我還讀了安哥