馬雅人並沒有忘記閏年：英語精讀講義

Hello internet.

網際網路上的朋友們，大家好。

A lot of you sent me this image making the rounds 慣用語

許多人傳給了我這張在網路上瘋傳的圖片

which concerns the Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21st, 2012.

它與馬雅人預言世界將在2012年12月21日終結有關。

The claim is that the Mayan calendar short counted the years

該說法認為，馬雅曆法少算了年份

because they forgot about leap days so the world should have already ended. 文法

因為他們忘記了閏日，所以世界早就應該毀滅了。

This is followed by mind equals blown 文化背景

緊接著是「腦洞大開」的表情

which I'm not sure how to take.

我不太確定該怎麼理解。

Do people think that the world forgot to have its apocalypse

人們是覺得世界忘了發生世界末日嗎？

or that were it not for leap days 文法

還是覺得如果沒有閏日，

we'd be already living in the future?

我們就已經生活在未來了？

Either way,

無論如何，

it's spawned many an argument that people ask me to explain 文法

它引發了許多爭論，人們要我來解釋一下，

which I'm happy to do

我很樂意這麼做，

because my next big video was delayed by pestilence

因為我的下一個大型影片被疾病給耽擱了，

which struck me down into the depths of unproductive misery for the last few weeks. 片語動詞

這場病讓我在過去幾週裡陷入了毫無生產力的悲慘深淵。

So, if you haven't already, 文法

所以，如果你還沒看過，

please watch the related videos now as otherwise this won't make a whole lot of sense 片語搭配

請現在觀看相關影片，否則這段內容你可能不太好懂，

and there are a few corrections I'd like to make.

而且我還有幾個地方想要訂正。

The first of these is that I shouldn't have called the Mayans Mayans. 文法

第一點，我不該把馬雅人叫做 Mayans。

Maya is the correct singular and plural noun to use 文化背景

Maya 才是正確的單複數名詞形式，

in the same way that sheep is both singular and plural.

就像 sheep 這個詞單複數同形一樣。

Mayan is the name of the language and the adjective form of the word

Mayan 是語言的名稱，也是該詞的形容詞形式，

as in the Mayan civilization.

例如用在 Mayan civilization（馬雅文明）中。

Secondly, I showed a picture of the Aztec calendar stone

其次，在我的 2012 影片裡，我展示了一張阿茲特克太陽曆石的圖片，

rather than a Mayan calendar in my 2012 video

而不是馬雅曆法，

which at the time I thought was okay

當時我覺得這沒什麼問題，

because the Aztec calendar is the same as the Mayan

因為阿茲特克曆法和馬雅曆法本質是一樣的，

just with different names

只是名稱不同罷了，

sort of like the Greek and Roman gods.

就像希臘神話和羅馬神話的神靈一樣。

And frankly, the Aztec one is much cooler looking

坦白說，阿茲特克的那個看起來更酷，

but I was still wrong to show it

但展示它仍然是我的錯，

because despite naming it the Aztec calendar stone, 文法

因為儘管它被命名為阿茲特克太陽曆石，

archaeologists don't actually think it's a calendar.

考古學家實際上並不認為它是個曆法盤。

And speaking of stone, I used the term Stone Age to describe the Maya 表達脈絡

既然提到了石頭（石器），我之前用石器時代來形容馬雅人，

which made many people very angry. 文法

這讓很多人非常生氣。

For clarity, Stone Age doesn't mean stupid.

澄清一下，石器時代不代表愚蠢。

It's the technological classification of a civilization limited to stone tools.

它是指一個文明僅能使用石製工具的技術分類。

Advanced as their astronomy and mathematics were, 文法

儘管他們的天文學和數學非常先進，

the Maya never discovered metallurgy

馬雅人從未發現過冶金術，

and thus couldn't move on to the Bronze Age 片語動詞

因此無法進入青銅時代，

then the Iron Age

接著是鐵器時代，

then the Diamond Age.

還有鑽石時代。

Right, enough corrections.

好了，訂正得差不多了。

It's explanation time for this image which raises three questions.

現在該來解釋一下這張提出了三個問題的圖片了。

One, does the Mayan calendar have leap days?

第一，馬雅曆法有閏日嗎？

Two, did the Maya miscount the years?

第二，馬雅人算錯年份了嗎？

Three, should the world have already ended?

第三，世界是不是早就該毀滅了？

The answer to all of these is no. 表達脈絡

這些問題的答案全都是：沒有。

To briefly recap, leap years exist to stop seasons from drifting out of sync with the calendar, 講解

簡而言之，閏年的存在是為了防止季節與日曆脫節，

a problem that vexed Pope Gregory

這個問題讓教宗額我略很頭痛，

because every year Easter and Spring were getting further apart.

因為每年的復活節和春季差得越來越遠。

To fix this, he introduced the modestly named Gregorian calendar 語氣意圖

為了解決這個問題，他引入了以他本人謙遜命名的格里曆（公曆），

with its fancy leap year rules to keep the seasons and thus the holidays together.

搭配花俏的閏年規則，讓季節和假期保持一致。

But while Pope Gregory cared about the seasons,

但是，儘管教宗額我略很在乎季節，

the ancient Maya did not

古馬雅人卻不在乎，

presumably because where they lived the weather comes in only one season,

大概是因為在他們居住的地方，天氣只有一種季節：

too hot and too humid.

太熱和太潮濕。

So the Mayan calendar ignores seasons

所以馬雅曆法忽略了季節，

in favor of accurately tracking the days since the creation of the Mayan religion. 片語搭配

轉而精確追蹤自馬雅宗教創立以來的天數。

This renders leap years an unnecessary complication. 文法

這使得閏年成了不必要的麻煩。

Though the Mayan calendar is no stranger to complication 慣用語

儘管馬雅曆法對複雜性一點都不陌生，

with its cycles within cycles within cycles within cycles within cycles 表達脈絡

它有著一環扣一環、不斷循環嵌套的週期，

that if you're interested,

如果你感興趣的話，

Hank Green can tell you much more about.

漢克·格林能告訴你更多相關的內容。

But back to the miscounting claim 表達脈絡

但回到關於算錯年份的說法，

which comes from our idea that leap days are extra days

這種說法源自我們的一個觀念，即閏日是多出來的日子，

which of course they really aren't.

它們當然根本不是。

The Gregorian calendar doesn't give people extra days 文法

格里曆並沒有給人多出幾天，

any more than daylight saving time gives people extra sunlight.

就像夏令時間並沒有給人多出陽光一樣。

If you transported Pope Gregory a thousand years back in time 文法

如果你把教宗額我略傳送到一千年前

to meet the Mayan lady Xoc

去見馬雅的索克夫人，

and then made them count the days until this year's winter solstice, 文法

然後讓他們數一數距離今年冬至還有多少天，

they'd agree on that number

他們數出的天數會是一樣的，

because they're just counting sunrises.

因為他們都只是在數日出而已。

It's not like Pope Gregory with his clever modern calendar 語氣意圖

總不會是教宗額我略拿著他聰明的現代曆法，

would notice 500 plus days that the Lady Xoc somehow missed 語氣意圖

發現了索克夫人不知怎麼漏掉的500多天，

perhaps while distracted by the pain from her thorns through the tongue routine. 文化背景

也許是因為她正忙於忍受用帶刺繩索穿過舌頭的常規儀式所帶來的痛苦吧。

The only thing that they would disagree on is what to call that day 文法

他們唯一會產生分歧的，是如何稱呼那一天，

with Pope Gregory insisting on December 21st, 2012

教宗額我略堅持叫它 2012年12月21日，

and lady Xoc preferring the 13th baktun. 文化背景

而索克夫人更願意稱其為第13個白克頓。

So, this image is wrong

所以，這張圖是錯的，

because it's an apples-to-oranges comparison. 慣用語

因為這是拿風馬牛不相及的東西在作比較。

The Mayan calendar doesn't have leap days because it doesn't need them.

馬雅曆法沒有閏日，因為它根本不需要。

It counts days just fine and its long cycle will finish on December 21st, 2012

它算天數算得很好，其長計曆週期將在 2012年12月21日結束，

but the world will still go on. 片語動詞

但世界依然會繼續運轉。