头图《Wind》,摄影:Danny Wong,《国家地理》杂志
现代的“风力发电机”是个舶来品,在很多时候,“风”似乎也有些许异域风情,Wind 只是风的通用英文名称,除此之外,它还有7个更好听的名字。侧耳倾听,你听,它们还在沙沙作响呢!
1-Sirocco
西罗科(Sirocco)是一种炎热的沙漠风,从撒哈拉沙漠向北吹向欧洲的地中海沿岸。更广泛地说,它用于任何类型的热、压抑的风。
她一开始就说,罗马是一个令人悲伤的地方。
She had begun by saying that it was coming over her, after all, that Rome was a ponderously sad place.
西罗科轻轻地吹着,空气很沉重,她很累,她看起来有点苍白。
The sirocco was gently blowing, the air was heavy, she was tired, she looked a little pale.
— Henry James, Roderick Hudson, 1875
2-Aeolian
Aeolian与希腊风的守护者和风神岛的国王风神有关(如荷马作品中所描述的),风神的意思是“发出或以呻吟或叹息的声音或音乐音调为标志,由风产生或仿佛由风产生”或“由风携带、沉积、产生或侵蚀”。
然后我突然想到......爬上其中一棵树以获得更广阔的视野并让我的耳朵靠近其最顶端树枝的风神音乐将是一件好事。
Then it occurred to me … that it would be a fine thing to climb one of the trees to obtain a wider outlook and get my ear close to the Aeolian music of its topmost branches.
— John Muir, 1874, quoted in Donald Worster, A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir, 《对自然的热情:约翰·缪尔的生平》,2008
3-Gale
Gale(大风)是指在蒲福标度上测量在每小时 32 到 63 英里的范围内的气流。更一般地说,它泛指任何强风:
在这个林克斯式的球场上,秋天的大风猛烈地吹过沼泽地——如此猛烈,以至于一个失误的射击可以像流氓回旋镖一样向你袭来。
On this links-style course, autumn gales blow fiercely across the moors - so fiercely that a misstruck shot can turn on you like a rogue boomerang.
— Joseph P. Kahn, The Boston Globe《波士顿环球报》, 11 Nov. 2001
4-Zephyr
西风向另一位风神致敬:西风,希腊西风之神,现在可以指任何微风。
那是一个平静而美好的一天,只有轻微的西风吹拂着水面,沙沙作响,岸边的树林沙沙作响,温暖足以向她的孩子们证明大自然的善良。
It was a calm and beautiful day, with only a slight zephyr to ripple the surface of the water, and rustle the woods on shore, and just warmth enough to prove the kindly disposition of Nature to her children.
— Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers《康科德河和梅里马克河上的一周》, 1849
威廉·莎士比亚(William Shakespeare)在1611年的戏剧《Cymbeline》中使用了zephyr:
“你是神圣的本性,你自己/在这两个王子男孩身上闪耀着光芒!它们就像紫罗兰下吹来的西风一样温柔。
"Thou divine Nature, thou thyself thou blazon'st / In these two princely boys! They are as gentle / As zephyrs blowing below the violet."
5-Squall
Squall(飑)描述了突然的狂风,通常伴随着雨或雪。这个词就像争吵一样,被认为起源于斯堪的纳维亚,也许也可以恰当地指代短暂的骚动或喧闹的哭泣。
一场突如其来的狂风吹来,船一瘸一拐地驶向了烧焦岛,那里的一些人坚持要过夜,而不是再次冒险进入波涛汹涌的水域。
A sudden squall blew up and the boat limped to Burnt Island where some of the party insisted on remaining the night rather than risk the choppy waters again.
— Dan MacCarthy, Irish Examiner(爱尔兰考官), 24 Mar. 2023
6-Wuther
Wuther 是英语方言中的一个动词,今天没有太多用处。它的意思是“用沉闷的咆哮声吹奏”,它几乎只出现在艾米莉·勃朗特 1847 年的小说《呼啸山庄》( Wuthering Heights)的标题中。
7-haboob
Haboob 源自阿拉伯语,指的是猛烈的沙尘暴或沙尘暴。这个词最初适用于苏丹的此类风暴,但后来扩展到涵盖其他沙漠地区的类似风暴。
沙尘暴,技术上称为沙尘暴,在西南沙漠最常见,但偶尔会出现在平原甚至玉米带的部分地区。在国际上,它们分布在北非、阿拉伯半岛、中亚和中国,但它们甚至出现在澳大利亚和南美洲。
Dust storms, which are technically called haboobs, are most common in the Desert Southwest, but can make occasional appearances on the Plains and even in parts of the Corn Belt. Internationally, they're found in northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, central Asia and China, but they have even occurred in Australia and South America.
— Matthew Cappucci, The Washington Post《华盛顿邮报》, 2 May 2023
参考文献
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/7-words-names-for-different-types-of-wind
[2] https://mostbeautifulpicture.com/2017/09/13/wind/