你一直把“荷兰”用错了：英语精读讲义

Welcome to the great nation of Holland,

欢迎来到伟大的荷兰（Holland）国度，

where the tulips grow,

这里郁金香盛开，

the windmills turn,

风车转动，

the breakfast is chocolaty,

早餐满是巧克力，

the people industrious,

人民勤劳，

and the sea tries to drown it all. 習語

而大海总是试图淹没这里的一切。

Except this country isn't Holland. 表達脈絡

只不过这个国家并不叫荷兰（Holland）。

It's time for the difference between Holland,

是时候来了解一下荷兰（Holland）、

the Netherlands,

尼德兰（the Netherlands），

and a whole lot more.

以及更多概念之间的区别了。

The correct name for this tulip-growing, 語法

这个种植郁金香、

windmill-building,

建造风车、

hagelslag-eating,

吃着巧克力碎（hagelslag）、

containership-moving,

移动集装箱船、

ocean-conquering nation

征服海洋的国家的正确名称，

is the Netherlands.

是尼德兰。

But confusion is understandable.

但这种混淆是可以理解的。

The general region has been renamed a lot over a thousand years, 語法

在一千多年的时间里，这个大区被重新命名了很多次，

including as the Dutch Republic,

包括荷兰共和国（Dutch Republic）、

the United States of Belgium,

比利时合众国（United States of Belgium），

and the Kingdom of Holland.

以及荷兰王国（Kingdom of Holland）。

But it's not just history that makes this country's name confusing, 語法

不过，让这个国家的名字令人困惑的不只是历史，

because the Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces:

因为尼德兰被划分为12个省：

Groningen,

格罗宁根、

Drenthe,

德伦特、

Overijssel,

上艾瑟尔、

Gelderland,

海尔德兰、

Limburg,

林堡、

Noord Brabant,

北布拉班特、

Zeeland,

泽兰，

which by the way is the Zeeland that makes this Zeeland new, 表達脈絡

顺便说一句，正是这个泽兰让“新西兰”得以被称为“新”，

Friesland with adorable little hearts on its flag,

州旗上带有可爱小爱心的弗里斯兰、

Flevoland,

弗莱福兰、

Utrecht,

乌得勒支，

and here's the confusion,

接着容易混淆的就来了，

Noord North Holland and Zuid South Holland.

北荷兰省（Noord-Holland）和南荷兰省（Zuid-Holland）。

These provinces make calling the Netherlands Holland 表達脈絡

因为这两个省的存在，把尼德兰称作荷兰，

like calling the United States Dakota.

就像把美国称作达科他一样。

Though, unlike the Dakotas,

不过，与达科他不同，

which are mostly empty save for the occasional jackalope, 用詞

那里除了偶尔出现的鹿角兔（jackalope）外几乎空无一物，

the two Hollands are the most populated provinces

这两个荷兰省是人口最多的省份，

and have some of the biggest attractions,

并拥有一些最著名的景点，

like Amsterdam and Keukenhof.

比如阿姆斯特丹和库肯霍夫公园。

Chances are, 短語搭配

很有可能，

if it's Dutch and you've heard of it,

只要它是尼德兰的且你听说过，

it's in one of the Hollands.

它就在这两个荷兰省之一。

Even the government's travel website for the country is holland.com,

甚至该国政府的官方旅游网站也是 holland.com，

officially because it sounds friendlier, 表達脈絡

官方说法是因为它听起来更友好，

but unofficially it's probably what people are actually searching for.

但私底下，这可能正是人们实际上在搜索的词。

Confusion continues because people who live in the Hollands are called Hollanders,

混乱还在继续，因为住在荷兰省的人被称为 Hollanders（荷兰人），

but all citizens of the Netherlands are called Dutch,

但所有尼德兰的公民都被称为 Dutch，

as is their language. 語法

他们的语言也是如此。

But in Dutch, they say

但在荷兰语中，他们说

Nederlanders spreken Nederlands in Nederland,

“Nederlanders spreken Nederlands in Nederland”，

which sounds like they'd rather we call them 語法

听起来他们更希望我们称他们为

Netherlanders speaking Netherlandish.

“Netherlanders speaking Netherlandish”（说尼德兰语的尼德兰人）。

Meanwhile, next door in Germany, 習語

与此同时，隔壁的德国，

they're Deutsche sprechen Deutsch in Deutschland,

他们是“Deutsche sprechen Deutsch in Deutschland”，

which sounds like they'd rather be called Dutch.

听起来他们才更想被称为“Dutch”。

This linguistic confusion is why Americans call the Pennsylvania Dutch Dutch, 文化背景

这种语言上的混淆也就是为什么美国人把宾夕法尼亚荷兰人称为“Pennsylvania Dutch”，

even though they're Germans.

尽管他们其实是德国人。

To review,

复习一下，

this country is the Netherlands,

这个国家是尼德兰（the Netherlands），

its people are Dutch,

它的人民是 Dutch，

and they speak Dutch.

他们说的是 Dutch。

There is no country called Holland,

没有哪个国家叫荷兰（Holland），

but there are provinces of North and South Holland.

但有北荷兰省和南荷兰省。

Got it?

明白了吗？

Great, because it's about to get more complicated. 語法

很好，因为情况就要变得更加复杂了。

The Netherlands is part of a kingdom with the same name,

尼德兰是一个同名王国的一部分，

the Kingdom of the Netherlands,

即尼德兰王国（荷兰王国），

which is headed by the Dutch royal family.

由荷兰王室领导。

The Kingdom of the Netherlands contains three more countries,

尼德兰王国还包含三个组成国，

and to find them we must sail from the icy North Sea

要找到它们，我们必须从冰冷的北海起航，

to the Caribbean and Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten.

前往加勒比海，以及阿鲁巴、库拉索和圣马丁（Sint Maarten）。

These are no territories, 語法

这些不是海外领地，

but self-governing countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands,

而是尼德兰王国境内的自治国，

and as such they have their own governments and their own currencies. 表達脈絡

正因如此，它们有自己的政府和货币。

Geography geek side note here,

地理极客的补充说明：

while Aruba and Curacao are islands,

虽然阿鲁巴和库拉索是岛屿，

Sint Maarten is just the southern half of a tiny island

但圣马丁（Sint Maarten）只是一个小岛的南半部，

also named Saint Martin,

这个小岛的名字也叫圣马丁（Saint Martin），

the other half of which is occupied by France 語法

它的另一半被法国占据，

and also named Saint Martin.

名字同样叫圣马丁。

So, despite being separated by Belgium on the European map, 語法

所以，尽管在欧洲地图上被比利时隔开，

the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Republic

尼德兰王国和法兰西共和国

share a border on the other side of the world 短語搭配

却在世界的另一端共享着一段边界，

on an island so nice they named it thrice. 語法

在一个美妙到被命名了三次的岛屿上。

But why does the Kingdom of the Netherlands reach to the Caribbean anyway?

但是，为什么尼德兰王国的版图会延伸到加勒比海呢？

Because empire. 表達脈絡

因为帝国。

In the 1600s,

在17世纪，

the Dutch, always looking to expand business,

总是寻求扩张商业版图的荷兰人，

laid their hands on every valuable port they could. 習語

将手伸向了他们所能触及的每一个有价值的港口。

For a time,

曾有一段时间，

America's east coast was New Netherland

美国东海岸是“新尼德兰”（New Netherland），

with its capital city of New Amsterdam.

首都是新阿姆斯特丹。

There was New Zealand, as mentioned previously,

如前所述，还有新西兰，

and nearby the king of the islands, New Holland.

以及附近的岛国之王“新荷兰”（澳大利亚）。

Though the empire is gone,

尽管帝国已经不复存在，

these three Caribbean nations remain.

但这三个加勒比国家依然保留了下来。

And while four countries in one kingdom isn't unheard of, 習語

虽然一个王国里有四个国家并非前所未闻，

it doesn't stop there 習語

但事情并没有就此结束，

because the country of the Netherlands also extends its borders

因为尼德兰这个国家也把边界

to the Caribbean and three more islands:

延伸到了加勒比海以及另外三个岛屿：

Bonaire,

博奈尔、

Sint Eustatius,

圣尤斯特歇斯、

and Saba.

和萨巴。

These are not countries in a kingdom,

它们不是王国里的组成国，

but are cities in the country of the Netherlands,

而是尼德兰这个国家里的城市，

and they look the part. 習語

并且看起来也名副其实。

Residents of these far-flung cities vote in elections 用詞

这些偏远城市的居民能在选举中

for the Dutch government just as any Hollander would, 語法

为荷兰政府投票，就像任何一个荷兰省居民一样，

though weirdly they don't belong to any province

尽管奇怪的是它们不属于任何一个省，

and they don't use the Dutch currency of euros,

它们也不使用荷兰的货币欧元，

they use dollars instead.

而是使用美元。

It's kind of like if Hawaii wasn't a state, 短語搭配

这就好像夏威夷不是一个州，

but technically part of the District of Columbia

而是在名义上属于哥伦比亚特区，

all the while using yen. 短語搭配

同时还在使用日元。

These cities of the country of the Netherlands

尼德兰这个国家的这些城市

and these countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

和尼德兰王国里的这些国家

are together known as the Dutch Caribbean, 短語搭配

合在一起被称为“荷属加勒比”，

and their citizens are Dutch citizens,

它们的公民都是荷兰公民，

which because the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a member of the European Union,

而因为尼德兰王国是欧盟成员国，

means that these Dutch Caribbeans are also Europeans.

这意味着这些荷属加勒比人同样也是欧洲人。

So, in the end,

所以，总结来说，

there are six Caribbean islands,

有6个加勒比海岛屿，

four countries,

4个组成国，

12 provinces,

12个省，

two Hollands,

2个荷兰（Holland），

two Netherlands,

2个尼德兰（the Netherlands），

and one Kingdom,

和1个王国，

all Dutch.

全都属于“Dutch”（荷兰的/尼德兰的）。