Would you Adam and Eve it?
奧運會上的「倫敦音」？
It’s a safe bet that some 200 countries and regions competing in the London Olympics are represented in the British capital.
保守地說，有來自200多個國家和地區的代表團在本屆倫敦奧運會上一決勝負。
But who will represent London? One of the city’s oldest and signature communities is trying not to get lost in the *clamor.
但是誰能代表倫敦呢？整個城市中最古老和最具代表性的群體正試圖在喧囂中表明自己的地位。
Cockneys have been proud residents of London’s East End for centuries – and they want to make sure the world knows it.
考克尼人是多個世紀以來自豪的倫敦東區市民?——並且他們想要全世界都知道這一點。
Traditionally, a Cockney is anyone 「born within the sound of Bow bells」 – the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church in the heart of medieval London. It’s usually taken to mean a working-class native Londoner.
在傳統意義上，考克尼人指的是「出生時能聽到聖瑪麗-勒-波教堂鐘聲的人」——該教堂位於中世紀時倫敦的中心地帶。它通常泛指土生土長的東倫敦區工人。
Cockneys speak in a distinctive accent. East Enders, as they are often called, use a distinctive form of rhyming slang, in which 「would you believe it」 becomes 「would you Adam and Eve it?」
考克尼人的口音與眾不同。人們常常稱他們為「倫敦東區人」，他們使用獨特的同韻俚語(同韻俚語使用一個與單詞押韻的短語代替這個單詞)。比如把「would you believe it（你相信嗎？）」說成「would you Adam and Eve it（「Adam and Eve」是倫敦東部地區的押韻俚語，與「believe」是相同意思。）
*Pearlies
盛裝的倫敦小販
*Flamboyantly dressed figures with their black costumes covered in thousands of pearl buttons - does that ring a bell?
這些身穿綴滿珠母紐扣的黑色服飾、盛裝打扮的小販，是不是讓你覺得很熟悉？
They are probably among the most recognizable Cockney symbols – the so-called Cockney royalty: Pearly Kings and Queens.
他們或許是最鮮明的考克尼象徵之一——這就是所謂的「考克尼皇室」：珠母紐王和王后。
Organized by local officials before the Olympics, these 「Kings and Queens」 met journalists and guests in an East End pub to help raise some awareness for the Cockney culture.
奧運會開幕之前，在當地官員的組織下，這些「國王和王后」們在東區的一家酒吧裡同諸位記者和來客見面，藉此讓人們了解考克尼文化。
The 「pearlies」 have their origins a century ago in a street sweeper named Henry Croft, who adapted the button-festooned clothes worn by London apple-sellers to help draw attention to his charity *fundraising.
這些「穿著綴滿珠母紐扣節日盛裝的倫敦小販」的歷史可以追溯到一個世紀之前，那時有位名叫亨利?克羅夫特的清潔工。他將倫敦蘋果商販所穿的以紐扣鑲邊的服裝加以改造，以吸引人們來參加他的募捐活動。
Today, pearlies across London elaborately decorate hand-sewn outfits to raise money for charity. Many pass their honorary Cockney titles on from parent to child. But they worry their traditions may soon be lost.
如今，為了籌錢做慈善，整個倫敦的盛裝小販精心裝飾著一件件手工縫製的服裝。許多小販將這種象徵榮譽的考克尼人頭銜傳給下一代。但他們還是擔心這種傳統文化不久將消亡。
「We are dying out,」 said Jimmy Jukes, the Pearly King of Bermondsey and Camberwell in south London. 「A lot of people think we’re just about fancy dress.」
「我們這種傳統瀕臨衰退，」來自倫敦南部坎伯威爾和柏孟塞區的「珠母紐王」吉米?朱克思如是說。「很多人認為我們只是喜歡穿著花哨罷了。」
Changing times
時代在變
Some believe the distinctive Cockney brand of English is also in danger of dying out. In today’s East End, the children of immigrants speak with Cockney accents, but their slang is as likely to come from American *jargon.
有些人相信，與眾不同的考克尼英語也面臨著消亡的危險。在如今的倫敦東區，雖然外來移民家庭的孩子說的是考克尼口音，但是他們說的俚語可能來自美國方言。
Yet most Londoners recognize that 「apples and pears」 is a slang for stairs or 「trouble and strife」 means wife, even if they wouldn’t use the expressions themselves.
然而大多數的倫敦人還是能夠辨別出俚語「蘋果和梨」指的是樓梯（編輯註：pears和stairs押韻），「麻煩和衝突」指的是妻子（編輯註：strife和wife押韻），儘管他們自己可能不會使用這些表達。
But don’t count the Cockneys out just yet. This is a community that’s proud of its *resilience. East Enders, after all, withstood the bulk of wartime bombing and personify Britain’s 「Blitz Spirit」.
但是，不要忽視考克尼人。這是一個以堅韌為榮的群體。畢竟這些倫敦東區人經受住了戰火的考驗，而且賦予了大不列顛的「閃電戰精神」。
Local resident Vicky Groves hopes to share that culture with the world during the Summer Games.
作為土生土長的考克尼人，維奇?格洛夫斯希望借夏季奧運會之機，與全世界分享考克尼文化。
「All eyes are on London,」 she said. 「I think it’s great to be able to say, we』ve got traditions that go back hundreds of years.」
「全世界都注視著倫敦，」她說。「我們有著幾百年的傳統，我想這樣向世界宣告是再合適不過的了。」