让美国人费解的英式英语

英式英語和美式英语一直被拿来做比较。很多英剧迷都很迷恋有气质的英式英语，但同是英语一家亲的美国人，却对一些英式英语感到很费解。

It can be as insignificant as the slide from “oops” to “whoops”. It can be as blunt as the shift from “restroom” to “toilet”. It can be no more than the adaptation from “good job” to “well done.” But whatever precisely it is， the adjustment is momentous. A new nation was born in 1776， and a new language was born with it.

Having become an American， a British man returned to England a few years back after an absence of 31 years. He expected to speak British English. But he was wrong. Somewhere in the interim the pronunciation of the letter H had become “haitch” from “aitch”， with the result that spelling out his family name （surname） was painful. “You” had somehow morphed into the ghastly reflexive “yourself”， as in， “And for yourself？”

Virgin Media and Sir Richard Bransons monumental ego had taken a stranglehold on the country and its lexicon， with the result that a cheesy， simpering， faux-friendly， off-key， faintly Essex hail-well-met affectation （Never just plain “Hello，” always “Well， hellooo there”） was near universal. He have found that it never stops grating. In the toilet of a Virgin train， an announcement in that voice asks you not to flush tampons， old phones—or your dreams. You get the picture.

People in England are nice. Theyre lovely， just lovely， another of those words thats everywhere in a different way. For example， “See you tomorrow， then.” “Lovely.”

His kids， New York raised， started questioning him from the moment they touched down. “Baggage REclaim？” they asked at Heathrow. “Are you serious？” “Well， um， um （a little British throat-clearing to get them used to the new scene）， yeah.” So， “Baggage Claim” had become “Baggage Reclaim”， on what grounds it was not clear.

There you had it， oops to whoops. And then， driving into London and passing a petrol （gas） station， the incredulity of his son， “They dont actually spell tires with a ‘y， do they？”

British idioms are equally impenetrable. The culture wars， of course， have come to Britain. Even Black Friday shopping mania has come to Britain， with or without Thanksgiving. Theres endless flux， but differences endure. You read things like， “White-van man does not eat braised endive.” White-van man would be the English guy who votes for the right-wing UK Independence Party and who hates all the immigrant-loving urban eggheads driving Volvos. Rough translation： Joe the plumber does not eat broccoli. Thats very rough. As you will have gathered， the ocean is immense. Globalization has its limits.

Cell is mobile here. Two weeks is a fortnight. Silverware is cutlery. And the flat that costs two million quid （three million bucks） with no lift is an overpriced London apartment with no elevator.

Dont exaggerate， you will tell me. In a way youd be right. London glides into New York more easily than into Birmingham. They get each other. But this is less than half the trans-Atlantic story. Language demands a different character of them on either side of the pond. Thats profound.

And for him， if theres one word on which the differences hinge， it would be “sure”. In England， it stands for prudence， as in， “Are you really sure？” In America， its the beautiful， give-it-a-whirl， up-for-anything embrace of the unknown.

“Will you take a road trip （drive） with me across the country， babe？”

“Sure.”

从英语到美语的转变，有时是“哎哟”的说法从“oops”变成“whoops”一样不起眼，有时是把“廁所”从“restroom”变成“toilet”一样的天壤之别。它也可以像把“干得漂亮”的说法从“good job”变成“well done”一样，只是改编一下。但无论具体是怎样，这都是一个重大转变。一个新的国家在1776年诞生之际，一门新的语言也随之诞生了。

几年前，已经成为美国人的一位英国人回到了阔别31年的英国。他打算说英国话来着。但他错了。在他离开的31年间，字母H在某些地方的发音已经从“aitch”变成了“haitch”，致使他很难读出自己的姓氏。“你（you）”不知怎的已经演变成了可怕的反身代词“你自己（yourself）”，例如，“那你自己呢？（And for yourself？）”

维珍媒体和理查德·布兰森爵士的极端自负深深影响着这个国家和它的词汇表。其结果是，给人以低级庸俗、装疯卖傻、虚情假意、荒腔走板之感，还带着点埃塞克斯式自来熟的矫揉造作[绝不会平铺直叙地说出“你好 （Hello）”，而是把“嘿，你好哦（Well， hellooo there）”挂在嘴上]，几乎无所不在。他发现，这种让人火大的矫揉造作永远不会有所收敛。在维珍公司运营的火车上，卫生间里的提示语以同样的腔调要求你别把卫生棉条、旧手机——或者你的梦——扔进马桶冲走。你懂的。

英国人是友善的。他们很可爱（lovely），而“lovely”一词同样有着五花八门的用法。例如，“那么，明天见。”“好啊（Lovely）。”

他的孩子们以前都生活在纽约。从他们乘坐的飞机降落在英国国土上开始，他们就一直在责问他。“Baggage REclaim？”他们在希思罗机场问道，“你是认真的吗？”“这个，嗯，嗯（以英国人的方式稍微清清嗓子，好帮他们适应新状况），是的。”这么说，出于某些尚不清楚的原因，“行李领取处”（Baggage Claim）变成了“行李收回处”（Baggage Reclaim）了。

情况就是如此。Oops不也变成whoops了嘛。接着，在车子驶入伦敦、经过一个加油站时，他儿子疑惑地问道：“他们拼写‘tire（轮胎）的时候不用‘y吧？（即tyre）”

英国的成语同样令人费解。文化战争当然已经蔓延到英国。甚至是黑色星期五的购物狂潮也蔓延这里，无论他们过不过感恩节。文化源源不断地涌入，但永远存在差别。你会读到，“疯狂驾驶白货车的男子不吃炖菊苣。”驾驶白货车的男子指的是那些英国人：他们投票支持右翼的英国独立党，并且憎恨所有开沃尔沃的热爱移民的城市蛋头（egghead，美语俚语，对知识分子的蔑称）。粗略翻译过来就成了：水管工乔不吃西兰花。这确实非常粗略。你可能也看出来了，简直是差了十万八千里。全球化也有无能为力的时候。

在这里，人们把“手机（cell）”叫作“移动电话（mobile）”。两周叫作“十四天（fortnight）”。200万英镑一套（也就是300万美元）、没有“lift”的“flat”，其实就是一套定价过高的、没有“电梯（elevator）”的“公寓（apartment）”。

你可能会说，别夸张了。从某种意义上讲，你说的可能没错。伦敦与纽约的差距比它与伯明翰的差距要小。他们能理解对方。但这只是冰山一角。语言要求他们在大洋两岸展示出不同的性格。这是一种深刻的区别。

而对他来说，如果有一个词最能体现美语和英语的区别，那就是“sure”。在英国，它代表着谨慎，比如，“你真的确定吗（Are you really sure）？”但在美国，它则代表着一个积极热情、大胆尝试、愿意拥抱未知的态度。

“你愿意和我驾车穿越美国吗，亲爱的？”

“好呀（Sure）。”