又中又英 | Anglosphere Countries | 褚简宁

　　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.

　　许多国家都以英语作为他们的主要语言，但并非他们所有国家都以同样的方式去串字、发音或讲英语。即使是主要的英语圈国家（Anglosphere countries），英文字的串法或发音都不一样。 Anglosphere countries就是以英语作为常用语言的国家，他们都有来自英国的文化根源。然而，不是所有的前英国殖民地都属于英语圈（Anglosphere）。英语圈（Anglosphere）的核心国家是英国、美国、加拿大、澳洲和新西兰。

　　英语在诸如印度和新加坡这些前英殖民地的国家被广泛使用，但因着其自身文化，他们都不被视为真正的英语圈国家（Anglosphere countries）。在英语圈（Anglosphere）的核心国家中，即使英语是最主要的语言，他们却仍有自己的俚语和措词。谚语"that dog won't hunt"是一个美式俚语，大概连其他英语圈（Anglosphere）核心国家的人也听不懂。它的意思是一个想法、建议或计划有缺陷，是行不通或注定失败的。这个习语来源自美国南部，在那里，不会打猎的猎犬是被视为没用的。

　　美国总统特朗普向加拿大施压，要她成为美国第51个州，但因为诸多因由，那是行不通的（that dog won’t hunt）。美国宪法规定，必定要国会参众两院都同意，才能增加一个新州份，但程序如何并不明确。国会通常会要求特定一个地方的人民同意，才能将之变成一个美国的州份。而该地方的政治架构，例如加拿大的国会，必须解散以遵从美国的政治架构。我就看不到加拿大人会同意这些要求的可能了。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻