There are few things people agree on in linguistically divided Belgium, but an effort to get Belgian potato fries recognized as global cultural heritage and put it on a par with Peking opera and the Argentinian tango may get unequivocal support.

在比利時，不同語言區的人幾乎沒在同一件事上達成過共識，但在為比利時炸薯條申請世界文化遺產這件事上，大家卻表現出驚人的一致。若通過世界文化遺產申請，未來比利時薯條將與中國京劇、阿根廷探戈等藝術齊名。

Belgian fries are traditionally sold, in a paper cone, in a "fritkot", generally a shack or trailer. There are some 5,000 of these in Belgium, making them 10 times more common, per capita, than McDonald's restaurants in the United States.

比利時炸薯條一般在街頭小店或手推車上售賣，通常裝在一個圓錐形的紙袋里。在比利時的大街小巷總共有五千余家炸薯條店面，換算起來人均數是美國麥當勞10倍多。

To become recognized by the United Nations' cultural arm UNESCO, they need to be endorsed by a minister of culture, and Belgium has three of them.

比利時炸薯條要得到聯合國教科文組織的認可，需要首先得到比利時文化部長的支持，而比利時有三個文化部長。

The government of the Dutch speaking region of Flanders recognized Belgian fries as an integral part of national culture this year, and the French- and German-speaking communities are expected to debate the issue next year.

佛蘭德斯荷語區政府已于今年承認炸薯條為比國文化不可或缺的一部分。預計法語區與德語區將在明年就此事展開討論。

UNAFRI, the national association of fritkot owners, which started the drive, says the unpolished establishments are uniquely Belgian, combining the country's embrace of chaos with a dislike of corporate uniformity.

據悉，此項倡議由比利時油炸食品業者聯盟(UNAFRI)發起。他們認為這種“粗放型”的炸薯條是比利時人獨特的象征，是該國包容散漫、擯棄集團化統一操作理念結合的產物。

"A cone of potato chips is Belgiumin miniature. What's astounding is that this way of thinking is the same, notwithstanding the different communities and regions," said spokesman Bernard Lefevre.

該聯盟的發言人伯納德·勒菲佛(Bernard Lefevre)說道：一小份薯條是比利時的縮影。我所驚訝的是三個地區的公眾能在申遺這個問題上達成一致，而不是各自發聲。”

Many tourists join the locals in the long queues at popular Brussels fritkots such as Frit Flagey and Maison Antoine.

紛至沓來的游客也不免前往布魯塞爾的薯條店去湊一把熱鬧。

"Before I came here, one of the only things I knew about Belgium was that they liked their fries, so I think they are pretty much there already," said Rachael Webb, a visitor from Ottawa, Canada, holding a cone of fries.

一位來自加拿大渥太華的游客告訴記者：“來到這里之前，我唯一知道的就是比利時人很熱愛他們的炸薯條，僅憑這一點，我已經覺得他們做得相當好了。”在接受采訪時，這位游客手中還拿著剛買到的炸薯條。

UNESCO has a list of 314 items of intangible cultural heritage worthy of preservation, ranging from Turkish coffee to the polyphonic singing of the Aka pygmies of the Central African Republic.

目前，被聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）列入值得保護的非物質文化遺產的有314項，包括土耳其咖啡和來自中非共和國阿卡族（Aka）矮人的復調唱法等等。

Potatoes reached Belgiumin the 16th century, but it was not until the 19th century that they were widely sold chipped and fried as a meal in themselves. UNAFRI says 95 percent of Belgians visit a fritkot at least once a year.

據了解，馬鈴薯于16世紀傳入比利時，但炸薯條開始廣為販賣，并成為桌上佳肴就到了19世紀。比利時油炸食品業者聯盟介紹，95%的比利時人每年至少要光顧薯條店一次。

（翻譯：實習營490252028 編輯：Helen）