核心畫面

A useful way to picture it: 'natural' is the way things go when nobody interferes — the way weather behaves, the way a relaxed person moves, the way a colour looks when it grew rather than being made. 'Unnatural' marks the moment something steps outside that ordinary course, and the speaker notices the step. The key is that it is always a judgement from a viewpoint: someone is comparing what is in front of them with what usually happens, and saying 'this does not match'. That can be about weather, about a voice, about behaviour, or about a colour — which is why the word can feel mild in one sentence and heavy in another.

natural 是「沒有人插手時,事情本來會走的那條路」——天氣本來的樣子、一個人放鬆時的動作、一種顏色長出來(而不更多收起natural 是「沒有人插手時,事情本來會走的那條路」——天氣本來的樣子、一個人放鬆時的動作、一種顏色長出來(而不是被做出來)時的樣子。unnatural 標記的就是「某個東西離開了那條路」,而且說話的人注意到了這一步。要抓的關鍵是:這永遠是從某個視角出的判斷——有人拿眼前的東西去比對「通常會怎樣」,然後說「這對不上」。而那個「對不上」可以是天氣、可以是聲音、可以是行為、也可以是顏色——所以同一個字,放在不同句子裡,有時很輕,有時很重。

Four branches

跟平常對不上:反常

最輕、最中性的一支:只說「這跟平常不一樣」,還沒有牽扯到人是不是裝的、對不對。

not normal, strange · adjective · B1

different from what you would normally expect in that place, time, or situation, so that it feels strange or wrong.

反常的;不尋常的

人做出來的樣子:不自然、做作

把「離開本來的路」放到人的舉止上:一個人放鬆時本來會有的樣子,被刻意的用力擠掉了。

false, forced · adjective · B2

seeming false rather than real, because someone is trying too hard or doing something in a way that is not relaxed.

不自然的;做作的

越過人情常理:說話者的道德判斷

同樣是「離開本來的路」,但這裡被說話者當成很重的指控——這一支是四個裡最需要小心的。

morally wrong · adjective · B2

used to say that someone's behaviour is very different from how people are supposed to behave, and that the speaker thinks it is morally wrong.

違反常理的;不合人情的

不是天然長出來的:人工的顏色與光澤

從「行為離開常軌」轉到「材質不是自然生成」:這裡對照的不是人的舉止,而是大自然做得出來的東西。

artificial (colour) · adjective · B1

not like anything that nature makes, especially a colour or shine that is clearly made by people.

非天然的;人工的

原始詞典資料4 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

unnaturaladj/ʌnˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/

  • 1

    Not natural.

  • 2

    Not occurring in nature, the environment or atmosphere

  • 3

    Going against nature; perverse.

    • Time wore heavily on with Winnie Santon, after Natalie had left them. Left as she was, much in her unnatural mother's society, who seemed to be never more pleased than when she might thwart her designs, or, in some manner act so as to make those about her uncomfortable, it was not to be wondered at, if she did sigh for other days, and a confidant, to whom she might unburden her heart.
    • One mother, when she heard that her daughter intended to take up medicine, retired to her room and wept, bewailing the fact that she had given birth to an "unnatural daughter."

unnaturalnoun/ʌnˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/

  • 1

    derogatoryOne who is unnatural, against nature, perverse.

    • In the so-called "golden era" of science fiction, gay/lesbian characters were treated as misfits, sociopaths, villains and "unnaturals" to be pitied and scorned. Gay characters were virtually all weak, effeminate snivelers out to harm the heroes of the story. Lesbians were invariably portrayed as massive, muscular Amazons with sadistic tendencies.
    • Deviants, heretics, pinks, false prophets and other unnaturals will not be spared the rod nor the stark fist of removal.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。