Gotham is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, south of Nottingham and north-east of Kegworth.(摘自维基百科Wikipedia - <Gotham, Nottinghamshire>)
正如最近把《哥谭市》翻译为《哥谭镇》的某些翻译工作者所熟知的那样,“Gotham”最初源于英国诺丁汉郡哥谭镇(Gotham village)
哥谭镇地理位置图示,摘自Wikipedia:
“...name derived from Old English ‘gat’ –meaning ‘goat’– and ‘ham’ –‘home’. So the name ‘Gotham’ literally means the ‘homestead where goats are kept.’ And it was originally pronounced ‘Goat-em’ ”
(摘自“哥谭市档案”Gotham City Archives - <Gotham City History: The Origin of “Gotham”>)
而“Gotham”一词来源于古英语中的“Gat”(山羊)及“Ham”(家园),所以"Gotham"原本读音为“Gat-em”,即“牧养山羊的家园”或“山羊村”。尽管未(lan)找(de)到(zhao)资料支持,我们由此完全可以猜测,联合王国下辖的哥谭镇最初得名于其支柱产业——畜牧业。
“The story goes that King John intended to travel through the neighbourhood. At that time in England, any road the king travelled on had to be made a public highway and the people of Gotham did not want a public highway through their village. The villagers feigned imbecility when the royal messengers arrived.” (源于<Noodles, Nitwits and Numbskulls>,Kurt Werth著, Dell Pub Co于1979年出版)
可是,在历史的长河中,莫名奇妙的事情比比皆是。从12至13世纪开始,哥谭镇的名称由原本的“山羊村”逐渐衍生出“愚人村”的译意。这一名称内涵上的改变之根本原因早已无法深究,不过广为流传的故事是(摘自维基百科):
“英国国王约翰希望能游历王国的疆土。可是在当时的英国,任何国王所走过的道路都必须被划为公共驰道,而哥谭镇的居民不愿让一条公共驰道穿过自己祥和宁静的小镇,于是便机智地每次在皇家信使到来时装作愚蠢粗野的样子。”
“Wherever the messengers went, they saw the rustics engaged in some absurd task. John... determined to have his hunting lodge elsewhere, and the wise men boasted, ‘we ween there are more fools pass through Gotham than remain in it’.”(源于G. Seal, <Encyclopedia of folk heroes> (ABC-CLIO, 2001), 页272-273)
“每当皇家信使抵达哥谭镇之时,他们总能目睹镇民们表现出各种令人心塞的白痴行为(读者请自行脑补)。于是约翰王最终决定绕路巡狩。故而’哥谭市的智者‘们嘲讽道:’从这里经过的蠢货们比住在这里的蠢货还要多得多。‘
所以,具有讽刺意味地,”哥谭镇智者“便成为了对哥谭镇镇民"愚蠢特质"的传统嘲笑性称呼。
”Salmagundi lampooned New York culture and politics in a manner much like today*s Mad magazine. It was in the November 11, 1807 issue that Irving first attached the name ’Gotham‘ to New York City, based on the alleged stupidity of the people of Gotham, Nottinghamshire.“ (摘自维基百科Wikipedia,资料源自<Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898> Burrows, Edwin G. 及 Mike Wallace著,Oxford University Press于1999年出版,页417)
历史的车轮滚滚前行,1807年11月11日光棍节,著名散文家、历史学家、外交家华盛顿·艾文首次在纽约流行文化及政治讽刺杂志《杂录》(Salmagundi)中使用”哥谭“来称呼纽约,以将纽约市民的愚昧无知与诺丁汉郡哥谭镇镇民的传统名声相类比。
从此开始,”哥谭市“便逐渐流行起来,成为纽约最为著名的昵称之一,在大部分美国人心目中,尤其是美国人心目中,”哥谭市“就是纽约。
下图为2000年1月2日,纽约市市长于一封对全体居民的公开信中使用”哥谭市“称呼纽约之例证,而这不过是公共媒体及政治人物广泛使用”哥谭市“一名的无数实例之一:
(图片摘自BBC新闻-诺丁汉:<The real Gotham: The village behind the Batman stories>)