又中又英 | Anglosphere Countries | 褚簡寧

　　Many countries have English as their main language, but not all of them spell, pronounce, or speak English in the same way. Even the main Anglosphere countries don't spell or pronounce English words in the same way. Anglosphere countries are countries with English as their main language. They have cultural roots to the United Kingdom. But not all former British colonies are part of the Anglosphere. The core Anglosphere countries are the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

　　English is widely spoken in countries such as India and Singapore, former British colonies, but they are not considered true Anglosphere countries because of their own cultures. Even though English is by far the primary language in the core Anglosphere countries, they often have their own slang words and expressions. The saying "that dog won't hunt" is an American slang expression which people in the other core Anglosphere countries probably won’t even understand. It means an idea, suggestion, or plan is flawed and will fail for sure. The expression originated in the US south where hunting dogs that won’t hunt are considered useless.

　　US President Donald Trump has pressured Canada to become the 51st US state but that dog won’t hunt for many reasons. The US Constitution states both houses of Congress must approve adding a new state, but the process is unclear. Congress would normally require the people of a particular place to agree to becoming a US state. The political structure of that place, such as Canada’s Parliament, must dissolve to conform with the US political structure. I cannot see Canadians agreeing to such requirements.

　　許多國家都以英語作為他們的主要語言，但並非他們所有國家都以同樣的方式去串字、發音或講英語。即使是主要的英語圈國家（Anglosphere countries），英文字的串法或發音都不一樣。 Anglosphere countries就是以英語作為常用語言的國家，他們都有來自英國的文化根源。然而，不是所有的前英國殖民地都屬於英語圈（Anglosphere）。英語圈（Anglosphere）的核心國家是英國、美國、加拿大、澳洲和新西蘭。

　　英語在諸如印度和新加坡這些前英殖民地的國家被廣泛使用，但因着其自身文化，他們都不被視為真正的英語圈國家（Anglosphere countries）。在英語圈（Anglosphere）的核心國家中，即使英語是最主要的語言，他們卻仍有自己的俚語和措詞。諺語"that dog won't hunt"是一個美式俚語，大概連其他英語圈（Anglosphere）核心國家的人也聽不懂。它的意思是一個想法、建議或計劃有缺陷，是行不通或注定失敗的。這個習語來源自美國南部，在那裏，不會打獵的獵犬是被視為沒用的。

　　美國總統特朗普向加拿大施壓，要她成為美國第51個州，但因為諸多因由，那是行不通的（that dog won’t hunt）。美國憲法規定，必定要國會參眾兩院都同意，才能增加一個新州份，但程序如何並不明確。國會通常會要求特定一個地方的人民同意，才能將之變成一個美國的州份。而該地方的政治架構，例如加拿大的國會，必須解散以遵從美國的政治架構。我就看不到加拿大人會同意這些要求的可能了。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻