關於世界各國文化的十大誤解(上)

There are billions of people in the world, and all of them are individuals with their own unique identities.

世界坐擁數十億人口，人人都是獨具文化特色的個體。

With so many people to keep track of, and a much smaller corresponding number of cultures, humans invented stereotypes and other generalities as an attempt to understand large groups of people more easily.

相較於數不清的人來說，文化的種類少了許多，因此人類嘗試用文化形態和其他歸類法去了解某一羣人。

Over the years, this has led to a lot of confusion, hilarity, and strife around the world.

過去，很多誤解、笑料、甚至國際爭鬥都因此而生。

The truth is that most stereotypes started due to some misconception, or something that was lost in translation, and aren't really all that accurate for the individuals from the culture in question.

但很多文化定勢的產生都基於誤解和誤譯，對於所涉及文化中的人們來說，情況也不完全屬實。

Often, what we think we know about another people is wildly inaccurate, and sometimes the truth is far more interesting.

我們對外族人的理解，往往並不準確，而真相會更有趣。

ralia Was Originally a Penal Colony for Hardened Criminals

10.澳大利亞曾是關押囚犯的殖民地

Most people know that Australia was originally a penal colony started by the United Kingdom – the British Empire at the time – which blossomed into the full blown country it is today.

大多人都知道，澳大利亞起初是大英聯合王國（那時叫大英帝國）用來關押罪犯的一塊殖民地，而後慢慢發展成現今這樣一個繁盛的國家。

Many people have also heard of the famous Rum Rebellions, and how many of the prisoners, soldiers, and others on the island were originally paid largely in booze.

很多人也聽說過著名的朗姆酒叛軍，也聽說過犯人、士兵和島上其他人主要以酒當薪酬的事兒。

This has given an image of Australia as an island full of the descendants of shifty, nasty criminal types, the hardened people countries would consider so evil they sent them all the way across the globe.

這難免讓人覺得澳大利亞人都是詭詐、令人心寒的罪犯後人，各國都覺得他們太可惡，把他們送到了世界另一頭。

However, in recent years Australia has been trying to uncover its past instead of shamefacedly hide from it, and they have found that the truth is not nearly as embarrassing as they once thought.

然而，最近幾年，澳大利亞不再羞愧躲藏，而是嘗試揭開歷史面紗，結果發現事實並不像想象中那麼令人尷尬。

What Australians have quickly been discovering is that many of the people who were sent to Australia as criminals, were convicted for reasons that we would consider a miscarriage of justice today.

澳大利亞人很快發現，當初送到島上的罪犯，現在看來，是由於當初的誤判所致。

A large portion of them were children who stole small amounts of food, some of whom were condemned to hang for their crimes before they got the chance to be exiled to Australia instead.

當初，很多罪犯是偷了口食物的孩子，而有些孩子在被流放到澳大利亞前就被判處絞刑處死。

Even among the adults, many of those convicted had only been tried for what would be considered very petty crimes today, and others were also falsely accused.

被判處的成年犯中，很多在今天看來只是小犯罪事件，還有些是被誣告的。

The truth is that the British Empire at the time had a lot of poor citizens who ended up on the wrong side of the law mainly because living on the margins and stealing food was the only way for them to get by.

當時，大英帝國很多貧民犯法是因爲食不果腹，而偷食物是他們生存的唯一希望。

So, they decided to get rid of these people by sending them to an island all the way across the world, instead of dealing with the actual poverty issue.

因此，大英帝國決定擺脫這羣人，但不是從根本解決貧困問題，而是橫渡大洋將他們送到島上。

Connection Between the Ancient and Current Egyptians

9.埃及人的古今情緣

Egypt is one of the most famous countries in the world, but the identity of its people is often a very confusing subject.

埃及享譽世界，但對其國民的身份問題衆說紛紜。

Some people think of them as simply Egyptian, and others think of them as another Arabic state, but the truth is a fair bit more complicated.

有人認爲他們就是埃及人，有人認爲他們是另一個阿拉伯國度，但事實沒這麼簡單。

Scholars have been studying the lineage of the Egyptian people in an attempt to understand how they relate to the ancient Egyptians, and have been unable to come up with concrete answers.

有學者爲弄清現代埃及人和古埃及人間的關係，一直在研究埃及人的世系血統，但尚無定論。

They are certain that most Egyptians have DNA that seems to differ somewhat largely from other nearby countries, but they also cannot prove any direct connection to the ancient Egyptians.

他們確信大部分埃及人的DNA和周邊大部分國家不同，但也不能證明他們和古埃及人屬直系關係。

In practice, the situation on the ground can be even more confusing. Egypt is a member of the Arab League and most people in the country can speak Arabic.

而實際問題可能更復雜。埃及屬阿盟國度，且大部分埃及人會講阿拉伯語。

This has led to a certain amount of cultural ethos to slip into the national identity, but most Egyptians do not consider themselves Arab, regardless of their true genealogy.

這些文化風尚肯定會滲透到國家形態中，但不管他們族譜爲何，大部分埃及人並不認爲他們是阿拉伯人。

They consider themselves to be Egyptian, and wish to cultivate that identity more strongly – many Egyptians today would prefer to connect as much as possible with the old roots, and ignore the Arab influence.

他們自認爲是埃及人，希望有更強的認同感——現在，很多埃及人更願意相信自己和古埃及人有關係，而忽略阿拉伯的影響。

In some cases, Egyptians have reported feeling discriminated against while visiting or working in other countries within the Arab League.

據說，埃及人蔘觀阿盟其他國家或在阿盟其他國家工作時會偶遭歧視。

n is Completely Nuts About Crazy Anime and Manga Series'

8.日本是漫畫、動漫狂

When most people think of Japan, they think of weird adults obsessed with the oddest kind of manga and anime possible, but the truth is, they are producing most of that with the rest of the world in mind.

提起日本，大多數人會想起沉迷於漫畫和動漫的古怪成年人，但事實上，日本動漫是面向全世界的。

When anime and manga began in Japan, they started out marketing toward children just like in the West, but as their audience got older they decided to start trying more mature themes.

漫畫和動漫剛在日本興起時，跟西方一樣目標受衆僅爲兒童。但隨着觀衆長大，他們便開始嘗試一些適合成年人的主題。

This worked out well, and proved that animation is suitable for adults as well as children.

結果收效甚佳，也說明動漫不僅適合兒童，同樣也適合成人。

As many adults matured, anime and manga have continued to have a steady following in Japan, but nothing like how people think, and nothing like how popular it is in the rest of the world.

和人們的預想不同，日本人成熟後，依然是漫畫和動漫的追隨者，這種情況在其他國家並不多見。

One executive in the industry believes that many people in Japan probably don't even realize how much other countries are into anime and manga.

動漫業一位高管認爲，日本很多人其實都不清楚其他國家有多喜歡漫畫和動漫。

The amount of money made selling anime and manga outside of the country is an industry worth billions of dollars a year.

日本每年的漫畫和動漫出口產值高達數十億美元。

While the international market is a hugely growing business, the Japanese demand for the same is actually slowly declining as the years pass by.

國際市場需求仍在繼續增加，相對來說，日本本土對動漫的需求近年來反而逐漸下降。

This means that despite the claims of "those wacky Japanese", at this point, they are making those stories for our entertainment – it may not even be entirely their cup of tea.

這就意味着，儘管我們認爲日本人在這方面很古怪，但是日本動漫在我們的娛樂生活中也佔據了一定地位，哪怕算不上他們的心頭之好。