Nein! A German etiquette group has called for a ban on work colleagues kissing each other in greeting in the office. |
A German etiquette group has called for a total ban on work colleagues kissing one another in the office, claiming a peck on the cheek is a form of 'terrorism'. The German Knigge Society - which translates as etiquette or correct behaviour - said the practice has flourished in offices in recent years. Women kiss men, men kiss women, usually once, but sometimes twice in the way of the French. But in a society with more rigorous rules than most, sensibilities have become deeply offended. Germans can go their whole working lives referring to the person next to them in the formal 'Sie', instead of 'Du', and kissing has become something of a threat to the accepted order. At school, they are taught to keep a respectful distance when greeting a stranger, to shake their hand and to bow the head just ever so slightly. Now the Knigge Society has ruled on the issue of office kissing and says it must go. It claims it has reacted after worried callers who have enquired over recent months about what to do if someone should attempt to kiss them in a greeting. Hans Michael Klein, chairman of the group, said: 'This is valid immediately. There should be no kissing, at least not in the office.' Mr Klein said enquiries had flooded into his offices from varied cities including Berlin, Munich and Duesseldorf. 'The suspicion for many remains that there is, or may be, an erotic component to the kissing,' he said. 'Kissing simply gets on the nerves of many at work. It is a form of terror. 'In business the handshake is considered the correct greeting ritual. Stand apart from one another approximately 60cm and shake.' Any closer, he said, would injure a 'socially defined distance zone'. He added that while he had respect for the French habit, and that in Russia where men also kiss each other in greeting, this was not the German way and it was an affectation of the 'Schickimicki' set - or the 'in-crowd'. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
一個德國的禮儀團體呼吁全面禁止辦公室里同事間互相親吻,他們聲稱親臉蛋是一種“恐怖主義”行為。 德國克尼格協(xié)會(克尼格翻譯過來是禮儀或得體行為)稱近年來辦公室里親吻的風(fēng)氣日益風(fēng)靡。 女人親吻男人,男人親吻女人,一般親一次,有時會按法國人的方式親兩次。 但在一個有著更多嚴格條規(guī)的社會,人們感覺受到了嚴重冒犯。 德國人可以在整個工作生涯中都用正式的“您”而不是“你”來稱呼身邊的人,而親吻則成了對公認秩序的一種威脅。 在學(xué)校里,他們受的教育是和陌生人打招呼時要保持一定的距離,握個手、輕輕點頭致意就可以了。 現(xiàn)在克尼格協(xié)會已經(jīng)針對辦公室親吻下了規(guī)定,說要力掃這一風(fēng)氣。 最近幾個月,很多心懷擔(dān)憂的人來電詢問如果有人要以親吻的方式打招呼該怎么辦。該組織稱已經(jīng)對此作出反應(yīng)。 該組織的主席漢斯?邁克爾?克萊因說:“此規(guī)定即刻生效。至少在辦公室里不該親吻。” 克萊因說他的辦公室接收到了來自柏林、慕尼黑、杜塞爾多夫等多個城市的大量詢問電話和信函。 他說:“很多人懷疑的還是親吻時存在或可能存在性愛的成分?!?/p> “親吻讓很多正在工作的人心煩意亂。這是一種恐怖行為?!?/p> “生意場上,握手被視為恰當?shù)膯柡蚨Y儀。站在離對方約60公分的地方握個手?!?/p> 他說,再近一點就會破壞“社會接受的安全距離區(qū)”。 他還說,盡管他尊重法國人的這一習(xí)慣,也尊重俄羅斯男人間打招呼時互相親吻的習(xí)慣,但那不是德國人打招呼的方式,在德國這么做是附庸風(fēng)雅。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 實習(xí)生沈清 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: etiquette: 禮節(jié);禮儀 peck: 輕吻 get on the nerves: 使心煩意亂 affectation: 假裝;做作 Schickimicki: <德語> trendy(時髦的) in-crowd: (熟人結(jié)成的)小圈子;(熟知內(nèi)情的)小團體。在本文中指的是“時髦人群”。 |