50句英國人最不能忍的美式英語
50句英國人最不能忍的美式英語
美式英語入侵英國,BBC網(wǎng)站曾發(fā)表過一篇文章,引起了很多英國人的共鳴。英國讀者紛紛吐槽,列舉最不能忍的美式英語表達。
1. The next time someone tells you something is the "least worst option", tell them that their most best option is learning grammar.
下次要是有人跟你講XXX是the “least worst option”(最好選擇),你就告訴他們對于他們來說最最最好的選擇是滾回去學(xué)語法。
2. When people ask for something, I often hear: "Can I get a..." It infuriates me. It's not New York. It's not the 90s. You're not in Central Perk with the rest of the Friends. Really."
當某些人想要什么東西時,我經(jīng)常聽到他們說:“Can I get a...(我能要一個……)”這讓我大為惱火。這里又不是紐約,又不是90年代,你以為你是在Central Perk里演《老友記》啊,真是的!
3. The phrase I've watched seep into the language (especially with broadcasters) is "two-time" and "three-time". Have the words double, triple etc, been totally lost? Grammatically it makes no sense, and is even worse when spoken. My pulse rises every time I hear or see it. Which is not healthy as it's almost every day now. Argh!
我經(jīng)歷過的漸漸滲入到英語里的短語(特別是播音員使用的)是“two-time(兩次)”和“three -time(三次)"。難道double啊triple啊什么的都徹底消失了么?從語法上來說,這根本構(gòu)不成短語,而且用在口語中更糟糕。每次聽到或者看到它我就心跳加速。這對我的健康造成了威脅,因為基本每天都要經(jīng)歷這些。我去!
4. Using 24/7 rather than "24 hours, 7 days a week" or even just plain "all day, every day".
使用24/7來表達“全天候”,而不是“24 hours, 7 days a week”,或者就樸實地說“all day, every day”。
5. The one I can't stand is "deplane", meaning to disembark an aircraft, used in the phrase "you will be able to deplane momentarily".
我不能忍受的就是“deplane”這個詞,意思就是下飛機,用法是這樣的:“You will be able to deplane momentarily(您很快就能下飛機了)”。
6. To "wait on" instead of "wait for" when you're not a waiter - once read a friend's comment about being in a station waiting on a train. For him, the train had yet to arrive - I would have thought rather that it had got stuck at the station with the friend on board.
用“wait on”而不是“wait for”,而且你還不是服務(wù)員。有次我讀了一段朋友就在車站等車(waiting on a train)發(fā)表的評論。他所表達的意思是,火車一直沒到站。而我卻以為朋友在車上,但是車卻困在了車站里。
7. "It is what it is". Pity us.
這就是事實。同情同情我們吧!It is what it is.(該是什么就是什么。)美劇中經(jīng)常出現(xiàn),那么它的英式表達呢?There is no British way of saying this… it means nothing! 好吧,英國人覺得這個說法毫無意義!
8. Dare I even mention the fanny pack?
敢不敢提fanny pack(腰包)啊?
9. "Touch base" - it makes me cringe no end.
“Touch base(聯(lián)系)”——這讓我不停地哆嗦。
10. Is "physicality" a real word?
“Physicality(物質(zhì)性)”真的是一個詞嗎?
11. Transportation. What's wrong with transport?
Transportation(交通工具)。就不能用transport嗎?
12. The word I hate to hear is "leverage". Pronounced lev-er-ig rather than lee-ver-ig. It seems to pop up in all aspects of work. And its meaning seems to have changed to "value added".
我討厭聽到的詞是“leverage”。把它讀成lev-er-ig(美),而不是lee-ver-ig(英)。好像各行各業(yè)突然都這么讀了,意思貌似也變成“附加值”了。(leverage在美式英語中有“舉債經(jīng)營”的意思,英式英語用gearing表達此意)
13. Does nobody celebrate a birthday anymore, must we all "turn" 12 or 21 or 40? Even the Duke of Edinburgh was universally described as "turning" 90 last month. When did this begin? I quite like the phrase in itself, but it seems to have obliterated all other ways of speaking about birthdays.
難道沒人慶祝生日(celebrate a birthday)了嗎?我們一定都要“turn”12歲或者21歲或者40歲嗎?連愛丁堡公爵過生日也統(tǒng)統(tǒng)說成上個月他“turning”90歲。這是什么時候開始的?我喜歡這個表達本身,但它似乎取代掉其他所有談?wù)撋盏恼f法了。
14. I caught myself saying "shopping cart" instead of shopping trolley today and was thoroughly disgusted with myself. I've never lived nor been to the US either.
我發(fā)現(xiàn)現(xiàn)在自己會說:"shopping cart(購物手推車)”而不是shopping trolley ,我非常討厭這一點。我從沒去過美國,也沒在美國生活過。
15. What kind of word is "gotten"? It makes me shudder.
“Gotten(get的過去分詞,美式用法)”到底是個什么詞?它總是讓我不寒而栗。
16. "I'm good" for "I'm well". That'll do for a start.
用“I'm good(我很好)”替代“I'm well”。剛開始感覺都可以。
17. "Bangs" for a fringe of the hair.
用"bangs"表示劉海。
18. Take-out rather than takeaway!
說take-out(外賣)而不是takeaway!
19. I enjoy Americanisms. I suspect even some Americans use them in a tongue-in-cheek manner? "That statement was the height of ridiculosity".
我喜歡美式英語。不過我懷疑甚至一些美國人也是虛情假意地在用它們。“這份聲明簡直是荒謬(ridiculosity)。”
20. "A half hour" instead of "half an hour".
說“a half hour(半小時)”而不是“half an hour”。
21. A "heads up". For example, as in a business meeting. Lets do a "heads up" on this issue. I have never been sure of the meaning.
A “heads up(提醒)”。比如,在商業(yè)會議上說,Lets do a "heads up" on this issue. 我至今還不知道是什么意思。
22. Train station. My teeth are on edge every time I hear it. Who started it? Have they been punished?
Train station(火車站)。每次聽到它,我就很惱火。誰開始用這個詞的?他們沒有被罰嗎?
23. To put a list into alphabetical order is to "alphabetize it" - horrid!
把一張表按照字母順序排列就是去“alphabetize it”——非常不爽!
24. People that say "my bad" after a mistake. I don't know how anything could be as annoying or lazy as that.
那些在犯錯后說“my bad(我的錯)”的人,我真不知道事情怎么可以變得如此讓人惱火、將惰性體現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致的。
25. "Normalcy" instead of "normality" really irritates me.
用“normalcy(正常狀態(tài))”而不是“normality”真的會激怒我。