又中又英 | King’s English | 褚簡寧

　　President Donald Trump told the media he loved the accent of King Charles III when the British king gave a speech at the US Congress recently. King Charles, of course, gave the speech in perfect King's English. It was called the Queen’s English until Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022. It became the King's English when Charles succeeded his mother as king. But what does the Queen’s English or the King's English mean? It means an upper-class accent and pronunciation in perfect English that most people in the UK and those in English speaking countries like the US, Canada, and Australia are unable to do.

　　The late Irish-born writer George Bernard Shaw is credited with saying England and America are two nations divided by a common language. What he meant was people in both countries speak English, but the accent and some spellings are different. I read an old article in The Guardian, a British newspaper, about readers complaining that The Guardian uses too many Americanisms. Americanism means a word or expression first used in the US but has spread to other English-speaking countries. The American expression “pony up”, which means to pay back money you owe, has spread to other English-speaking countries.

　　Many countries now use elevator instead of lift, which is British English. Americanism also means culture or beliefs that are typically American. Trump, of course, is incapable of speaking the King’s English even though he admires the accent of King Charles. I have long wondered if the world should adopt American English. Places such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan use American English.

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　　英王查理斯三世最近在美國國會發表過演說後，美國總統特朗普就跟傳媒說他喜愛英王的口音。當然，英王查理斯演講是用完美的「國王英語」King's English。它前稱「女皇英語」Queen’s English，直至英女皇伊利沙伯二世於2022年過世。當查理斯繼承他母親成為國王時，那就稱為King's English。可是Queen’s English又或King's English到底作何解？它是指上流社會的口音與發音，是純正、標準的英式英語，英國大多數人以至美國、加拿大和澳洲等英語國家的人，都未能說得這一口標準英語。

　　愛爾蘭出生的已故作家蕭伯納，被認為曾說過這樣一句話：英格蘭和美國是被同一語言分開來的兩個國家。他的意思是，兩個國家的人都說英語，但兩者的口音和有些字的串法並不相同。我讀過英國報章《衛報》的一則舊報道，關於讀者們投訴《衛報》用得太多Americanisms－－Americanism是指先在美國通行使用的美式字詞或習語，而後傳播至其他英語國家。美式習語“pony up”已傳至其他英語國家，指的是還錢、還你所欠的債。

　　當談到升降機時，許多國家現在都用elevator而非英式英語的lift。Americanism也可以指美國主義，包括美國的文化與信念。當然，即使特朗普非常欣賞英王查理斯的口音，他卻說不出那一口標準的「國王英語」（King’s English）。長久以來我都思忖，全世界是否都應該採用美式英語？像日本、南韓、菲律賓和台灣這些地方，都在用美式英語。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻