外国人最想和你聊的文化话题：结婚
- 双语介绍
- 关键词句
- Let's Talk！
Realize the Meaning of Getting Married 认识婚姻的意义
1 婚姻的意义Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding ceremony, may also be called matrimony.
People marry for many reasons, including one or more of the following: legal, social, emotional, economical, spiritual, and religious. These might include arranged marriages, family obligations, the legal establishment of a nuclear family unit, the legal protection of children and public declaration of commitment. The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved. In some societies these obligations also extend to certain family members of the married persons. In cultures that allow the dissolution of a marriage this is known as divorce.
Marriage is usually recognized by the state, a religious authority, or both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution irrespective of religious affiliation, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction.
Various cultures have had their own theories on the origin of marriage. One example may lie in a man's need for assurance as to paternity of his children. He might therefore be willing to pay a bride price or provide for a woman in exchange for exclusive sexual access. Legitimacy is the consequence of this transaction rather than its motivation. In Comanche society, married women work harder, lose sexual freedom, and do not seem to obtain any benefit from marriage. But nubile women are a source of jealousy and strife in the tribe, so they are given little choice other than to get married.
2 结婚周年的表达方式
Paper wedding 纸婚、布婚（结婚一周年）
Calico wedding 棉布婚（结婚两周年）
Straw wedding 稻草婚（结婚两周年）
Cotton wedding 棉婚（结婚两周年）
Muslin wedding 羊皮婚（结婚三周年）
Leather wedding 皮革婚（结婚三周年）
Silk wedding 丝婚（结婚四周年）
Wood wedding 木婚（结婚五周年）
Tin wedding 锡婚（结婚十周年）
Linen wedding 麻纱婚（结婚十二周年）
china wedding 瓷婚(结婚二十周年)
Silver wedding 银婚（结婚二十五周年）第一大典
Pearl wedding 珍珠婚（结婚三十周年）
Ruby wedding 红宝石婚（结婚四十周年）
Sapphire wedding 蓝宝石婚（结婚四十五周年）
Golden wedding 金婚（结婚五十周年）第二大典
Emerale wedding 翠玉婚（结婚五十五周年）
Diamond wedding 钻石婚（结婚六十-七十五周年）
中国：1年纸婚；2年棉婚；3年皮婚；4年花果婚；5年木婚；6年糖婚；7年手婚；8年古铜婚；9年陶器婚；10年锡婚；11年钢婚；12年丝婚；13年花边婚；14年象牙婚；15年水晶婚；18年石榴石婚；20年瓷婚； 25年银婚；30年珍珠婚；35年珊瑚婚；40年红宝石婚；45年蓝宝石婚；50年金婚；55年绿宝石婚；60年金刚钻婚；70年白金婚；80年钻石婚。
英国：1年一纸婚；5年一木婚；10年一锡婚；12年一皮革婚；20年一瓷婚；25年一银婚；30年一象牙婚；40年一绒毛婚；45年一丝绸婚；50年一金婚；75年一钻石婚。
In Morocco, it used to be the norm for marriages to be arranged by one's parents; however, this is no longer the case.
以前在摩洛哥，子女的婚事都是由父母包办的，如今这种情形已不复存在。
Young Moroccans today merely need the blessing of their parents to marry whom they choose.
现在的摩洛哥青年男女仅需要得到父母的认可就可以同自己选择的对象共结连理。
It's a shotgun wedding.
那是一个先上车后补票的婚礼。
Are you ready to get married? During their teens and 20's, people change considerably.
你准备好了吗？--在人还是十几、二十几岁的时候，往往非常善变。
Finances - Do you have enough money to get married? Getting married can be expensive.
财务问题--你够钱结婚吗？结婚可是很贵的。
Life outside of marriage - Having a life outside of your partner is vital, and it is important to maintain your identity rather than to lose yourself in your mate.
婚姻之外--有一点婚姻之外的生活至关重要，在婚姻之外调节你自己远胜于在婚姻中迷失自己。
Know your odds-Statistics have shown couples who lived together before they were married, those who were previously married, and those without a college education are more likely to get a divorce.
做到心中有数--调查显示，那些有婚前同居经历或曾经结过婚的，以及学历不太高的夫妇今后离婚的可能性更大。
Weddings are so important in China that couples are willing to fork out about 20 times their monthly income on getting hitched and everything that comes with it.
结婚在中国是件大事，因此，中国的新人们不惜花费约相当于月收入20倍的"重金"来置办婚礼。
China's newly-weds in urban areas spend 126,600 yuan (16,600 U.S. dollars) on average in 2006 when getting hitched.
2006年，中国城镇地区新人的结婚开支平均为12.66万元人民币（1.66万美元）。
The survey said the wedding expenditure was only a small share of the overall marriage cost as most Chinese young couples in the cities tended to buy an apartment and a car before tying the knot.
调查显示，婚礼支出只是结婚总花销的一小部分，因为城市地区的大多数新人在结婚前还要买房买车。
About 8.49 million couples got married in China in 2006.
2006年，我国登记结婚人数约为849万对。
Marriage is one of the most basic life changes for people of all cultures.
婚姻对于各种文化的人而言都是最基本的生活变化之一。
"I do." to Americans those two words carry great meaning.
"我愿意。"这句话对美国人来说包含深远的意义。
Traditionally, a young man asks the father of his sweetheart for permission to marry her.
在传统上，年轻男子先要请求女朋友的父亲允许自己娶她。
If the father agrees, the man later proposes to her. Often he tries to surprise her by "popping the question" in a romantic way.
如果女方的父亲答应，然后男方才能向女方求婚。男方时常尝试以罗曼蒂克的方式"蹦出这个问题"，想给女方一个惊喜。
The man usually gives his fiancée a diamond ring as a symbol of their engagement.
男方通常会送给未婚妻一只钻石戒指作为订婚的象征。
Today many couples also receive counseling during engagement. This prepares them for the challenges of married life.
今天，许多未婚夫妻在订婚期间还听取咨询意见，以此为应付婚姻生活的挑战做好准备。
The Bride traditionally wears "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue".
按传统习惯，新娘的穿着要包括"一点旧的，一点新的，一点借来的和一点蓝色的东西"。
Several close friends participate in the ceremony as attendants, including the best man and the maid of honor.
新郎则穿着一套正式的西装或无尾晚礼服。几位亲密的朋友参与婚礼作为陪伴，包括伴郎和伴娘。
Finally the minister announces the big moment: "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride!"
最后，牧师宣布重大时刻的到来："我现在宣布你们成为夫妻。你可以亲吻你的新娘！"
At the wedding reception, the bride and groom greet their guests. Then they cut the wedding cake and feed each other a bite.
在结婚喜宴上，新娘和新郎向宾客表示欢迎。然后他们切开结婚蛋糕并互喂对方一口。
The bride throws her bouquet of flowers to a group of single girls. Tradition says that the one who catches the bouquet will be the next to marry.
新娘将她的花束投向一群单身女孩。相传抓到花束的女孩会成为下一个结婚的人。
Li Mei: Did you know that, a long time ago, weddings were arranged by the parents? The bride and groom only met on their wedding day.
李梅：你知道吗，很久以前的婚姻都是父母包办的。到结婚那天，新郎新娘才见面。
Susan: Ah, what would they do if they didn't like each other?
苏珊：啊，要是不喜欢那人怎么办？
Li Mei: Nothing. Women couldn't divorce their husbands at that time.
李梅：那也没有办法啊，女人还不能要求离婚。
Susan: What a pain to live with somebody you don't like.
苏珊：和不喜欢的人在一起生活，那多痛苦啊。
Li Mei: My grandparents' wedding was arranged by their parents, but they are very happy.
李梅：我爷爷奶奶结婚就是他们的父母包办的，不过他们过得很幸福。
Susan: People don't do that now, right?
苏珊：现在不会这样了吧？
Li Mei: Yeah. It's free love now.
李梅：是的，现在都是婚姻自由。
Susan: The pre-marital temperament check-up is popular, do you know?
苏珊：现在流行性格婚检了，知道吗？
Li Mei: Not so clear.
李梅：不太了解。
Susan: It's a test about realizing the characteristics of both sides .
苏珊：就是为了更好地了解婚恋双方的性格特点而进行的一种测试。
Li Mei: It must be popular in youngsters.
李梅：一定在年轻人中很流行。
Susan: Yeah, the generation after 80s.
苏珊：是的，在80后中比较流行。
Li Mei: It can avoid emotional pains.
李梅：这样可以避免在感情上少受伤害。
Susan: The experts think that the text can help people to pursuit marriage of high qualities .
苏珊：专家认为这种心理咨询可以帮助人们追求高质量的婚姻。
Li Mei: Yeah, the frictions can be avoided if you know more about the temperaments.
李梅：是啊，知道了性格就可以避免很多摩擦。
Susan: They can benefit from realizing each other.
苏珊：双方互相了解很有好处。
Li Mei: Yeah, you can try it.
李梅：是啊，你也可以试试的。
