Who Were the Barbarians? barbarians为谁？

欧文·贾鲁斯　王骁

Barbarians—a word that today often refers to uncivilized people or evil people and their evil deeds—originated in ancient Greece， and it initially only referred to people who were from out of town or did not speak Greek.

Today， the meaning of the word is far removed from its original Greek roots. A poignant example comes from a 2012 speech given by then U.S. President Barack Obama in New York City. “When a little boy is kidnapped， turned into a child soldier， forced to kill or be killed—thats slavery. When a little girl is sold by her impoverished family—girls my daughters age—runs away from home， or is lured by the false promises of a better life， and then imprisoned in a brothel and tortured if she resists—thats slavery. It is barbaric， and it is evil， and it has no place in a civilized world，” he said.

When Obama used the term “barbaric，” he was not referring to people from outside New York City or non-Greek-speaking people but rather to acts of evil in general. Indeed， the meaning of the word barbarian has changed dramatically over time and， in fact， the word did not always have a negative meaning for everyone.

Greek origins

The word “barbarian” is derived from the ancient Greek word β?ρβ?ρο? which was used 3，200 years ago when a civilization that modern-day scholars called “Mycenaean” ruled much of Greece， writes Juan Luis Garcia Alonso， a Classics professor at the University of Salamanca， in a paper published in the book “Identity（ies）： A multicultural and multidisciplinary approach”.

The word was written on clay tablets found at Pylos， a large Mycenaean city on the Greek mainland. “In the Pylos clay tablet collection we do find the word simply applied， apparently， to people from out of town，” wrote Alonso.

A number of scholars have argued that the “bar-bar” in the word “barbarian” may be an attempt to imitate a stammering voice which， presumably， some non-Greek speakers might sound like to someone who speaks Greek.

By “the archaic period1 [2，700 years ago] there is no doubt that one of the major meanings of the word was linguistic： the Barbarians were those who did not speak Greek，” writes Konstantinos Vlassopoulos， a professor of history and archaeology at the University of Crete， in his book “Greeks and the Barbarians”.

Non-Greek speaking people could be friendly or hostile. The Persians who invaded Greece were referred to as “barbarians” in Herodotus （lived fifth century B.C.） description of their battle against a Spartan led force at Thermopylae.

Vlassopoulos notes that the ancient Greeks sometimes used the word in a confusing and contradictory fashion. One problem they had is that there was no agreement among the ancient Greeks as to who spoke Greek and who didnt， at least up until around the time of Alexander the Great. There “existed a variety of local and regional dialects， which were mutually comprehensible to a larger or smaller degree，” writes Vlassopoulos.

Barbarians and Rome

The meaning of the word “barbarian” would change somewhat when Romans （many of whom did not speak Greek） used the word to refer to all foreigners， especially the wide variety of people who were encroaching on their borders.

These barbarians were never united. Some pillaged the Roman Empire while others became its allies. There were numerous groups， and their allegiances changed over time.

“Rome dealt actively with， among others， Goths， Vandals， Herules， Sueves， Saxons， Gepids， as well as Sarmatians， Alans， Huns， Avars， Picts， Carpi and Isaurians，” writes Walter Goffart， a senior research scholar and lecturer at Yale University， in his book “Barbarian Tides： The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire”.

The most famous “barbarian” from this period was， arguably， Attila the Hun. He ruled a vast empire that controlled other barbarian groups. At the start of his rule he allied himself with the Romans against the Burgundians （another “barbarian” group）. Then， later on， he turned against the Romans and marched against them in France. The Romans then allied themselves with the Visigoths （also “barbarians”） and defeated Attila.

The word “barbarian” did not have a negative meaning for everyone in the Roman Empire. Around A.D. 440， the Christian priest Salvian wrote that “almost all barbarians， at least those who are of one race and kin， love each other， while the Romans persecute each other.” He noted that many poor Romans turned to the “barbarians” for help. “They doubtless seek Roman humanity among the barbarians， because they cannot bear barbarian inhumanity among the Romans.”

Who is a barbarian？

Among modern-day scholars， and among the general public， the definition of barbarian gets even more tangled and confusing.

“If there is one characteristic that civilizations have in common， it is their ideological need to defend themselves not just against their own enemies， but against the enemies of civilizations， the ‘barbarians，” writes Nicola Di Cosmo， of the Institute for Advanced Study， in his book “Ancient China and Its Enemies： The Rise of Nomadic Powers in East Asian History”. “This opposition between civilization and its enemies can be recognized as one of the great ongoing themes that we encounter in world history.”

For instance the Chinese used terms that are sometimes translated into English as “barbarian” to describe people who they fought against such as the Yi.

Some people consider the Vikings to be “barbarians，” even though they had advanced sailing techniques that allowed them to colonize Iceland and sail to the New World.

Today， some people even consider medical treatments that were used in ancient times as “barbaric” even though they are still used today.

To the ancient Greeks， a barbarian was someone from out of town or did not speak Greek， regardless of whether that person had good or bad intentions. The term has changed throughout time to a point where the ancient Greeks probably wouldnt recognize it. Presidential speechwriters， take note.

barbarians——一个现今常指未开化之人或邪恶之人及其恶行的词——起源于古希腊，它原本仅指来自城外或不讲希腊语的人。

如今，这个词的含义已经与其原本的希腊词根相去甚远。一个令人心酸的例子就出自时任美国总统的奥巴马于2012年在纽约市发表的演讲，他说：“当一个小男孩被劫持，变为童军，被逼杀人或者被杀——那就是奴役。当一个小女孩——和我女儿一般大的女孩——被她贫穷的家庭卖掉从而离家出走，或因为被美好生活的虚假许诺所引诱，然后被囚禁在妓院，稍有反抗就饱受折磨——那就是奴役。这是野蛮的，是邪恶的，这在文明的世界中无处容身。”

当奥巴马用barbaric这一词时，他并非指那些来自纽约市外的人或非希腊语使用者，而是泛指邪恶的行径。确实，barbarian这一词的意义随时间推移发生了极大的变化，而且事实上，这个词并非对所有人都是贬义的。

希腊词源

萨拉曼卡大学古典学教授胡安·路易斯·加西亚·阿隆索在一篇刊于《身份：多文化与多学科研究》的论文中写道，barbarian一词源于3200年前的古希腊语β?ρβ?ρο?，而彼时的希腊大部分正处在被当代学者称之为“迈锡尼”的文明统治之下。

这个词刻在泥版上，发现于地处希腊大陆的迈锡尼大型城市皮洛斯。阿隆索写道：“在皮洛斯的泥版群中，我们确实发现这个词显然仅指那些来自城外的人。”

许多学者认为，barbarian一词中的bar-bar可能是试图模仿打磕巴，或许在说希腊语的人听来，这正像是某些非希腊语使用者的说话方式。

克里特大学的历史和考古教授康斯坦丁诺斯·弗拉索普洛斯在其著作Greeks and the Barbarians中说，截至“古风时代（2700年前），这个词的主要含义之一无疑是语言学上的：barbarians指那些不讲希腊语的人”。

非希腊语的使用者可為友亦可为敌。希罗多德（生活于公元前5世纪）就把入侵希腊并在温泉关与一支斯巴达人麾下的军队交战的波斯人称为barbarians。

弗拉索普洛斯注意到古希腊人在这个词的用法上有时让人迷惑且自相矛盾。问题之一是哪些人讲希腊语而哪些人不讲，这在古希腊人中并未达成一致，这种情况至少持续到亚历山大大帝时代前后。他写道，“多种多样的地方方言或多或少是能够互相理解的”。

barbarians与罗马

当罗马人（其中许多不讲希腊语）用barbarian指代所有外国人，尤其那些蚕食他们边境的各色人等时，这个词的含义就稍稍起了变化。

这些barbarians从未联合到一起。对罗马帝国来说，一些是劫掠者而其余则是盟友。他们的群体数量众多，忠诚也随着时间变化。

耶鲁大学高级研究员和讲师沃尔特·戈法特在其著作Barbarian Tides： The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire写道，“其中与罗马积极往来的有哥特人、汪达尔人、赫鲁利人、苏维汇人、撒克逊人、格皮德人以及萨尔马特人、阿兰人、匈奴、阿瓦尔人、皮克特人、卡皮人和伊苏里亚人”。

此时期的barbarian当中，最负盛名的可说是匈奴王阿提拉。他统领着一片偌大的帝国，其下管辖着多支barbarian部族。在统治伊始，他与罗马人结盟对抗勃艮第人（另一支barbarian）。随后，他将矛头转向罗马人并在法国向其进军。而罗马人后来与西哥特人（同属barbarian）结盟打败了阿提拉。

barbarian一词在罗马帝国时代并非对每个人都是贬义。公元440年左右，基督教教士萨尔维安写道“几乎所有的barbarians，至少那些同族同脉的都相亲相爱，而罗马人却相互迫害”。他指出许多贫穷的罗马人转而向barbarians求助。“他们无疑在那些人当中寻求罗马式的人性，因为他们无法容忍罗马人如那些人一样人性泯灭。”

barbarian为谁？

barbarian的定义在当代学者和普罗大众当中甚至变得更加复杂和令人困惑。

高等研究院的尼古拉·迪科斯莫在其著作《古中国及其敌人：东亚历史中游牧势力的崛起》中写道，“如果各文明拥有一个共同的特点，那就是它们需要在意识形态上保卫自己，不仅抵御它们自身的敌人，更是抵御文明的敌人，即那些barbarians”。他还说：“这种文明与其敌人之间的对立，可以看作我们在世界历史中遇到的最为持久的主题之一。”

比如，中国人对其敌人的称呼“夷”，有时可以英译成barbarian（野蛮人）。

即便维京人凭借先进的航行技术殖民了冰岛并驶到了“新世界”，他们仍被一些人看作barbarians。

虽然古时使用的治疗手段今天仍旧在用，但仍有人将这些手段视为barbaric（野蛮的）。

对古希腊人而言，无论其意图好坏，barbarian指来自城外或不讲希腊语的人。岁月流逝，这个词的变化之大可能连古希腊人都认不出来了。为总统撰写演讲稿的人，要当心了！

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）