Old School
2015/11/17 08:41:17 網誌分類: 生活
| Some weeks ago, a reader asked me to listen to a speech Fung Jing-en gave in English last August during the inauguration ceremony for new students at the Hong Kong University. The reader wanted me to comment on Fung Jing-en’s English because Leonie Ki Man-fung had criticized his standard of English. Ki Man-fung and Fung Jing-en are both members of the HKU Council. I listened to the speech on YouTube and, as I said in a previous column, his English is neither very lousy nor very good. But is Ki Man-fung’s English good？Three audios have been leaked of comments made by Ki Man-fung, Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, and Rosanna Wong Yick-ming at a confidential HKU Council meeting. Some people asked me to also write about the English standards of these three HKU Council members. My honest opinion after listening to the audios is that all three speak far better English than Fung Jing-en. But to be fair, all three are from the old school. The expression “old school” is used when referring in a good way to someone who is traditional or old-fashioned. Ki Man-fung, Li Kwok-cheung, and Wong Yick-ming all learned English during British rule. All three had close contact with British government officials and had to speak in English. Anyone who listens to the leaked audios will know all three are fluent English-speakers and probably studied abroad. Fung Jing-en is much younger. The need to speak English nowadays is not as great as during colonial times. The standard of English in Hong Kong is dropping. It is, therefore, unfair to compare his English with people from the old school. Some readers asked me to compare the English of Li Kwok-cheung, Ki Man-fung, and Wong Yick-ming. All three are fluent speakers but Li Kwok-cheung’s English is the best. He speaks like a native English speaker. Ki Man-fung’s English is also very good although she made some grammatical errors in the leaked audios. Wong Yick-ming’s English is fluent but she made a lot more grammatical mistakes. But she spoke more passionately than the other two in explaining why she opposed Johannes Chan Man-mun as pro-vice-chancellor. 幾個星期前，有讀者請我聽聽馮敬恩於八月香港大學新生開學典禮上，用英語發言的致辭。那位讀者想我評評馮敬恩的英語，因為紀文鳳曾公開批評他的英語水平。紀文鳳和馮敬恩都是港大校務委員會的成員。我在YouTube上聽畢其致辭，正如我在之前的專欄中說過，他的英語不是非常糟，也不是非常好。但紀文鳳的英語又如何？有三段洩密錄音，披露紀文鳳、李國章和王䓪鳴在港大校委會機密會議上的評論。 有些人也要求我寫寫這三位港大校委會成員的英語水平。我聽過錄音後，最老實的意見是，三位的英語都比馮敬恩要好得多。但公道點說，三位都是老派（old school）的人。習語 old school是指傳統或守舊的人。紀文鳳、李國章和王䓪鳴三位都在英國殖民統治下學英語，亦曾跟英籍政府官員有過緊密接觸，得以英語交談。任何聽過洩密錄音的，都知道三位都能講得一口流利英語，而且很有可能曾留學海外。 馮敬恩則年輕得多。今天說英語的需求，已大大不及殖民時代之時。香港的英語水平亦一直下降。因此，要拿他的英語跟舊派（old school）的人比較，是不公平的。也有些讀者要求我去比較李國章、紀文鳳和王䓪鳴的英語。三位都是英語流利的人，但李國章的英語是最好的，他說得像以英語為母語的人。紀文鳳的英語也非常好，即使她在洩密錄音中犯了幾個文法錯誤。王䓪鳴的英語也很流利，但她犯了不少文法錯誤。不過，她解釋自己為何反對陳文敏擔任副校時，就比另外兩位要熱切激動得多。mickchug@gmail.com 中譯:七刻 Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 |
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