曾经遇到过新邻居对你说“你得过来吃个晚饭”，可几个礼拜后邀请迟迟不来?
或者是激动地听到上司说他会记住你“非常有趣”的想法，却惊讶他再也没提过这件事?
那你就是拥有独特特征的英式英语的受害者了，英式英语对于表达真实所想来说太过拘谨、礼貌了。其实对于英国人来说，想想外国人可能会把他们的每句话信以为真，也挺令人困扰的。
现在这里有一张在网上引起热议的翻译表，能对你有所帮助。
|
英国人说的 |
英国人实际表达的 |
WHAT OTHERS UNDERSTAND 别人所理解的 |
|
I hear what you say 我听到你说什么了 |
I disagree and do not want to discuss it further 我不同意也不想继续讨论下去了 |
He accepts my point of view 他接受了我的观点 |
|
With the greatest respect 怀着最高的敬意 |
You are an idiot 你是一个白痴 |
He is listening to me 他在听我说 |
|
That's not bad 那不算坏 |
That's good 不错 |
That's poor 那很差劲 |
|
That is a very brave proposal 这是一个非常勇敢的提议 |
You are insane 你疯了 |
He thinks I have courage 他认为我很有勇气 |
|
Quite good 真不错 |
A bit disappointing 有一点令人失望 |
Quite good 真不错 |
|
I would suggest 我认为 |
Do it or be prepared to justify yourself 按我认为的去做或证明你的想法 |
Think about the idea, but do what you like 考虑他的说法，但按自己想的做 |
|
Oh, incidentally/by the way 哦，顺便提一下 |
The primary purpose of our discussion is 这次讨论的主要目的是 |
That is not very important 那并不是很重要 |
|
I was a bit disappointed that 我对此有点失望 |
I am annoyed that 我被惹恼了 |
It doesn't really matter 没关系 |
|
Very interesting 非常有趣 |
That is clearly nonsense 那简直是胡说八道 |
They are impressed 那令人印象深刻 |
|
I'll bear it in mind 我会记住的 |
I've forgotten it already 我已经忘了 |
They will probably do it 他们大概会这么做 |
|
I'm sure it's my fault 我确信这是我的错 |
It's your fault 这是你的错 |
Why do they think it was their fault? 为什么他们觉得是他们的错？ |
|
You must come for dinner 你得过来吃晚饭 |
It's not an invitation, I'm just being polite 这并不是一个邀请，我只是表示礼貌 |
I will get an invitation soon 我很快就会受到邀请 |
|
I almost agree 我差不多同意了 |
I don't agree at all 我根本不同意 |
He's not far from agreement 他差不多同意了 |
|
I only have a few minor comments 我只有一些次要意见 |
Please rewrite completely 请全部重写 |
He has found a few typos 他只找到了一些印刷错误 |
|
Could we consider some other options 我们能考虑下别的选择吗 |
I don't like your idea 我不喜欢你的主意 |
They have not yet decided 他们还没决定
|
表格揭露了当一个英国人用“怀着最高的敬意”为一句句子开头，他们实际想说的是“我认为你是一个白痴”。
“我听到你说什么了” 代表“我不同意也不想继续讨论下去了”，“这是一个勇敢的提议”代表“你疯了”。
这张表格被放到许多博客中后，收到许多外国人和英国人本身的赞同，承认这极其正确。
