Likened to a weather forecast crossed with a church hymn, Switzerland’s national anthem could be binned in favor of a new version if campaigners get their way.
Too heavy on God and Alpine vistas, the anthem fails to reflect today’s values and has never been etched into the national psyche, critics say.
“Nobody knows the words! Anyone who tells you they do is a liar. Or else we manage the first few and afterwards we go ‘la, la, la,’” said Pierre Kohler, president of the jury holding an unofficial competition to choose a new anthem.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
Ditching anthems is usually associated with wars and revolutions — think France’s Marseillaise — none of which applies to peaceful, stable Switzerland.
But on Jan. 1, however, organizers kicked off a contest to find a new anthem, open to all and with a first prize of 10,000 Swiss francs (US$11,140). “Personally, I think a national anthem can be changed every 50 or 100 years. It’s not a major problem. On the contrary, it allows people to think,” said Kohler.
The goal is to submit a text to the government by 2016, potentially paving the way for a referendum in this nation of eight million people, renowned for its direct democracy.
“We don’t take issue with the tune, which is quite beautiful,” said Jean-Daniel Gerber, chairman of the Swiss Society for Public Good, the 203-year-old association which masterminded the competition. “The problem is the lyrics. The author had in mind a psalm, not a national anthem,” he said.
(Liberty Times)
被形容成結合天氣預報和教會讚美詩的瑞士現行國歌，很可能會被換掉改成新版，假如推動換國歌的運動人士能夠順利如願的話。
批評者表示，現行國歌內容太偏重上帝和阿爾卑斯山景色，無法反映現代價值，也從未被銘刻在瑞士人的民族心靈中。
舉行新國歌比賽的非官方評審團主席皮耶‧柯勒表示：「根本沒人知道歌詞！那些自稱知道歌詞的人都是騙子。我們只勉強記得前幾句，後面就只好一直『啦啦啦』下去。」
更換國歌通常都與戰爭和革命有關，例如法國的《馬賽曲》，但這並不適用於和平、安定的瑞士。
但一月一日，運動人士展開一項徵求新國歌的比賽，所有人都可參加，首獎是一萬瑞士法郎（一萬一千一百四十美元）。柯勒說：「以我個人而言，國歌可以每五十年或一百年更換一次。這不是個大問題。相反地，這讓大家有機會省思。」
比賽的目標是在二０一六年前提出新國歌歌詞給政府，並為新國歌公投鋪路，人口八百萬的瑞士素以直接民主制度著稱。
「我們對國歌的旋律沒有意見，其實旋律相當優美，」已有兩百零三年歷史的瑞士公益協會主席葛伯說，該協會正是新國歌比賽的幕後策劃者。「問題在於歌詞。作者當時要寫的是一首讚美詩，而不是國歌，」他說。
（自由時報／翻譯：俞智敏）
Long before modern highways crossed Taiwan’s rugged landscape, Chiayi’s Alishan Forest Railway pioneered the way through the mountains. Its tracks wound through a large forest of tall trees, offering stunning views of the region’s natural beauty. Let’s get aboard now and let the train carry us back to the early days of the railway, when the tracks were first laid through this wooded forest. After Japan took control of Taiwan in 1895, the government recognized the value of Alishan’s wood, but transporting timber from such rough terrain was no easy task. The railway skillfully dealt with the steep slopes
A: The Golden Melody Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award will go to both musician Bruce Wong and late singer Jeff Ma. B: Some superstars also won this honor in the past, such as late singer Teresa Teng. A: Speaking of Teresa, have you heard that an unreleased Japanese song of hers was found recently? B: Really? Will the song be released? A: Yes, her track Love Song in the Night Fog is set to be released this month, marking the 30th anniversary of the legendary singer’s death. A: 本屆金曲獎特別貢獻獎頒給樂手翁孝良、已故歌手馬兆駿。 B: 以往有不少超級巨星，像是已故歌后鄧麗君也曾獲此殊榮唷。 A: 說到鄧麗君，你有聽說她生前未發布的日文歌曲被發現了嗎？ B: 真的嗎？新歌會公開嗎？ A: 這首歌《情歌最愛夜霧時》預計本月發布，正好紀念傳奇歌后去世30週年！ （By Eddy
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Uneasy voices started to ripple through the lines of anxious students outside the school gate. “No signal?” “VPN’s down too.” “Wait — is this a cyberattack?” Nothing loaded on Jun’s phone either. Not his AI tutor, Echo. Not any app. Not even the Internet. Jun stood shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other students outside the school gate. It was national exam day and the early July air was thick with heat and now charged with anxiety. The scene of everyone’s head hunched over their phones, cramming vocab,
1. 他的父母要他不要再犯這樣嚴重的錯誤。 ˇ His parents told him not to make such serious mistakes again. ˇ His parents suggested that he should not make such serious mistakes again. ˇ His parents told him that he should not make such serious mistakes again. χ His parents told him do not make such serious mistakes again. 註︰祈使句變成間接引語，通常用複合受詞表達。試比較下列直接引語和間接引語： “Be careful,” he advised. He advised me to be more careful. He said to me, “Don’t do this again.” He told me not to do that again. “Get it ready,” he ordered us. He ordered us to get it ready. 在這種句子裏用什麼詞作述詞，要根據所引句子的口氣來決定。在 tell, suggest, order 等後面也可接受詞從屬句。 2. 我問他那漂亮女孩是誰。 ˇ I asked him who that beautiful girl was. χ I asked him who
RSS