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•華盛頓: 為什麼我活在公開演說的恐懼之中

Filmed:
1,926,966 views

梅根•華盛頓是澳洲排名首席的歌手、作曲人,但是從小她就有說話結巴的毛病,而在這場無畏的、很私人的演說,她透露了她如何克服自己的語言障礙,避開字中 st 相連的發音、在開口前最後一刻改變她想說的話來騙過自己的大腦,甚至把她想描述的東西用歌唱的方式表達出來,而不是用口述。
- 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約定 to do this
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當我答應來 TED 演講的時候,
00:16
whether是否 I was expected預期 to talk or to sing.
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我不知道我應該要用講的?還是用唱的?
00:22
But when I was told that the topic話題 was language語言,
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不過當他們告訴我
講題是關於「語言」之後,
00:27
I felt that I had to speak說話 about something for a moment時刻.
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我覺得我得要花些時間
來講一件事。
00:32
I have a problem問題.
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我有一個毛病,
00:36
It's not the worst最差 thing in the world世界.
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不是最糟糕的那一種,
00:38
I'm fine.
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我很健康,
00:39
I'm not on fire.
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這不是什麼十萬火急的事,
00:41
I know that other people in the world世界
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我知道世上其他人
00:43
have far worse更差 things to deal合同 with,
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有比我更嚴重的毛病得治療。
00:47
but for me, language語言 and music音樂 are
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但對我來說,語言和音樂,
00:53
inextricably有著千絲萬縷 linked關聯 through通過 this one thing.
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跟我這個毛病密不可分。
00:57
And the thing is that I have a stutter口吃.
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這個毛病就是:我講話會結巴。
01:05
It might威力 seem似乎 curious好奇 given特定 that I spend
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這聽起來一定讓人猜不透,
01:08
a lot of my life on the stage階段.
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因為我有很豐富的舞台經歷,
01:11
One would assume承擔 that I'm comfortable自在
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大家一定以為我可以很自在的
01:14
in the public上市 sphere領域 and comfortable自在 here,
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在公眾場合、以及在這裡
01:17
speaking請講 to you guys.
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對你們演說。
01:19
But the truth真相 is that I've spent花費
my life up until直到 this point
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但實情是,我這輩子截至目前,
01:24
and including包含 this point, living活的 in mortal凡人 dread恐懼
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甚至此刻也不例外,上台說話
01:28
of public上市 speaking請講.
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都令我恐懼得要命。
01:32
Public上市 singing唱歌, whole整個 different不同 thing. (Laughter笑聲)
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上台唱歌嘛,那完全是另一回事。(笑聲)
01:36
But we'll get to that in a moment時刻.
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這個待會兒再說。
01:40
I've never really talked about it before so explicitly明確地.
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我以前從不曾這麼仔細地討論我的毛病,
01:46
I think that that's because I've always lived生活 in hope希望
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我想是因為我一直抱著希望,
01:48
that when I was a grown-up長大,
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希望我長大以後,
01:51
I wouldn't不會 have one.
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這毛病就會消失了。
01:57
I sort分類 of lived生活 with this idea理念 that when I'm grown長大的,
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我好像一直以為等到我長大後,
02:00
I'll have learned學到了 to speak說話 French法國,
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我就會學會說法語;
02:03
and when I'm grown長大的, I'll learn學習
how to manage管理 my money,
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長大後,我就會學好如何理財;
02:07
and when I'm grown長大的, I won't慣於 have a stutter口吃,
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而且長大後,我說話就不會再結巴,
02:09
and then I'll be able能夠 to public上市 speak說話
and maybe be the prime主要 minister部長
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然後我就有能力公開演說,
然後可能成為首相,
02:11
and anything's什麼的 possible可能 and, you know.
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然後任何事都有可能,你們知道的。
02:15
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:18
So I can talk about it now
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所以,我現在能夠公開談論它,
02:21
because I've reached到達 this point, where —
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是因為我已經到了一個階段了——
02:25
I mean, I'm 28.
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我是指,我 28 歲了,
02:29
I'm pretty漂亮 sure that I'm grown長大的 now.
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我非常確定自己算是已經長大了吧。
02:31
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:33
And I'm an adult成人 woman女人
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而我是一個成年女性,
02:35
who spends her life as a performer演員,
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以表演為職業,
02:39
with a speech言語 impediment障礙.
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但是我有語言障礙。
02:42
So, I might威力 as well come clean清潔 about it.
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所以,我還是把問題說清楚吧。
02:46
There are some interesting有趣
angles to having a stutter口吃.
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講話結巴,以某些角度來看
還挺有趣的,
02:50
For me, the worst最差 thing that can happen發生
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對我而言,最可怕的事情
02:54
is meeting會議 another另一個 stutterer口吃.
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就是碰到另外一個講話也結巴的人。
02:57
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:00
This happened發生 to me in Hamburg漢堡, when
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我在德國漢堡時就發生過。
03:03
this guy, we met會見 and he said,
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有個男生,我跟他碰面,而他說:
03:05
"Hello你好, m-m-m-my嗯,我 name名稱 is Joe,"
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「你好,我‧我‧我‧我‧我是喬!」
03:09
and I said, "Oh, hello你好, m-m-m-my嗯,我 name名稱 is Meg梅格."
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我就說:
「噢,你好,我‧我‧我‧我‧我是梅!」
03:13
Imagine想像 my horror恐怖 when I realized實現
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你們想想我當時有多害怕,
因為我發現他以為我在嘲笑他。
03:16
he thought I was making製造 fun開玩笑 of him.
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03:18
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:24
People think I'm drunk all the time.
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人們常常誤以為我喝醉了。
03:29
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:32
People think that I've forgotten忘記了 their name名稱
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人們也會以為我忘了他們的名字,
03:36
when I hesitate遲疑 before saying it.
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因為我要叫名字之前都會停頓。
03:40
And it is a very weird奇怪的 thing, because
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而這點很奇怪,因為
03:43
proper正確 nouns名詞 are the worst最差.
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專有名詞最容易讓我結巴。
03:47
If I'm going to use the word
"Wednesday星期三" in a sentence句子,
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假如我要在一個句子裡講到「星期三」,
03:51
and I'm coming未來 up to the word,
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而在我快要講到「星期三」的時候,
03:54
and I can feel that I'm going to stutter口吃 or something,
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我就能感覺到我快要結巴了,
03:57
I can change更改 the word to "tomorrow明天,"
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我會把「星期三」改講成「明天」,
04:00
or "the day after Tuesday星期二,"
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或者是「星期二再過去的那天」,
04:02
or something else其他.
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或者就是其他字眼。
04:04
It's clunky笨重, but you can get away with it,
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這樣子很拙劣,
不過你可以避免口吃,
04:09
because over time I've developed發達 this
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因為長期下來我發展出這個
04:12
loophole漏洞 method方法 of using運用 speech言語
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在說話時鑽漏洞的方法,
04:16
where right at the last minute分鐘 you
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是在你快要講到那個字前的最後一刻,
04:19
change更改 the thing and you trick your brain.
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改變用字,騙過你的大腦。
04:24
But with people's人們 names, you can't change更改 them.
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但是碰上人名,
你就不能亂改了。
04:27
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:30
When I was singing唱歌 a lot of jazz爵士樂,
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我以前唱過很多爵士樂,
04:33
I worked工作 a lot with a pianist鋼琴家 whose誰的 name名稱 was Steve史蒂夫.
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當時我常跟一位叫史帝夫的鋼琴師合作。
04:39
As you can probably大概 gather收集,
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你們可能已經從我講話聽出來,
04:41
S's小號的 and T'sT的, together一起 or independently獨立地,
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s 和 t ,無論放在一起或是分開發音
04:45
are my kryptonite氪石.
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都是我的死穴。
04:49
But I would have to introduce介紹 the band
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但是我必須要在不斷重複的間奏中,
04:51
over this rolling壓延 vamp鞋面,
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介紹我的樂團成員。
04:54
and when I got around to Steve史蒂夫,
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當我介紹到史帝夫的時候,
04:57
I'd often經常 find myself stuck卡住 on the "St."
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我常發現自己就卡在 St 這裡,
05:03
And it was a bit awkward尷尬 and uncomfortable不舒服
and it totally完全 kills殺死 the vibe盛傳.
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現場就有點尷尬、難堪,
而且熱烈的氣氛都被破壞了。
05:08
So after a few少數 instances實例 of this,
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所以經過幾次這樣的情形之後,
05:11
Steve史蒂夫 happily高高興興 became成為 "Seve塞弗,"
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史帝夫欣然接受了新名字「席夫」,
05:16
and we got through通過 it that way. (Laughter笑聲)
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我們就這樣過關了。(笑聲)
05:21
I've had a lot of therapy治療,
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我曾經接受多種治療,
05:24
and a common共同 form形成 of treatment治療 is to use
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其中有種很常見的療程,
05:26
this technique技術 that's called smooth光滑 speech言語,
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是一種技巧,叫「流暢說話」。
05:31
which哪一個 is where you almost幾乎
sing everything that you say.
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就是你把所有想講的事
幾乎是用唱的唱出來,
05:36
You kind of join加入 everything together一起 in this
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(演唱)你好像把句子組織起來,
05:39
very singsong唱歌, kindergarten幼兒園 teacher老師 way,
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用這種唱歌的語調,像幼稚園老師在講話,
05:43
and it makes品牌 you sound聲音 very serene安詳,
like you've had lots of Valium安定,
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讓妳聽起來非常平靜,
好像你嗑了很多鎮定劑一樣,
05:47
and everything is calm冷靜. (Laughter笑聲)
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然後一切都好祥和。(笑聲)
05:51
That's not actually其實 me.
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這並不是真正的我,
05:54
And I do use that. I do.
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而我真的有在用這個技巧,真的,
05:57
I use it when I have to be on panel面板 shows節目,
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在我必須上談話性節目的時候、
06:04
or when I have to do radio無線電 interviews面試,
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或是接受電台訪問的時候,
都會用這技巧,
06:07
when the economy經濟 of airtime通話時間 is paramount最重要的.
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因為電台轉播每次都搞得分秒必爭。
06:12
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:15
I get through通過 it that way for my job工作.
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在工作上,我用這方法讓自己逃過一劫,
06:20
But as an artist藝術家 who feels感覺 that their work
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不過身為表演者,都覺得自己的作品
06:22
is based基於 solely獨自 on a platform平台 of honesty誠實
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必須要建立在坦誠的基礎上,
06:28
and being存在 real真實,
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而且要真實,
06:32
that feels感覺 often經常 like cheating作弊.
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所以用這種技巧,感覺好像在騙人。
06:36
Which哪一個 is why before I sing, I wanted to tell you
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所以在我唱歌之前,
我要告訴你們
06:39
what singing唱歌 means手段 to me.
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唱歌對我而言,意義是什麼。
06:43
It's more than making製造 nice不錯 sounds聲音,
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其意義絕不只在發出好聽的聲音,
06:47
and it's more than making製造 nice不錯 songs歌曲.
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意義也絕不只在做出好聽的歌曲,
06:52
It's more than feeling感覺 known已知, or understood了解.
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意義不僅限於那種被認識、被瞭解的感受,
06:58
It's more than making製造 you feel the things that I feel.
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意義不只是要讓你們
對我的感受起共鳴。
07:04
It's not about mythology神話,
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這並不是神秘的事,
07:07
or mythologizingmythologizing myself to you.
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我也不會故弄玄虛的呈現自我。
07:12
Somehow不知何故, through通過 some miraculous神奇
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不知道為什麼,某種奇蹟般的
07:17
synaptic突觸 function功能 of the human人的 brain,
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人類大腦突觸作用下,
07:22
it's impossible不可能 to stutter口吃 when you sing.
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人在唱歌的時候,是不可能結巴的。
07:27
And when I was younger更年輕,
that was a method方法 of treatment治療
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在我小時候,唱歌是一種治療結巴的方法,
07:31
that worked工作 very well for me,
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這方法對我非常有效,
07:33
singing唱歌, so I did it a lot.
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也就是唱歌。所以我常常唱歌。
07:39
And that's why I'm here today今天.
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這就是我今天在這裡的原因。
07:43
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
07:48
Thank you.
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謝謝。
07:54
Singing唱歌 for me is sweet relief浮雕.
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唱歌對我來說是很棒的紓解,
07:58
It is the only time when I feel fluent流利.
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那是我唯一感覺到口齒流利的時刻。
08:07
It is the only time when what comes out of my mouth
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只有在唱歌時,從我口中出來的東西,
08:10
is comprehensively綜合 exactly究竟 what I intended.
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才完全是我確切想表達的。
08:13
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:15
So I know that this is a TEDTED Talk,
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所以我知道這是一場 TED 「演講」,
08:18
but now i'm going to TEDTED sing.
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不過現在我要來 TED「演唱」了。
08:22
This is a song歌曲 that I wrote last year.
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這是我在去年寫的歌,
08:23
Thank you very much. Thank you.
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非常謝謝大家。謝謝!
08:26
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
08:39
(Piano鋼琴)
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(鋼琴演奏)
08:54
♪ I would be a beauty美女
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♪ 我會成為個美人兒 ♪
08:58
♪ but my nose鼻子
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♪ 不過我的鼻子 ♪
09:02
♪ is slightly too big
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♪ 對我的臉來說 ♪
09:05
♪ for my face面對
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♪ 有一點太大了 ♪
09:09
♪ And I would be a dreamer夢想家
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♪ 我會成為一位夢想家 ♪
09:13
♪ but my dream夢想
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♪ 但是我的夢想 ♪
09:16
♪ is slightly too big
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♪ 對這個世界來說 ♪
09:20
♪ for this space空間
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♪ 有一點太大了 ♪
09:23
♪ And I would be an angel天使
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♪ 我會成為一名天使 ♪
09:27
♪ but my halo光環
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♪ 但是我的光環 ♪
09:31
♪ it pales相形見絀 in the glow輝光
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♪ 相較於你高雅的光芒 ♪
09:34
♪ of your grace恩典
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♪ 變得黯淡了 ♪
09:38
♪ And I would be a joker滑稽角色
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♪ 我會是撲克牌裡的鬼牌 ♪
09:42
♪ but that card looks容貌 silly愚蠢 when you play
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♪ 但這張牌,在你打出你的紙牌 A 時 ♪
09:50
♪ your ace高手
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♪ 卻看起來如此傻氣 ♪
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地獄? ♪
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♪ 在地獄裡有星星嗎?♪
10:15
♪ And I'd like to know ♪
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♪ 還有我想要知道 ♪
10:18
♪ know if you can tell ♪
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♪ 你是否明白 ♪
10:22
♪ that you make me lose失去 everything I know ♪
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♪ 你讓我失去了我所知道的一切 ♪
10:29
♪ That I cannot不能 choose選擇 to or not let go ♪
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♪ 我連選擇是否放手的餘地都沒有 ♪
10:50
♪ And I'd stay forever永遠
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♪ 我想要永遠留下來 ♪
10:54
♪ but my home ♪
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♪ 但是我的家 ♪
10:57
♪ is slightly too far
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♪ 離這個地方 ♪
11:01
♪ from this place地點
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♪ 有一點太遠了 ♪
11:03
♪ And I swear發誓 I tried試著 to ♪
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♪ 我發誓,我總試著 ♪
11:08
slow it down ♪
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♪ 放慢自己 ♪
11:11
♪ when I am walking步行 at your pace步伐
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♪ 因為我想學你緩步徐行 ♪
11:18
♪ But all I could think ♪
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♪ 但當我在城市間漫步時 ♪
11:21
idling空轉 through通過 the cities城市
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♪ 腦裡所想的一切 ♪
11:26
♪ do I look pretty漂亮 in the rain? ♪
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♪ 就是我在雨中看起來漂亮嗎?♪
11:33
♪ And I don't know how someone有人
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♪ 除了你,我不知道還有誰 ♪
11:37
quite相當 so lovely可愛
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♪ 這麼的惹人愛 ♪
11:40
makes品牌 me feel ugly醜陋
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♪ 讓我感覺到自己這麼醜陋 ♪
11:46
♪ So much shame恥辱
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♪ 這麼的羞愧 ♪
11:55
♪ And I'd like to know ♪
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♪ 我想要知道 ♪
11:59
♪ Are there stars明星 in hell地獄? ♪
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♪ 地獄裡面有沒有星星?♪
12:02
♪ And I'd like to know ♪
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♪ 我想要知道 ♪
12:06
♪ know if you can tell ♪
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♪ 是否你能明白 ♪
12:10
♪ that you make me lose失去 everything I know ♪
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♪ 你讓我失去了我所知道的一切 ♪
12:17
♪ that I cannot不能 choose選擇 to or not let go ♪
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♪ 我連選擇是否放手的餘地都沒有 ♪
12:52
Thank you very much. (Applause掌聲)
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非常謝謝大家。(掌聲)
Translated by Harry Chen
Reviewed by Joyce (Mori) Chen

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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