Whitewashing

2015/11/05 08:41:16 網誌分類: 生活

05 Nov

        　　Do Hong Kong people prefer American English or British English？ I don’t know for sure. People in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and the mainland seem to prefer American English. Some years ago, I saw an advertisement in an English-language Taiwanese newspaper looking for English teachers with an American accent. People in former British colonies, such as Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia, and New Zealand continue to use British spellings. Hong Kong was a British colony but is now a part of China. Should it continue to use British English or should it drift (move slowly) towards American English？ Readers have, from time to time, asked me why I use American spelling as the default (normal, preferred, automatic) spelling and put the British spelling in brackets.

        　　When I first started this column in Headline Daily, I used British spelling because schools in Hong Kong also use British spelling. When The Standard, which belongs to the same media group as Headline Daily, began using my columns, I switched (changed) to American spelling as the default because The Standard uses American spelling. Some British readers of The Standard emailed me to say I should stick to (continue with) British spelling for historical reasons. But is drifting towards American English whitewashing (covering up, disguising) our colonial past？ Is it the same as putting a cover over the British insignia (symbol, sign, emblem) on colonial-era post boxes as the government has decided to do？ Different people will have different opinions on that.

        　　The fact, however, is that American culture is influencing much of the world because of Hollywood movies, Disneyland, music, and TV shows. American spelling has gained a foothold in many places. To gain a foothold means to have a strong first position from where you can make further progress. For example, Putonghua has gained a foothold in Hong Kong. I do not mind using either British or American spelling in my columns. One choice is to switch to British spelling as the default and put American spelling in brackets. What do you think？

        　　香港人較喜歡美式英語還是英式英語？我也不確定。日本、台灣、南韓和內地人似乎較喜歡美式英語。好些年前，我在一份台灣英文報章上見到一個廣告，招聘帶有美國口音的英語老師。前英國殖民地，如新加坡、馬來西亞、印度、澳洲、紐西蘭等地的人民，則持續使用英式串法。香港曾是英國殖民地，但現在是中國的一部份。我們應繼續用英式英語，還是慢慢轉移（drift）至美式英語？不時有讀者問我，為甚麼我以美式英語為預設（default）的串法，而將英式串法置放於括號中呢？

        　　初寫《頭條日報》專欄時，我用英式串法，因為香港學校也用此。當與《頭條日報》屬同一集團的《英文虎報》也開始用我的專欄時，我轉（switched）以美式串法為預設（default）寫法，因為《英文虎報》用美式串法。有些《英文虎報》的英國讀者電郵給我，認為基於歷史因由，我應堅持續（stick to）用英式串法。然而，逐漸轉（drifting）用美式英語，就是掩飾（whitewashing）我們殖民地的過去嗎？它跟政府決定遮蓋殖民時代郵筒上的英國皇室徽號，是同樣的事嗎？這真是見仁見智。

        　　但事實上，美國文化確實因着荷里活電影、迪士尼樂園、音樂和電視節目，影響全世界。美式串法得以在各個層面立足（gained a foothold）。To gain a foothold 意指得以建立據點，使你能有更長遠的進展。譬如，普通話在香港已站穩陣腳（gained a foothold）。我不介意在專欄中用英式或美式串法。其中一個選擇是轉（switch）以英式串法為預設（default）寫法，美式串法則放在括號中。你說呢？

        　　＊你只須用手機掃描 QR code，就可以聆聽我朗讀專欄的錄音。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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