ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Megan Washington - Musician
Megan Washington has won two ARIA Awards, the Australian equivalent of the Grammys. A popular singer/songwriter, she has recently come clean with a secret—that she has a speech impediment.

Why you should listen

The lyrics of Megan Washington’s songs have a beautiful, confessional tone: she sings about heartbreak, insecurity, rage, you name it. But there is one thing that Washington avoided sharing publicly before stepping on the stage of TEDxSydney 2014: that she has a stutter.

One of Australia’s most promising singer/songwriters, Megan Washington won two ARIA Awards in 2010 for “Best Female Artist” and “Breakthrough Artist” following the release of her album, I Believe You Liar. The album went platinum, and she followed it up in 2012 with Insomnia. Her latest album, There There, was be released on September 12, 2014.

Prior to going solo, Washington played jazz piano with various acts and founded a band called Washington, borrowing her last name. After her breakthrough solo album, she served as a mentor on Australia’s version of The Voice and also spoke on music panels on the show Spicks and Specks, using a method called "smooth speech" to overcome her stuttering on-air. Washington's songs have also appeared in TV shows Girls and Boardwalk Empire.

More profile about the speaker
Megan Washington | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxSydney

Megan Washington: Why I live in mortal dread of public speaking

梅根·华盛顿: 为什么我活在对公共演讲的致命恐惧中

Filmed:
1,926,966 views

梅根·华盛顿是澳大利亚最顶尖的歌手/曲作家之一。然而,从童年开始,她就得了口吃。在这场勇敢的个人谈话中,她揭示了她是如何应付语言障碍的——从在最后时刻变换词语避免“ST“组合以骗过大脑,到唱出而不是说出她要表达的东西。
- Musician
Megan Washington has won two ARIA Awards, the Australian equivalent of the Grammys. A popular singer/songwriter, she has recently come clean with a secret—that she has a speech impediment. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I didn't know when I agreed同意 to do this
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当我答应来到这个舞台时我不知道
00:16
whether是否 I was expected预期 to talk or to sing.
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他们是想让我演讲还是演唱。
00:22
But when I was told that the topic话题 was language语言,
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但是当他们告诉我今天的主题是关于语言时,
00:27
I felt that I had to speak说话 about something for a moment时刻.
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我觉得必须说点什么。
00:32
I have a problem问题.
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我有一个小毛病。
00:36
It's not the worst最差 thing in the world世界.
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但这不是世界上最糟糕的事情。
00:38
I'm fine.
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我很好。
00:39
I'm not on fire.
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我没有身陷火海。
00:41
I know that other people in the world世界
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我知道世界上的其他人
00:43
have far worse更差 things to deal合同 with,
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还有更糟糕的事情要去应付,
00:47
but for me, language语言 and music音乐 are
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但是对我来说,语言和音乐
00:53
inextricably有着千丝万缕 linked关联 through通过 this one thing.
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通过这件事变得密不可分。
00:57
And the thing is that I have a stutter口吃.
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这件事就是我有口吃。
01:05
It might威力 seem似乎 curious好奇 given特定 that I spend
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考虑到我生命中的许多时光都花在了舞台上,
01:08
a lot of my life on the stage阶段.
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口吃这件事似乎有点奇怪。
01:11
One would assume承担 that I'm comfortable自在
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有人可能会认为呆在公共空间会使
01:14
in the public上市 sphere领域 and comfortable自在 here,
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我感到很舒适,在这里与你们谈话
01:17
speaking请讲 to you guys.
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会使我感觉很自在。
01:19
But the truth真相 is that I've spent花费
my life up until直到 this point
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但事实是,在我的生命中直到此刻,
01:24
and including包含 this point, living活的 in mortal凡人 dread恐惧
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甚至包括此刻,我都一直生活在
对公共演讲的致命恐惧中。
01:28
of public上市 speaking请讲.
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01:32
Public上市 singing唱歌, whole整个 different不同 thing. (Laughter笑声)
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但公开演唱,又完全是另外一回事。(笑声)
01:36
But we'll get to that in a moment时刻.
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但是我们很快就会进入那种状态。
01:40
I've never really talked about it before so explicitly明确地.
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以前我从来没有真正这么坦率地谈论我的口吃问题。
01:46
I think that that's because I've always lived生活 in hope希望
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我觉得那是因为我一直生活在那种
01:48
that when I was a grown-up长大,
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当我长大了就不会再口吃了
01:51
I wouldn't不会 have one.
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的希望中。
01:57
I sort分类 of lived生活 with this idea理念 that when I'm grown长大的,
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我曾经梦想过,当我长大了
02:00
I'll have learned学到了 to speak说话 French法国,
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我会学会法语;
02:03
and when I'm grown长大的, I'll learn学习
how to manage管理 my money,
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当我长大了,我会学会管理我的钱财;
02:07
and when I'm grown长大的, I won't惯于 have a stutter口吃,
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以及当我长大了,我不会再有口吃,
02:09
and then I'll be able能够 to public上市 speak说话
and maybe be the prime主要 minister部长
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然后我能公开地演讲,也可能成为总理,
02:11
and anything's什么的 possible可能 and, you know.
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并且一切皆有可能,你知道的。
02:15
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:18
So I can talk about it now
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因此我现在能够谈论它
02:21
because I've reached到达 this point, where —
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是因为我已经到了这个阶段——
02:25
I mean, I'm 28.
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我的意思是,我28岁了。
02:29
I'm pretty漂亮 sure that I'm grown长大的 now.
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我非常肯定我已经长大了。
02:31
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:33
And I'm an adult成人 woman女人
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我现在一个成年女性,
02:35
who spends her life as a performer演员,
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一个有言语障碍
02:39
with a speech言语 impediment障碍.
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的歌手。
02:42
So, I might威力 as well come clean清洁 about it.
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所以,我应该最好将它全盘托出。
02:46
There are some interesting有趣
angles to having a stutter口吃.
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其实可以从几个有趣的角度去看待口吃。
02:50
For me, the worst最差 thing that can happen发生
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对我来说,最糟糕的事
02:54
is meeting会议 another另一个 stutterer口吃.
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就是碰见另一个口吃者。
02:57
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:00
This happened发生 to me in Hamburg汉堡, when
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这种事情在汉堡发生过,
03:03
this guy, we met会见 and he said,
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当我见到那个人后他说
03:05
"Hello你好, m-m-m-my嗯,我 name名称 is Joe,"
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:“你好,我……我……我……叫Joe,”
03:09
and I said, "Oh, hello你好, m-m-m-my嗯,我 name名称 is Meg梅格."
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然后我说:"你好,我……我……我叫Meg。“
03:13
Imagine想像 my horror恐怖 when I realized实现
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想像一下当我意识到他认为我在取笑他时
03:16
he thought I was making制造 fun开玩笑 of him.
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我是多么恐惧。
03:18
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:24
People think I'm drunk all the time.
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人们总是以为我喝醉了。
03:29
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:32
People think that I've forgotten忘记了 their name名称
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当我在说出别人的名字之前犹豫一下时,
03:36
when I hesitate迟疑 before saying it.
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他们会认为我想不起来他们的名字了。
03:40
And it is a very weird奇怪的 thing, because
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这是一件非常奇怪的事,因为
03:43
proper正确 nouns名词 are the worst最差.
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专有名词对我来说是最难的。
03:47
If I'm going to use the word
"Wednesday星期三" in a sentence句子,
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如果我打算在一个句子中使用“星期三”这个词,
03:51
and I'm coming未来 up to the word,
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然后当我即将说到这个词时,
03:54
and I can feel that I'm going to stutter口吃 or something,
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我预料到我将会结巴或者别的情况,
03:57
I can change更改 the word to "tomorrow明天,"
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我可以将“星期三”替换成“明天”,
04:00
or "the day after Tuesday星期二,"
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或者“星期二之后的一天”
04:02
or something else其他.
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或其它诸如此类的。
04:04
It's clunky笨重, but you can get away with it,
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这是一个笨拙的办法,但是却可以帮我摆脱口吃,
04:09
because over time I've developed发达 this
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因为随着时间的推移,我已经进化出了那种
04:12
loophole漏洞 method方法 of using运用 speech言语
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在最后关头
04:16
where right at the last minute分钟 you
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找到替换词语
04:19
change更改 the thing and you trick your brain.
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并且骗过大脑的能力。
04:24
But with people's人们 names, you can't change更改 them.
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但是对于人名,你不可能找到替换词。
04:27
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:30
When I was singing唱歌 a lot of jazz爵士乐,
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当我唱爵士乐的时候
04:33
I worked工作 a lot with a pianist钢琴家 whose谁的 name名称 was Steve史蒂夫.
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我经常跟一个叫Steve的钢琴师一起工作。
04:39
As you can probably大概 gather收集,
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正如你们可能注意到的那样,
04:41
S's小号的 and T'sT的, together一起 or independently独立地,
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S和T的发音,不管是分开的还是连在一起的,
04:45
are my kryptonite氪石.
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都是我的克星。
04:49
But I would have to introduce介绍 the band
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但是在摇滚演奏的过程中
04:51
over this rolling压延 vamp鞋面,
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我不得不介绍乐队成员,
04:54
and when I got around to Steve史蒂夫,
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当介绍到Steve时,
04:57
I'd often经常 find myself stuck卡住 on the "St."
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我经常发现自己卡在了"St"的发音上。
05:03
And it was a bit awkward尴尬 and uncomfortable不舒服
and it totally完全 kills杀死 the vibe盛传.
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这会使我很尴尬很难受,并且气氛也被完全破坏掉了。
05:08
So after a few少数 instances实例 of this,
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因此经过几次这样的事之后,
05:11
Steve史蒂夫 happily高高兴兴 became成为 "Seve塞弗,"
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Steve愉快地变成了“Seve,”
05:16
and we got through通过 it that way. (Laughter笑声)
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我们用这种方式解决了问题。(笑声)
05:21
I've had a lot of therapy治疗,
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我接受过很多治疗,
05:24
and a common共同 form形成 of treatment治疗 is to use
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最常见的是一种
05:26
this technique技术 that's called smooth光滑 speech言语,
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叫做流畅说话的疗法,
05:31
which哪一个 is where you almost几乎
sing everything that you say.
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即用几乎像唱歌一样的调子去说话。
05:36
You kind of join加入 everything together一起 in this
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你相当于要将所有的事情与
05:39
very singsong唱歌, kindergarten幼儿园 teacher老师 way,
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这种单调的、幼儿园老师使用的方法结合,
05:43
and it makes品牌 you sound声音 very serene安详,
like you've had lots of Valium安定,
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然后它会使你的声音听起来很平静,就像吃了很多安定片一样,
05:47
and everything is calm冷静. (Laughter笑声)
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一切听起来都是冰冷的。(笑声)
05:51
That's not actually其实 me.
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那不是真实的我。
05:54
And I do use that. I do.
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但我得这样做。我得。
05:57
I use it when I have to be on panel面板 shows节目,
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当我不得不参加电视讨论节目时我会使用这种方法,
06:04
or when I have to do radio无线电 interviews面试,
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或者当我不得不参加电台访谈时,
06:07
when the economy经济 of airtime通话时间 is paramount最重要的.
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当说话时间的经济性至关重要时。
06:12
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:15
I get through通过 it that way for my job工作.
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我用这种方法搞定工作。
06:20
But as an artist艺术家 who feels感觉 that their work
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但是作为一个觉得自己的工作
06:22
is based基于 solely独自 on a platform平台 of honesty诚实
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是完全基于诚实和真实的平台上
06:28
and being存在 real真实,
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的艺术家,
06:32
that feels感觉 often经常 like cheating作弊.
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那种方法经常感觉像是欺骗。
06:36
Which哪一个 is why before I sing, I wanted to tell you
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这就是为什么在我演唱之前,我想要告诉你们
06:39
what singing唱歌 means手段 to me.
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歌唱对我来说意味着什么。
06:43
It's more than making制造 nice不错 sounds声音,
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它不仅仅是发出动听的声音,
06:47
and it's more than making制造 nice不错 songs歌曲.
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也不仅仅是唱出好听的歌。
06:52
It's more than feeling感觉 known已知, or understood了解.
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它不仅仅是感受已知,或理解。
06:58
It's more than making制造 you feel the things that I feel.
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它不仅仅是使你感受到我的感受。
07:04
It's not about mythology神话,
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它不是神话,
07:07
or mythologizingmythologizing myself to you.
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或者把我自己当作神话。
07:12
Somehow不知何故, through通过 some miraculous神奇
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不知为何,通过一些奇迹般的
07:17
synaptic突触 function功能 of the human人的 brain,
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人类大脑的突触功能,
07:22
it's impossible不可能 to stutter口吃 when you sing.
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当你歌唱的时候不可能口吃。
07:27
And when I was younger更年轻,
that was a method方法 of treatment治疗
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在我小时候,有种治疗方法
07:31
that worked工作 very well for me,
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就对我很管用,
07:33
singing唱歌, so I did it a lot.
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那就是唱歌,所以我经常唱。
07:39
And that's why I'm here today今天.
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这也是我今天在这里的原因。
07:43
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
07:48
Thank you.
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谢谢。
07:54
Singing唱歌 for me is sweet relief浮雕.
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歌唱对我来说一种甜蜜的释放。
07:58
It is the only time when I feel fluent流利.
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那是我唯一能够流利表达的时候。
08:07
It is the only time when what comes out of my mouth
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那是唯一的从我嘴里出来的东西
08:10
is comprehensively综合 exactly究竟 what I intended.
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是完完全全我想要说的东西的时候。
08:13
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
08:15
So I know that this is a TEDTED Talk,
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我知道这是TED演讲,
08:18
but now i'm going to TEDTED sing.
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但是我将要进行TED演唱。
08:22
This is a song歌曲 that I wrote last year.
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这是我去年写的一首歌。
08:23
Thank you very much. Thank you.
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非常感你们。谢谢。
08:26
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
08:39
(Piano钢琴)
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(钢琴)
08:54
♪ I would be a beauty美女
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♪我想成为美人♪
08:58
♪ but my nose鼻子
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♪但是我的鼻子♪
09:02
♪ is slightly too big
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♪对我的脸来说♪
09:05
♪ for my face面对
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♪稍微有点大♪
09:09
♪ And I would be a dreamer梦想家
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♪我想成为梦想家♪
09:13
♪ but my dream梦想
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♪但是我的梦想♪
09:16
♪ is slightly too big
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♪对这个空间来说♪
09:20
♪ for this space空间
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♪稍微有点大♪
09:23
♪ And I would be an angel天使
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♪我想成为天使♪
09:27
♪ but my halo光环
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♪但是我的光环♪
09:31
♪ it pales相形见绌 in the glow辉光
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♪在你的光芒下♪
09:34
♪ of your grace恩典
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♪显得有点苍白♪
09:38
♪ And I would be a joker滑稽角色
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♪我想成为王牌♪
09:42
♪ but that card looks容貌 silly愚蠢 when you play
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♪但是当你出A时♪
09:50
♪ your ace高手
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♪这张牌会看起来有点傻♪
10:07
♪ I'd like to know ♪
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♪我想要知道♪
10:11
♪ Are there stars明星 in hell地狱? ♪
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♪地狱里是否有星星?♪
10:15
♪ And I'd like to know ♪
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♪我还想知道♪
10:18
♪ know if you can tell ♪
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♪知道你是否可以告诉我♪
10:22
♪ that you make me lose失去 everything I know ♪
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♪你使我失去了一切 我知道♪
10:29
♪ That I cannot不能 choose选择 to or not let go ♪
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♪我无法选择或者放手♪
10:50
♪ And I'd stay forever永远
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♪我想永远留下来♪
10:54
♪ but my home ♪
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♪但是我的家♪
10:57
♪ is slightly too far
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♪离这里♪
11:01
♪ from this place地点
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♪有点远♪
11:03
♪ And I swear发誓 I tried试着 to ♪
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♪我发誓当我♪
11:08
slow it down ♪
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♪踏着你的脚印前行时♪
11:11
♪ when I am walking步行 at your pace步伐
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♪我试过放慢脚步♪
11:18
♪ But all I could think ♪
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♪但所有我能想到的是♪
11:21
idling空转 through通过 the cities城市
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♪在城市中闲逛♪
11:26
♪ do I look pretty漂亮 in the rain? ♪
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♪我在雨中看起来漂亮吗?♪
11:33
♪ And I don't know how someone有人
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♪我不知道怎会有人♪
11:37
quite相当 so lovely可爱
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♪如此可爱♪
11:40
makes品牌 me feel ugly丑陋
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♪使我感到丑陋♪
11:46
♪ So much shame耻辱
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♪多么地羞愧♪
11:55
♪ And I'd like to know ♪
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♪我也想知道♪
11:59
♪ Are there stars明星 in hell地狱? ♪
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♪地狱里是否有星星?♪
12:02
♪ And I'd like to know ♪
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♪我还想知道♪
12:06
♪ know if you can tell ♪
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♪知道你是否可以告诉我♪
12:10
♪ that you make me lose失去 everything I know ♪
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♪你使我失去了一切 我知道♪
12:17
♪ that I cannot不能 choose选择 to or not let go ♪
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♪我无法选择或者放手♪
12:52
Thank you very much. (Applause掌声)
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非常感谢。(掌声)
Translated by chunhua zhang
Reviewed by Michael Ge 葛叔

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Megan Washington - Musician
Megan Washington has won two ARIA Awards, the Australian equivalent of the Grammys. A popular singer/songwriter, she has recently come clean with a secret—that she has a speech impediment.

Why you should listen

The lyrics of Megan Washington’s songs have a beautiful, confessional tone: she sings about heartbreak, insecurity, rage, you name it. But there is one thing that Washington avoided sharing publicly before stepping on the stage of TEDxSydney 2014: that she has a stutter.

One of Australia’s most promising singer/songwriters, Megan Washington won two ARIA Awards in 2010 for “Best Female Artist” and “Breakthrough Artist” following the release of her album, I Believe You Liar. The album went platinum, and she followed it up in 2012 with Insomnia. Her latest album, There There, was be released on September 12, 2014.

Prior to going solo, Washington played jazz piano with various acts and founded a band called Washington, borrowing her last name. After her breakthrough solo album, she served as a mentor on Australia’s version of The Voice and also spoke on music panels on the show Spicks and Specks, using a method called "smooth speech" to overcome her stuttering on-air. Washington's songs have also appeared in TV shows Girls and Boardwalk Empire.

More profile about the speaker
Megan Washington | Speaker | TED.com