比拍諜報片還精彩
Very few people nowadays know what it means to “vada a dolly eek,” but if you were a gay man in 1950s England, you probably would.
時至今日，很少人知道vada a dolly eek這句話的意思，但如果你是1950年代的英國男同志，你可能就能理解了。
nowadays(adv.)如今、今日
Vada (to look), dolly (beautiful) and eek (face) are all forms of Polari, a fascinating secret language that for decades queer men in Britain used to communicate with each other.
Vada代表「看」，dolly 是「美麗的」而eek是「臉」，這些都是Polari，一種有趣的秘密語言，幾十年來，英國的男同志都用這種語言溝通。
form(n.)形式、種類fascinating(adj.)極有趣的、吸引人的decade(n.)十年queer(adj.)男同性戀的communicate(v.)溝通each other彼此
Before 1967 it was a crime for men to have sex with each other.
在1967年前，男性之間發生性關係被視為犯罪。
crime(n.)犯罪each other彼此
There was never any law against sex between women because Queen Victoria famously didn’t believe that lesbians existed.
但是對於女性便沒有類似的法規，因為維多莉亞女王不相信女同志的存在。
law(n.)法規、法條lesbian(n.)女同性戀者exist(v.)存在
However, that meant that non-straight people lived in constant fear that they could be imprisoned, fired, or beaten up, if people found out how they really felt.
然而，這也代表了非異性戀者不斷地活在恐懼之下，如果他們的同志身份被發現，可能會被抓去關、開除或被揍一頓。
straight(adj.)直的、非同性戀的constant(adj.)經常發生的fear(n.)恐懼imprison(v.)關押find out發現
Polari became an essential way for queer people to talk to each other.
在這樣的背景下，Polari成了男同志必要的溝通方式。
essential(adj.)必要的queer(adj.)男同性戀的each other彼此
The language is a mix of Italian, Yiddish, rhyming slang, and back slang (words that are pronounced backwards), and is very difficult for strangers to understand.
Polari綜合了義大利文、依地語、同韻俚語還有倒讀隱語（倒過來發音的字詞），使圈外人很難理解。
rhyme(v.)押韻、成韻slang(n.)俚語pronounce(v.)發音backwards(adv.)向後地
Gay men could use the language as a way of finding partners in public without letting everyone else know about their sexuality.
男同志使用這種語言在公共場合「尋找夥伴」，但同時也不會被其他人知道自己的性向。
sexuality(n.)性慾、性向
Polari speakers would be very secretive when using the language with someone that they had never met before.
使用Polari的人會非常小心，尤其是對初次見面的人。
secretive(adj.)不輕易透露的
However, once two gay men had confirmed each other’s sexuality, there was nothing shy about their conversations.
不過一但兩位男同志確認了彼此的性向，談話間就沒什麼需要顧忌的了。
confirm(v.)確認each other彼此sexuality(n.)性慾、性向
Friends could dish the dirt (gossip) about trade (sex), omi (men), and dilly boys (male prostitutes), all without fear of anyone understanding them.
他們可以dish the dirt（聊八卦）、trade（性事）、omi（男人）還有dilly boys（男妓），且不用害怕被其他人聽懂。
gossip(n.)八卦、流言prostitute(n.)娼妓fear(n.)恐懼
The language was most popular in the 1960s, when the BBC started a comedy radio show called Round the Horne, which featured two very flamboyant characters who spoke in Polari.
Polari在1960年代最為盛行，當時BBC開始錄製一部廣播喜劇Round the Horne，其中有兩個會講Polari三八角色。
comedy(n.)喜劇feature(v.)以⋯⋯為特色flamboyant(adj.)招搖的、賣弄的character(n.)角色
Round the Horne became so popular that at one point about nine million Britons would tune into to the show every Sunday to find out what would happen next with its two wacky, secretly gay characters.
後來Round the Horne變得很受歡迎，極盛時期，一度有約九百萬英國人會在週日收聽，想知道這兩位滑稽、未出櫃的男同志又發生了什麼趣事。
tune(v.)調頻道wacky(adj.)滑稽的secretly(adv.)秘密地character(n.)角色
As much as Round the Horne helped spread Polari, it was also part of the reason why it disappeared.
Round the Horne這個廣播劇對Polari的傳播，成了這個語言消失的原因之一。
spread(v.)散播disappear(v.)消失
Suddenly the whole country was learning how to cackle (talk), which made it less safe for gay men to use the language in public.
突然間，整個國家都會cackle（說話）了，男同志想在公共場合講Polari也不再那麼安全。
With the legalization of homosexuality in 1967 Polari vanished.
1967年同志合法化，Polari隨之消失。
legalization(n.)合法化homosexuality(n.)同性戀vanish(v.)消失
The next generation of queer Britons were not interested in protecting what they saw as a reminder of a more controlling time.
英國新一代的男同志將Polari視為舊時代的象徵，也無意保護這種語言。
generation(n.)世代queer(adj.)男同性戀的be interested in對⋯⋯有興趣protect(v.)保護reminder(n.)提醒control(v.)控制
Instead, they fought for the right to be queer in public, celebrate gay pride, and be treated as equals.
取而代之地，他們為自己的權利抗爭，舉辦同志大遊行，要讓男同志也被平等地對待。
right(n.)權利queer(adj.)男同性戀的celebrate(v.)慶祝treat(v.)對待equal(n.)同等地位
Polari was left behind.
Polari就這樣被拋之腦後。
When a UK professor did a survey of 800 gay men in the year 2000, less than half had ever heard of it.
2000年時，一位英國教授針對800位男同志進行調查，聽過Polari的人不到一半。
survey(n.)調查
Today Polari has had a bit of a comeback.
不過Polari似乎又開始被使用了。
comeback(n.)復出
Although you won’t hear many people in London gay bars palare the omee for the bevies (flirting for a drink), the language is respected as an important part of British queer history and today professors and activists are working to make sure that it is not forgotten.
雖然你不會在倫敦的同志酒吧聽到許多人palare the omee for the bevies（請人喝飲料調情），但Polari已經被視為英國男同志歷史重要的一部分，學者與社運份子也致力於保留Polari。
respect(v.)尊重queer(adj.)男同性戀的activist(n.)激進份子make sure確保
There is a Polari phrase book, a Polari Bible, and many words such as camp (girlie), butch (manly), and naff (bad) survive in everyday British English.
目前已有Polari常用語手冊、Polari聖經還有許多字詞如camp（很娘）、butch（很man）和naff（壞的）存在於現在的英式英文中。
phrase book(n.)常用語手冊survive(v.)存活
As expert Paul Baker puts it, “never has a dead language had such an interesting afterlife.”
專家保羅貝克更稱「從未有一個沒落的語言能這麼有趣地再被使用。」
afterlife(n.)死後的生活