《向英语学习者讲话》What literary English means

《向英语学习者讲话》 What “Literary English” Means

 “文学英语”是什么

编者按：

本篇取自葛传槼（1906-1992）先生的《向英语学习者讲话》。葛老先生是词典编纂专家, 中国英语惯用法研究的先驱。他几乎没有受过正规教育，靠自学成才，成为英语泰斗，执教于复旦大学外文系。葛先生一生从事英语惯用法研究，著有《英汉四用词典》，《新英汉词典》（主编之一）、《英语惯用法词典》和《葛传槼英文写作》。

Books on rhetoric and composition tell usthat English may be roughly classified as literary English and colloquialEnglish, and that literary English should, and colloquial English should not,be used in writing.

修辞和作文方面的书告诉我们，英语大致可以分成 “文学英语”和“口语英语”。 “文学英语”应该用于写作中，而不适合口语。

Yes, we—I mean you—should learn to write literaryEnglish. But what, after all, does “literary English” mean? What is literaryEnglish? I am afraid that many Chinese learners of English may think thatliterary English is a distinctly elegant sort of English.

They think that it is absolutely differentfrom English used in speaking, in addressing a class of students, or in writingto a business house to order goods. They think that in literary English, a“face” is not a “face” but a “visage”, and a man never “goes” but always“repairs” , and that it consists mainly, if not entirely , of figurativeexpressions.

是的，我们——我指你——应该学习用 “文学英语”来写作。但是 “文学英语” 的含义是什么？什么是 “文学英语” ？许多中国的英语学习者可能会认为 “文学英语” 是一种特别文雅的英语。他们认为 “文学英语” 完全不同于人们谈话、授课向商店订货时所说的英语。他们认为在 “文学英语” 中 “脸”这个词不是“face”, 而是“visage”，一个人“走”, 不能说“goes”, 而要说“repairs”。他们认为， “文学英语”即使不是完全由比喻表达构成, 至少大部分都是。

The idea is wrong, however—and this wrongidea prevents one from writing natural and pure English. Literary English, ifyou please , does not mean English confined in its use to literature. It

is not a distinctly elegant sort ofEnglish. It is just the ordinary English that well-educated Englishmen andAmericans use in writing—not necessarily for literary purposes, but often forpractical purposes. In literary English, a “face” is almost always a “face” andvery rarely a “visage”, and a man almost always “goes” and very rarely“repairs”.

可是这个观点是错误的——这个错误的观点会阻碍人们用自然且纯粹的英语写作。实际上,  “文学英语”并非仅仅用于文学作品, 它并非是一种清高的英语。 “文学英语”其实就是那些受过良好教育的英国人和美国人用的普通的书面语——不一定是文学作品，往往就是应用文。在这样的 “文学英语”中, “脸”基本都是用“face”，极少用“visage”，一个人的 “走”基本都是说“goes”，极少用“repairs”.

While “colloquial English” means Englishused in conversation, it does not follow that English used in conversation isnecessarily too colloquial to be used in writing. The majority of the words andidioms used by well-educated English and American people in conversation arecertainly literary English.

“口语英语”指会话中用的英语。其实人们会话中的英语并非都太口语化而不适合写作。受过良好教育的英国人和美国人会话中使用的大部分词和习语都属于 “文学英语”。

NOTES

literary 文学的, 书面的

rhetoric 修辞

colloquial  口语的

addressing … 向……演说

business house 商店

order goods 定货

distinctly 明显地

visage 面容

repair 1. 修理; 2. 去(文学用语)

mainly, if not entirely 即便不是全部, 也有大部分如此

figurative比喻的

if you please （表示惊讶、恼怒或难以置信） 竟然，实际上

confined in its use to literature 仅用于文学上

While 虽然

it does not follow … 并不因而有……的结论