"Know" is easy to translate.

「Know」這個字並不難翻

"Peprally" doesn't have a direct analog in a lot of languages and cultures,

「Pep rally」在許多語言和文化中並沒有相對應的字

but can be approximated.

但仍可透過類比後理解

But the hardest word there is actually one of the smallest: "you."

最難翻譯的居然是你我皆知的字：「you」(你/妳)

As simple as it seems,

它雖然看似簡單

it's often impossible to accurately translate "you"

有時卻無法讓人精準譯出

without knowing a lot more about the situation where it's being said.

原因在於無法確切知道「you」指涉時的情境

To start with, how familiar are you with the person you're talking to?

先問個問題，你和目前說話對象有多熟呢？

Many cultures have different levels of formality.

許多文化面對正式程度有不同對應用語

A close friend,

摯友

someone much older or much younger,

較年長的人、較年輕的人

a stranger,

陌生人

a boss.

老闆

These all may be slightly different "you's."

這些「you」的指涉對象都有所不同

In many languages, the pronoun reflects these differences through what's known as the T–V distinction.

在一些語言中，代名詞會反映出這些差異，也就是所謂「親疏尊卑稱謂」

In French, for example,

舉例而言，在法語中

you would say "tu" when talking to your friend at school,

和校內朋友聊天時，你會用「tu」(中文：你)

but "vous" when addressing your teacher.

但在和老師說話時會用「vous」(中文：您)

Even English once had something similar.

以前其實英文也有一樣的稱謂情形

Remember the old-timey "thou?"

還記得早期英文「thou」這個字嗎？

Ironically, it was actually the informal pronoun

諷刺的是，在古代是個非正式代名詞

for people you're close with,

用來形容較熟的人

while "you" was the formal and polite version.

而「you」則是正式禮貌的版本

That distinction was lost

之後界限消失

when the English decided to just be polite all the time.

英國人決定時時刻刻都有禮貌

But the difficulty in translating "you" doesn't end there.

但翻譯「you」這個字的困境並未就此結束

In languages like Hausa or Korana,

在豪薩語(北非)、科拉納語(南非)中

the "you" form depends on the listener's gender.

「you」字的形式取決於聽者性別

In many more, it depends on whether they are one or many,

更多時候，取決於聽者人數

such as with German "Du" or "ihr."

例如：德語的「Du」、「ihr」

Even in English,

連在英語中

some dialects use words like "y'all" or "youse" the same way.

一些方言會用「y'all」或「youse」來表示 也是同樣的道理

Some plural forms, like the French "vous"

複數形式如法語「vous」

and Russian "Вы"

及俄語「Bbi」

are also used for a single person

同時適用於單指一人

to show that the addressee is that much more important,

以表示對方極其重要

much like the royal "we."

更像是高貴的「您」

And a few languages even have a specific form

少數語言甚至還有特定形式

for addressing exactly two people,

來特別形容「兩個人」的情況

like Slovenian "vidva."

像是斯洛維尼亞語「vidva」

If that wasn't complicated enough,

假如情況並沒有那麼複雜

formality, number, and gender can all come into play at the same time.

正式程度、數量、性別可一律通用

In Spanish, "tu" is unisex informal singular,

西語的「tu」是單數非正式男女通用的字

"usted" is unisex formal singular,

「usted」則是單數正式男女適用的字

"vosotros" is masculine informal plural,

「vosotros」是複數非正式陽性字

"vosotras" is feminine informal plural,

「vosotras」則是複數非正式陰性字

and "ustedes" is the unisex formal plural.

而「ustedes」是複數正式男女通用字

Phew!

噢…真是…

After all that,

在經歷前面種種

it may come as a relief that some languages often leave out the second person pronoun.

現在或許可以鬆一口氣了 因為有些語言已捨棄第二人稱代名詞

In languages like Romanian and Portuguese,

如羅馬尼亞語及葡萄牙語

the pronoun can be dropped from sentences

代名詞可以在句中省略

because it's clearly implied by the way the verbs are conjugated.

因為與之相對應的動詞形式已清楚標示了

And in languages like Korean, Thai, and Chinese,

其他語言如韓語、泰語及中文

pronouns can be dropped without any grammatical hints.

代名詞在沒有任何文法提示下就可以直接省略

Speakers often would rather have the listener guess the pronoun from context

說話者常傾向聽者從文意中自行猜測指涉對象

than use the wrong one and risk being seen as rude.

也不願講錯而冒無理的風險

In one extreme example,

舉個極端的例子

18th-century scholar Wang Xihou was executed, along with his family,

18世紀時一位清朝文學家王錫侯，連同他的家人一併遭處決

simply for referring to the Emperor in a too familiar way.

只因為他用太過親暱的方式稱呼君王

So if you're ever working as a translator

所以假如你是位譯者

and come across this sentence without any context:

遇到以下的句子且沒有任何前後文可判斷

"You and you, no, not you,

你和妳，不是，不是在說你

you, your job is to translate 'you' for yourselves" ...

而是妳，妳的職業是為了妳自己而翻譯「你」

Well, good luck.

嗯，祝妳好運

And to the volunteer community who will be translating this video into multiple languages:

至於需要將這部影片譯成各種不同語言的譯者志工群

Sorry about that!

和大家說聲對不起啦！