又中又英 | Change the names | 褚简宁

　　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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　　一个国家可以选择改国家名，因为那是该国的权利。印度曾经改过几个城市的名字，以摆脱（shed）它的殖民过去。孟买的英文名Bombay现在称为Mumbai。锡兰Ceylon也改了国家名为斯里兰卡Sri Lanka，以脱去（shed）其殖民历史。Shed有几个意思，to shed a country's colonial past就是要摆脱一个国家的殖民历史。To shed light on something是指去提供资讯阐明某事，令某事更清晰易明。一个国家若只部分拥有某事物，则没有权利去改变它的名字。

　　墨西哥湾是一个国际水域，接壤美国、墨西哥和古巴。这3个国家只是各自拥有部分沿岸水域，其余的都是国际水域。然而，美国总统特朗普却将它改名为美国湾。安大略湖是美国和加拿大所共有，中间为国际水域，但特朗普却将它改名为美国湖。加拿大人在耍弄（making a monkey）他，坚持他们会继续叫它为安大略湖。To make a monkey out of someone是指将某人当猴子耍，愚弄某人，使其出丑。

　　墨西哥亦无视特朗普对海湾改名。墨西哥政府已经说了，会继续叫它为墨西哥湾。其他国家亦纷纷继续叫它的原名。特朗普现在将人工智能AI改名为SI，他说是Super Intelligence超智能的意思。他已经下令所有政府部门在官方文件中使用SI一词。SI一词会否在美国或全球流行（catch on）？To catch on是指受人追捧或流行起来。我就不信了。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻