曉華 : Hello and welcome to RoundTable's "the Word of the Week." This week we are talking about begging and busking.
John: That's right. In English these are two words that are basically interchangeable. They are begging and panhandling. They mean the same thing -- going around, asking people for money.
曉華 :Begging 大家都知道,Panhandling從字面上聽上去也可以知道是什么意思了,端著一個盤子,也是要乞討要錢的意思。
John: Besides money of course, they may also ask for food, drink, cigarettes or other small items.Now looking at begging from the western history, for Ancient Greeks distinguished between the ptochos (Greek: πτωχ??, which means the"passive poor" or "beggars") and the penes (Greek: ποιν??, "active poor"), with the latter being accorded a higher social status.
曉華 : Interesting. 從古希臘時期開始,就把被動的窮人,也就是乞討者,還有主動的窮人,在詞匯上加以區分了。
John: As many of our listeners probably already know, if you look here in China with Buddhism and perhaps even in Daoism, begging is actually part of the religion. But also Christianity, Hinduism, Sufi Islam and Jainism also provide a traditional method of begging for monks, nuns, and people living in monasteries.
曉華 :不光是在佛教中,在基督教,甚至是印度教中都有和尚,尼姑,或者是修道院的修士行乞來求生這樣的教義。
John: No let's take a quick look at some interesting laws and practices from around the world. Just as a very quick example, in Canada, the province of Ontario introduced its Safe Streets Act in 1999. So actually it is not illegal to beg, but they ban what is called "aggressive", or "abusive" begging or panhandling.
曉華 :看來各個國家都有一些限制乞討的法律。像加拿大就禁止非常強勢的,或者纏著別人要錢的這種行為。
John: And in Finland, begging has been legal since 1987. But in 2003, the Public Order Act completely decriminalized begging
曉華 : 芬蘭相對來說是對begging比較友好的一個國家。
John: And in Luxembourg finally, begging in Luxembourg is totally legal except when it is indulged in as a group or the beggar is a part of an organized effort, someway like we could see in China.
曉華 :盧森堡的律法是禁止有組織的行乞行為。
John: So another type, or way of asking for money is not begging, is not really panhandling. It's basically performing, and having a hat or a can, asking for tips, you might say. So in English, there are two different words or phrases we called street performance, or perhaps even more commonly, we call it"busking."
曉華 : 下面該說到busking了,也就是街頭表演。
John: People who engaged in busking can be called "street performers", or perhaps even "buskers".
曉華 :顧名思義, busker就是街頭表演者,或者是街頭藝人,
John: So the term "busking" was first noted in the English language around the middle 1860s in the Great Britain. The verb "to busk", from the word "busker", comes from the Spanish root word "buscar", meaning "to seek" - as supposedly buskers are seeking fame and fortune.
曉華 :所以busking也不光是表演,在它的詞源里有"索求,求取"的意思,自然是要要錢了。
John: So there are other four basic forms of street performance or busking is the "Circle show", which tends to gather a crowd around them. They usually have a distinct beginning and end. So perhaps street theater, magicians, acrobats, jugglers, things like that.
曉華 :感覺Circle show有點像中文里的撂地賣藝,在一塊固定的地點,吸引一些圍成圈子的觀眾,然后表演一些雜耍,變魔術,木偶戲這樣的表演。
John: And then there are "Walk-by acts", where the busker performs a musical, living statue or other act that does not have a distinct beginning or end and the public usually watch for a brief time and then walk on by.
曉華 : "Walk-by acts"就是不需要觀眾停留太長時間的,比如說在街頭彈吉他唱歌,還有在街頭假裝成雕像,都可以歸在這里面。
John: And then there is the "Stoplight performers". These people present their act right on the crosswalk when the lights are red. Then, while still red, they walk by the cars to get contributions from drivers and/or passengers.
曉華 :"Stoplight performers"就是趁人在等紅燈的時候在街角表演的藝術家。I've never actually seen any of these.
John: It doesn't usually happenin places like China. Usually in America, or perhaps even in parts of Europe.
曉華 : I see.
John: And then last but not least is"Café busking", mostly done in restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes. Basically the idea is someone is performing inside one of these venues, but the venue is not paying them. Instead, they are making money only from the tips of the patients.
曉華 : "Café busking"跟酒吧駐唱的歌手還不太一樣。咖啡廳或者酒吧通常不支付他們任何費用,但是他們可以走來走去,為客人表演,向客人收取費用。 So that raps RoundTable's "the Word of the Week."