Anyone who has learned a foreign language knows how uncomfortable the experience can be .
学过外语的人都知道，这个过程可能有多么让人不自在。
But learning a new language is also enjoyable , meaningful and humorous .
但学习一门新语言也是愉快、有意义且充满趣味的。
The play “English ” explores those ideas and more .
话剧《English》探讨了这些以及更多主题。
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 .
这部喜剧讲述了四名伊朗学生在高级英语班准备参加托福（TOEFL，检定非英语为母语者的英语能力考试）的故事。
The play is set in Iran over the course of one term .
该剧以伊朗为背景，时间跨度为一个学期。
The students are all adults with different English abilities and different reasons for taking the class .
学生都是成年人，英语水平各不相同，上课的理由也各不相同。
Elham is hoping to go to medical school in Australia but must first pass the TOEFL .
埃勒哈姆希望去澳大利亚读医学院，但必须先通过托福考试。
She has already failed the test five times and sometimes seems to hate English .
她已经考了五次都没通过，有时似乎很讨厌英语。
Goli is the youngest of the group .
戈莉是这群人中最年轻的。
Of all the students , she is the most excited about learning the language .
在所有学生中，她学英语的热情最高。
Roya wants to learn English so she can communicate with her grandchildren who live in Canada .
罗娅想学英语，好和住在加拿大的孙辈们交流。
And Omid is already very good at English .
而奥米德的英语已经非常好了。
It is unclear why he wants to be in the class .
不清楚他为什么想来上这门课。
The teacher , Marjan , lived in Britain for several years .
老师玛尔詹曾在英国生活过几年。
But she is worried about losing her fluency .
但她担心自己的英语会变得不再流利。
“English ” was first released in New York City in 2022 .
《English》于2022年在纽约市首演。
It began showing in Washington , D.C ., in January .
该剧于1月开始在华盛顿特区上演。
It finishes its run in the nation's capital on March 12 .
该剧在美国首都的演出将于3月12日结束。
“English ” recently won the Obie Award for Best New Play .
《English》最近获得了奥比奖最佳新剧奖。
The Obie awards honor theater that is off-Broadway .
奥比奖表彰的是外百老汇戏剧。
“I wanted to capture that , but I also wanted to honor how funny , textured , and sometimes contradictory Iranians (and all of us ) can be .”
“我想捕捉这一点，但我也想展现伊朗人（以及我们所有人）可以多么风趣、丰富，有时又多么矛盾。”
The students in the class play word games , listen to English-language songs , and watch American romantic comedies .
班上的学生们玩文字游戏、听英文歌，还看美国浪漫喜剧片。
Marjan has banned the use of Farsi in the class .
玛尔詹禁止在课堂上说波斯语。
But the rule is often broken .
但这条规定经常被打破。
The play is entirely in English .
该剧全部用英语演出。
But through changing their voices , the characters show that they are "speaking " Farsi .
但通过改变说话方式，角色们表明自己在“说”波斯语。
When the students speak English , they do so in a strong Persian accent .
学生们说英语时，带着浓重的波斯口音。
Their sentences are often simple , because they are learning and speaking a foreign language .
因为他们是在学习和使用外语，所以句子往往很简单。
Words are spoken incorrectly .
单词的发音也不正确。
But when the characters speak English in a perfect American accent , that means to the audience that they are speaking Farsi .
但当角色们用完美的美式口音说英语时，观众就知道他们其实是在说波斯语。
When the characters speak Farsi , also called Persian , they can communicate much more clearly and can better express themselves .
当角色们说法尔西语，也就是波斯语时，他们能更清楚地交流，也能更好地表达自己。
The play explores how one's personality can change or even be lost when speaking a foreign language .
该剧探讨了一个人在说外语时，性格会如何改变甚至丧失。
It also deals with how speaking a different language can make a person question their sense of identity .
它还涉及说另一种语言会如何让人质疑自己的身份认同。
Elham , who is a proud person , feels shame when she speaks English .
自尊心很强的埃勒哈姆在说英语时感到羞愧。
When speaking English , Elham says she feels “like idiot ” (“Like an idiot ,” Marjan , the teacher , corrects her ).
埃勒哈姆说，说英语时她觉得自己“like idiot”（老师玛尔詹纠正她说，应该是“Like an idiot”，像个傻瓜）。
Marjan says she feels more like herself when she speaks English .
玛尔詹说，她说英语时更像她自己。
But Roya does not feel like she can have an honest discussion with her son in English .
但罗娅觉得，她无法用英语和儿子进行坦诚的交谈。
Tara Grammy is the actor who plays Elham .
塔拉·格拉米是饰演埃勒哈姆的演员。
She was born in Iran and raised in Canada .
她出生在伊朗，在加拿大长大。
Unlike the character Elham , Grammy enjoys learning languages .
与角色埃勒哈姆不同，格拉米很喜欢学语言。
She speaks both English and Farsi fluently and also knows some German and French .
她能流利地说英语和波斯语，还懂一些德语和法语。
Grammy told VOA , “Different parts of us come out in different languages when you're multilingual .”
格拉米告诉美国之音：“当你会说多种语言时，不同的语言会展现出我们不同的一面。”
She said that English , which she is most skilled in , is the language of her intellect .
她说，她最擅长的英语是她的理性语言。
Farsi is her language of love , she said .
她说，波斯语是她表达爱的语言。
“When I see a baby or I see a dog or something I speak to them in Persian ,” Grammy said .
格拉米说：“我看到婴儿、小狗之类的，就会用波斯语跟它们说话。”
In the play , Goli says she likes English because it is like rice—you can make it however you would like .
剧中，戈莉说她喜欢英语，因为它就像米饭——你想怎么做都行。
It is much different than Farsi , which she says always tries to sound like poetry .
这和波斯语大不相同，她说波斯语总是想听起来像诗一样。
“English is simple , it's to the point .
“英语简单，直截了当。
It's accessible , it's universal .
它容易掌握，具有普遍性。
Whereas Persian is absolutely poetry .
而波斯语则完完全全是诗。
It's complex ,” she said .
它很复杂。”她说。
“You could learn English from reading a book ,” she added .
她补充说：“你可以通过读书学英语。”
“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 .”
“但我觉得波斯语必须跟人学，因为它层次太丰富了……一个短语就可能有10种不同的意思。”
Grammy thinks personality is not lost when speaking different languages .
格拉米认为，说不同的语言并不会让人失去个性。
Instead , she said , “the more languages you know the more access you have to expressing different sides of yourself .”
相反，她说：“你会的语言越多，就越能表达出自己不同的一面。”