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Talking proper: the language of U and Non-U
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The following guide summarizes advice on how to mix with the posh set at a formal meal.
想要在正式的宴會(huì)上完美融入上流社會(huì)?不妨看看下面的指南,概括了不少實(shí)用建議哦。
Invitations
邀請(qǐng)別人赴宴
The invitation should be written on writing-paper rather than note-paper. should be written on writing-paper rather than note-paper.
邀請(qǐng)不能用筆記本的紙寫,而要寫在信紙上。
Address male guests by their surname alone, unless they are a government minister, when Sir is required, or the king, when it should be Sire.
只寫男賓的姓氏,除非他是政府大臣(這時(shí)需要加上Sir),或國(guó)王(需要加上Sire)。
When giving your address, avoid non-U house names like Fairmeads; U speakers stick to formal titles like Shinwell Hall. I can think of a potential problem here for people who don’t live in a manor house, but I presume that not living in a manor house is also non-U.
提及自己的住址時(shí),別像非上流社會(huì)的人那樣管自己的房子叫Fairmeads之類的名字。上流社會(huì)總是使用正式名稱,例如Shinwell Hall。我能想象這里可能會(huì)有一個(gè)問(wèn)題,有些人并不住在莊園里。但我覺得住不起莊園也算不上上流社會(huì)的人。
The next difficulty is determining the correct term for the meal itself to which the guests are invited. Is dinner taken at midday or in the evening? What about lunch and supper – are these acceptable terms, or will they immediately flag your lowly status? Properly speaking, one should have lunch (or even luncheon) in the middle of the day and dinner in the evening. To refer to lunch as dinner, or to use the term evening meal is to betray your non-U origins. If a dinner guest praises the supper, then the implication is that the meal was insubstantial and unsatisfying.
下一個(gè)難點(diǎn)是如何正確描述要請(qǐng)賓客吃哪頓飯。Dinner這個(gè)詞究竟是說(shuō)午飯還是晚餐?可以使用lunch和supper嗎?它們會(huì)不會(huì)立刻顯得你沒(méi)那么高大上?正確的說(shuō)法是,午餐應(yīng)該叫l(wèi)unch甚至luncheon,晚餐則叫dinner。管午餐叫dinner或是管晚餐叫evening meal都會(huì)暴露你非上流社會(huì)的出身。要是一位客人說(shuō)今晚的supper真不錯(cuò),那他不是在暗示晚餐不夠豐盛,就是說(shuō)它不夠美味。
Never issue an invitation to high-tea, as this is an exclusively non-U invention.
絕對(duì)不要邀請(qǐng)別人參加high-tea,只有非上流社會(huì)的人才會(huì)使用這個(gè)詞。
When stating the dress code, be sure not to use the terms dress-suit or evening-dress. The refined equivalent is to state simply: "We will be changing for dinner". How your guest is supposed to glean what to wear from this is a mystery to me, but I suppose that is precisely the point. If you have to ask, you shouldn’t be going.
提到著裝規(guī)定時(shí),一定不要用dress-suit或evening-dress,而是簡(jiǎn)單的說(shuō) “We will be changing for dinner”就可以了。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō),客人們?nèi)绾晤I(lǐng)會(huì)該穿什么其實(shí)是個(gè)謎,但這正是關(guān)鍵所在。如果不知道穿什么,你就不應(yīng)該去。
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