雙語：中國人為什麼叫澳大利亞「土澳」

在澳大利亞華人社區，「土澳」是使用得最多的一個辭彙，最近這個詞引起了澳大利亞媒體的注意，新聞一經報道澳大利亞人民立刻炸鍋。

But its meaning, and whether it』s affectionate or condescending towards Australia, remains a hot topic of debate.

但是「土澳」這個詞到底是什麼意思人們仍然爭論不休——有些人認為這是對澳大利亞的深情厚愛，而有些人則認為這是對澳大利亞居高臨下的蔑視。

Taken literally, TuAo means "unrefined, backwards Australia".

從字面意思來說，「土澳」指的是「落後、難登大雅之堂的澳大利亞」。

The term』s widespread use in headlines on popular WeChat platforms like Sydney Today is a window into how the hundreds of thousands of Chinese students, graduates and migrants view the country where they reside.

這個詞在諸如「今日悉尼」等大熱微信平台的新聞題目中被廣泛使用，而幾十萬學生、移民都將該平台作為了解自己所在國家的一個窗口。

"I feel it refers to how close you are to nature in Australia", said Annie Zhang, a permanent resident and Sydney University graduate who migrated from Beijing.

小張是從北京移民澳大利亞的永久居民、畢業於悉尼大學，據她表示：「我認為這個詞的意思是說，在澳大利亞你會和自然很親近。」

But she says the term also refers to the "coarse" Australian accent, and the country』s perceived backwardness in everything from urban design to mobile payment technology.

但是她也表示，這個詞也指澳大利亞的「粗糙」口音、以及這個國家從城市規劃到手機移動支付科技等方方面面的落後。

"I』ve heard people say that England is America』s village, and Australia is England』s village, so it』s really rural and unrefined," she said.

她說道：「我聽人說英國是美國的農村，而澳大利亞是英國的農村，因此澳大利亞真的是非常落後不發達。」

"China is so grandiose, whereas in Australia there aren』t as many magnificent tall buildings."

「雄偉壯麗，而澳大利亞卻沒幾座高樓大廈。」

Each day, tens of thousands of readers of the fast-growing Australian-based Chinese WeChat platforms see clickbait-style headlines referring to TuAo.

每天，澳大利亞的微信平台都會發布以「土澳」為標題的內容，這些平台擁有幾十萬讀者且還在繼續增長。

Many Chinese migrants say the term is mainly affectionate.

而許多移民表示這個詞其實表達了對澳大利亞的一往情深。

"Those students who are attracted to Australia, who are interested in facets of Australian life and like it here, they』ll say TuAo," said Josh Rong, a journalist who also studied in Sydney.

小榮是一名記者、曾經也在悉尼學習過，據他表示：「那些被吸引到澳大利亞、對澳大利亞的生活感興趣並喜歡這裡的學生會說土澳這個詞。」

Some members of the Chinese community though see the word as representing an increasingly confident nationalism among young Chinese.

但是一些人則認為這個詞顯示了年輕人群體之間日益增長的自信民族主義。

"This is a phenomenon for those we call the 』little pinks』," said Feng Chongyi, a Chinese studies professor at the University of Technology, referring to slang for young patriots.

悉尼科技大學研究教授張重一表示：「這個現象我們稱之為『小粉紅』。」「小粉紅」是愛國青年的昵稱。

"It』s popular among them, not among the older generations.

「這個詞在他們之間很流行，但是在老一輩人中並不是如此。」

"For them, [the term] is also loaded with some political meaning to show their own nationalism — to compare the Chinese modernisation to Australia, which they call a large village."

「對他們來說，這個詞也帶有一些政治意味、顯示出了他們的民族主義——將澳大利亞和現代化的相比，前者就是一個大農村。」

Chinese internet slang is dynamic and often open to interpretation and regional differences.

網路用語的含義是變化的，經常會出現不同的解讀和地區差異。

Wai Ling Yeung, a former Chinese studies professor at Curtin University, points out that many Chinese-Australians use the character for village when referring to suburbs.

的楊教授曾任科廷大學研究學者，據他指出許多華裔澳大利亞人用「農村」指代郊區。

"Because of that, many China-based netizens think all Australian cities are like country towns, but this is in fact not what Chinese-Australians mean," she said.

她說道：「由於這一緣故，許多網民都認為澳大利亞所有城市都像城鎮一樣，但這其實並不是華裔澳大利亞人的真正意思。」

She contrasts TuAo with humorous slang used by Chinese abroad in other countries, including FuGuo for Britain, meaning "decadent country" — a coded term believed to refer to the UK』s attitudes towards homosexuality.

她還談到了海外人使用的另外一個幽默俚語——「腐國」，字面意思是「腐朽的國家」。但是事實上這個詞指的是英國對待同性戀的態度。

The US is also sometimes referred to online as MeiDi, meaning "American empire".

而美國有時也被稱之為「美帝」。

"In a way we are very proud of being 』Tu』," Ms Yeung said.

楊教授說道：「從某種意義上來說，我們因為『土』而深感自豪。」