Costume Drama 古装剧

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 古装剧– 就是时代背景设定为古代的电视剧或电影。比如说我们熟悉的Pride and Prejudice 傲慢与偏见，Titanic 泰坦尼克号等等都是costume drama.

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

Feifei: 是的，《楼上楼下》是一部很有名的英国时代剧。当然，现在非常火的Downton Abbey 《唐顿庄园》想必对大家来说也并不陌生－这部剧时间设定在1910年代英国乔治五世在位期间，讲述了生活在唐顿庄园的上层贵族家庭 Crawley 一家与其仆人们在森严的等级制度下的人间百态。

Neil: That's right.

Feifei: 今天的问题来自于北京的Helen. 她想请我们借《唐顿庄园》这部剧讲讲英国贵族阶层之间的称谓以及日常语言的特点。

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: 当然我们还要一起分析100多年前人们日常用语的特点。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多年前人们的日常用语和表达和现如今的有很大的区别。其次，当时社会不同阶层的用语也很不一样。类似于《唐顿庄园》这样的时代古装剧，大多都讲述了servants and masters 之间的故事。Masters and servants 主人与仆人。

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

Feifei: 主人和仆人之间如何交谈有很严格的规定。比如说《唐顿庄园》的一家之主还有另外一个头衔'the Earl of Grantham' - Grantham 伯爵。那仆人们怎么称呼他呢？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: 仆人们在和Grantham 伯爵说话的时候不能直接叫他的名字，而只能称他为my lord尊敬的阁下。那假如说午饭做好了，仆人应该怎样来通知伯爵的呢？

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场，仆人们在谈论到他时也只能用敬语，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 的意思是阁下、大人。"His lordship is out" 伯爵大人出门了；"his lordship is in the drawing room" 伯爵大人在drawing room 里？画室？Drawing room 这里是伯爵搞艺术的房间吗？

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: 原来 drawing room 是饭后和客人一起休息的房间。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: 伯爵夫人的头衔是the Countess of Grantham – Grantham 伯爵夫人。仆人们得称伯爵夫人 'my lady' 夫人。

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

Feifei: 在仆人们谈及伯爵夫人的时候，需要称其her ladyship 夫人她。

Neil: Her ladyship has retired to her rooms.

Feifei: Her ladyship has retired to her rooms. Retired 退休？夫人她年龄很大吗？

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

Feifei: 原来 'retired' 的意思是离开或就寝。说了这么多仆人对主人的尊称，那主人怎么称呼仆人呢？

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: 主人从不会与职位最低的仆人说话。在主人和高职位的仆人说话时会直呼其名。那是叫他的名字呢还是姓呢？

Neil: That depended on the status of the servant.

Feifei: 叫名还是称姓完全取决于地位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: 主人称呼职位高的仆人时会用Mr, Mrs或Miss 加上其姓；对于职位较低的仆人来说，主人会直接叫其名或随便给起个名字。因为仆人太多了，主人不可能记住所有人的名字。那主人比较喜欢用哪些名字呢？

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

Feifei: 因此很多仆人都被称为James, John 或者Emma. Very interesting! 好了，今天节目我们讲了一些英国贵族阶层与其仆人之间的称谓以及日常用语。

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! 别忘了，如果你在英语学习中遇到任何疑惑，可以在微博上给我们留言或发邮件告诉我们你的问题。我们的邮箱是questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

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

Feifei: Bye!

(Source: bbcukchina.com/learningenglish)