ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Novelist
Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature.

Why you should listen

In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape.

Adichie's newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience.

Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.”

(Photo: Wani Olatunde) 

More profile about the speaker
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story

Chimamanda Adichie: 單一故事的危險性

Filmed:
21,248,547 views

我們的生活與文化充滿著各種故事,小說家Chimamanda Adichie分享她找到「真正的非洲聲音」,並告誡大家,如果對於某人某地,我們只有單一故事,將會導致傷害人的偏見。
- Novelist
Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I'm a storyteller說故事的人.
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我是一位作家。
00:14
And I would like to tell you a few少數 personal個人 stories故事
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今天想向各位分享我的幾個故事
00:17
about what I like to call "the danger危險 of the single story故事."
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以及一個我稱做是「單一故事的危險性」。
00:22
I grew成長 up on a university大學 campus校園 in eastern Nigeria尼日利亞.
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我在奈及利亞東部的一個大學校園長大
00:26
My mother母親 says that I started開始 reading at the age年齡 of two,
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我媽媽說我兩歲就會看書,
00:29
although雖然 I think four is probably大概 close to the truth真相.
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但我想四歲比較接近事實。
00:34
So I was an early reader讀者, and what I read
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我很小就愛看書,而我當時讀的是
00:36
were British英國的 and American美國 children's兒童 books圖書.
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英美的童書。
00:39
I was also an early writer作家,
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我也很小就開始寫作。
00:42
and when I began開始 to write, at about the age年齡 of seven,
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大約七歲就開始寫故事,
00:46
stories故事 in pencil鉛筆 with crayon蠟筆 illustrations插圖
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用鉛筆寫故事加上蠟筆畫的插圖,
00:48
that my poor較差的 mother母親 was obligated責任 to read,
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成了我媽媽必須要看的東西。
00:51
I wrote exactly究竟 the kinds of stories故事 I was reading:
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而我寫的,正是我所讀的那些故事。
00:55
All my characters人物 were white白色 and blue-eyed藍眼,
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我的角色都是白皮膚、藍眼睛
01:00
they played發揮 in the snow,
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他們在雪中玩耍
01:02
they ate apples蘋果,
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他們吃蘋果
01:04
and they talked a lot about the weather天氣,
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(笑)
01:06
how lovely可愛 it was
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還有,他們常常聊到天氣,
01:08
that the sun太陽 had come out.
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晴天是多麼的令人愉悅
01:10
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
01:12
Now, this despite儘管 the fact事實 that I lived生活 in Nigeria尼日利亞.
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但這實在有點奇怪,因為
01:15
I had never been outside Nigeria尼日利亞.
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我住在奈及利亞,也沒出國過
01:19
We didn't have snow, we ate mangoes芒果,
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我們那裡不下雪、吃的是芒果
01:22
and we never talked about the weather天氣,
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也從來不討論天氣
01:24
because there was no need to.
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因為實在沒什麼好說的。
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My characters人物 also drank a lot of ginger生薑 beer啤酒
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我筆下的角色很常喝薑汁汽水
01:29
because the characters人物 in the British英國的 books圖書 I read
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因為那些英美童書中的角色
01:31
drank ginger生薑 beer啤酒.
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就是喝薑汁汽水
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Never mind心神 that I had no idea理念 what ginger生薑 beer啤酒 was.
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更別說我當時根本不知道薑汁汽水是什麼了
01:36
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
01:37
And for many許多 years年份 afterwards之後, I would have a desperate殊死 desire慾望
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而在那之後的幾年,我就非常想試試
01:40
to taste味道 ginger生薑 beer啤酒.
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薑汁汽水的滋味
01:42
But that is another另一個 story故事.
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但那是另一個故事了。
01:44
What this demonstrates演示, I think,
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從我個人的經驗,我想
01:46
is how impressionable易受 and vulnerable弱勢 we are
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這證明了我們對事物的印象是多麼容易
01:49
in the face面對 of a story故事,
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受故事的影響,
01:51
particularly尤其 as children孩子.
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尤其是小孩子。
01:53
Because all I had read were books圖書
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因為我小時候所有的讀物
01:55
in which哪一個 characters人物 were foreign國外,
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書中的角色全是外國人,
01:57
I had become成為 convinced相信 that books圖書
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我自然就相信
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by their very nature性質 had to have foreigners外國人 in them
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我寫的故事裡面就該有外國人
02:02
and had to be about things with which哪一個
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也要有一些在我生活中
02:04
I could not personally親自 identify鑑定.
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無法親身體會的事物。
02:07
Things changed when I discovered發現 African非洲人 books圖書.
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後來,我發現了非洲作家的作品
02:11
There weren't many許多 of them available可得到, and they weren't
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當時這樣的作品並不多
02:13
quite相當 as easy簡單 to find as the foreign國外 books圖書.
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也不像那些外國書容易取得。
02:15
But because of writers作家 like ChinuaChinua Achebe阿契貝 and Camara卡馬拉 LayeLaye的
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但因為有Chinua Achebe和Camara Laye這些非洲作家
02:19
I went through通過 a mental心理 shift轉移 in my perception知覺
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我對文學作品的看法
02:21
of literature文學.
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有很大的轉變。
02:23
I realized實現 that people like me,
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我了解到,像我這樣的人:
02:25
girls女孩 with skin皮膚 the color顏色 of chocolate巧克力,
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巧克力膚色的女孩,
02:27
whose誰的 kinky hair頭髮 could not form形成 ponytails馬尾辮,
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頂著爆炸頭而不是綁著馬尾,
02:30
could also exist存在 in literature文學.
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也能出現在文學作品中。
02:32
I started開始 to write about things I recognized認可.
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我開始寫作我熟悉的事物。
02:36
Now, I loved喜愛 those American美國 and British英國的 books圖書 I read.
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我也喜愛我讀的那些英美童書
02:40
They stirred攪動 my imagination想像力. They opened打開 up new worlds世界 for me.
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它們激發了我的想像力、為我開啟新的世界。
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But the unintended意外 consequence後果
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但這種結果是
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was that I did not know that people like me
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我認為像我這樣的人
02:48
could exist存在 in literature文學.
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無法出現在文學裡
02:50
So what the discovery發現 of African非洲人 writers作家 did for me was this:
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所以發現這些非洲作家的作品,
02:54
It saved保存 me from having a single story故事
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讓我對於文學
02:57
of what books圖書 are.
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不再有單一故事
02:59
I come from a conventional常規, middle-class中產階級 Nigerian尼日利亞 family家庭.
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我們家是普通的中產階級
03:02
My father父親 was a professor教授.
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我的父親是教授
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My mother母親 was an administrator管理員.
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母親是行政人員
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And so we had, as was the norm規範,
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也因此家境還不錯,
03:10
live-in住在 domestic國內 help, who would often經常 come from nearby附近 rural鄉村 villages村莊.
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家裡也有能力請傭人來幫忙
03:15
So the year I turned轉身 eight we got a new house boy男孩.
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我八歲那年,來家裡幫忙的是個男孩
03:19
His name名稱 was Fide善意.
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叫做 Fide。
03:21
The only thing my mother母親 told us about him
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媽媽唯一告訴我們的
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was that his family家庭 was very poor較差的.
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是他們家非常窮
03:27
My mother母親 sent發送 yams山藥 and rice白飯,
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我媽媽會送蕃薯、米
03:29
and our old clothes衣服, to his family家庭.
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和一些舊衣服給他們家。
03:32
And when I didn't finish my dinner晚餐 my mother母親 would say,
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如果我晚餐沒吃完,我媽會說
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"Finish your food餐飲! Don't you know? People like Fide's善意的 family家庭 have nothing."
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「把飯吃完!妳不知道Fide他們家的人都沒東西吃嗎。」
03:39
So I felt enormous巨大 pity可憐 for Fide's善意的 family家庭.
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所以我非常可憐 Fide。
03:43
Then one Saturday星期六 we went to his village to visit訪問,
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一個星期六,我們拜訪他們的村落。
03:46
and his mother母親 showed顯示 us a beautifully精美 patterned圖案 basket
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他媽媽給我們看了一個編織精美的籃子,
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made製作 of dyed染色 raffia拉菲草 that his brother哥哥 had made製作.
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是他哥哥用染色的棕櫚樹葉編成的
03:53
I was startled.
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我嚇傻了。
03:55
It had not occurred發生 to me that anybody任何人 in his family家庭
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我從沒想過他們家的人
03:58
could actually其實 make something.
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有能力作出那樣的東西
04:01
All I had heard聽說 about them was how poor較差的 they were,
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我所聽到的只有他們多窮
04:04
so that it had become成為 impossible不可能 for me to see them
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所以我眼中的他們,除了窮之外
04:06
as anything else其他 but poor較差的.
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看不到別的。
04:09
Their poverty貧窮 was my single story故事 of them.
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他們的貧窮是我對他們的單一故事
04:13
Years年份 later後來, I thought about this when I left Nigeria尼日利亞
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幾年後,我到美國唸大學
04:15
to go to university大學 in the United聯合的 States狀態.
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我又想起這件事
04:18
I was 19.
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當時19歲
04:20
My American美國 roommate室友 was shocked吃驚 by me.
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我的美籍室友被我嚇到了。
04:24
She asked where I had learned學到了 to speak說話 English英語 so well,
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她問我去哪學這麼標準的英文
04:27
and was confused困惑 when I said that Nigeria尼日利亞
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聽到我回答,奈及利亞的官方語言
04:29
happened發生 to have English英語 as its official官方 language語言.
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剛好是英文時,她還一臉疑惑。
04:34
She asked if she could listen to what she called my "tribal部落的 music音樂,"
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她請我放放我的「部落音樂」
04:38
and was consequently所以 very disappointed失望
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結果看到我拿出瑪麗亞凱莉的時候
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when I produced生成 my tape膠帶 of Mariah瑪麗亞 Carey凱里.
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整個大感失望。
04:42
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
04:45
She assumed假定 that I did not know how
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她想當然地認為
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to use a stove火爐.
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我不會用爐子
04:50
What struck來襲 me was this: She had felt sorry for me
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我突然意識到,她還沒見過我
04:52
even before she saw me.
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就已經可憐我了。
04:54
Her default默認 position位置 toward me, as an African非洲人,
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她對我這個非洲人的預設立場
04:58
was a kind of patronizing光顧, well-meaning善意 pity可憐.
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是可憐、好意的憐憫
05:02
My roommate室友 had a single story故事 of Africa非洲:
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我室友對非洲有個單一故事
05:05
a single story故事 of catastrophe災難.
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就是它充滿災難。
05:08
In this single story故事 there was no possibility可能性
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在這單一故事裡,容不下
05:10
of Africans非洲人 being存在 similar類似 to her in any way,
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非洲與她有任何相似之處
05:14
no possibility可能性 of feelings情懷 more complex複雜 than pity可憐,
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容不下除了憐憫之外的態度
05:17
no possibility可能性 of a connection連接 as human人的 equals等於.
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容不下同是人類則生而平等。
05:21
I must必須 say that before I went to the U.S. I didn't
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我承認我到美國之前
05:23
consciously自覺 identify鑑定 as African非洲人.
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沒有完全意識到自己是非洲人。
05:26
But in the U.S. whenever每當 Africa非洲 came來了 up people turned轉身 to me.
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但在美國,只要提到「非洲」,大家就會轉向我
05:29
Never mind心神 that I knew知道 nothing about places地方 like Namibia納米比亞.
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也不管我對像納米比亞的地方一點都不了解。
05:33
But I did come to embrace擁抱 this new identity身分,
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但我雙手擁抱這個新身分
05:35
and in many許多 ways方法 I think of myself now as African非洲人.
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在很多面向我認為自己是非洲人。
05:38
Although雖然 I still get quite相當 irritable急躁 when
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但聽到大家把非洲當成一個國家時
05:40
Africa非洲 is referred簡稱 to as a country國家,
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我還是會有點生氣。
05:42
the most recent最近 example being存在 my otherwise除此以外 wonderful精彩 flight飛行
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最近一次,就是在兩天前拉哥斯起飛的班機上
05:46
from Lagos拉各斯 two days ago, in which哪一個
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這趟旅行近乎完美
05:48
there was an announcement公告 on the Virgin處女 flight飛行
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就差在維京航空的機上廣播
05:50
about the charity慈善機構 work in "India印度, Africa非洲 and other countries國家."
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關於「印度、非洲、和其他國家」的慈善工作
05:55
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
05:56
So after I had spent花費 some years年份 in the U.S. as an African非洲人,
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在美國當了幾年的非洲人之後
06:00
I began開始 to understand理解 my roommate's室友的 response響應 to me.
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我漸漸了解我室友的反應。
06:04
If I had not grown長大的 up in Nigeria尼日利亞, and if all I knew知道 about Africa非洲
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如果我不是在奈及利亞長大,我所認識的非洲
06:07
were from popular流行 images圖片,
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就會是普遍的形象,
06:09
I too would think that Africa非洲 was a place地點 of
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我也會認為非洲充滿了
06:12
beautiful美麗 landscapes景觀, beautiful美麗 animals動物,
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漂亮的風景、美麗的動物
06:16
and incomprehensible費解的 people,
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和野蠻人
06:18
fighting戰鬥 senseless無意義 wars戰爭, dying垂死 of poverty貧窮 and AIDS艾滋病,
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打著沒意義的仗、死於貧窮與愛滋
06:21
unable無法 to speak說話 for themselves他們自己
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沒有思想
06:24
and waiting等候 to be saved保存
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等待好心的白人
06:26
by a kind, white白色 foreigner外國人.
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來拯救我們
06:29
I would see Africans非洲人 in the same相同 way that I,
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我看待非洲就會像小時候
06:31
as a child兒童, had seen看到 Fide's善意的 family家庭.
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看待 Fide 家那樣
06:35
This single story故事 of Africa非洲 ultimately最終 comes, I think, from Western西 literature文學.
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這種對於非洲的單一故事,我想是從西方文學開始的。
06:39
Now, here is a quote引用 from
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下面是一位英國商人
06:41
the writing寫作 of a London倫敦 merchant商人 called John約翰 Locke洛克,
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約翰洛克所寫的,
06:44
who sailed航行 to west西 Africa非洲 in 1561
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他在1561年航行到西非
06:47
and kept不停 a fascinating迷人 account帳戶 of his voyage航程.
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並且詳細的記下他的航程。
06:52
After referring to the black黑色 Africans非洲人
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在形容非洲人為
06:54
as "beasts獸類 who have no houses房屋,"
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「沒有房子的野獸」之後
06:56
he writes, "They are also people without heads,
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他寫道: 「他們沒有頭」
07:00
having their mouth and eyes眼睛 in their breasts乳房."
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「嘴巴和眼睛長在胸部」
07:05
Now, I've laughed笑了 every一切 time I've read this.
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我每次讀完每次笑。
07:07
And one must必須 admire欣賞 the imagination想像力 of John約翰 Locke洛克.
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大家也一定很欽佩約翰洛克的想像力。
07:11
But what is important重要 about his writing寫作 is that
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但最重要的是,他寫的東西
07:13
it represents代表 the beginning開始
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開始了
07:15
of a tradition傳統 of telling告訴 African非洲人 stories故事 in the West西:
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西方人眼中傳統的非洲印象
07:18
A tradition傳統 of Sub-Saharan撒哈拉以南 Africa非洲 as a place地點 of negatives底片,
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一種次撒哈拉非洲的負面印象
07:21
of difference區別, of darkness黑暗,
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是和他們不同且黑暗的印象,
07:23
of people who, in the words of the wonderful精彩 poet詩人
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住著一群,我引用詩人羅德雅.吉百齡
07:27
Rudyard拉迪亞德 Kipling吉卜林,
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所寫的
07:29
are "half devil魔鬼, half child兒童."
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「半是惡魔,半是人」
07:32
And so I began開始 to realize實現 that my American美國 roommate室友
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我漸漸了解我美國室友的想法
07:35
must必須 have throughout始終 her life
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她的一生
07:37
seen看到 and heard聽說 different不同 versions版本
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一定聽過各種版本的
07:39
of this single story故事,
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單一故事,
07:41
as had a professor教授,
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就如有位教授
07:43
who once一旦 told me that my novel小說 was not "authentically真正的 African非洲人."
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曾告訴我,我的小說描寫的不是「真正的非洲」。
07:48
Now, I was quite相當 willing願意 to contend抗衡 that there were a number of things
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我願意承認小說裡
07:50
wrong錯誤 with the novel小說,
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有些錯誤的地方,
07:52
that it had failed失敗 in a number of places地方,
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不夠好的部份,
07:56
but I had not quite相當 imagined想像 that it had failed失敗
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但我很難想像我的小說
07:58
at achieving實現 something called African非洲人 authenticity真偽.
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沒有傳達「真正的非洲」。
08:01
In fact事實 I did not know what
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而事實上我不曉得
08:03
African非洲人 authenticity真偽 was.
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什麼叫「真正的非洲」。
08:06
The professor教授 told me that my characters人物
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那位教授說,我書中的角色
08:08
were too much like him,
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太像他了
08:10
an educated博學 and middle-class中產階級 man.
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受教育、中產階級。
08:12
My characters人物 drove開車 cars汽車.
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我筆下的角色開車
08:14
They were not starving挨餓.
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沒有餓肚子
08:17
Therefore因此 they were not authentically真正的 African非洲人.
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所以他們不是真正的非洲人。
08:21
But I must必須 quickly很快 add that I too am just as guilty有罪
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但我也要馬上承認我自己
08:24
in the question of the single story故事.
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對別人也犯過單一故事的錯。
08:27
A few少數 years年份 ago, I visited參觀 Mexico墨西哥 from the U.S.
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幾年前,我到墨西哥
08:31
The political政治 climate氣候 in the U.S. at the time was tense緊張,
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當時美國的政治情況有點緊張
08:33
and there were debates辯論 going on about immigration移民.
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大家都在吵移民話題。
08:37
And, as often經常 happens發生 in America美國,
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在美國就會常常聽到
08:39
immigration移民 became成為 synonymous代名詞 with Mexicans墨西哥人.
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移民等同於墨西哥人這一類的話。
08:42
There were endless無窮 stories故事 of Mexicans墨西哥人
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還有一堆關於墨西哥人的故事
08:44
as people who were
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說他們是如何
08:46
fleecing掏空 the healthcare衛生保健 system系統,
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鑽醫療系統的漏洞
08:48
sneaking鬼鬼祟祟 across橫過 the border邊境,
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從邊境溜進來
08:50
being存在 arrested被捕 at the border邊境, that sort分類 of thing.
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在邊界被逮捕之類的事。
08:54
I remember記得 walking步行 around on my first day in Guadalajara瓜達拉哈拉,
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我就記得第一天在瓜達拉哈拉逛街時
08:58
watching觀看 the people going to work,
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看著工作的人們,
09:00
rolling壓延 up tortillas玉米餅 in the marketplace市井,
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市場裡有人做西班牙蛋餅
09:02
smoking抽煙, laughing.
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抽菸、大笑。
09:05
I remember記得 first feeling感覺 slight輕微 surprise.
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我記得我當時有點吃驚
09:08
And then I was overwhelmed不堪重負 with shame恥辱.
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隨後感到非常丟臉
09:11
I realized實現 that I had been so immersed沉浸
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我發現自己完全相信
09:14
in the media媒體 coverage覆蓋 of Mexicans墨西哥人
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媒體所報導的墨西哥人
09:16
that they had become成為 one thing in my mind心神,
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以至於他們在我心中的形象
09:18
the abject卑劣 immigrant移民.
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就是卑鄙的移民。
09:21
I had bought into the single story故事 of Mexicans墨西哥人
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我也曾對墨西哥有單一故事
09:23
and I could not have been more ashamed羞愧 of myself.
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我也實在感到很羞恥。
09:26
So that is how to create創建 a single story故事,
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單一故事的產生
09:28
show顯示 a people as one thing,
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就是以同一種方式
09:31
as only one thing,
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描述同一種人
09:33
over and over again,
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一遍又一遍,
09:35
and that is what they become成為.
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最後他們就會變成那樣。
09:38
It is impossible不可能 to talk about the single story故事
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講到單一故事就不能不講
09:40
without talking about power功率.
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權力
09:43
There is a word, an Igbo伊博 word,
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我想到權力
09:45
that I think about whenever每當 I think about
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就會想到伊博語裡的一個字
09:47
the power功率 structures結構 of the world世界, and it is "nkalinkali."
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有關世界上的權力結構的 「nkali」
09:50
It's a noun名詞 that loosely鬆弛地 translates轉換
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是個名詞,大概翻譯是
09:52
to "to be greater更大 than another另一個."
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「比其他人更厲害」
09:55
Like our economic經濟 and political政治 worlds世界,
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而就像談到經濟與政治一樣
09:58
stories故事 too are defined定義
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故事也是建立在
10:00
by the principle原理 of nkalinkali:
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「nkali」的原則上
10:03
How they are told, who tells告訴 them,
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故事如何傳遞、誰來傳遞,
10:05
when they're told, how many許多 stories故事 are told,
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什麼時候、多少次
10:08
are really dependent依賴的 on power功率.
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都是由權力控制的。
10:12
Power功率 is the ability能力 not just to tell the story故事 of another另一個 person,
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權力不只能述說故事
10:15
but to make it the definitive明確 story故事 of that person.
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還能創造決定性的故事。
10:19
The Palestinian巴勒斯坦的 poet詩人 MouridMourid Barghouti巴爾古提 writes
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巴勒斯坦詩人穆里‧巴爾古提曾說
10:21
that if you want to dispossess剝奪 a people,
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如果你想剝奪一個人的身分,
10:24
the simplest簡單 way to do it is to tell their story故事
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最簡單的方法就是說故事
10:27
and to start開始 with, "secondly其次."
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而且從「第二點」開頭。
10:30
Start開始 the story故事 with the arrows箭頭 of the Native本地人 Americans美國人,
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所以講美國印地安人的故事時,先講他們的箭
10:34
and not with the arrival到達 of the British英國的,
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而不是英國殖民
10:37
and you have an entirely完全 different不同 story故事.
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就會有全然不同的故事。
10:40
Start開始 the story故事 with
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先講非洲各國
10:42
the failure失敗 of the African非洲人 state,
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失敗的故事
10:44
and not with the colonial殖民 creation創建 of the African非洲人 state,
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而不是被殖民的部份
10:48
and you have an entirely完全 different不同 story故事.
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就會有全然不同的故事。
10:52
I recently最近 spoke at a university大學 where
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我最近到一所大學演講
10:54
a student學生 told me that it was
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有個學生告訴我
10:56
such這樣 a shame恥辱
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真是可恥
10:58
that Nigerian尼日利亞 men男人 were physical物理 abusers濫用者
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奈及利亞的男人都很暴力
11:01
like the father父親 character字符 in my novel小說.
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就像我小說中的父親一樣
11:04
I told him that I had just read a novel小說
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我告訴他,我最近看了一本小說
11:06
called American美國 Psycho心理 --
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書名是《美國殺人魔 》
11:08
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
11:10
-- and that it was such這樣 a shame恥辱
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真是可恥
11:12
that young年輕 Americans美國人 were serial串行 murderers殺人犯.
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美國年輕人都是殺人魔
11:15
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
11:19
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
11:25
Now, obviously明顯 I said this in a fit適合 of mild溫和 irritation刺激.
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當時我實在有點不悅
11:28
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
11:30
But it would never have occurred發生 to me to think
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我從沒有因為
11:32
that just because I had read a novel小說
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我讀了一本關於
11:34
in which哪一個 a character字符 was a serial串行 killer兇手
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連續殺人魔的小說
11:36
that he was somehow不知何故 representative代表
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我就認為所有美國人
11:38
of all Americans美國人.
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都是殺人魔
11:40
This is not because I am a better person than that student學生,
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當然不是因為我比那個學生好
11:43
but because of America's美國 cultural文化 and economic經濟 power功率,
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而是因為美國的文化、經濟地位
11:46
I had many許多 stories故事 of America美國.
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所以我對美國有多重故事
11:48
I had read Tyler泰勒 and Updike厄普代克 and Steinbeck斯坦貝克 and GaitskillGaitskill.
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我讀Tyler、Updike、Steinbeck、Gaitskill的書
11:52
I did not have a single story故事 of America美國.
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對美國,我沒有單一故事。
11:55
When I learned學到了, some years年份 ago, that writers作家 were expected預期
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幾年前我得知,讀者想看到
11:58
to have had really unhappy不快樂 childhoods童年
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作者悲慘的童年故事
12:02
to be successful成功,
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書才會暢銷,
12:04
I began開始 to think about how I could invent發明
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我就開始想要編一些我父母
12:06
horrible可怕 things my parents父母 had doneDONE to me.
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虐待我的故事
12:08
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
12:10
But the truth真相 is that I had a very happy快樂 childhood童年,
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但事實是,我有個快樂的童年
12:14
full充分 of laughter笑聲 and love, in a very close-knit緊密結合 family家庭.
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充滿歡笑和愛,家人很親近
12:17
But I also had grandfathers祖父 who died死亡 in refugee難民 camps營地.
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但同時,我祖父死在難民營
12:21
My cousin表姐 PollePolle died死亡 because he could not get adequate充足 healthcare衛生保健.
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我堂弟Polle因為沒有足夠的醫療照顧而去世
12:25
One of my closest最近的 friends朋友, OkolomaOkoloma, died死亡 in a plane平面 crash緊急
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我最好的朋友Okoloma死於墜機
12:28
because our fire trucks卡車 did not have water.
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因為消防車上沒有水可以救火。
12:31
I grew成長 up under repressive壓制性 military軍事 governments政府
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我生活在高壓統治
12:34
that devalued貶值 education教育,
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政府不重視教育
12:36
so that sometimes有時 my parents父母 were not paid支付 their salaries工資.
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我父母有時是領不到薪水的。
12:39
And so, as a child兒童, I saw jam果醬 disappear消失 from the breakfast早餐 table,
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所以在小時候,我看著早餐的果醬消失
12:43
then margarine人造黃油 disappeared消失,
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接著乳瑪琳消失
12:45
then bread麵包 became成為 too expensive昂貴,
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再來麵包我們也負擔不起
12:48
then milk牛奶 became成為 rationed配給.
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然後牛奶定額配給
12:51
And most of all, a kind of normalized標準化 political政治 fear恐懼
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而最嚴重的是政治恐懼
12:54
invaded入侵 our lives生活.
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侵入了我們的日常生活。
12:58
All of these stories故事 make me who I am.
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這些故事造就了我
13:00
But to insist咬定 on only these negative stories故事
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但如果我堅持只寫這些故事
13:04
is to flatten弄平 my experience經驗
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就簡化了我個人的生活經歷,
13:07
and to overlook俯瞰 the many許多 other stories故事
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也忽略了同樣造就我
13:09
that formed形成 me.
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的其他故事。
13:11
The single story故事 creates創建 stereotypes定型,
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單一故事會造成刻板印象
13:14
and the problem問題 with stereotypes定型
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而刻板印象的問題就是
13:17
is not that they are untrue不確實,
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他們並非不正確
13:19
but that they are incomplete殘缺.
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而是不完整
13:21
They make one story故事 become成為 the only story故事.
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讓一個故事變成唯一的故事。
13:25
Of course課程, Africa非洲 is a continent大陸 full充分 of catastrophes災難:
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當然,非洲充滿苦難
13:27
There are immense巨大 ones那些, such這樣 as the horrific可怕的 rapes強姦 in Congo剛果
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有很嚴重的,像是剛果可怕的強暴事件
13:31
and depressing壓抑 ones那些, such這樣 as the fact事實 that
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有很悲傷的,像是
13:33
5,000 people apply應用 for one job工作 vacancy空缺 in Nigeria尼日利亞.
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奈及利亞有五千人搶一個職缺
13:38
But there are other stories故事 that are not about catastrophe災難,
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但也有其他美好的故事
13:41
and it is very important重要, it is just as important重要, to talk about them.
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述說它們,也是同等的重要
13:45
I've always felt that it is impossible不可能
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我總覺得要完全的了解
13:47
to engage從事 properly正確 with a place地點 or a person
290
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一個地方或是一個人
13:50
without engaging with all of the stories故事 of that place地點 and that person.
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不去了解全部的故事,是不可能的。
13:54
The consequence後果 of the single story故事
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述說單一故事的後果是
13:57
is this: It robs搶劫 people of dignity尊嚴.
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人們的尊嚴被奪去
14:00
It makes品牌 our recognition承認 of our equal等於 humanity人性 difficult.
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讓我們看不到人類的平等
14:04
It emphasizes強調 how we are different不同
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只強調我們有多麼不同
14:07
rather than how we are similar類似.
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而不是我們的相同處。
14:09
So what if before my Mexican墨西哥人 trip
297
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如果我去墨西哥旅行前
14:11
I had followed其次 the immigration移民 debate辯論 from both sides雙方,
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聽過美國和墨西哥雙方的辯論
14:15
the U.S. and the Mexican墨西哥人?
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事情會變的如何?
14:17
What if my mother母親 had told us that Fide's善意的 family家庭 was poor較差的
300
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如果我媽媽告訴我們Fide家雖窮
14:21
and hardworking用功?
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卻很努力工作?
14:23
What if we had an African非洲人 television電視 network網絡
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如果有家非洲電視台
14:25
that broadcast廣播 diverse多種 African非洲人 stories故事 all over the world世界?
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能在各地播報非洲各種不同的故事呢?
14:29
What the Nigerian尼日利亞 writer作家 ChinuaChinua Achebe阿契貝 calls電話
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奈及利亞作家Chinua Achebe稱之為
14:31
"a balance平衡 of stories故事."
305
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「故事的平衡」
14:34
What if my roommate室友 knew知道 about my Nigerian尼日利亞 publisher出版者,
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如果我室友認識我的奈及利亞出版商
14:37
Mukta穆克塔 BakarayBakaray,
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Mukta Bakaray
14:39
a remarkable卓越 man who left his job工作 in a bank銀行
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他決然的離開銀行的工作
14:41
to follow跟隨 his dream夢想 and start開始 a publishing出版 house?
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追逐他的夢想,開了家出版社
14:44
Now, the conventional常規 wisdom智慧 was that Nigerians尼日利亞人 don't read literature文學.
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大家普遍認為奈及利亞人不看書
14:48
He disagreed不同意. He felt
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他不同意
14:50
that people who could read, would read,
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他認為人們會讀、肯讀
14:52
if you made製作 literature文學 affordable實惠 and available可得到 to them.
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只要文學不那麼遙不可及
14:56
Shortly不久 after he published發表 my first novel小說
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他出版我第一本小說後不久
14:59
I went to a TV電視 station in Lagos拉各斯 to do an interview訪問,
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我到拉哥斯一家電視台接受採訪
15:02
and a woman女人 who worked工作 there as a messenger信使 came來了 up to me and said,
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一個工作人員走上來告訴我
15:05
"I really liked喜歡 your novel小說. I didn't like the ending結尾.
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「我很喜歡你的書,但我不喜歡結局」
15:08
Now you must必須 write a sequel續集, and this is what will happen發生 ..."
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「你一定要寫續集,然後要這樣這樣寫...」
15:11
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
15:14
And she went on to tell me what to write in the sequel續集.
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然後她繼續告訴我續集要怎麼寫。
15:17
I was not only charmed迷住了, I was very moved移動.
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我感到榮幸而且很感動
15:20
Here was a woman女人, part部分 of the ordinary普通 masses群眾 of Nigerians尼日利亞人,
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一位普通的奈及利亞女人
15:23
who were not supposed應該 to be readers讀者.
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照理說不會看書
15:26
She had not only read the book, but she had taken採取 ownership所有權 of it
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但她不只讀了我的書,還積極參與
15:28
and felt justified有理 in telling告訴 me
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覺得有義務告訴我
15:31
what to write in the sequel續集.
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續集該怎麼寫
15:33
Now, what if my roommate室友 knew知道 about my friend朋友 Fumi福米 Onda昂達,
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如果我室友認識我的朋友Fumi Onda
15:37
a fearless不怕 woman女人 who hosts主機 a TV電視 show顯示 in Lagos拉各斯,
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勇敢的拉哥斯電視台主持人
15:40
and is determined決心 to tell the stories故事 that we prefer比較喜歡 to forget忘記?
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決定要述說人們寧可遺忘的故事
15:43
What if my roommate室友 knew知道 about the heart procedure程序
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如果我室友知道上週拉哥斯醫院
15:47
that was performed執行 in the Lagos拉各斯 hospital醫院 last week?
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的一個心臟手術,會如何呢?
15:50
What if my roommate室友 knew知道 about contemporary現代的 Nigerian尼日利亞 music音樂,
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如果我室友知道當代奈及利亞音樂
15:54
talented天才 people singing唱歌 in English英語 and Pidgin洋涇浜,
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是融合各種語言的美妙樂曲,英語、皮欽語
15:57
and Igbo伊博 and Yoruba約魯巴 and Ijo黃麻,
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伊博語、約魯巴語、伊喬語
15:59
mixing混合 influences影響 from Jay-ZJay-Z的 to Fela費拉
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帶點Jay-Z和菲拉庫堤的曲風
16:03
to Bob短發 Marley馬利 to their grandfathers祖父.
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從Bob Marley到他們的祖父
16:06
What if my roommate室友 knew知道 about the female lawyer律師
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如果我室友聽過一位女律師
16:08
who recently最近 went to court法庭 in Nigeria尼日利亞
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勇敢的在法庭上
16:10
to challenge挑戰 a ridiculous荒謬 law
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挑戰一項荒唐的立法
16:12
that required需要 women婦女 to get their husband's丈夫 consent同意
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規定女人要更新護照
16:15
before renewing更新 their passports護照?
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需要丈夫同意,會如何呢?
16:18
What if my roommate室友 knew知道 about Nollywood諾萊塢,
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如果我室友知道奈萊塢
16:21
full充分 of innovative創新 people making製造 films影片 despite儘管 great technical技術 odds可能性,
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創意的人們利用有限的技術拍攝電影,會如何呢?
16:25
films影片 so popular流行
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電影受歡迎程度
16:27
that they really are the best最好 example
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正是奈及利亞人自給自足
16:29
of Nigerians尼日利亞人 consuming消費 what they produce生產?
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最佳的例子
16:32
What if my roommate室友 knew知道 about my wonderfully奇妙 ambitious有雄心 hair頭髮 braider編織機,
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如果我室友認識我的編髮師
16:35
who has just started開始 her own擁有 business商業 selling銷售 hair頭髮 extensions擴展?
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有野心的她成立了自己的造型接髮事業
16:39
Or about the millions百萬 of other Nigerians尼日利亞人
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或是聽說過奈及利亞
16:41
who start開始 businesses企業 and sometimes有時 fail失敗,
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幾百萬人事業數度失敗
16:43
but continue繼續 to nurse護士 ambition志向?
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還是不放棄的故事?
16:47
Every一切 time I am home I am confronted面對 with
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我每次回家都會面對
16:49
the usual通常 sources來源 of irritation刺激 for most Nigerians尼日利亞人:
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多數奈及利亞人感到不悅的事情
16:52
our failed失敗 infrastructure基礎設施, our failed失敗 government政府,
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失敗的基礎建設、失敗的政府
16:55
but also by the incredible難以置信 resilience彈性 of people who
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但也看到人們在面對這樣的政府
16:58
thrive興旺 despite儘管 the government政府,
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所展現的韌性
17:01
rather than because of it.
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而不是氣餒
17:03
I teach writing寫作 workshops研討會 in Lagos拉各斯 every一切 summer夏季,
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每年暑假我會在拉哥斯開寫作班
17:06
and it is amazing驚人 to me how many許多 people apply應用,
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看到那麼多申請我感到很驚訝
17:09
how many許多 people are eager急於 to write,
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有這麼多人急著想要
17:12
to tell stories故事.
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寫出他們的故事。
17:14
My Nigerian尼日利亞 publisher出版者 and I have just started開始 a non-profit非盈利
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我和我奈及利亞的出版商成立一個非營利組織
17:17
called FarafinaFarafina Trust相信,
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叫Farafina信託
17:19
and we have big dreams of building建造 libraries圖書館
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我們的夢想是建圖書館
17:22
and refurbishing整修 libraries圖書館 that already已經 exist存在
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整修現有的圖書館
17:24
and providing提供 books圖書 for state schools學校
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替公立學校添新書
17:27
that don't have anything in their libraries圖書館,
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因為他們圖書館裡沒有書籍
17:29
and also of organizing組織 lots and lots of workshops研討會,
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還要開設很多的課程
17:31
in reading and writing寫作,
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教人讀書寫字
17:33
for all the people who are eager急於 to tell our many許多 stories故事.
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讓人們說出自己的故事。
17:36
Stories故事 matter.
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故事很重要
17:38
Many許多 stories故事 matter.
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多元的故事很重要。
17:40
Stories故事 have been used to dispossess剝奪 and to malign誹謗,
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有些故事被用來醜化現實
17:44
but stories故事 can also be used to empower授權 and to humanize賦予人性.
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但故事也可以用來激勵強化人道精神,
17:48
Stories故事 can break打破 the dignity尊嚴 of a people,
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有些故事能奪去人們的尊嚴
17:51
but stories故事 can also repair修理 that broken破碎 dignity尊嚴.
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但有些故事能讓人重拾尊嚴。
17:56
The American美國 writer作家 Alice愛麗絲 Walker助步車 wrote this
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美國作家愛麗絲渥克寫了
17:58
about her Southern南部的 relatives親戚們
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關於她住南方的親戚
18:00
who had moved移動 to the North.
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搬到北方的故事
18:02
She introduced介紹 them to a book about
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她介紹一本書給他們
18:04
the Southern南部的 life that they had left behind背後:
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內容有關他們所拋下的南方生活
18:07
"They satSAT around, reading the book themselves他們自己,
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「他們圍坐著,看著書」
18:11
listening to me read the book, and a kind of paradise天堂 was regained失而復得."
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「邊聽我說故事,並重拾了心中的樂園。」
18:17
I would like to end結束 with this thought:
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我想以這句話作結:
18:20
That when we reject拒絕 the single story故事,
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當我們抗拒單一故事
18:23
when we realize實現 that there is never a single story故事
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當我們了解,世上沒有任何地方
18:26
about any place地點,
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只有單一個故事時
18:28
we regain恢復 a kind of paradise天堂.
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我們就會重拾心中的樂園。
18:30
Thank you.
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謝謝
18:32
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Adrienne Lin
Reviewed by Jimmy Yeh

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Novelist
Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature.

Why you should listen

In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape.

Adichie's newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience.

Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.”

(Photo: Wani Olatunde) 

More profile about the speaker
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Speaker | TED.com