《中英對照讀新聞》Thai princess unveils country's first royal blog 泰國公主公布泰國第一個王室網誌

◎俞智敏

In a country where the royal family rarely communicates directly with the public, Thailand's Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn could be considered a trailblazer.

在一個王室家族鮮少直接與民眾溝通的國家，泰國公主詩琳通可被視為是開路先鋒。

The 51-year-old princess launched the country's first royal blog, which she says is aimed at persuading her fellow citizens to embrace English.

這位現年51歲的公主，開設了泰國第一個王室網誌，她表示此舉目的是希望說服泰國民眾接受英語。

"We have witnessed in this past century that English has become a global language without much understanding of the process," she wrote. "Nor can we say that we really know the extent of its influence and status as the global language. But we can be sure of one thing： English can be used as a key to better understanding." The blog appears on the British Council's Web site.

「我們在上個世紀已經目睹英語成為全球通用的語言，但卻不太瞭解其中的過程，」她寫道。「我們也不確定是否真的明白英語身為全球語言的影響力及地位。但我們可以確定一件事：英語可成為增進理解的關鍵。」這個網誌出現在英國文化協會的網站上（http://access.britishcouncil.or.th）。

The only other royal in Asia known to have a Web log is Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk. His blog contains thousands of commentaries on anything from Hollywood stars to the rough-and-tumble of Cambodian politics along with historical documents and exchanges with diplomats or Cambodian politicians.

亞洲另一位已知擁有個人網誌的王族成員，則是柬埔寨前國王施亞努。他的網誌包括了數千篇評論，內容從好萊塢明星到柬埔寨的混亂政局無所不包，另外還有歷史文件，以及他和外交官員或柬埔寨政治人物的意見交換等。

Royal watchers said the Thai princess's blog was not that surprising, given that she is known to be tech-savvy and routinely e-mails intellectuals in the region.

王室觀察者表示，詩琳通公主的網誌並不令人意外，因為她向來就通曉科技，經常發電子郵件給當地的知識份子。

新聞辭典

trailblazer（trail blazer）：開拓者（同義語為pathfinder）、創始者、先驅，如︰a trailblazer in science，科學界的先鋒。

embrace：動詞，文中指抓住機會、欣然接受，如︰He embraced her offer to help him with his English.（他欣然接受她教他學英文的提議。）

rough-and-tumble：混亂的、草率的，如︰He led an adventuresome, rough-and-tumble life.（他過著充滿冒險、混亂的生活。）