四月 17, 2008
鞋帶英文係乜?
um….shoestrings/shoelaces
咁綁呢?
um…tie.
咁綁鞋帶係唔係tie shoestrings/shoelaces 呀?
um…you should say “tie/fasten/lace SHOES”. For example:
“Jimmy, Stay on ! I need to tie my shoe.”
咁鬆鞋帶呢?
You can say “I untie/loosen my shoestring.”
唔該晒! 哥哥你叫咩名啊?
Shoelace.
This is funny!
四月 15, 2008
Critique – in French, it is either an adjective or a noun, but in English it is a noun or a verb. 意思與criticise 相似，但不一定是偏於負面的評價
注意: 發音時criTIQUE重音在第二部份
RSVP - stands for Répondez, s’il vous plaît ，這字在invitation card上很常見，意思是 “Please reply.”
注意: 注要不寫 Please RSVP!!!
Déjà vu - 中文的大約意思是似曾相識的感覺，發音大概是 ”地jar夫”
Eau de toilette – 這個字真的很有趣單字toilette是洗手間的意思，但加上了eau de 在前面就是香水的意思了! 究竟在法國人眼中廁所和香水有什麼關係呢?
注意: Eau de toilette 指的是味道淡淡的，不像cologne
音: “奧打他叻”
Faux pas - 意思為出洋相，即是”好瘀”
音: “fo PAs”
Petite – 小的意思，在法文中屬陰性詞，意為”Short”，在形容女性時，意為”嬌小”。
音: “peTEET”
Voilà ! - “嘩”的意思。
Voila! 恆指升到三萬二，四仔話。
音: “嘩啦”
以上通勝式拚音，只作參巧，絕非最準確的讀音，小心，小心。望有機會(即係懶啦?! )可以錄下發音，然後上載，多謝，收看。
四月 11, 2008
雖然英文和法文是兩種不同的語言，但是其語言的基本結構，如發音和字串法，有很多很相似的地方。最大的原因就是 – 英文和法文都是同宗的兄弟。兩兄弟互相影響，久而久之，我們不難從”英先生”看到”法先生”的影子。我們看看以下的一些外借字(Loanwords)，它們都是由來自法文，之後變成英文的，而且能在英文字典裡找到。
藝術擺設 – 利用藝術品作為室內設計的原素
行街時，走過一些售賣high-end的傢俬舖時也會見到，因一些人認為furniture也可以是art deco 的一種
avant-garde (adj.)
前衛 –非常新穎和原創的意思
通常形容一些藝術的主義或想法
bon appétit
bon 意思是英文good 的意思
appétit意思是英文appetite 的意思，即胃口。
成句的意思是「享用你的食物」，即「食多D啦!」
bon voyage
c’est la vie
直譯成英文就是 “That is life.” 其實，這句說話更隱含了一些無奈，感慨著天意如此。
Chic
旺角有個地方叫做Chic 之堡，有一些人會讀chip, cheap or chick 之堡。改名的人兄如果知道「時尚之堡」會變成「薯片之堡」或「下流之堡」或「雞之堡」，應該不會用Chic 一字吧。
在法文”Ch-”的讀音是sh。
不過你會不會以為是Shit之堡呢?
to be continued …
ref: http://french.about.com/library/bl-frenchinenglish-list.htm
四月 10, 2008
10 ways to strengthen you listening skills
1 ) Select listening materials that you can understand
2 ) Focus on sounds
3 ) Repeat listening
4 ) Summarise what you have listened
5 ) Listen, Read and Listen
6 ) Watch movies without subtitles
7 ) Learn with your iPod
8 ) Listen attentively and pleasantly
9) Listen one language at a time
10) Relax with music
# #
1 ) Select listening materials that you can understand
It is very important to understand what you listen. If you cannot realize the content of what you listen, you will learn slowly. Therefore, you should choose some English listening materials that you understand at least 70%.
Some free online listening materials:
ESL Lab – English listening exercises
2 ) Focus on sounds
To strengthen your listening ability, you should not only focus on understanding. Also, you should understand “the sounds” as well. Sometimes, we don’t understand what the native speaker talks to us. It is not because s/he uses a lot of words that we do not know, but because we are not used to the way of speaking.
Case in point, there is a movie called “As it is in heaven”. When a Hongkonger speaks the words to a Hongkonger, s/he can understand well as they speak English in a very similar way. However, when a Briton speaks the words to a Hongkonger, s/he might not be able to understand. It is because the sounds of the first four words will be linked in a native speaking fashion whereas discrete in a Cantonese speaking fashion. I will further discuss the difference between English and Cantonese later.
3 ) Repeat listening
When you repeat listening to the same audio tracks, you will internalize the language in your mind. It is a very important and effective learning process.
Never struggle to listen to the same English audio track again and again. As time goes by, your sense of language will be better. When you come across some sentences you cannot understand, pause, go back, and listen again.
4 ) Summarise what you have listened
After listening to the audio track, try to recall the content in your mind and ask yourself some questions. Typically, you may ask yourself “What, When, Where, Who, and How.” This recalling exercise can consolidate your understanding and enhance your response to the language. You may also jot down some points of the track AFTER listening to help yourself understand better.
5 ) Listen, Read and Listen
Now you have a audio script and an English audio track. Go listen the audio track once without reading the script. Then, go read the script and look up your dictionary when you find some words unsure. Finally, listen the track again with or without reading the script depending on how well you understand the track.
Do this 6 days a week and give yourself a one-day break. After 3 months, you will improve your listening comprehension remarkably.
6 ) Watch movies without subtitles
When watching an English movie, your focus will be on the subtitles rather than the conversations of the actors as you might not understand them well in English. If you just pay attention to the subtitles, you will only improve your listening very slowly.
I understand that without reading subtitles, you may find it difficult to understand English conversations in movies as they are very colloquial. Be patient and stay on! Soon you will find that most words and sentence structures are used over and over again. And of course you will be get used to them.
7 ) Learn with your iPod
Work with your iPod closely! There are numerous interesting English podcasts. Listen to them and make English listening as part of your life. You will not only learn language itself, but culture, knowledge, the world as well.
English Learning
Media
Health
Reasonable Diet’s 6 Minutes of Sanity
Science and Technology
8 ) Listen attentively and pleasantly
If you cannot concentrate well, choose a quiet and bright place and stay away from your bed. Focus closely on what you listen. You don’t have to speak when listening. A research indicates that speaking along with listening might not necessarily mean to an improvement on both areas. So, focus on one skill at a time. Of course, choose topics that interest you. Make listening a pleasant habit not a routine! 
9 ) Listen one language at a time
Learning a language is not just reciting the words and getting some words together. It is about learning a different way of thinking. However, some English learners focus only on translating. They don’t learn the different way of thinking. Therefore, when speaking English, they struggle to translate their mother-tongue language into English. The translation slows down their speech. The only way to do to improve is to think in English way. To think in English way, we need to be used to the language and listen to it very often. Multi-languages at a time will only make you away from being comfortable with the language. So, avoid those learning materials with mix of languages.
10 ) Relax with classical music
If you feel stressed out in learning and listening to English, you may try to listen to some classical music first. Some research shows that classical music aids stress relief and promotes positive focus. Also, playing classical music in the background can enhance learning progress.
Yet, don’t fall asleep when listening to classical music. I know most people find it extremely bored. Perhaps, you may try some New Age music which you might find interesting.
四月 8, 2008
Donald and Henry went to a job interview. The personnel manager asked them to do a written test of 5 questions.
‘The one who gets most answers correct will be hired.’ said the manager.
After an hour both of them finished the test. The manager marked the paper immediately.
‘I hire Donald’ said the manager.
‘Why?’ asked Henry.
‘Both of you got 4 points. However, in the question you two couldn’t get, Donald wrote “I don’t know” and you wrote “Neither do I”’ said the manager.
譯文:
當奴和亨利去面試 ，人事部經理要他們筆試。
「邊個答岩最多，我就請邊個。」
一小時後，當奴和亨利完成筆試，經理也立即對了答案。
「我會請當奴。」
「為什麼?」
「雖然你地都答岩左四題，但係答唔岩果一題，當奴寫了「我不懂」你寫了「我也不懂」。」
注意
I don’t like bearish market.
我不喜歡熊市。
Me too!
我也不喜歡。
在和應一些Negative meaning 的事，應說
Me neither! 而不是Me too!
你用錯了，意思影響也不大，西人也是會明白的。
但如果錯的是這樣就可能令人一頭霧水…
Don’t you like him?
你不喜歡他嗎?
No.
不是。
You really don’t like him?
No… Yes … I like him.
No 的意思就是 I don’t like him
Yes 的意思就是 I like him.
故可說
Yes, I like him.
No, I don’t like him.
不要說
Yes, I don’t like him.
千萬不要與中文的句式混淆啊。
四月 7, 2008
不太簡明的Politically Correct English
究竟用Plain English 時應否使用Politically Correct 的片語(Phrase)呢?
筆者覺得說話時，如非搞笑，就可免則免，因為Politically Correct的英文在日常口語溝通，聽起來是會有諷刺意味的。而且，Politically Correct English 聽起來也不太容易明白。
如某某見到自己老婆一日比一日肥，如果他對她說
“Honey! You are getting fat.”
她一定會要她跪地主公跪足成晚。
如是說
“Honey! You are getting horizontally gifted.”
她可能不知道他在說什麼。如果知道的話可能會更嬲，因為他不只笑她，還要作弄她。
又彧者
A: My mum is a domestic engineer.
B: What do you mean?
C: I mean my mum is a housewife
這Politically Correct English的功能只在於搞GAG。
但，如果你是在寫一些關於題目敏感的文章時，Politically Correct English作用就不同了。
例如在寫一本正經的文章時，你會這樣寫
Teachers should pay attention to those socially challenged students.
老師應該多留意那些有交際困難的學生。
你不會這樣寫吧…
Teachers should pay attention to those nerds.
老師應該多留意那些電車仔/女。
我曾在一些感覺上嚴肅的文章見過類似句子，我的感覺就像新聞報導員報導時突然說「仆街」一樣那麼震撼。當然，我相信作者寫的時候是絕無冒犯之心。但是，寫了出來的東西，覆水難收矣。
故，若真的會寫一些可能會冒犯了某些人的文章時，便可用Politically Correct English。但，千萬要緊記，再緊記，用時，一定要嚴肅和選用一些不太有諷刺意味和易明的字詞。否則，只會變得搞笑和諷刺。
常見的Politically Correct English:
|
蠢 |
intellectually challenged |
|
犯人 |
ethically disoriented |
|
樣衰 |
aesthetically challenged |
|
妓女 |
sex care provider |
|
死者 |
living impaired |
|
光頭 |
comb-free |
|
肥 |
gravitationally challenged |
|
錯 |
differently logical. |
四月 5, 2008
甚麼是 Plain English?
我們定義簡明英文為一種令讀者容易明白和消化的語言。而且，簡明英文的功能也表現於文字的編排和版面的設計也的。
“We define plain English as writing that the intended audience can read, understand and act upon the first time they read it. Plain English takes into account design and layout as well as language.”
from
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/faqs.htm#Anchor-Wha-44708
簡明英文是一種溝通的方式。這方式注重的是讀者需要，並主張不使用沒有功能的字詞，專有名詞，技術快的字詞和冗長的句子。
“Plain English is a communication style that focuses on considering the audience’s needs when writing. It recommends avoiding unnecessary words and avoiding jargon, technical terms, and long and ambiguous sentences.”
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_English
簡而言之，簡明英文就是最簡單的語言。一字一詞，也要有其功能。沒有意思的字詞，儘管是多麼的文雅，多麼的高深也一律不用。所以如果你下筆時，每一個字也要想清想楚才用。
I met Katrina tonight in Volar. I bought her drinks and drove her home afterwards. She’s a woman of pulchritude ….
這就好像…
今晚我在Volar遇上了Katrina。我請她喝酒，然後送她回家。她真的是身姿俏美，細耳碧環……
真的很奇怪。不是文學大家，不用雕琢文字。在現今社會上，用英文一定要快狠準。Plain English 就是為此而出生的。
四月 4, 2008
學好英語很簡單 – 我想來想去都只是有四點
一) 聽得簡單
留意西方人說英語的方式
注意連音和聲調變化
選一些聽得明白的聆聽材料
盡可能聽一些對話的聆聽材料
每天聽英語三十分鐘
重複聆聽
看英語電影時不看字幕
…
一) 寫得簡單
先練習少於7個字的句子
用簡單的句子結構，如 Subject + Verb + Object
避免使用形容詞
避免使用複雜字詞
每天用英文寫一點東西
用英文寫信給我
…
一) 讀得簡單
學習新詞時會一整句學
不把生字抄在生字簿，一遇上不懂的字就查字典
留意字裡行簡的意思和段落的中心思想
不執著於一個字的意思
每天讀報 (英文呀!)
遇上奇怪的句式時，寫貓給我
…
一) 講得簡單
不要怕，只要說
不用長句子
說少於7個字的句子
不用花言巧語(高深的vocab)
不說太多idioms
說簡單的句子(只說SVO句子也不錯)
…
這些建議其實很普通，也很簡單，但要做足，一點也不容易，關鍵也是恆心。
如果你學了英文十幾年，也覺得學得不好，不如試試跟足以上方法自學三個月。我相信你對英文的語感一定大大提升。記著，語言是用來溝通的，要令人明白，簡簡單單就是最好。
注意: 以上的英語學習方法不適用應付高考及會考英文試
