日常英语表达委婉语(euphemism)

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2024年6月1日发(作者：)

英语陷阱(1)

He is a bicycle doctor.

他是单车修理工.

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此句不能译作:"他是个骑单车的医生",因句中的doctor是委婉语(euphemism),

是对某种职业的美称,故不作"医生"解,而是表示repair man的涵义.

委婉语起源于远古,维多利来女王时代中期为其鼎盛时期,在现代英语中,

其出现频率依然颇高,因为人们通过委婉语,可以用温顺悦耳的词语去谈论或

叙述一些原来令人不快或逆耳之事物.为此,他们用domestic help,day help或

live-in help代替mail或servant(佣人); 以custodian或superintendent替代

doorkeeper,caretaker或janitor(看门人或管理人);用She has a tile loose或

She has a cylinder missing去代替She is crazy或Sh is not right in the head(神经失常).

委婉语多如恒河沙数,不胜枚举,在此略举数例,以见一斑:

原 称 委 婉 语

无线电修理工 radio electrician radio doctor

理发师 barber cosmotologist

妓女 whore working girl/ street girl

家庭妇女 housewife household executive

收垃圾工人 garbage collector sanitary engineer

老年

老人

假牙

小解

old age second childhood

old people senior citizens

false teeth dentures

piss urinate/ number one

最后请看几个委婉类例:

Nowadays many weight-watchers would like to go to the gym.

如今有不少胖人喜欢到健身房去锻炼.

That luster has taken a fancy to Middle Eastern dancing.

那个好色之徒现在开始喜欢肚皮舞.

They are the culturally deprived.

他们是没有学识的人.

A libray of teaching materials for preventing teenage suicides

will open for educators in Hong Kong this year.

今年香港将为教师开设一家图书馆以提供防止青少年自杀的教学资料.

值得注意的是,委婉语虽然是"古已有之,于今为烈",但决不能用得过多过滥.

使用时要考虑场合和对象,如用得不得体,反而会使你"欲礼而不达",甚至令人不知所云,一头

雾水.

英语陷阱(2)

You cannot be too careful.

你要特别小心.

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此句不能按字面译作:"你不能过分小心."因为是个固定结构,

其义为"无论如何...也不过分".如用英语阐述,上句相当于:

You should be as careful as possible. 我们在学习英语的时候,

遇到这类实际意义与其字面意义大相径庭的句子,必须小心区别,正确地理解其涵义.下面请

看几个类例:

We cannot recommend this book too strongly.

这本书很好,无论我们如何推荐也不过份.

You can't be too care ful in dong this experiment.

在做这个实验时,你们愈仔细愈好.

One cannot be too careful in matters like that.

人们在处理这种事情时必须非常慎重.

要注意的是,有几个变体结构,我们可以用impossible,difficult

等字去代替cannot;以enough,difficulty,sufficiently,exaggerate,to over-等字去替代too.

下面的一些句子就是""结构的变体:

I couldn't get home fast enough.

我恨不得马上回到家里.

You cannot take sufficient care.

你要特别小心.

The importance of this session cannot be exaggerated.

这次大会极为重要.

No man can have too many friends.

朋友愈多愈好.

der编著的"New Concept English"第二册其中一课"Do You Call That a Hat?"

中有这么一段风趣的夫妻对话,丈夫和妻子都用了这个句型的变体:

"I find it beautiful," I said. "A man can never have too many ties."

"And a woman can't have too many hats," she anwered.

"这条领带很漂亮,"我说道. "男人的领带愈多愈好."

"女人的也是愈多愈好啊," 她答道.

现在请读者将下面两个句子译成汉语:

We cannot too strongly inculcate (or It would be impossible to over-estimate)

the importance of more teacher training to deal with student problems and

prevent teenage suicides in Hong Kong.

The importance of the campaign against dogs in public housing estates in

Hong Kong cannot be exaggerated.

英语陷阱(3)

Do you know how to service this new-type machine?

你知道怎樣維修這種新型的機器嗎?

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