reunification

2018/07/03 04:12:36 網誌分類: 生活

03 Jul

         Although the US and Britain share the same English language, Americans and Britons use English very differently. They speak English with different accents, spell many words differently, have different words for the same thing, and even use grammar differently. That’s why there is a well-known saying: The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language. This saying means that although both countries have the same language, they are also separated by this common language because of the way they use it. No one knows for sure the origin of this saying but many historians agree the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw said it first, although others say it was Irish poet and writer Oscar Wilde or Winston Churchill, the British prime minister during the 1940s and 1950s.

        　　I suddenly remembered the old saying last week while watching a CNN news report about the children of illegal immigrants in the US being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border. The CNN news presenter said the children will now be reunified with their parents or relatives. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said several hundred children have already been reunified with their parents or relatives. People who speak British English would not use the word “reunify” in this way. They would instead use the word “reunite”. The two words sound very similar but have different meanings. Hong Kong people are familiar with the words “reunify” or “reunification”. We use these words for the 1997 reunification of Hong Kong with China.

        　　The word “reunify” is commonly used to describe the joining together of parts of a country that were divided. For example, East and West Germany were reunified in 1990. The word “reunite” means to bring people together again. Therefore, the word “reunite” should be used to describe the children of illegal immigrants being together again with their families. Alex Azar used both “reunify” and “reunite”. Many US newspapers and TV stations also used both “reunify” and “reunite”. The correct word is “reunite” in proper English but as I have said many times, English is an evolving language. Both are acceptable in the US.

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         雖然美國與英國同樣使用英語，但美國人和英國人所用的英語迥然不同。他們說的英語有不同的口音，許多字的串法不一，用不同的字詞去說同一樣的事物，甚至有不同的文法。因此有句眾所周知的名言：The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language. 這句話的意思是：即使兩個國家擁有一樣的語言，他們亦同樣被這共通語言所分隔，因為他們使用的方式大相逕庭。沒有人確切知道這句話的源起，但許多歷史學家都認為是愛爾蘭作家蕭伯納先說的，雖然也有人說是愛爾蘭詩人兼作家奧斯卡．王爾德，又或是一九四○至五○年代在任的英國首相溫斯頓．邱吉爾。

        　　上星期CNN電視新聞報道，美國政府在與墨西哥接壤的邊境，強行將非法入境者的子女與其父母分離，我看着時突然想起了那句老話來。CNN新聞報道員稱，這些兒童現將與他們的父母或親人團聚（reunified）。美國衞生及公共服務部部長阿歷克斯．亞扎爾說，數百名兒童已經與其父母或親人團聚（reunified）了。而其實說英式英語的人並不會如此用“reunify”這個字，他們會用“reunite”一字。這兩個字聽起來很相近，但意思並不相同。香港人對“reunify”或“reunification”這些字眼都很熟悉，我們會以它們來說香港於一九九七年回歸（reunification）中國。

        　　“Reunify”一字通常用以形容一個國家分裂的地土重新統一，譬如，東德和西德就在一九九○年正式統一（reunified）。“Reunite”通常就指讓人們重聚，因此當說到非法入境者的子女可以再與家人團聚，應該用“reunite” 一字。“Reunify”和“reunite”這兩個字亞扎爾也有用到。許多美國報章和電視台也同樣用了“reunify”和“reunite”這兩個字。在正統英語中，“reunite”才是正確的字，但正如我說過許多遍，英語是個不斷演變中的語言，在美國這兩個字都是可接受的。

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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