Costume Drama 古裝劇

Neil：Hello, I'm Neil. This is Question and Answer of the Week and today I'm here with Feifei.

Feifei: Hello.

Neil: Today we're talking about costume drama. Do you like costume dramas Feifei?

Feifei: Yes, I do. I love costume dramas. Costume dramas 古裝劇– 就是時代背景設定為古代的電視劇或電影。比如說我們熟悉的Pride and Prejudice 傲慢與偏見，Titanic 泰坦尼克號等等都是costume drama.

Neil: Lots of costume dramas centre around families – like Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey.

Feifei: 是的，《樓上樓下》是一部很有名的英國時代劇。當然，現在非常火的Downton Abbey 《唐頓莊園》想必對大家來說也并不陌生－這部劇時間設定在1910年代英國喬治五世在位期間，講述了生活在唐頓莊園的上層貴族家庭 Crawley 一家與其仆人們在森嚴的等級制度下的人間百態。

Neil: That's right.

Feifei: 今天的問題來自于北京的Helen. 她想請我們借《唐頓莊園》這部劇講講英國貴族階層之間的稱謂以及日常語言的特點。

Neil: So, today we're going to answer Helen's question by looking at how British people, like the Downton Abbey characters, talked to each other 100 years ago.

Feifei: 當然我們還要一起分析100多年前人們日常用語的特點。What's special about their style of language?

Neil: Well, first of all, people used different words and expressions 100 years ago.

Feifei: 是的，100多年前人們的日常用語和表達和現如今的有很大的區別。其次，當時社會不同階層的用語也很不一樣。類似于《唐頓莊園》這樣的時代古裝劇，大多都講述了servants and masters 之間的故事。Masters and servants 主人與仆人。

Neil: Yes, and back then there were strict rules about how servants and masters could talk to each other.

Feifei: 主人和仆人之間如何交談有很嚴格的規定。比如說《唐頓莊園》的一家之主還有另外一個頭銜'the Earl of Grantham' - Grantham 伯爵。那仆人們怎么稱呼他呢？How do the servants address him?

Neil: The servants have to say 'my lord' when they speak to him. They are never allowed to use his name.

Feifei: 仆人們在和Grantham 伯爵說話的時候不能直接叫他的名字，而只能稱他為my lord尊敬的閣下。那假如說午飯做好了，仆人應該怎樣來通知伯爵的呢？

Neil: "Luncheon is served, my lord". It means "lunch is ready"!

Feifei: "Luncheon is served, my lord". 就算是伯爵本人不在場，仆人們在談論到他時也只能用敬語，不能直呼大名。

Neil: Yes, if the servants talk about the Earl when he's not there, they say 'his lordship'. "His lordship is out" or "his lordship is in the drawing room".

Feifei: His lordship 的意思是閣下、大人。"His lordship is out" 伯爵大人出門了；"his lordship is in the drawing room" 伯爵大人在drawing room 里？畫室？Drawing room 這里是伯爵搞藝術的房間嗎？

Neil: Ha ha, no. In those days, large houses often had a special room for people to sit in after dinner, especially if they had guests. They called it a drawing room.

Feifei: 原來 drawing room 是飯后和客人一起休息的房間。Nice!

Neil: Very nice. Now, the Earl's wife also had a title: she was the Countess of Grantham, and the servants had to call her 'My lady'.

Feifei: 伯爵夫人的頭銜是the Countess of Grantham – Grantham 伯爵夫人。仆人們得稱伯爵夫人 'my lady' 夫人。

Neil: And when a servant is talking about her, they say 'her ladyship.'

Feifei: 在仆人們談及伯爵夫人的時候，需要稱其her ladyship 夫人她。

Neil: Her ladyship has retired to her rooms.

Feifei: Her ladyship has retired to her rooms. Retired 退休？夫人她年齡很大嗎？

Neil: Haha, no. In those days, 'retired' often meant something like 'gone somewhere else' or 'gone to bed'.

Feifei: 原來 'retired' 的意思是離開或就寢。說了這么多仆人對主人的尊稱，那主人怎么稱呼仆人呢？

Neil: Well, the masters didn't talk to the very lowest servants, the cleaners, forexample. But for higher servants, the masters called them by name.

Feifei: 主人從不會與職位最低的仆人說話。在主人和高職位的仆人說話時會直呼其名。那是叫他的名字呢還是姓呢？

Neil: That depended on the status of the servant.

Feifei: 叫名還是稱姓完全取決于地位status.

Neil: Most of the highest servants were called Mr, Mrs or Miss plus their surname, like Mr Smith or Mrs Jones. Other servants were called by their first names. But masters often gave servants made-up names.

Feifei: 主人稱呼職位高的仆人時會用Mr, Mrs或Miss 加上其姓；對于職位較低的仆人來說，主人會直接叫其名或隨便給起個名字。因為仆人太多了，主人不可能記住所有人的名字。那主人比較喜歡用哪些名字呢？

Neil: James and John for men, and Emma for women.

Feifei: 因此很多仆人都被稱為James, John 或者Emma. Very interesting! 好了，今天節目我們講了一些英國貴族階層與其仆人之間的稱謂以及日常用語。

Neil: Yes, that's a taste of the language of a hundred years ago.

Feifei: Well, the language may change, but it seems people still love costume drama! 別忘了，如果你在英語學習中遇到任何疑惑，可以在微博上給我們留言或發郵件告訴我們你的問題。我們的郵箱是questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

Neil: But please address us as 'My lady' and 'my lord'! Bye!

Feifei: Bye!

(Source: bbcukchina.com/learningenglish)