Anyone who has learned a foreign language knows how uncomfortable the experience can be .
學過外語的人都知道，這個過程可能有多麼讓人不自在。
But learning a new language is also enjoyable , meaningful and humorous .
但學習一門新語言也是愉快、有意義且充滿趣味的。
The play “English ” explores those ideas and more .
舞台劇《English》探討了這些以及更多主題。
The comedy is about four Iranian students in an upper-level English class preparing to take the TOEFL , the Test of English as a Foreign Language .
這部喜劇講述了四名伊朗學生在高級英語班準備參加托福（TOEFL，檢定非英語為母語者的英語能力考試）的故事。
The play is set in Iran over the course of one term .
該劇以伊朗為背景，時間跨度為一個學期。
The students are all adults with different English abilities and different reasons for taking the class .
學生都是成年人，英語程度各不相同，上課的理由也各不相同。
Elham is hoping to go to medical school in Australia but must first pass the TOEFL .
埃勒哈姆希望去澳洲讀醫學院，但必須先通過托福考試。
She has already failed the test five times and sometimes seems to hate English .
她已經考了五次都沒通過，有時似乎很討厭英語。
Goli is the youngest of the group .
戈莉是這群人中最年輕的。
Of all the students , she is the most excited about learning the language .
在所有學生中，她學英語的熱情最高。
Roya wants to learn English so she can communicate with her grandchildren who live in Canada .
羅婭想學英語，好和住在加拿大的孫輩們交流。
And Omid is already very good at English .
而奧米德的英語已經非常好了。
It is unclear why he wants to be in the class .
不清楚他為什麼想來上這門課。
The teacher , Marjan , lived in Britain for several years .
老師瑪爾詹曾在英國生活過幾年。
But she is worried about losing her fluency .
但她擔心自己的英語會變得不再流利。
“English ” was first released in New York City in 2022 .
《English》於2022年在紐約市首演。
It began showing in Washington , D.C ., in January .
該劇於1月開始在華盛頓特區上演。
It finishes its run in the nation's capital on March 12 .
該劇在美國首都的演出將於3月12日結束。
“English ” recently won the Obie Award for Best New Play .
《English》最近獲得了奧比獎最佳新劇獎。
The Obie awards honor theater that is off-Broadway .
奧比獎表彰的是外百老匯戲劇。
“I wanted to capture that , but I also wanted to honor how funny , textured , and sometimes contradictory Iranians (and all of us ) can be .”
「我想捕捉這一點，但我也想展現伊朗人（以及我們所有人）可以多麼風趣、豐富，有時又多麼矛盾。」
The students in the class play word games , listen to English-language songs , and watch American romantic comedies .
班上的學生們玩文字遊戲、聽英文歌，還看美國浪漫喜劇片。
Marjan has banned the use of Farsi in the class .
瑪爾詹禁止在課堂上說波斯語。
But the rule is often broken .
但這條規定經常被打破。
The play is entirely in English .
該劇全部用英語演出。
But through changing their voices , the characters show that they are "speaking " Farsi .
但透過改變說話方式，角色們表明自己在「說」波斯語。
When the students speak English , they do so in a strong Persian accent .
學生們說英語時，帶著濃重的波斯口音。
Their sentences are often simple , because they are learning and speaking a foreign language .
因為他們是在學習和使用外語，所以句子往往很簡單。
Words are spoken incorrectly .
單字的發音也不正確。
But when the characters speak English in a perfect American accent , that means to the audience that they are speaking Farsi .
但當角色們用完美的美式口音說英語時，觀眾就知道他們其實是在說波斯語。
When the characters speak Farsi , also called Persian , they can communicate much more clearly and can better express themselves .
當角色們說法爾西語，也就是波斯語時，他們能更清楚地交流，也能更好地表達自己。
The play explores how one's personality can change or even be lost when speaking a foreign language .
該劇探討了一個人在說外語時，性格會如何改變甚至喪失。
It also deals with how speaking a different language can make a person question their sense of identity .
它還涉及說另一種語言會如何讓人質疑自己的身分認同。
Elham , who is a proud person , feels shame when she speaks English .
自尊心很強的埃勒哈姆在說英語時感到羞愧。
When speaking English , Elham says she feels “like idiot ” (“Like an idiot ,” Marjan , the teacher , corrects her ).
埃勒哈姆說，說英語時她覺得自己「like idiot」（老師瑪爾詹糾正她說，應該是「Like an idiot」，像個傻瓜）。
Marjan says she feels more like herself when she speaks English .
瑪爾詹說，她說英語時更像她自己。
But Roya does not feel like she can have an honest discussion with her son in English .
但羅婭覺得，她無法用英語和兒子進行坦誠的交談。
Tara Grammy is the actor who plays Elham .
塔拉·格拉米是飾演埃勒哈姆的演員。
She was born in Iran and raised in Canada .
她出生在伊朗，在加拿大長大。
Unlike the character Elham , Grammy enjoys learning languages .
與角色埃勒哈姆不同，格拉米很喜歡學語言。
She speaks both English and Farsi fluently and also knows some German and French .
她能流利地說英語和波斯語，還懂一些德語和法語。
Grammy told VOA , “Different parts of us come out in different languages when you're multilingual .”
格拉米告訴美國之音：「當你會說多種語言時，不同的語言會展現出我們不同的一面。」
She said that English , which she is most skilled in , is the language of her intellect .
她說，她最擅長的英語是她的理性語言。
Farsi is her language of love , she said .
她說，波斯語是她表達愛的語言。
“When I see a baby or I see a dog or something I speak to them in Persian ,” Grammy said .
格拉米說：「我看到嬰兒、小狗之類的，就會用波斯語跟牠們說話。」
In the play , Goli says she likes English because it is like rice—you can make it however you would like .
劇中，戈莉說她喜歡英語，因為它就像米飯——你想怎麼做都行。
It is much different than Farsi , which she says always tries to sound like poetry .
這和波斯語大不相同，她說波斯語總是想聽起來像詩一樣。
“English is simple , it's to the point .
「英語簡單，直截了當。
It's accessible , it's universal .
它容易掌握，具有普遍性。
Whereas Persian is absolutely poetry .
而波斯語則完完全全是詩。
It's complex ,” she said .
它很複雜。」她說。
“You could learn English from reading a book ,” she added .
她補充說：「你可以透過讀書學英語。」
“But I feel like Persian you have to learn from people , because it's so layered and … just one phrase could mean 10 different things .”
「但我覺得波斯語必須跟人學，因為它層次太豐富了……一個短語就可能有10種不同的意思。」
Grammy thinks personality is not lost when speaking different languages .
格拉米認為，說不同的語言並不會讓人失去個性。
Instead , she said , “the more languages you know the more access you have to expressing different sides of yourself .”
相反，她說：「你會的語言越多，就越能表達出自己不同的一面。」