香港是我家

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02/06/2014

香港是我家 毛孟靜

技術上,香港港仍算是一個中英並用的城市,所有的街名地名,仍然兩語對照。要學好英文,年輕人尤其可以做的,是自行中英並用之餘,兼中英並「重」:Whatever you say, orhave to say in Chinese, think about how youwould and could do it in English. 用中文說的話,問一問自己,改用英文會怎麼說,可以怎樣說呢。同時把在市面看到的讀到的,融入語文,中英比較一下。香港是我家,Hong Kong is our home。就都是很「香港」的英文。像旺角,Mongkok。有很長的一段時間,一直奇怪「旺」明明係W 音, 譯音應該是Wongkok,怎地會變了M 音的Mongkok?後來方知,旺角舊稱「芒角」,芒,果然M 字頭;話說昔日那一帶芒草叢生,地形似隻牛角伸入海。後來中文名改了,但英文用法,就一直沿用下來。今日旺角之旺,眾所周知,近年更成了大陸「自由行」旅客的熱點。Mongkok has inrecent years become a tourist hotspot formainland travellers.

另外有淺水灣。既然旁邊的深水灣叫DeepWater Bay,那為什麼淺水灣不就是ShallowWater Bay,而是Repulse Bay?Repulse 且有粗暴無禮地回絕人家好意的聯想;a repulsivesmell 是難聞的氣味,a repulsive person 是個討厭的人。

當然,repulse 同時解驅逐、擊退,to driveback an attack or an attacker。一個講法是,昔日的海盜在此處給英艦驅逐;另一是有艘叫HMS Repulse 的英國軍艦曾在這個灣長駐停泊,也就是Repulse Bay 「擊退灣」的來由。

今日的Repulse Bay, 就真常常給形容為repulsive。一大原因是外來沒穿泳衣的遊客如鯽,還有不熄匙的旅遊巴帶來的空氣污染︰The fumes from the tourist buses – from theidling vehicle engines – contribute to the airpollution, even when you are on the beach.還有中環,就叫Central,中心,也就是港島的CBD, Central Business District 的簡稱。( 不過要留意, 潮語或internet slang 中的CBD,解cute but dumb 可愛但蠢,並非善意的形容。)

Central 既是心臟地帶,就是個landmark 地標, 也就有iconic flair 受膜拜崇尚的標誌風貌。由是一句We go for tea in Central. 去中環喝茶,乍聽就像是很「高檔」的活動了。

也因為是核心商業的象徵,中環同時成了上演抗議的理想地點。香港爭取民主的一着,就叫「佔領中環」,Occupy Central!

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