for his storytelling,

Gabriel Garcia Marquez是我最喜歡的作者之一，

but even more, I think,

這是因為他的說書方式，

for the beauty and precision of his prose.

但更大的原因是

And whether it's the opening line from "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

他散文的漂亮和精確度。

or the fantastical stream of consciousness

不論是《百年獨處》的開頭

in "Autumn of the Patriarch,"

或是《獨裁者的黃昏》中

where the words rush by,

文字奔馳的

page after page of unpunctuated imagery

幻想流意識寫法，

sweeping the reader along

一頁頁不斷的意像

like some wild river

將讀者如瘋狂河流般

twisting through a primal South American jungle,

席捲過

reading Márquez is a visceral experience.

南美國原始叢林，

Which struck me as particularly remarkable

讀Marquez是很發自內心的體驗。

during one session with the novel

讓我特別訝異的是

when I realized that I was being swept along

在書中的某一段，

on this remarkable, vivid journey

我發現我被帶上一趟

in translation.

生動非凡的

Now I was a comparative literature major in college,

翻譯之旅。

which is like an English major,

我大學是主修比較文學的，

only instead of being stuck studying Chaucer for three months,

有點像是英文主修，

we got to read great literature in translation

只是我們不會花三個月的時間都在讀Chaucer，

from around the world.

而是讀很多全球偉大的

And as great as these books were,

翻譯文學。

you could always tell

但就算這些書很棒，

that you were getting close to the full effect.

你仍舊總是

But not so with Márquez

感覺到沒有完全達到效果。

who once praised his translator's versions

但在Marquez的作品中不會如此，

as being better than his own,

他甚至曾經讚美

which is an astonishing compliment.

翻譯的版本比他自己的還要好，

So when I heard that the translator, Gregory Rabassa,

這真是個非常驚人的讚美。

had written his own book on the subject,

所以當我知道那名譯者Gregory Rabassa

I couldn't wait to read it.

要寫一本關於這個主題的書時，

It's called apropos of the Italian adage

我等不及要看。

that I lifted from his forward,

我從序中瞭解到這在

"If This Be Treason."

義大利格言中叫作apropos

And it's a charming read.

「若這是背叛」

It's highly recommended for anyone who's interested

這是本很迷人的書。

in the translator's art.

非常推薦給任何對

But the reason that I mention it

翻譯藝術有興趣的人。

is that early on, Rabassa offers

但我提這個的原因是

this elegantly simple insight:

在書很前面的地方，

"Every act of communication

Rabassa提出一個很優雅的見解：

is an act of translation."

「每一個溝通的舉動

Now maybe that's been obvious to all of you for a long time,

都是一個翻譯的舉動。」

but for me,

這對於在座很多人或許是顯而易見的，

as often as I'd encountered

但對我來說

that exact difficulty on a daily basis,

就算我每天

I had never seen the inherent challenge of communication

都會有一模一樣的問題，

in so crystalline a light.

我從來沒有這麼清楚地

Ever since I can remember

看待溝通背後的挑戰性。

thinking consciously about such things,

從我有認知以來

communication has been my central passion.

有意識的思考這樣的事情，

Even as a child,

溝通一直都是我很有熱情的東西。

I remember thinking that what I really wanted most in life

就算還是個小孩子，

was to be able to understand everything

我記得當時的我覺得這一生中最想要的是

and then to communicate it to everyone else.

能瞭解所有事情

So no ego problems.

然後告訴所有人這些事情。

It's funny, my wife, Daisy,

所以沒有自尊的問題。

whose family is littered with schizophrenics --

很有趣的是，我老婆黛西，

and I mean littered with them --

她們家充斥著精神分裂症患者，

once said to me, "Chris, I already have a brother who thinks he's God.

我真的是要說充斥著，

I don't need a husband who wants to be."

她曾跟我說：「Chris，我已經有一個認為自己是神的哥哥了，

(Laughter)

我不需要一個想要成為神的老公。」

Anyway, as I plunged through my 20s

（笑聲）

ever more aware of how unobtainable

所以呢，在我到達二十幾歲時，

the first part of my childhood ambition was,

我更瞭解到我小時候的志向

it was that second part,

有多麼難達成，

being able to successfully communicate to others

我的志向的第二部份，

whatever knowledge I was gaining,

就是能夠將我所知道的

where the futility of my quest really set in.

傳達給別人，

Time after time,

幾乎是徒勞無功的。

whenever I set out to share some great truth

一次又一次的，

with a soon-to-be grateful recipient,

每當我試著將我得到的真理

it had the opposite effect.

傳達給馬上會很感激我的對象時，

Interestingly, when your opening line of communication is,

總是產生相反的效果。

"Hey, listen up,

很有趣的，當你一開始時這麼說：

because I'm about to drop some serious knowledge on you,"

「仔細聽，

it's amazing how quickly you'll discover

因為我要告訴你們一些很重要的知識。」

both ice and the firing squad.

很奇妙的是，你會很快發現

Finally, after about 10 years

那些很想聽和很不想聽的觀眾。

of alienating friends and strangers alike,

最後，在經過十年

I finally got it,

與朋友及陌生人疏離的日子後，

a new personal truth all my own,

我終於懂了，

that if I was going to ever communicate well with other people

一個我自己找到的真理，

the ideas that I was gaining,

就是如果我希望能夠跟別人談論

I'd better find a different way of going about it.

我所擁有的想法，

And that's when I discovered comedy.

我最好找一個新的方式。

Now comedy travels along a distinct wavelength

那正是我發現喜劇的時候。

from other forms of language.

喜劇跟其他種語言形式

If I had to place it on an arbitrary spectrum,

是在一個很不一樣的波段上。

I'd say it falls somewhere

如果我可以在一個隨意的波譜上

between poetry and lies.

給他一個位置，那麼他應該會在

And I'm not talking about all comedy here,

詩和謊言中間。

because, clearly, there's plenty of humor

而我不是在說全部的喜劇，

that colors safely within the lines of what we already think and feel.

因為，很顯然的，有很多幽默

What I want to talk about

是在我們已經感受到的範圍內。

is the unique ability that the best comedy and satire has

我想要談的是

at circumventing our ingrained perspectives --

最好的喜劇和諷刺劇能夠改變

comedy as the philosopher's stone.

我們已經習慣的想法，

It takes the base metal of our conventional wisdom

喜劇被當成一個哲學里程碑。

and transforms it through ridicule

它把我們傳統智慧最根本的東西拿來

into a different way of seeing

用可笑的方式將之轉型

and ultimately being in the world.

從一個不一樣的角度看

Because that's what I take

以至於最終誕生於這個世界。

from the theme of this conference: Gained in Translation.

因為這是我如何看

That it's about communication

這個會議的主題：在翻譯中成長。

that doesn't just produce greater understanding

就是這是在談溝通，

within the individual,

就是不是只是在個人腦內

but leads to real change.

產生新的見解，

Which in my experience means communication

而是真的有所改變。

that manages to speak to and expand

在我的經驗中就是溝通

our concept of self-interest.

可以增長及

Now I'm big on speaking to people's self-interest

為自我意識發聲。

because we're all wired for that.

我很愛談人們的自我利益，

It's part of our survival package,

因為我們都以此為出發點。

and that's why it's become so important for us,

這是我們求生的本能，

and that's why we're always listening at that level.

也是為什麼這對我們這麼重要，

And also because that's where,

也是為什麼我們總是以此來觀察世界。

in terms of our own self-interest,

也因為那是我們

we finally begin to grasp

以自我利益為出發點，

our ability to respond, our responsibility

我們才能在最後開始瞭解

to the rest of the world.

我們如何對世界做出回應、

Now as to what I mean by the best comedy and satire,

如何對世界負責。

I mean work that comes first and foremost

我說的最好的喜劇和諷刺劇的是

from a place of honesty and integrity.

可以以誠實和誠信為

Now if you think back

最一開始的出發點的那些作品。

on Tina Fey's impersonations on Saturday Night Live

現在如果你想想

of the newly nominated vice presidential candidate

Tina Fey在「星期六即時論壇」中

Sarah Palin,

模仿剛被提名為副總統候選人

they were devastating.

Sarah Palin的樣子，

Fey demonstrated far more effectively than any political pundit

那是非常具破壞性的。

the candidate's fundamental lack of seriousness,

Fey比任何一個政治權威人物更有效的

cementing an impression

表示出候選人普遍缺乏嚴肅性，

that the majority of the American public still holds today.

這更加鞏固現今美國政治

And the key detail of this

大部份的現象。

is that Fey's scripts weren't written by her

而很重要的是

and they weren't written by the SNL writers.

Fey的劇本不是她寫的，

They were lifted verbatim

也不是SNL作者群寫的。

from Palin's own remarks.

她的劇本是從Palin自己

(Laughter)

曾說過的話來的。

Here was a Palin impersonator

（笑聲）

quoting Palin word for word.

這就是個利用Palin

Now that's honesty and integrity,

說過的話的模仿者。

and it's also why Fey's performances

這是非常誠實且誠信的，

left such a lasting impression.

也是為什麼Fey的表演

On the other side of the political spectrum,

那麼發人省思。

the first time that I heard Rush Limbaugh

在政治的另一方面，

refer to presidential hopeful John Edwards as the Breck girl

當我第一次聽到Rush Limbaugh

I knew that he'd made a direct hit.

將總統候選人John Edwards比做布雷克女孩時，

Now it's not often that I'm going to associate

我知道他完全打到要點了。

the words honesty and integrity with Limbaugh,

我不常將Limbaugh跟

but it's really hard to argue with that punchline.

誠實、誠信這樣的字眼放在一起，

The description perfectly captured

但很難跟這樣的妙語作對。

Edwards' personal vanity.

這個描述完美和Edward的

And guess what?

虛榮吻合。

That ended up being the exact personality trait

而且你知道嗎？

that was at the core of the scandal that ended his political career.

那正是讓他最後結束他的政治生涯

Now The Daily Show with John Stewart

的醜聞的個性。

is by far the most --

John Steward的《Daily Show》

(Applause)

是有史以來最--

(Laughter)

（掌聲）

it's by far the most well-documented example

（笑聲）

of the effectiveness of this kind of comedy.

它是這類喜劇的效果

Survey after survey,

的最佳代表。

from Pew Research to the Annenberg Center for Public Policy,

一個個的問卷，

has found that Daily Show viewers are better informed about current events

從Pew Research到Anneberg公共政策中心的問卷

than the viewers of all major network and cable news shows.

都顯示看《Daily Show》的人比看其它任何節目的人

(Applause)

更瞭解時事。

Now whether this says more

（掌聲）

about the conflict between integrity and profitability

不管這節目

of corporate journalism

在談公司新聞中的

than it does about the attentiveness of Stewart's viewers,

誠信和獲利衝突比較多，

the larger point remains

還是談Stewart的觀眾的專心度比較多，

that Stewart's material

重點是

is always grounded in a commitment to the facts --

Stewart的內容

not because his intent is to inform. It's not.

都跟有事實根據的。

His intent is to be funny.

這不是因為他企圖要告知大眾這些事情。

It just so happens that Stewart's brand of funny

他的企圖是想要搞笑。

doesn't work unless the facts are true.

只是Stewart搞笑的方式

And the result is great comedy

如果不是有這些事實存在就不好笑了。

that's also an information delivery system

結果就是個很棒的喜劇，

that scores markedly higher in both credibility and retention

也同時扮演了訊息告知的角色，

than the professional news media.

且在信譽和事實保留度都

Now this is doubly ironic

比專業媒體還好。

when you consider that what gives comedy its edge

這是很諷刺的，

at reaching around people's walls

因為喜劇能夠進入人們心裡，

is the way that it uses deliberate misdirection.

就是刻意

A great piece of comedy is a verbal magic trick,

往不對的方向去鑽。

where you think it's going over here

一段很棒的喜劇會有口頭上的魔術，

and then all of a sudden you're transported over here.

就是你以為你在這裡，

And there's this mental delight

但很突然的你已經被輾轉到那裡去了。

that's followed by the physical response of laughter,

然後在笑聲過後，

which, not coincidentally,

會有一個精神愉悅感，

releases endorphins in the brain.

跟腦內分泌腦內啡的狀況是一樣的，

And just like that, you've been seduced

而這不是巧合。

into a different way of looking at something

就這樣，你被帶進一個

because the endorphins have brought down your defenses.

不一樣的思維，

This is the exact opposite

因為腦內啡已經瓦解了你的防衛。

of the way that anger and fear and panic,

這跟憤怒、害怕、恐慌，

all of the flight-or-fight responses, operate.

所有戰鬥或逃跑反應的作法

Flight-or-fight releases adrenalin,

是剛好相反的。

which throws our walls up sky-high.

戰鬥或逃跑反應會釋放腎上腺素，

And the comedy comes along,

大大增強我們的防衛性。

dealing with a lot of the same areas

而喜劇

where our defenses are the strongest --

正討論這些

race, religion, politics, sexuality --

我們防衛性最強的議題：

only by approaching them through humor instead of adrenalin,

種族、宗教、政治、兩性，

we get endorphins

但不是用腎上腺素而是用幽默感。

and the alchemy of laughter turns our walls into windows,

從中我們分泌腦內啡，

revealing a fresh and unexpected point of view.

且笑聲巧妙地將我們的防衛牆轉成窗口，

Now let me give you an example from my act.

而展現出新的、未預期的觀點。

I have some material

現在讓我給你我的喜劇的例子。

about the so-called radical gay agenda,

我有一些關於

which starts off by asking,

同性戀議題的資料。

how radical is the gay agenda?

一開始要問，

Because from what I can tell, the three things gay Americans seem to want most

同性戀議題有多激進？

are to join the military, get married and start a family.

因為我認為，美國同性戀們最想要做的三件事情是

(Laughter)

加入國軍、結婚、和組家庭。

Three things I've tried to avoid my entire life.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

這是我這一生一直試著避免的三件事情。

Have at it you radical bastards. The field is yours.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

拿去吧，你們這些激進的混帳，這些領域現在是你們的了。

And that's followed by these lines

（笑聲）

about gay adoption:

這接下來是這些關於

What is the problem with gay adoption?

同性戀收養的句子：

Why is this remotely controversial?

同性戀收養有什麼問題？

If you have a baby and you think that baby's gay,

為什麼這問題這麼有爭議？

you should be allowed to put it up for adoption.

如果你有個嬰兒且你認為這個嬰兒是同性戀，

(Laughter)

你應該要被允許將他放入可被收養的名單。

You have given birth to an abomination.

（笑聲）

Remove it from your household.

你生了一個被厭惡的東西。

Now by taking the biblical epithet "abomination"

把它從家裡移除。

and attaching it to the ultimate image of innocence, a baby,

現在，把這個聖經上喻為「厭惡」的東西，

this joke short circuits the emotional wiring

將它跟一個無辜的形象「嬰兒」放在一起，

behind the debate

這個笑話就在情感上短路了，

and it leaves the audience with the opportunity, through their laughter,

所以給了觀眾

to question its validity.

一個在笑聲中，可以去懷疑

Misdirection isn't the only trick

這整件事的合法性的機會。

that comedy has up its sleeve.

誤導並不是喜劇所使用的

Economy of language

唯一手段。

is another real strong suit of great comedy.

語言的精簡度

There are few phrases

也是喜劇的一個手段。

that pack a more concentrated dose of subject and symbol

很難找到

than the perfect punchline.

能比一個完美的妙語

Bill Hicks -- and if you don't know his work,

所包含的領域、意像還多的句子。

you should really Google him --

Bill Hicks，如果你不知道他的作品，

Hicks had a routine

你真的很需要Google一下他，

about getting into one of those childhood bragging contests on the playground,

Hicks有個習慣

where finally the other kid says to him,

就是喜歡用童年時在玩耍時的炫耀。

"Huh? Well my dad can beat up your dad,"

最後另外一個小孩跟他說：

to which Hicks replies,

「誒，我爸可以打贏你爸。」

"Really? How soon?"

然後Hicks回道：

(Laughter)

「真的嗎？那多快可以？」

That's an entire childhood

（笑聲）

in three words.