婚禮詞彙

上週五，英國王室舉行了威廉王子和凱特‧密道頓的世紀婚禮，轟動英國，風靡全球。我沒有全程觀賞，但在電視新聞看到了精彩的片段 (照片摘自網路)。

下面的文章 Wedding Words〈婚禮詞彙〉轉載自 About Words: a blog from Cambridge Dictionaries Online《關於詞彙：劍橋線上詞典部落格》，作者 Kate Woodford 寫於世紀婚禮之前。她巧妙地把許多婚禮常用的英文詞彙串接起來，依此大事寫成文章，值得我們作個主題式的學習。有興趣者請登陸原文網址：http://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2011/04/18/wedding-words/

以下之粗體字乃婚禮詞彙，為作者所標，[中文註釋] 由本人提供，僅供參考，歡迎指教。

Wedding Words

April 18, 2011

by Kate Woodford

Friday the 29th of April will witness the long-awaited nuptials [婚禮] of His Royal Highness, Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey. Over 1,900 wedding guests [婚禮賓客] will observe the couple exchange vows [交換誓言] and rings [戒指] at the Abbey's altar [聖壇] and many millions throughout the world will watch the ceremony [典禮] on screens. With this doubtless splendid occasion in mind, let's take a look at the itinerary for the day and at the same time focus on the many words and phrases associated with a royal wedding.

A rigid protocol [禮儀] governs the order in which the guests [賓客] arrive at the Abbey. The majority of the congregation [會眾] will enter the church between 8.00 and 10.00 am. Members of the royal family [王室] and foreign dignitaries [外國貴賓], however, won't appear till after 10.00 am. As is customary, the royal family will be the last guests to arrive, just moments before the bride [新娘] herself.

At 11.00 am, the bride will make her entrance and the service will start. Four bridesmaids [伴娘] and two pageboys [花童] will accompany Kate down the aisle [走道], as will her maid of honour [女儐相], her sister Philippa Middleton. (Prince William has chosen his brother, Prince Harry, to be his best man [男儐相].) Conducting the service [儀式] will be the Dean of Westminster. The Archbishop [大主教] of Canterbury, meanwhile, will marry [為……主持婚禮] Prince William and Catherine Middleton, and the Bishop of London will give the address [致詞]. Music for the service will, apparently, include a number of well-known hymns [聖詩].

At 12.15 pm the service will end and a procession [隊伍] start to make its way through London, the bride and bridegroom [新郎] seated in the 1902 State Landau (a carriage [馬車] built for King Edward VII and intended for use at his coronation). The procession will proceed to Buckingham Palace where, at 1.25 pm, the newly married couple will make that all-important appearance on the balcony. This will be Prince William's first opportunity to kiss the bride [親吻新娘]. At the Palace, the occasion will be marked with a lunchtime reception [宴會] hosted by the Queen. Later that evening, the Prince of Wales will give a dinner for around 300 guests. Doubtless, glasses [酒杯] will be raised [舉起] to the happy couple and speeches given [致詞].

And finally, since no description of a wedding is complete without mention of the wedding dress [婚紗], let's speculate as to what Kate Middleton will be wearing on the big day [大喜之日]. (Of course, this is a matter of the utmost secrecy. It's rumoured that no fewer than three dresses have been commissioned in case details of one of the gowns leak out to the press.) We assume she will wear a veil [頭紗] of some description and that she will be holding a bouquet [捧花]. Whether her gown [禮服] will be traditional [傳統的] in style, off-the-shoulder [露肩的] or feature a train [拖尾] remains to be seen. What we can confidently predict, however, is that Kate Middleton, future Queen of England, will be a radiant bride [光彩照人的新娘].