2020-02-14-Why Dutch Officials Want You to Forget The Country Of Holland

For decades, the Dutch government used “Holland”and “The Netherlands” interchangeably to describe the country known for its iconic canals, tulip fields and windmills.

几十年来,荷兰政府一直交替使用Holland和Netherland来称呼这个以标志性的运河、郁金香、和风车闻名的国家。

But as of Jan. 1, the country hopes to putthat identity crisis behind it: All officials government communications andpromotional materials will use the Netherlands as its name.

但是自1月1号起,这个国家希望能将上述身份危机抛诸脑后:所有正式的政府通讯和宣传材料都将采用“尼德兰”(Netherlands)这一名称(注:中文官方译法保持“荷兰”不变)。

Research showed that many people do notknow of the Netherlands or have outdated perceptions of the country.

研究表明,许多人并没有听说过“尼德兰”(Netherlands),或者对荷兰这个国家有着过时的看法。

Historically, the region of Holland hascontributed the most to the country’s economy and wealth, resulting in its namecommonly being used to indicate the entire country. But not anymore, the Dutchgovernment insists.

从历史上看,荷兰地区(Holland)对该国的经济和财富贡献最大,因而这个名称普遍被用来代指整个国家。但荷兰政府坚持道,以后不再是了。

Marketing experts, however, were not convincedthat the rebranding was needed.

然而,市场营销专家们认为形象重塑毫无必要。

Dutch officials are trying to solve aproblem that does not exist. “From a marketing perspective, shorter is alwaysbetter so they’re fighting an uphill battle.”

荷兰官方在力图解决一个根本不存在的问题,“从市场营销的角度来看,(品牌名称)肯定是越短越好,所以荷兰政府这场仗不好打。”

interchangeably UK /ˌɪntəˈtʃeɪndʒəbli/ US /ˌɪntəˈtʃeɪndʒəbli/ adv. 相互替换地

known for 以……闻名(famous for)

iconic UK /aɪˈkɒnɪk/ US /aɪˈkɑːnɪk/ adj. 标志性的(symbolic)

icon n. 圣像;偶像;标志

the Panama Canal 巴拿马运河

the Suez Canal

苏伊士运河

tulip field 郁金香田

tulip n. 郁金香(荷兰的国花)

tulip frenzy

郁金香热,郁金香狂潮指在1636年到1637年间,荷兰出现了一股争相求购郁金香的热潮,导致郁金香价格急速上升,当时很多人变卖家财,参与到投机郁金香上。到1637年后期,郁金香泡沫爆破,很多人蒙受巨大损失,引发起历史上第一次金融危机,也就是第一次金融泡沫的诞生。

windmill UK /ˈwɪndmɪl/ US /ˈwɪndmɪl/ n. 风车

wind n. 风 mill n.磨

put sth. behind it 把……抛诸脑后

Let’s put the pastbehind it.

让我们忘记过去向前看。

identity crisis 身份危机

government communications 政府通讯(包括公告、标识、文件)

promotional materials 宣传材料

propaganda n. 宣传(尤指政治宣传)

political propaganda

政治宣传

promotion n.

宣传(尤指形象宣传、企业宣传)

know of 听说(hear of)

I don’t know her,but I know of her.

我不认识她,但我听说过她。

outdated UK /ˌaʊtˈdeɪtɪd/ US /ˌaʊtˈdeɪtɪd/ adj. 过时的(old-fashioned)

perception UK /pəˈsepʃən/ US /pərˈsepʃən/ n. 感知(impression)

perceive v. 感知

historically UK /hɪˈstɒrɪkəli/ US /hɪˈstɔːrɪkəli/ adv. 历史上地

historical adj. 历史上的

historic adj.重要的(important)

historic moment历史性的时刻

be convinced that… 被说服……;深信……

I’m convinced that…我认为……

brand n. 品牌

rebrand v重塑

fight an uphill battle 打上坡战

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