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1、13/08/2013BornAgaininaSecondLanguage-NYTimes.comAUGUST4,2013,5:15PMBornAgaininaSecondLanguageByCOSTICABRADATANInherexplorationoftheCatholicreligion,“LettertoaPriest,”writtentheyearbeforeherdeathin1943,SimoneWeilnoticedatsomepointthat“foranymanachangeofreligionisasdange
2、rousathingasachangeoflanguageisforawriter.Itmayturnoutasuccess,butitcanalsohavedisastrousconsequences.”TheRomanianphilosopherEmilCioran,whowasonesuchwriter,talksofthechangeoflanguageasacatastrophiceventinanyauthor’sbiography.Andrightlyso.Whenyoubecomeawriter,youdon’tdo
3、soinabstract,butinrelationtoacertainlanguage.Topracticewritingistogrowrootsintothatlanguage;thebetterwriteryoubecome,thedeepertheroots.Literaryvirtuosityalmostalwaysbetraysasenseofdeep,comfortableimmersionintoafamiliarsoil.Assuch,ifforanyreasonthewriterhastochangelangu
4、ages,theexperienceisnothingshortoflifethreatening.Notonlydoyouhavetostarteverythingagainfromscratch,butyoualsohavetoundowhatyouhavebeendoingforalmostaslongasyouhavebeenaround.Changinglanguagesisnotforthefainthearted,norfortheimpatient.Painfulasitcanbeatastrictlyhumanle
5、vel,theexperiencecanalsobephilosophicallyfascinating.Rarelydowegetthechancetoobserveamoredramaticremakingofoneself.Forawriter’slanguage,farfrombeingameremeansofexpression,isaboveallamodeofsubjectiveexistenceandawayofexperiencingtheworld.Sheneedsthelanguagenotjusttodesc
6、ribethings,buttoseethem.TheworldrevealsitselfinacertainmannertotheJapanesewriter,andinquiteanothertotheonewhowritesinFinnish.Awriter’slanguageisnotjustsomethingsheuses,butaconstitutivepartofwhatsheis.Thisiswhytoabandonyournativetongueandtoadoptanotheristodismantleyours
7、elf,piecebypiece,andthentoputyourselftogetheragain,inadifferentform.Tobeginwith,whenchanginglanguagesyoudescendtoazeropointofyourexistence.Theremustbeevenamoment,howeverbrief,whenyouceasetobe.You’vejustquittheoldlanguageandthenewonehasn’treceivedyouyet;youarenowinlimbo
8、,betweenworlds,hangingovertheabyss.Achangeoflanguageusuallyhappenswhenthewriterisexiledorselfexiled.Yetthephysicalexi
