每日英語 #155: Theater or Theatre? 戲院還是劇院？

2024/10/19閱讀時間約 7 分鐘

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Theater or Theatre? 戲院還是劇院？

Spelling can be a major problem for people learning English, and it doesn’t help that different “varieties” (types) of English have different spellings for the same word. A “case in point” (example) is the word “theater.”

對於學習英語的人來說，拼寫可能是個大問題，而且不同的英語“種類”（類型）對於相同的單詞有不同的拼法，這並不會讓情況變得更簡單。以“theater”這個單詞為“例”（例子）。

In the U.S., most of the time, we use the word “theater” to mean the place where we go to see movies, plays, and other performances. In British English, people use “theatre.”

在美國，我們大多數時候使用“theater”這個單詞來表示我們去看電影、戲劇和其他表演的場所。而在英式英語中，人們則使用“theatre”。

However, just to make it more “complicated” (not simple), sometimes Americans use “theatre” as well. According to some “sources” (places where information is found), in the U.S., “theater” refers to the building where a play or performance is held, and “theatre” refers to the play or show itself.

然而，讓情況變得更“複雜”（不簡單）的是，有時美國人也會使用“theatre”。根據一些“資料來源”（信息來源），在美國，“theater”指的是上演戲劇或表演的建築，而“theatre”則是指戲劇或表演本身。

Unfortunately, the way that Americans use this word is not so “clear-cut” (definite; easy to define). British English has a high level of “status” (level of respect) in the U.S. When many Americans hear British English, they think of things or people who are “educated,” “high class,” “formal,” and more. And because the British spellings of words are a large part of this country’s early beginnings, we sometimes use the British English spellings to associate with those British “roots” (beginnings; origins) and/or to sound old-fashioned or “stately” (having a respectable or dignified appearance).

不幸的是，美國人使用這個單詞的方式並不那麼“清晰明確”（明確的；容易定義的）。英式英語在美國有很高的“地位”（尊重程度）。當許多美國人聽到英式英語時，他們會聯想到“受過教育的”、“高貴的”、“正式的”等事物或人。此外，英式拼寫也是美國早期歷史的重要組成部分，因此我們有時會使用英式拼法來聯繫這些英國“根源”（起源），或者是為了聽起來更“古典”或“莊重”（具有尊嚴或莊重外表）。

So when we write about going to see a play, we’ll almost always use “theater,” but some playhouses will use the spelling of “theatre” for their building or group, perhaps to make us think of those positive British “associations” (connections). For example, in Los Angeles “alone” (only), you can see performances at The El Rey Theatre, the Nokia Theatre, the Pantages Theatre, and the Orpheum Theatre, among others.

因此，當我們寫到去看戲時，通常會使用“theater”這個單詞，但某些劇院會使用“theatre”的拼法來命名他們的建築或團體，可能是為了讓我們聯想到這些積極的英國“聯想”（聯繫）。例如，在洛杉磯“單單”（僅僅）就有The El Rey Theatre、Nokia Theatre、Pantages Theatre和Orpheum Theatre等場地。