倫敦人的小密語(yǔ)

導(dǎo)讀：倫敦押韻俚語(yǔ)因發(fā)源于倫敦東區(qū)而得名。傳統(tǒng)的押韻俚語(yǔ)并不容易被模仿和學(xué)習(xí)的原因是由于有時(shí)候每個(gè)俚語(yǔ)的第二個(gè)詞會(huì)被省略，或使用與一個(gè)單詞韻律相同的片語(yǔ)來(lái)代替這個(gè)單詞。

Do you know your plates of meat from your porkies？ How about your trouble and strife from your tea leaf？ Unless youre an English native， you may be wondering what on earth all this means.

These words， which may sound nonsense， are known as “cockney” rhyming slang， a system of speech used across the UK.

Rhyming slang has roots in 19th century east London， and developed either as a method for market stall traders to communicate in secret or perhaps even a way for thieves to trade information without giving away their game — historians are unclear of its true origin.

While theres no official list of phrases — you could even make them up as you go along — the general rule is to replace one word with a two-worded phrase that rhymes with it. For example： “dog and bone” （phone） and “Ruby Murray” （curry）.

Fortunately， there are websites and apps to help if you still dont have a Scooby Doo （clue）.

“Id like as many Londoners as possible to have a go. Let us know how they get on and add the words we dont know about，” Dick Howeson， the creator of uTalk， a rhyming slang translation app， told Msn.com at its launch in July.

The apps release comes just a few years after a survey conducted by the Museum of London suggested that rhyming slang is declining in use. The museum claimed after the 2012 survey of 2，000 UK residents that rhyming slang was soon to be “brown bread” （dead） after results showed that most respondents knowledge of it had disappeared.

“For many people， cockney rhyming slang is intrinsic to the identity of Londoners. However， this research suggests that the cockney dialect itself may not be enjoying the same level of popularity，” said the museums curator， Alex Werner.

Despite this， rhyming slang seems to be enjoying a revival. Not only does it have its own apps and websites， “cockney” is even a language option on some ATMs in east London — perfect for locals in need of some sausage and mash （cash）.

But why do people still use this form of dialect？

“It makes me smile whenever I hear people using rhyming slang and I try to keep it in use myself，” says Ian Groves， 53.

Ian grew up in London but now lives further south. He was brought up hearing rhyming slang and says it brings back memories of his younger days.

“My parents were both Londoners and we used rhyming slang around the house. Id be told to wash my German bands （hands） before dinner and my grandma would go up the apples and pears （stairs） at bedtime，” he says. “It reminds me of my youth.”

So if you really want to show off your English skills on a trip to the UK， walking into a cafe in east London， asking for a cup of Rosie Lee （tea）， then telling the cashier to keep the rifle range （change） wouldnt be a shabby start.

你知道plates of meat、porkies、trouble and strife、tea leaf在英文中都代表著什么意思嗎？除非你的母語(yǔ)是英語(yǔ)，否則你可能根本搞不清楚這些到底是什么意思。（注：在上文中，plates of meat = feet 腳，porkies = lies 謊話，trouble and strife = wife 妻子，tea leaf = thief 小偷）

這些聽(tīng)起來(lái)十分“無(wú)厘頭”的詞，其實(shí)是一種在英國(guó)被廣泛使用、來(lái)自倫敦的押韻俚語(yǔ)。

押韻俚語(yǔ)起源于19世紀(jì)的倫敦東區(qū)，可能是一種小商販之間溝通的密語(yǔ)或小偷間交換信息的暗號(hào) —— 事實(shí)上，目前就連歷史學(xué)家們也無(wú)法界定它的真正起源。

并沒(méi)有哪個(gè)官方名單列舉這些表達(dá) —— 你甚至都可以自己創(chuàng)造一些俚語(yǔ) —— 大體規(guī)則就是用一個(gè)押韻的雙單詞詞組來(lái)替代單個(gè)單詞。例如：“狗與骨頭dog and bone”（電話phone）以及“露比·默里Ruby Murray”（咖喱curry）。

幸運(yùn)的是，如果你連一條“史酷比狗狗Scooby Doo”（線索clue）都沒(méi)有的話，還可以求助一些網(wǎng)站和應(yīng)用。

“我希望倫敦人盡可能都來(lái)試一試（這個(gè)應(yīng)用），告訴大家他們?nèi)绾问褂醚喉嵸嫡Z(yǔ)，分享一些大家不知道的用法，”押韻俚語(yǔ)翻譯應(yīng)用uTalk的創(chuàng)始人迪克·豪爾森七月發(fā)布該應(yīng)用時(shí)，向Msn.com 表示。

該應(yīng)用發(fā)布幾年前，倫敦博物館開(kāi)展的一項(xiàng)押韻俚語(yǔ)調(diào)查指出，押韻俚語(yǔ)正在逐漸衰亡。2012年，2000名英國(guó)居民參與了該調(diào)查，結(jié)果顯示，大多數(shù)參與調(diào)查者并不具備押韻俚語(yǔ)的相關(guān)知識(shí)。因此，博物館認(rèn)為押韻俚語(yǔ)很快就會(huì)變成“黑面包brown bread”（“死亡dead”）。

“對(duì)許多人而言，倫敦東區(qū)的押韻俚語(yǔ)是一種倫敦人身份的固有象征。然而，這項(xiàng)調(diào)查卻顯示，倫敦方言自身卻并非如此普及，”博物館館長(zhǎng)亞歷克斯·維爾納說(shuō)道。

盡管如此，押韻俚語(yǔ)似乎正在悄然復(fù)興。現(xiàn)在它不光有了自己的應(yīng)用程序和網(wǎng)站，在倫敦東區(qū)的一些ATM機(jī)上甚至出現(xiàn)了“倫敦方言”這一語(yǔ)言選項(xiàng) —— 對(duì)于需要“香腸和麥芽漿sausage and mash”（“現(xiàn)金cash”）的本地人來(lái)說(shuō)，這堪稱完美。

但為什么人們?nèi)栽谑褂眠@種方言呢？

“每當(dāng)我聽(tīng)見(jiàn)人們用押韻俚語(yǔ)的時(shí)候，我都十分開(kāi)心。我自己也嘗試著繼續(xù)使用這些俚語(yǔ)?！爆F(xiàn)年53歲的伊恩·格羅夫斯說(shuō)道。

伊恩在倫敦長(zhǎng)大，目前住在更南邊的地區(qū)。他聽(tīng)著這些押韻俚語(yǔ)長(zhǎng)大，稱這讓他回憶起了青蔥歲月。

“我父母都是倫敦人，所以我們總在家里說(shuō)這種押韻俚語(yǔ)。從小他們就教我晚飯前要洗‘德國(guó)樂(lè)隊(duì)German bands（‘手hands），我的祖母在睡前上‘蘋果和梨apples and pears（‘樓梯stairs），”他說(shuō)道，“這些俚語(yǔ)讓我想起了整個(gè)青春。”

所以，如果你真的想在英國(guó)的旅途中秀一把英語(yǔ)，就走進(jìn)東倫敦的一家咖啡館，點(diǎn)一杯“羅西·李Rosie Lee”（茶tea），然后告訴收銀員不用找“打靶場(chǎng)rifle range”（零錢change）了。這一定會(huì)是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的開(kāi)始。

【詞匯積累】

nonsense n. 荒謬的想法（看法，說(shuō)法）；胡說(shuō)

conduct v. （尤指為獲取信息或證實(shí)某事而）做（某事）

decline v. 減少，降低，下降

respondent n. 回答者，答復(fù)者

revival n. 復(fù)興；再流行

dialect n. 方言，地方話

shabby adj. 破舊的；不公正的；不講理的