複語    許其正

——給外孫女若妍的童詩(13)

和祖父母輩交談
習慣用日語和台語
和父母輩及兄弟姊妹輩交談
習慣用台語和國語
和子女輩交談
習慣用台語、國語和英語
現在我有了妳這個惟一的外孫女
現在雖然才四歲多，用的語言
卻除了台語、國語、日語和英語
還多了一種我聽不懂的法語

隨著歲月的年輪轉動
用語如滾雪球
越來越多
將來不知還會增加什麼語言？

Multilingual　　Hsu ChiCheng

Talk with my grandparents
I used to speak the languages of Taiwanese and Japanese
Talk with parents and brothers and sisters
I used to speak the languages of Taiwanese and Chinese
Talk with children
I used to speak the languages of Taiwanese, Chinese and English
And now I have you, the unique daughter of my daughter’s daughter
In spite of using the languages of Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese and English
There adds the language of French which I don’t know
Though you are four years of age

Follow the rolling of the annual rings
The languages we used become richness more and more
Just as the rolling of the snowball
I don’t know whether there will add what languages in the future?