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The new £5 note has a major grammar blunder...But have you spotted it?
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英國新版的5英鎊塑料鈔票因其環(huán)保耐用而廣受贊譽(yù),然而,最近英國眼尖的群眾們發(fā)現(xiàn)鈔票上有一個(gè)重大的語法錯(cuò)誤,這一錯(cuò)誤還引發(fā)了英國學(xué)術(shù)界和文學(xué)界的唇舌之爭。
Britain is living in a “post-punctuation world”, academics have warned, with the Bank of England named as the latest major institution to ignore the correct use of the English language.
學(xué)術(shù)界近日告誡英國正處在“后標(biāo)點(diǎn)時(shí)代”,指英格蘭銀行又是一個(gè)不顧英文正確使用規(guī)則的重要機(jī)構(gòu)。
The Bank has been accused of “dumbing down” after choosing to remove punctuation from a quote by Sir Winston Churchill printed on its new £5 notes.
新5英鎊鈔票上印有一句丘吉爾的名言,英格蘭銀行去掉了其中的標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號,這一做法被指責(zé)“膚淺”。
In its concept image for the new polymer £5 notes the Bank correctly included double quotation marks around the former prime minister’s famous saying: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
新版5英鎊鈔票采用塑料材質(zhì)。初期的設(shè)計(jì)稿上還嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)匾噪p引號引用了丘吉爾的名言:“我沒有別的東西奉獻(xiàn),唯有辛勞、淚水和血汗?!?/p>
However, it has emerged that it quietly dropped them from the final design, something it is understood has attracted complaints from keen-eyed members of the public.
然而,最終英格蘭銀行悄然去掉了雙引號,引起了眼尖群眾的不滿。
The National Literacy Trust has backed their cause advising that the quote is grammatically incorrect in its current state appearing without a full stop or quotation marks.
英國國家讀寫能力信托指責(zé)現(xiàn)在這句名言既沒有句號也沒有雙引號,是嚴(yán)重的語法錯(cuò)誤。
It is likely to further fuel a national debate over whether proper use of grammar and punctuation is being devalued by society and follows a number of local councils sparking public outrage by banning apostrophes from road signs, after national guidelines warned punctuation could “confuse” emergency services.
這一事件或許會(huì)引起一輪全國范圍的新爭論,即如今的社會(huì)是否在輕視語法和標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號的正確使用。之前,因國家規(guī)定,路標(biāo)上有標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號會(huì)誤導(dǎo)應(yīng)急服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu),一些地方政府換掉了使用了所有格符號(撇號)的路標(biāo),這種做法引起了公憤。
Some reversed the decision after members of the public resorted to using marker pens to fill in apostrophes missing from signs.
這種情況下,民眾用馬克筆把不見了的撇號補(bǔ)了回來,有些地方政府于是作罷。
Prof Alan Smithers, head of the centre for education and employment research at the University of Buckingham, said: "We are living in a post-punctuation world created by big institutions. Some people may dismiss omissions as pedantry, but they have lost sight of the fact that precision of expression reflects precision of thought."
伯明翰大學(xué)教育和就業(yè)研究中心的艾倫?史密瑟斯教授表示:“在大型機(jī)構(gòu)的影響下,我們生活在一個(gè)‘后標(biāo)點(diǎn)’時(shí)代。有些人或許會(huì)不以為然,認(rèn)為這有賣弄學(xué)問之嫌,可是他們忽略了一個(gè)事實(shí):表達(dá)反映了我們的思維,精確的表達(dá)代表了縝密的思維?!?/p>
The Bank had originally included double quotation marks in its concept image for the new polymer £5 notes but quietly dropped them from the final design.
英格蘭銀行在最初設(shè)計(jì)新的5英鎊鈔票之時(shí)使用了引號,最終又將其悄然去掉。
Critics suggested the note's designers had sacrificed "correct" punctuation for the sake of creating an aesthetically pleasing design. A spokesman at the Bank declined to comment.
批評者稱貨幣設(shè)計(jì)師為成就設(shè)計(jì)的美感而犧牲了“正確的”標(biāo)點(diǎn)。英格蘭銀行發(fā)言人拒絕置評。
New polymer £5 notes were introduced in October last year and there are now around 400 million in circulation.
新版5英鎊去年十月發(fā)行,如今流通量已達(dá)四億。
Dr Tara Stubbs, an English lecturer at the University of Oxford, said such omissions were "condescending" and accused the Bank of trying to dumb down grammar.
牛津大學(xué)英文講師塔拉?斯塔布斯博士稱這種標(biāo)點(diǎn)缺失“自降品格”,指責(zé)英格蘭銀行在試圖簡化英文語法。
She said: "It is a bit peculiar because it looks like it’s the Five Pounds that's speaking and not Winston Churchill. There should be quotation marks and full stop, definitely. It also doesn't have the Oxford comma after 'tears'. To take that stuff out is condescending and I find efforts to dumb down like this just irritating."
塔拉?斯塔布斯博士稱:“現(xiàn)在這樣看起來有些怪異,好像這句話是5英鎊說的,而不是丘吉爾的名言。雙引號和句號必不可缺,tears后也沒有牛津逗號。標(biāo)點(diǎn)缺失自降了品格,我對這種試圖簡化語法的行為很火大?!?/p>
Prof Smithers also suggested the Bank's designers "had a poor grasp of grammar", adding that they were "more concerned about shapes and patterns".
史密瑟斯教授也指責(zé)銀行的設(shè)計(jì)人員“不懂語法”,說這些人“更關(guān)心形狀和圖案”。
But the Bank's scant use of punctuation divided academics and literary experts, with some choosing to defend its decision.
然而學(xué)術(shù)界和文學(xué)界在這一事件上產(chǎn)生了分歧,一些文學(xué)界人士選擇為銀行的決定辯護(hù)。
Lisa Appignanesi, chair of the Royal Society of Literature, suggested that the absence of quote marks and a full stop would not have bothered Winston Churchill, were he still alive.
英國皇家文學(xué)院主席麗莎?阿璧娜妮西稱丘吉爾若尚在,不會(huì)介意對其名言是否使用雙引號和句號。
She said: "The eminent Winston Churchill might have wondered why he was on a mere five pound note and not something a little weightier. I don’t know, orator that he was, whether he would have noticed the missing punctuation."
麗莎?阿璧娜妮稱:“偉大的丘吉爾或許只想知道為什么自己的頭像只是出現(xiàn)在區(qū)區(qū)5英鎊上,而不是出現(xiàn)在一些意義更重大的地方。我不知道,像他這樣激情澎湃的演說家,會(huì)不會(huì)注意到標(biāo)點(diǎn)不見了?!?/p>
英文來源:每日電訊報(bào)
翻譯:郭郭(中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)愛新聞iNews譯者)
編審:丹妮
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