【英语趣味课堂】萨摩亚的生活-Samoan Life

Joel: So, a lot of Americans, we know about Hawaii, and Samoa is fairly close to Hawaii, right? So is the culture similar? Do you know about Hawaii?

 

Patricia: I have family in Hawaii, actually and from seeing them and hearing about their way of life, I think it's a bit different. Perhaps the traidtional life, way of life in Hawaii, like 50 years ago probably is the same as our life now but I think we're more on a cultural basis as I said earlier.

 

Joel: OK, and is that because Hawaii has much more tourism, and so they've advanced more?

 

Patricia: I don't think it's based on the tourism. I think it's based on the multicultural¹ ideal, idea in it, in Hawaii itself, I mean, it consists of so many cultures, so many ethnicities and Hawaii itself, like the original people are not really Hawaiians, I mean, there supposed to be from another area. If you, this has actually, this all goes back to history. It's a historical point that the migration³, the original people of Hawaii. They were the last, I think they were perhaps the last settled, after them it was us and then New Zealand, so their people were also mixed so their tradition, there're different cultures that they inherited as they were navigating⁴ around the world created a certain culture that is very complex, very mutlicultural I think it's very different in Hawaii and Samoa.

 

Joel: So what are the popular sports and popular hobbies and pastimes in Samoa?

 

Patricia: Rugby

 

Joel: Rugby, really! What, even on the American side?

 

Patricia: Football

 

Joel: American football or soccer?

 

Patricia: Yeah, both.

 

Joel: yeah, a lot of big people so maybe they are good at American football and rugby. And what about triditional dance? I know Hawaii has like hula dance. Do you guys have something distinct like that?

 

Patricia: We have the taualunga. It's called taualunga.

 

Joel: taualunga.

 

Patricia: Taualunga. Hawaii is a bit different because they have, the hula is done by many people. For us, our traditional dance which is called the taualunga, is usually done by one individual. The girld is supposed to be the daughter of a cheif and she's known as a Taupo.

 

Joel: Taupo (Taupo) is the daughter of a chief. OK.

 

Patricia: The daughter of a chief, and she will be the only individual to be dancing and all the other people will be sitting around her cheering and singing songs while she's dancing. This individual the taupo is supposed to be, well you can consider her a princess of the village. She will hold the most highest title. she will also be the person who is most cared about. She will usually be the first person to eat. Her brothers are supposed to take care of her, sort of stuff, like all these sort of everyday life is put into the dance. (Wow) It's like appreciation⁵ value and the importance of being a female, and how culture should be respected in this way because this individual is pure, sort of.

 

Joel: Oh, that sounds really interesting. I'm going to have to go and see that some time. It usually happens like in the evening. I imagine like tiki torches and things like that, but maybe that's a stereotype⁶.

 

Patricia: Usually it happens in the evening but nowadays with tourism and all we usually have it in the afternoon, morning, it depends on the event. If we have, say a festival or something, and important event, we usually have these taualungas

 

Joel: All right. Wow, that's fascinating

 

学习内容：

 

ethnicities

 

Hawaii consists of so many ethnicities, like even the original people are not really Hawaiians. 

A person's 'ethnicity' is his ethnic² traits or identity. Your 'ethnicity' is how you identify yourself in terms of your cultural, religious or racial group. Notice the following:

 

Her ethnicity has had a huge impact on her life.

People in this area have a strong and uniform ethnicity.

navigating

 

The different cultures that they inherited as they were navigating around the word made them very multicultural. 

When you 'navigate⁷' you move over or through something, like land or sea, with a specific direction. We can also use 'navigating' to talk about using something like a computer where you can move from one program to another inside the computer. Notice the following:

 

I am having trouble navigating this new program. It's really confusing.

It's easy to navigate the city if you use the mountains to guide you.

pastimes

 

What are the popular sports and popular hobbies and pastimes in Samoa? 

A 'pastime' is like a hobby or something that you do to make the time go more quickly. It is something that amuses or entertains you. Notice the following:

 

One of my favorite pastimes is to sit in the park and watch the dogs.

I am so busy with work right now that I don't have time for pastimes.

stereotype

 

I imagine tiki torches and things like that, but maybe that's a stereotype.

A 'stereotype' is an image or an idea that is generally held about a place or a group of people. Many times stereotypes⁸ are generalized, incorrect or negative. Notice the following:

 

It is a stereotype that men are better drivers than women.

The idea that everyone who speaks Spanish eats spicy⁹ food is a stereotype.

festival

 

We have it in the morning, afternoon or evening, depending on the event or festival. 

You have a 'festival' to celebrate something. It like a big party for cultural or religious reasons. Festivals usually have food, dance and traditional elements. Notice the following:

 

There is a big beer festival here at the beginning of October.

My friends and I are going to a three-day music festival near Chicago.

1 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

5 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

6 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

7 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。