“pass the buck”

2016/09/27 08:41:24 網誌分類: 生活

27 Sep

        Idioms are an important part of the English language but they must be used correctly to make sense. It is no big deal to sometimes make grammar mistakes if English is not your first language. But even if English is not your first language, you should try to avoid making mistakes when using idioms. Many Hong Kong people mix up idioms. Former legislative councillor Ronny Tong Ka-wah is a fluent English speaker but mixed up a common idiom in an interview with an English-language radio station last week about the Wang Chau public housing project controversy. He said Chief Executive C.Y. Leung had tried to “push the bucket” to various people.

        　　Tong Ka-wah used “push the bucket” as an idiom to say C.Y. Leung tried to blame others, including Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, for the Wang Chau controversy, but “push the bucket” is not an idiom. The correct idiom is “pass the buck”. This means to avoid blame or responsibility for a problem by blaming others. For example, you are?passing the buck?if you decide not to attend a very important meeting with your boss but blame your secretary for not reminding you about the meeting.? Tong Ka-wah mixed up the idiom “pass the buck” with the expression “kick the bucket” when he said “push the bucket”. To “kick the bucket” means to die. If you say your 100-year-old uncle?kicked the bucket while attending his own birthday party, it means he died.

        　　As I have said many times before, even fluent English speakers sometimes make grammar mistakes. People whose first language is English seldom make mistakes when using idioms but they sometimes mix up idioms because of a slip of the tongue. The expression “a slip of the tongue” means making an unintentional mistake when speaking. Even though Tong Ka-wah speaks fluent English, I don’t think English is his first language. It is possible he made a slip of the tongue?when he mixed up “pass the buck” with “kick the bucket” by saying “push the bucket”.

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        諺語是英語的重要部份，但要正確使用，才能言之成理。若英語並非你的母語，有時犯了些文法錯誤也沒有甚麼大不了。但即使英語不是你的母語，你用諺語時也應該盡量避免犯錯。許多香港人都會混淆了好些諺語。前立法會議員湯家驊操流利的英語，但他上星期在一個英語電台節目的訪問中，談及橫洲公屋計劃爭議時，就混淆了一個常用的諺語。他說特首梁振英很努力去“push the bucket”給不同的人。

        　　湯家驊以“push the bucket”作為諺語，去說梁振英在橫洲爭議上諉過於人，包括推給財政司司長曾俊華，然而“push the bucket”不是一個諺語，正確的諺語應為“pass the buck”，意即將過錯或責任推卸給其他人。譬如，你決定不去跟老闆開一個很重要的會議，卻責怪是秘書沒有提醒你要出席會議，那你就在passing the buck。湯家驊說“push the bucket”時，大概是混淆了諺語pass the buck和習語kick the bucket。To “kick the bucket”即是死了，若你說你那一百歲的叔叔出席自己的生日派對時kicked the bucket，意即他在當天掛了。

        　　我從前已說過多遍，即使操流利英語的人，也會犯些文法錯誤。母語是英語的人，很少會在用諺語時犯錯，但他們有時也會因為一時口快（a slip of the tongue）而混淆了一些諺語。習語 a slip of the tongue 意即一時口快說錯了話。即使湯家驊說得一口流利英語，我不認為英語是他的母語。當他混淆了pass the buck和kick the bucket，而說出“push the bucket”一語時，他可能只是一時口誤（a slip of the tongue）罷了。

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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