Language is the soul of cultural expression. For a multilingual writer, the most fundamental decision is about which language to write in. Many non-native speakers of English are drawn to it for its practical advantages and artistic possibilities. As a native Chinese writing in English, I remain fascinated by this matter, for it touches the very essence of culture and identity.语言是文化表达的灵魂。对于一位多语种作家而言，最根本的决定在于选择用哪种语言进行写作。许多非英语母语者因其实际优势和艺术可能性而被英语所吸引。身为以中文为母语却用英语写作的作者，我对此事仍充满好奇，因为它触及了文化和身份的本质。![]()
I was born and raised on the banks of the Yangtze River and my tongue bathed in the cadences of Nanjing dialect; I didn't start learning English until I was 22.我出生在长江之畔，并在那里长大，我的舌尖浸润在南京方言的韵律之中；直到22岁，我才开始学习英语。Why write in English then, you may ask. More than 30 years ago, when I was living in Oxford, England, a Chinese publisher invited me to write a book about the Western image of Mao Zedong, which was planned to coincide with the centenary of his birth. I eagerly accepted, excited to discover if and how Western views of the chairman would mirror broader Western perceptions of China.你可能会问，那为什么要用英语写作呢？30多年前，当我住在英国牛津时，一位中国出版商邀请我撰写一本关于西方毛泽东形象的书，计划与他的百年诞辰相契合。我欣然接受，急于探究西方对这位主席的看法是否会以及如何反映西方对中国的更广泛认知。Painstaking research ensued as I spent countless hours in the Bodleian Library and interviewed Westerners from various walks of life. However, my completed manuscript didn't make it past Chinese censors, for being "too negative". While grieving for my stillborn brainchild, I came to a decision: from that moment on, I would write in English, a language that would free me from the grip of censorship. To seal my decision, I even began keeping a diary in English.我随后进行了艰苦卓绝的研究，在博德利图书馆度过了无数个小时，并采访了来自各行各业的西方人。然而，我完成的稿件因“过于负面”而未能通过中国审查机构的审核。在为这个胎死腹中的作品哀悼时，我做出了决定：从那一刻起，我将用英语写作，这是一种能让我摆脱审查束缚的语言。为了坚定我的决心，我甚至开始用英语写日记。And writing in English turned out to be a liberation – politically and creatively. My adopted language allowed me to explore and express thoughts and ideas in ways that Chinese didn't always permit. For example, in my memoir "Socialism is Great!", a sex scene would have been far less explicit had I written it in Chinese.事实证明，用英语写作是一种政治上和创作上的解放。我所采用的语言让我能够以中文并不总是允许的方式探索和表达思想和观点。例如，在我的回忆录《社会主义好！》中，如果我用中文写作，那么性爱场景的描述就会含蓄得多。Our culture, deeply influenced by Confucianism, often treats sexual matters with prudence and veils romantic feelings in layers of restraint. The relationship between a writer and their working language is always intriguing and complex, a dance with one's culture and identity. For me, English represents hope. At 16, I was taken out of school and put to work in a rocket factory by my poverty-stricken family. Bored to death while greasing machine parts, I decided to teach myself English as a means of escape. Not particularly gifted, I struggled to learn a new language, but persevered. My only sanctuary within the factory compound was a rubbish dump around the corner from my workshop. So whenever I could, I would go there to study. There, despite the buzzing flies and the stench rising from rotten food, I could feel the walls around me crumbling and my horizons expanding. English changed my life; I didn't just learn my ABC, but an entire package of Western culture.深受儒家思想影响的中国文化，往往对性事持谨慎态度，并将浪漫情感隐藏在层层克制之下。作家与其工作语言之间的关系总是引人入胜且复杂，是与自身文化和身份共舞的过程。对我来说，英语代表着希望。16岁时，因家境贫寒，我被迫辍学，在一家火箭工厂工作。在给机器零件抹油的过程中，我无聊至极，决定自学英语作为逃离的方式。我并无特别天赋，在学习新语言的过程中举步维艰，但坚持不懈。工厂区里，我唯一的避风港是车间拐角处的一个垃圾堆。因此，只要有机会，我就会去那里学习。在那里，尽管苍蝇嗡嗡作响，腐烂的食物散发出恶臭，我却能感受到周围的壁垒在崩塌，视野在开阔。英语改变了我的生活；我不仅学会了字母表，还掌握了一整套西方文化。![]()
That said, I don't believe that writing in another language makes me any less Chinese. Identity is rooted in one's cultural background and personal experience. By the time I picked up English in my 20s, my sensibility – indeed, my core identity – had already been shaped. It is Chinese, and will remain so. In my writing, I deliberately borrow from Chinese syntax, metaphors and antiquated sayings, hoping to create a unique voice that reflects my hybrid identity.也就是说，我并不认为用另一种语言写作就会让我变得不那么中国。身份根植于文化背景和个人经历之中。在我20多岁开始学习英语时，我的感性——事实上，我的核心身份——已经定型。它是中国的，并将永远如此。在我的写作中，我刻意借鉴中文句法、隐喻和古老谚语，希望能创造出一种反映我混合身份的独特声音。Jhumpa Lahiri, the American writer born to Bengali parents in England, also found liberation in a new language. In her memoir In Other Words, written in Italian, she reflects on her journey of learning the language, and how she feels a sense of freedom in Italian that she does not in English.朱帕·拉希里（Jhumpa Lahiri）是一位出生于英国的孟加拉裔美国作家，她也从一种新的语言中找到了解放。在她的回忆录《In Other Words》中，她用意大利语写下了自己学习这门语言的过程，以及她如何在意大利语中感受到一种在英语中没有的自由感。![]()
Writers choose or reject languages for different reasons. In a poignant essay titled "To speak is to blunder", my fellow Chinese-born writer Yiyun Li describes how she "disowned" her mother tongue as a way to detach herself from certain cultural and emotional burdens. For Vladimir Nabokov, the Russian emigre author renowned for his lyricism in English, the switch to writing in a second language was an experience tinged with sorrow. He famously said in an interview: "My private tragedy, which cannot, indeed should not, be anybody's concern, is that I had to abandon my natural language, my natural idiom".作家们出于不同的原因选择或拒绝某种语言。在一篇题为《To speak is to blunder》的感人文章中，我的同胞作家李翊云描述了她如何“放弃”母语，以此摆脱某些文化和情感负担。对于以英语抒情著称的俄罗斯移民作家弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫（Vladimir Nabokov）来说，改用第二语言写作是一种夹杂着悲伤的经历。他在一次著名的访谈中说：“我的个人悲剧，确实不应该，也不可能是任何人所关心的，那就是我不得不放弃我的自然语言，我的自然表达。”My own choice of English was forced upon me by circumstance. My switch to English was challenging and has been rewarding, but I have also paid a price: losing a potential readership in my motherland. In a globalised world where an increasing number of Chinese-born writers live and work abroad, more are also writing in English, notably Xiaolu Guo, Yang Huang and Ling Ma. For these authors, English may serve as a bridge, a way to communicate across cultures while still infusing their work with elements of their Chinese identity. To which I say: may a hundred flowers bloom. Language, like identity, need not be singular or fixed. Writing in English has meant both loss and gain for me – it is a way of expressing my Chinese soul to the world.我选择英语是环境使然。转向英语写作对我来说是一项挑战，但也有所收获，不过我也付出了代价：失去了在祖国潜在的读者群。在全球化背景下，越来越多出生在中国的作家在国外生活和工作，其中也有越来越多的人用英语写作，尤其是郭小橹、黄杨和马凌云。对于这些作者来说，英语可能是一座桥梁，一种跨越文化进行交流的方式，同时也在他们的作品中融入了中国身份的元素。对此，我想说：百花齐放春满园。语言，如同身份一样，不必是单一或固定的。用英语写作对我来说既有失去也有收获——这是我向世界表达中国灵魂的一种方式。President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, to serve as his White House press secretary. Leavitt, 27, currently a spokesperson for Trump's transition, would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Previously that distinction went to Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the position in 1969 in Richard Nixon's administration.当选总统唐纳德·特朗普于周五任命其竞选团队新闻发言人卡罗琳·莱维特担任白宫新闻秘书。现年27岁的莱维特目前担任特朗普过渡团队的发言人，她将成为历史上最年轻的白宫新闻秘书。此前保持这一纪录的是罗纳德·齐格勒，他1969年在理查德·尼克松政府担任该职位时年仅29岁。"Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary," Trump said in a statement. "Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again."特朗普在一份声明中表示：“卡罗琳·莱维特在我的历史性竞选活动中担任国家新闻秘书时表现出色，我很高兴地宣布她将担任白宫新闻秘书。卡罗琳聪明、坚韧，已经证明了自己是一位高效的沟通者。我坚信她将在讲台上大放异彩，并帮助我们把信息传递给美国人民，让我们共同实现‘让美国再次伟大’的目标。”![]()
Leavitt replied in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "Thank you, President Trump, for believing in me. I am humbled and honored. Let's MAGA," the acronym for "Make America Great Again."莱维特在X（前身为推特）上的一篇帖子中回复道：“谢谢你，特朗普总统，谢谢你相信我。我深感荣幸。让我们共同实现‘让美国再次伟大’吧。”The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps.白宫新闻秘书通常作为政府的公众面孔，历史上会每天为媒体记者举行新闻发布会。Trump disrupted those norms in his first term, preferring to serve as his own chief spokesperson. While he was president from 2017 to 2021, Trump had four press secretaries but frequently preferred to engage directly with the public, from his rallies, social media posts and his own briefings.特朗普在其第一任期内打破了这些惯例，更喜欢亲自担任首席发言人。在2017年至2021年担任总统期间，特朗普虽然有四位新闻秘书，但他经常更喜欢通过集会、社交媒体帖子和自己的新闻发布会直接与公众交流。![]()
At a news conference this past August, Trump was asked if he'd have regular press briefings in his new administration. He told reporters, "I will give you total access and you'll have a lot of press briefings and you'll have, uh, from me."在今年8月的一次新闻发布会上，特朗普被问及他的新政府是否会定期举行新闻发布会。他告诉记者：“我会让你们完全接触到我，你们会有很多新闻发布会，而且你们会……从我这里得到很多信息。”When it came to a press secretary, he said: "Probably they'll do something. If it's not daily, it's going to be a lot. You'll have more than you want."谈到新闻秘书时，他说：“他们可能会做些事情。如果不是每天，那也会有很多。你们会得到比想要的还多的信息。”![]()
Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, is seen as a staunch and camera-ready advocate for Trump who is quick on her feet and delivers aggressive defenses of the Republican in television interviews. She worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
莱维特是新罕布什尔州人，被视为特朗普的坚定支持者和镜头前的得力助手，她反应迅速，在电视采访中为共和党人进行了有力的辩护。在加入特朗普2024年竞选团队之前，她曾担任支持特朗普的超级政治行动委员会“MAGA公司”的发言人。2022年，她在新罕布什尔州竞选国会席位，在10人参加的共和党初选中获胜，但最终输给了现任民主党众议员克里斯·帕帕斯。
During Trump's first term in office, Leavitt worked in the White House press office. She then became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, whom Trump has tapped to serve as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump's first press secretaries, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, were known for quarreling with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the White House press briefing room.
在特朗普第一任期内，莱维特曾在白宫新闻办公室工作。后来，她成为纽约州共和党众议员伊莱丝·斯特凡尼克的通讯主管，特朗普已提名斯特凡尼克担任美国驻联合国大使。特朗普的前几位新闻秘书肖恩·斯派克和萨拉·哈克比·桑德斯因与记者争吵而闻名。另一位发言人斯蒂芬妮·格里沙姆从未举行过新闻发布会。她的继任者凯莉·麦克纳尼在白宫新闻发布厅露面时经常对新闻媒体进行说教。
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