倫敦人的小密語

導讀：倫敦押韻俚語因發源于倫敦東區而得名。傳統的押韻俚語并不容易被模仿和學習的原因是由于有時候每個俚語的第二個詞會被省略，或使用與一個單詞韻律相同的片語來代替這個單詞。

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？除非你的母語是英語，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）

這些聽起來十分“無厘頭”的詞，其實是一種在英國被廣泛使用、來自倫敦的押韻俚語。

押韻俚語起源于19世紀的倫敦東區，可能是一種小商販之間溝通的密語或小偷間交換信息的暗號 —— 事實上，目前就連歷史學家們也無法界定它的真正起源。

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

幸運的是，如果你連一條“史酷比狗狗Scooby Doo”（線索clue）都沒有的話，還可以求助一些網站和應用。

“我希望倫敦人盡可能都來試一試（這個應用），告訴大家他們如何使用押韻俚語，分享一些大家不知道的用法，”押韻俚語翻譯應用uTalk的創始人迪克·豪爾森七月發布該應用時，向Msn.com 表示。

該應用發布幾年前，倫敦博物館開展的一項押韻俚語調查指出，押韻俚語正在逐漸衰亡。2012年，2000名英國居民參與了該調查，結果顯示，大多數參與調查者并不具備押韻俚語的相關知識。因此，博物館認為押韻俚語很快就會變成“黑面包brown bread”（“死亡dead”）。

“對許多人而言，倫敦東區的押韻俚語是一種倫敦人身份的固有象征。然而，這項調查卻顯示，倫敦方言自身卻并非如此普及，”博物館館長亞歷克斯·維爾納說道。

盡管如此，押韻俚語似乎正在悄然復興。現在它不光有了自己的應用程序和網站，在倫敦東區的一些ATM機上甚至出現了“倫敦方言”這一語言選項 —— 對于需要“香腸和麥芽漿sausage and mash”（“現金cash”）的本地人來說，這堪稱完美。

但為什么人們仍在使用這種方言呢？

“每當我聽見人們用押韻俚語的時候，我都十分開心。我自己也嘗試著繼續使用這些俚語。”現年53歲的伊恩·格羅夫斯說道。

伊恩在倫敦長大，目前住在更南邊的地區。他聽著這些押韻俚語長大，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這種押韻俚語。從小他們就教我晚飯前要洗‘德國樂隊German bands（‘手hands），我的祖母在睡前上‘蘋果和梨apples and pears（‘樓梯stairs），”他說道，“這些俚語讓我想起了整個青春。”

所以，如果你真的想在英國的旅途中秀一把英語，就走進東倫敦的一家咖啡館，點一杯“羅西·李Rosie Lee”（茶tea），然后告訴收銀員不用找“打靶場rifle range”（零錢change）了。這一定會是個不錯的開始。

【詞匯積累】

nonsense n. 荒謬的想法（看法，說法）；胡說

conduct v. （尤指為獲取信息或證實某事而）做（某事）

decline v. 減少，降低，下降

respondent n. 回答者，答復者

revival n. 復興；再流行

dialect n. 方言，地方話

shabby adj. 破舊的；不公正的；不講理的