Eric Yip詩作《摩擦音》試譯

摩擦音

Eric Yip

要說一口得體的英語，李老師說，你必須掌握

“三”和“自由”之間的差別。三個人

乘橡皮艇從惡魔島逃出，在去往天使島的路上

溺亡。聼得出區別嗎？再試試：

你撕開一條通往存在的路。更好了些。請看

這圖片。新鮮的黃色穀物遭擊打，

直至種子湧出。那是脫粒。那是

臣服。在你學習之前，

你必須先學會臣服。在你可以開口之前

你必須先被賜予聲音。沒有人想要聼

一個有香港口音的男孩出盡洋相。

你將不得不離開這城市，這些深色的犁溝裏

塞滿了祖先的遺骨。要知道

死亡貫徹始終。你將談及瘀傷的身體

比你更爲瘦骨嶙峋，驅使筆尖行過棍

與血，將它當作寫作的新鮮素材。現在

他們關心了。你足夠幸運，

可以在意舌頭是如何移動的，七種

摩擦音，牙齒的發音功能

無法存活。你將在海外受優良的教育

使你的父母驕傲。你將

把陌生人的屌塞進嘴裏，在尿滑的隔間

那骯髒的廣東菜館，你愛這裏，品嘗著

你來自的地方，畢竟是造就你的東西。

下點力氣吧，他低聲吼著。快點，咬我

幾下。你的母親在某個十月來訪，告訴你

這裏的人都談吐不同，更爲得體。

你笑了，點頭，帶她去你最喜歡的餐廳，

用英語要了點心。五年前他們釋放了

被捕的學生。請再來一點

豉油，謝謝。電視重播

回放昨日。茶壺重又倒滿。你把米飯舀進

嘴裏，這完美的米飯。

蒸熟的，完美的，白色的。

Fricatives by Eric Yip

To speak English properly, Mrs Lee said, you must learn

the difference between three and free. Three men

escaped from Alcatraz in a rubber raft and drowned

on their way to Angel Island. Hear the difference? Try

this: you fought your way into existence. Better. Look

at this picture. Fresh yellow grains beaten

till their seeds spill. That's threshing. That's

submission. You must learn to submit

before you can learn. You must be given

a voice before you can speak. Nobody wants to listen

to a spectacled boy with a Hong Kong accent.

You will have to leave this city, these dark furrows

stuffed full with ancestral bones. Know

that death is thorough. You will speak of bruised bodies

skinnier than yours, force the pen past batons

and blood, call it fresh material for writing. Now

they're paying attention. You're lucky enough

to care about how the tongue moves, the seven types

of fricatives, the articulatory function of teeth

sans survival. You will receive a good education

abroad and make your parents proud. You will take

a stranger's cock in your mouth in the piss-slick stall

of that dingy Cantonese restaurant you love and taste

where you came from, what you were made of all along.

Put some work into it, he growls. C'mon, give me

some bite. Your mother visits one October, tells you

how everyone speaks differently here, more proper.

You smile, nod, bring her to your favourite restaurant,

order dim sum in English. They're releasing

the students arrested five years ago. Just a tad more

soy sauce please, thank you. The television replays

yesterday on repeat. The teapots are refilled. You spoon

served rice into your mouth, this perfect rice.

Steamed, perfect, white.