又中又英 | Change the names | 褚簡寧

　　A country can choose to change its name because it is that country's right. India changed the names of several cities to shed its colonial past. Bombay is now Mumbai. Ceylon renamed its country to Sri Lanka to shed its colonial past. The word "shed" has many meanings. To shed a country's colonial past means to get rid of it. To shed light on something means to provide information about it to make it easier to understand. A country does not have the right to change the name of something that it only partly owns.

　　The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water bordered by the US, Mexico, and Cuba. Each of the three countries only owns part of the coastal waters. The rest is an international body of water. But US President Donald Trump has renamed it the Gulf of America. Lake Ontario is shared by the US and Canada with the middle as international. But Trump has renamed it Lake America. Canadians are making a monkey out of him, insisting they will continue to call it Lake Ontario. To make a monkey out of someone means to make that person look foolish or stupid.

　　Mexico has also ignored Trump's renaming of the Gulf. The Mexican government has said it will continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico. Other countries continue to use the original names. Trump has now renamed AI as SI, which he said means Super Intelligence. He has ordered all government departments to use SI in official documents. Will SI catch on in the US or globally? To catch on means to become popular or fashionable. I doubt it.

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　　一個國家可以選擇改國家名，因為那是該國的權利。印度曾經改過幾個城市的名字，以擺脫（shed）它的殖民過去。孟買的英文名Bombay現在稱為Mumbai。錫蘭Ceylon也改了國家名為斯里蘭卡Sri Lanka，以脫去（shed）其殖民歷史。Shed有幾個意思，to shed a country's colonial past就是要擺脫一個國家的殖民歷史。To shed light on something是指去提供資訊闡明某事，令某事更清晰易明。一個國家若只部分擁有某事物，則沒有權利去改變它的名字。

　　墨西哥灣是一個國際水域，接壤美國、墨西哥和古巴。這3個國家只是各自擁有部分沿岸水域，其餘的都是國際水域。然而，美國總統特朗普卻將它改名為美國灣。安大略湖是美國和加拿大所共有，中間為國際水域，但特朗普卻將它改名為美國湖。加拿大人在耍弄（making a monkey）他，堅持他們會繼續叫它為安大略湖。To make a monkey out of someone是指將某人當猴子耍，愚弄某人，使其出醜。

　　墨西哥亦無視特朗普對海灣改名。墨西哥政府已經說了，會繼續叫它為墨西哥灣。其他國家亦紛紛繼續叫它的原名。特朗普現在將人工智能AI改名為SI，他說是Super Intelligence超智能的意思。他已經下令所有政府部門在官方文件中使用SI一詞。SI一詞會否在美國或全球流行（catch on）？To catch on是指受人追捧或流行起來。我就不信了。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻