又中又英｜“Doesn’t strike me as” - Michael Chugani 褚简宁

Did Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor really use a profanity at a press conference last week? When a Hong Kong friend sent me a short clip of her seemingly using a profanity I thought it was fake but other friends told me it was real. I watched it many times and it really did sound like she had used a Cantonese profanity. The clip of her apparently using a profanity went viral on the internet. Many people agree the chief executive is arrogant and often dresses down top officials during meetings but she doesn’t strike me as someone who would use foul language.

The word “profanity” means a swear word or bad language. Foul language also means bad language. If something goes viral on the internet it means it spreads very quickly. To dress down means to wear informal clothes. People who usually wear suits to go to work often dress down or wear informal clothes if they have to work on Saturdays. But to dress down can also mean to angrily scold someone. The expression “doesn’t strike me as” is used when you don’t think of someone in a particular way. I never thought of the chief executive as someone who would use bad language.

The Cantonese profanity the chief executive seemingly used is the same as the English swear word “f..k”. She used it when she became annoyed at mixing up some points she was explaining during the press conference. It is not unusual for top leaders to use swear words. US President Joe Biden did it last week when he didn’t know his mic was still on after a press conference. He said something very rude about a Fox News reporter who often asks him difficult questions. The profanity the chief executive used is common in Hong Kong but is newsworthy when a political leader uses it. Biden apologized to the reporter but the chief executive has remained silent about her apparent use of a swear word.
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林郑月娥上星期在记者会上，到底有没有真的说了个粗口字（profanity）？当一位香港朋友传来她似乎说了粗口（profanity）的短片时，我还以为是假的，但其他朋友却告诉我那是千真万确。我翻看了短片许多遍，听起来她好像真的说了个广东话粗口（profanity）。她明显地爆粗（profanity）的短片在网上疯传（went viral）。许多人认为特首傲慢自负，常在会议期间训斥（dresses down）高官，但她从没有让我觉得她像（doesn’t strike me as）一个会说粗言秽语（foul language）的人。

Profanity是指脏话， foul language同样是指粗言秽语。若某事在网络 goes viral，即是指它在网上疯传或爆红。To dress down是指穿便装；平日要穿套装上班的人，若要在星期六上班，往往会 dress down，穿轻便的装束去上班。但 to dress down也可以解作训斥、数落某人。习语“doesn’t strike me as”是指你一直没有想到某人会怎样怎样，我就从未想过特首是个会说脏话的人。

特首疑似说的脏话（profanity），就跟英语的脏话“f..k”是一样的。在记者会上，她恼怒于自己混淆了想要解释的几点，而说了那个字。政府首脑说脏话不算稀奇，美国总统祖‧拜登上星期就爆了粗，当时记者会完结，他却不知道自己的咪高峰还未关上。他就着一个常问他刁钻问题的霍士新闻记者，说了一些非常无礼的话。特首所用的粗口（profanity）字眼在香港其实非常普遍，不过当一个政治领袖说的时候，仍然很有新闻价值。拜登最终向该名记者道歉，但特首明显地说了个粗口字，却始终默不作声。

中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁