精华区文章阅读

发信人: maynolia (小虾^跃出水面), 信区: English
标  题: 美语中的非正式用语(二)
发信站: 哈工大紫丁香 (2003年10月12日14:35:20 星期天), 站内信件

　　Like many languages, American English has numerous idioms that paint word
pictures. These colorful expressions come from everyday life and add spice to
language. When Americans want to make a good first impression on someone,
they try to put their best foot forward. That way, they won't get off on the
wrong foot in their relationship. Learning about idioms in a language and
culture can be difficult, but don't get cold feet. Just be careful when using
these expressions. Otherwise, you might put your foot in your mouth.

　　就像许多的语言一样，美语中也有许多的成语，刻画出文字的图像。这些多样化的表
达方式来自于每天的生活，并为语言增添了许多风味。当美国人想要给某人良好的第一印
象时，他们会先「伸出最好的那一只脚」（表现较好的一面）；如此，在他们的关系上就
不会「下错脚」（搞砸）了。学习一个语言和文化中的成语可能相当困难，但是也不要「
让脚发寒了」（恐惧、受挫），只要在用的时候小心一点就是了。否则你可能会「把脚放
进嘴巴里去了」（说错话）。

　　Americans enjoy making things easy on themselves. Even their
pronunciation is relaxed. Sounds or syllables that are not stressed are
shortened or combined with other sounds. As a result, "What do you want to
do?" becomes "Whaddaya wanna do?" And "I don't know" sounds like "I dunno."
See if you can understand the following conversation:

Gene: Jeet yet?
Tim: No, ju?
Gene: Skoeet!

Now let's translate it into regular English:
Gene: Did you eat yet?
Tim: No, did you?
Gene: Let's go eat!

　　School teachers probably cringe at this kind of pronunciation. But the
fact is, that's how Americans often talk in real-life situations.

　　美国人喜欢把事物简化，甚至连他们的发音也很轻松自在，不是重音的发音或是音节
，通常会被缩短或是和其它的音相连。因此，「What do you want to do?」就变成了「Wh
addaya wanna do?」而「I don't know.」听起来像「I dunno.」看看你能不能听懂以下的
对话：

吉妮: Jeet yet?
提姆: No, ju?
吉妮: Skoeet!

现在，我们来把它翻译成一般的英文：
吉妮: Did you eat yet? （你吃过了没？）
提姆: No, did you? （还没有，你呢？）
吉妮: Let's go eat! （一块儿去吃吧！）

　　学校的老师们对这样的发音恐怕是不敢恭维。不过事实上，通常美国人在实际的生活
中都是这么说话的。

　　There's one type of informal language that you should avoid using,
however. Swearwords offend many people in America. Sometimes people say
"four-letter words" to express anger or pain. Many of these "curse words" are
terms from the Bible that people have misused. For example, to damn means to
punish forever in Hell, so "damn" and "hell" are strong curses. Using the
names of God or Jesus without respect can also bother people. And one more
thing: stay away from "dirty words"-vulgar descriptions of sex or the human
body. True, some people talk like this, but such "gutter language" should
stay in the gutter.

　　然而有一种非正式的语言是你应当避免使用的。在美国咒诅骂人的话是会得罪人的。
有时候人们会说「四字经」来表达愤怒和痛楚。很多这类咒诅的字眼是取自圣经，但是被
人误用的。例如，「Damn」该死！指的是诅咒人在地狱里受永远的刑罚，所以「Damn」和
「Hell」都是很强烈的诅咒。而毫不尊重地妄用上帝或耶稣的名字也会使人很不舒服。还
有一件事：绝对不要讲「脏话」--对性或是人体低俗的描述。没错，确实有人是那么说话
的，不过这种属于阴沟的「脏话」就让它归于阴沟吧。

　　Americans enjoy being informal. They like making themselves comfortable,
whether it's wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt or using informal language. So
if you want to speak real American-style English, just go casual-especially
if your English teacher isn't looking.

　　美国人非常喜爱非正式、轻松的感觉。不论是藉由穿牛仔裤、T恤还是使用通俗的语言
，他们都喜欢让自己轻松自在。所以如果你想说真正的美式英语，尽量随意就是了，尤其
是你的英文老师没看着你的时候。

--
                          　　　                            　
                  Capture my heart instead of my sight!


※ 来源:·哈工大紫丁香 bbs.hit.edu.cn·[FROM: 219.217.226.26]

English 版 (精华区)