對不起，您說的是英語嗎

Not long ago， an American friend was driving rather too vigorously in the west of Ireland when he was pulled over by a Garda （police officer）. “What would happen if you were to run into Mr. Fog？” the Garda inquired gruffly1） in his thick Irish brogue2）. Stung by this patronizing3） query， my friend replied with heavy sarcasm， “Well， I guess Id put Mr. Foot on Mr. Brake.” Whereupon the officer stared at him rather strangely and growled， “I said mist or fog.”

My friend， as it happens4）， is an anthropologist. For one enthralling5） moment he thought he had stumbled upon6） a tribe in the west of Ireland which personified aspects of the weather， speaking of Mrs. Hailstorm， Master Sunshine and so on. But it was just another case of international miscommunication.

Most people know that when a British schoolteacher asks his pupils to take out their rubbers， he is inviting them to produce their erasers， not about to give them a lesson in contraception7）. British people who live in flats do not set up home in burst tires. The word “bum8）” in British English means buttocks as well as vagrant9）.

People in Britain do not usually say “I appreciate it，” have a hard time， zero in10）， reach out to11） other people， stay focused， ask to be given a break， refer to the bottom line or get blown away12）. The word “scary，” as opposed to “frightening” or “alarming，” sounds childish to British ears， rather like talking about your buttocks as your bottie. Brits tend not to use the word “awesome，” a term which， if it were banned in the States， would cause airplanes to fall from the sky and cars to lurch13） off freeways.

Using the word “aggressive” positively also sounds strange across the pond. In Britain， it sounds almost as bizarre as complimenting someone on being as ugly as sin14）. The habit of using the word “l(fā)ike” every four seconds， widespread among American youth， has now caught on15） in Britain as well. Perhaps it has to do with an attempt not to sound dogmatic16）. “Its 9 oclock” sounds unpleasantly authoritarian， whereas “Its， like， 9 oclock” sounds suitably tentative and nondoctrinaire. It is rumored in Europe that you can now find tombstones in the U.S. reading “To Our Beloved Son， Brother and， Like， Husband.”

The phrase “to feel comfortable with” is quintessentially American. The British would not usually say “we feel comfortable with using this taxi firm，” any more than they would feel comfortable with being scourged17） until the blood ran down their thighs.

Americans tend to say “Excuse me” when they accidentally get in your way， while the British say “Sorry.” Americans say “Excuse me” even when they are 10 paces away from you， since they are accustomed to a lot more space than we are in Europe. One knows one is back in the U.K. when everyone is constantly saying sorry for no reason whatsoever.

What you say in Britain when you mishear what someone says depends on your social class. The working class say “Aye？”； the lower middle class， “Pardon？”； the middle class， “Sorry？”； and the upper class， “What？”

Americans tend to lapse into18） the present tense when speaking of the past much more commonly than Brits do. “Im in the kitchen and theres this terrific bang and I dive under the table” is distinctively American. Perhaps the British rate19） the past more highly than their trans-Atlantic cousins. People in Britain might call children kids， but not in newspaper headlines or on television news. Americans tend to prefer the ugly monosyllable “kids” to the rather beautiful word “children，” seemingly content to regard their offspring as small， smelly goats.

American road signs tend to be more colloquial20） than British ones. “Wrong Way—Go Back” or “Ped Xing21）” are too idiomatic22） for the British. The road sign “Way Out” in the U.K. is not a relic of the hippie era but means “Exit.” There used to be signs on garbage cans in Britain which read “Refuse23） to Be Put in This Basket，” which are puzzling only until you realize that “refuse” can mean “trash.”

Brits and Americans， in short， are more alien to each other than they usually imagine. Every now and then， an American will reveal that he or she does not understand the word “fortnight，” has never used a teapot or does not know how to boil an egg. At such times one can feel the NATO alliance straining and buckling.

你是不是常常為聽不懂老外說的英語而感到無比受挫？其實(shí)，即使是說同一種語言的英國人和美國人交談時(shí)也會(huì)遇到聽不懂的尷尬情況。就像在中國，一個(gè)北方人聽不懂南方方言一樣，英語中也存在諸多差異。對這些差異，你知道多少呢？下文就讓我們一起來了解英式英語和美式英語中那些有趣的差別。

不久前，一位美國朋友由于開車過猛，在愛爾蘭西部被警察（譯注：在愛爾蘭，Garda是“警察”的意思）勒令靠邊停車?！耙亲采响F先生（Mr. Fog）怎么辦？”這位警察帶有濃重的愛爾蘭口音，問起話來也粗聲粗氣的。我的這位朋友被這種高高在上的發(fā)問惹惱了，反唇相譏道：“哦，我想我會(huì)把腳先生（Mr. Foot）放在剎車先生（Mr. Brake）上吧。”結(jié)果這位警官用古怪的眼神盯著他看，咆哮道：“我剛才說的是霧天（mist or fog）！”

碰巧，我朋友是一位人類學(xué)家。有那么一瞬間，他好像被迷了心竅一樣，以為自己無意間在愛爾蘭西部撞見了一個(gè)喜歡將天氣情況擬人化的部落，比如“冰雹夫人”“陽光先生”等等。其實(shí)這不過是國際交流不暢的又一個(gè)案例而已。

大多數(shù)人都知道如果一位英國老師讓小學(xué)生們拿出“rubber”，意思是請他們拿出自己的橡皮，而并非要上一堂有關(guān)避孕的課（譯注：rubber在美式英語里有“安全套”的意思）。住在“flat”里的英國人也并沒有在癟了的輪胎上安家（譯注：flat在美式英語里指癟了的輪胎，在英式英語里指公寓套房）。在英式英語里，“bum”一詞既指屁股，也有流浪漢的意思。

英國人并不常說“I appreciate it”（我很感激），不會(huì)have a hard time （過得艱難），不會(huì)zero in （集中注意力），不會(huì)reach out to other people （主動(dòng)接觸他人），不會(huì)stay focused （注意力集中），也不會(huì)要求be given a break （準(zhǔn)許休息），不會(huì)說the bottom line （底線）或者get blown away （驚訝不已）。相比“frightening”（令人恐懼的）或者“alarming”（使人驚恐的），英國人認(rèn)為“scary”（可怕的）一詞聽起來太幼稚，就像把自己的“buttocks”（臀部）稱作“bottie”（屁屁）一樣。英國人不怎么用“awesome”（棒極了）這個(gè)詞，可要是在美國禁用這個(gè)詞，估計(jì)飛機(jī)都會(huì)從天上掉下來，汽車也要從高速公路沖出去了。

在大洋彼岸的英國，“aggressive”（好斗的，有進(jìn)取心的）若是被用作正面形容詞，聽起來也會(huì)很奇怪。在英國，這就好比恭維別人說他長得丑極了。美國年輕人每四秒就要用一次“l(fā)ike”這個(gè)詞，這個(gè)習(xí)慣如今在英國也很流行。也許這樣做是為了聽起來不那么武斷?！癐ts 9 oclock”（現(xiàn)在9點(diǎn)了）聽起來專橫，令人不悅；相反，“Its， like， 9 oclock”（現(xiàn)在可能9點(diǎn)了吧）聽起來有點(diǎn)猶豫不決，卻恰到好處，也顯得不那么教條。在歐洲，人們甚至謠傳說現(xiàn)在美國有這樣的墓碑，上面寫著“To Our Beloved Son， Brother and， Like， Husband”（致我們摯愛的兒子，兄弟，要么是丈夫吧）。

“to feel comfortable with”（感到很愜意）這個(gè)表達(dá)是典型的美式英語。英國人一般不會(huì)說“we feel comfortable with using this taxi firm”（這家出租車公司的服務(wù)讓我們感覺很舒服），就好像被鞭子抽，血順著大腿流下來，他們不會(huì)覺得很舒服一樣。

要是不小心擋了你的路，美國人喜歡說“Excuse me”（不好意思）；英國人則喜歡說“Sorry”（對不起）。即便離你還有十步遠(yuǎn)，美國人也會(huì)說“Excuse me”，因?yàn)楹臀覀冊跉W洲相比，他們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了有更大的空間。要是周圍每一個(gè)人都無緣無故不停地說“sorry”，你就知道自己回到英國了。

在英國，在沒聽清別人說話時(shí)，說什么取決于你所處的社會(huì)階層。工薪階層會(huì)說“Aye？”（??？）；中產(chǎn)階級(jí)下層會(huì)說“Pardon？”（請?jiān)僬f一遍。）；中產(chǎn)階級(jí)會(huì)說“Sorry？”（抱歉。）；上層階級(jí)則會(huì)說“What？”（什么？）。

在講述過去發(fā)生的事情時(shí)，美國人會(huì)不知不覺使用現(xiàn)在時(shí)。英國人則不常這么做?！癐m in the kitchen and theres this terrific bang and I dive under the table”（當(dāng)時(shí)我在廚房，聽到可怕的爆炸聲，就躲在了桌子底下）是典型的美式英語（譯注：這句英文敘述的是過去的事情，卻用了現(xiàn)在時(shí)）。也許英國人比他們大西洋對岸的表親更看重過去。英國人也會(huì)把孩子們稱作“kids”，但在報(bào)紙頭條或者電視新聞里不這么做。美國人卻寧愿用這個(gè)不可愛的單音節(jié)詞“kids”來代替相當(dāng)美好的“children”一詞。他們似乎很樂意把自己的后代比作又小又難聞的山羊（譯注：kid在英式英語里有“小山羊”的意思）。

美國的路標(biāo)比英國路標(biāo)更口語化。對英國人來說，“Wrong Way—Go Back”（錯(cuò)路——調(diào)頭）或者“Ped Xing”（斑馬線）都太像方言了。在英國，標(biāo)有“Way Out”（出路）的路標(biāo)并不是什么嬉皮士時(shí)代的遺產(chǎn)，而是指“Exit”（出口） （譯注：way out有反傳統(tǒng)的意思，而嬉皮士運(yùn)動(dòng)正是由一群反抗習(xí)俗和當(dāng)時(shí)政治的年輕人發(fā)起的）。英國的垃圾箱上以前常常標(biāo)著“Refuse to Be Put in This Basket”（垃圾入筐）。如果你意識(shí)不到“refuse”有“trash”（垃圾）的意思，就會(huì)覺得很困惑。

簡言之，英國人和美國人之間的差異比他們自己平時(shí)想象得要大。時(shí)常會(huì)有美國人承認(rèn)自己不明白“fortnight”（兩星期）是什么意思，說自己從來沒用過“teapot”（茶壺），也不知道該怎么“boil an egg”（煮雞蛋）。每到這時(shí)候，人們就能感到北約這個(gè)聯(lián)盟處在一種多么緊張較勁的狀態(tài)。

1. gruffly [?ɡr?fli] adv. 粗聲地；生硬地

2. brogue [br??ɡ] n. 土腔（尤指愛爾蘭口音的英語）

3. patronizing [?p?tr??na?z??] adj. 屈尊俯就的；自視高人一等的

4. as it happens：碰巧；偶然

5. enthralling [?n?θr??l??] adj. 迷人的

6. stumble upon：偶然遇到，偶然見到

7. contraception [?k?ntr??sep?（?）n] n. 避孕

8. bum [b?m] n. 屁股；流浪漢

9. vagrant [?ve?ɡr?nt] n. 游民；流浪者

10. zero in：專心注意

11. reach out to：接觸

12. blow away：給某人以深刻印象，使震驚；槍殺

13. lurch [l??（r）t?] vi. 突然傾斜；突然急動(dòng)

14. as ugly as sin：（外表）難看，令人厭惡

15. catch on：變得入時(shí)，流行起來

16. dogmatic [d?ɡ?m?t?k] adj. 教條的

17. scourge [sk??（r）d?] vt. 鞭打

18. lapse into：輕率地陷入（不良習(xí)慣或行為）

19. rate [re?t] vt. 認(rèn)為

20. colloquial [k??l??kwi?l] adj. 通俗的；口語體的

21. Ped Xing：pedestrian crossing的縮寫，人行橫道，斑馬線

22. idiomatic [??di??m?t?k] adj. 符合（某一）語言習(xí)慣的；地道的

23. refuse [?refju?s] n. 垃圾；廢物 [r??fju?z] vt. 拒絕