Unit 5
Speaking Chinese in America
鍦ㄧ編鍥借涓枃
Once,
at
a
dinner
on
the
Monterey
Peninsula,
California,
my
mother
whispered
to
me
confidentially:
"Sau
-
sau
(brother's wife) pretends too hard to be a polite recipient! Why bother with such nominal courtesy? In the end, she
always takes everything."
鏈変竴娆★紝鍦ㄥ姞宸炶挋鐗归浄鍗婂矝涓婄敤椁愭椂锛屾垜姣嶄翰绉佷笅鎮勬倓鍦板鎴戣锛?/p>
鈥?/p>
瀚傚珎鎯冲仛涓浆褰湁绀肩殑瀹汉锛屼絾鏄寰?/p>
澶帀瀹充簡锛佷綍蹇呰垂鍔茶绌跺舰寮忎笂鐨勫濂楀憿锛熷埌鏈�鍚庡ス杩樻槸浠�涔堥兘瑕併�?/p>
鈥?/p>
My mother acted like a waixiao, an emigrant, no longer patient with old taboos and courtesies. To prove her point,
she reached across the table to offer
my elderly aunt from Beijing the
last scallop
from
the garlic seafood dish,
along with the flank steak and the cucumber salad.
鎴戞瘝浜茶浜嬪儚涓?/p>
鈥?/p>
澶栦鲸
鈥?/p>
锛屽嵆涓�涓Щ姘戝浗澶栫殑渚ㄦ皯锛屽洜涓哄ス宸茬粡涓嶈�愮儲鑰佷竴濂楃殑绂佸繉鍜岀ぜ鏁颁簡銆備负浜嗚瘉鏄庡ス
鍒氭墠鐨勮鐐癸紝濂规墜浼歌繃妗屽瓙锛屾妸钂滈娴烽矞鎷肩洏閲岀殑鏈�鍚庝竴涓墖璐濓紝杩炲悓鐗涜叐鎺掑強榛勭摐娌欐媺涓�璧凤紝閫掔粰鎴戜粠
鍖椾含鏉ョ殑骞撮暱鑸呭銆?/p>
Sau
-
sau frowned. "B'yao, zhenb'yao!" she cried, patting her substantial stomach. I don't want it, really I don't.
瀚傚珎鐨辫捣浜嗙湁澶达紝
鈥?/p>
涓嶈锛岀湡涓嶈锛?/p>
鈥?/p>
濂逛竴杈瑰ぇ澹拌涓�杈规媿鐫�鑷繁宸茬粡鍚冨緱寰堥ケ鐨勮倸瀛愩�傛垜涓嶈浜嗭紝鐪熺殑涓?/p>
瑕佷簡銆?/p>
"Take it! Take it!" my mother scolded in Chinese, as predictably as the lunar cycles.
鈥?/p>
鎷垮幓鍚э紒鎷垮幓鍚э紒
鈥?/p>
鎴戞瘝浜茬敤涓枃璐ｅ閬撱�傞鏂欏埌濂瑰氨浼氳繖鏍凤紝灏卞儚鏈堜寒鐩堜簭鍛ㄦ湡浼肩殑銆?/p>
"Full, I'm already full," Sau
-
sau muttered weakly, eying the scallop.
鈥?/p>
楗变簡锛屾垜宸茬粡楗变簡锛?/p>
鈥?/p>
瀚傚珎浣庡０鍢�鍜曠潃锛岀溂鐫涘嵈鐬熺潃鎵囪礉銆?/p>
"Ai!" exclaimed my mother. "Nobody wants it. It will only rot!"
鈥?/p>
鍝庯紒
鈥?/p>
鎴戞瘝浜叉劅鍙圭潃璇达紝
鈥?/p>
娌′汉鎰挎剰鍚冿紝鍙兘璁╁畠鍧忔帀浜嗭紒
鈥?/p>
Sau
-
sau sighed, acting as if she were doing my mother a favor by taking the scrap off the tray and sparing us the
trouble of wrapping the leftovers in foil.
瀚傚珎鍙逛簡鍙ｆ皵锛屼粠纰熷瓙涓婃嬁鍘讳簡閭ｄ釜鎵囪礉锛屽氨濂藉儚鏄府浜嗘垜姣嶄翰涓�涓ぇ蹇欙紝骞剁渷鍘讳簡鎴戜滑鐢ㄧ當绾稿皢鍓╄彍鎵?/p>
鍖呯殑楹荤儲浼肩殑銆?/p>
My mother turned to her brother, an experienced Chinese magistrate, visiting us for the first time. "In America, a
Chinese person could starve to death. If you don't breach the old rules of etiquette and say you want it, they won't
ask you again."
鎴戞瘝浜茶浆澶寸湅鐫�濂瑰厔闀?/p>
鈥斺�?/p>
涓�浣嶇粡楠屼赴瀵岀殑涓浗鍦版柟娉曞畼锛岃繖鏄粬鍒濇鏉ョ湅鎴戜滑銆傚ス璇达細
鈥?/p>
鍦ㄧ編鍥斤紝涓�涓腑
鍥戒汉鍙兘浼氶タ姝汇�傝鏄綘涓嶆墦鐮磋�佷竴濂楃殑绀兼暟璇翠綘瑕佸悆锛屼粬浠氨涓嶄細鍐嶉棶浣犱簡銆?/p>
鈥?/p>
My uncle nodded and said he understood fully: Americans take things quickly because they have no time to be
polite.
鎴戣垍鑸呯偣鐐瑰ご锛岃浠栧畬鍏ㄧ悊瑙ｏ細缇庡浗浜哄緟浜烘帴鐗╁揩閫熻繀鎹凤紝鍥犱负浠栦滑娌℃湁鏃堕棿瀹㈡皵鏉ュ姘斿幓銆?/p>
I read an article in The New York Times Magazine on changes in New York's little cultural colony of Chinatown,
where the author mentioned that the interwoven configuration of Chinese language and culture renders its speech
indirect and polite. Chinese people are so "discreet and modest", the article started, that there aren't even words for
"yes" and "no".
鎴戝湪銆婄航绾︽椂鎶ユ潅蹇椼�嬩笂璇诲埌杩囦竴绡囨枃绔狅紝鎻忚堪鐨勬槸绾界害甯傚唴鐨勪腑鍥藉煄杩欎竴灏忓潡鏂囧寲鑱氬眳鍦扮殑鍙樿縼銆備綔鑰?/p>
鍦ㄦ枃绔犱腑鎻愬埌锛屼腑鍥借瑷�涓庢枃鍖栭敊缁间氦缁囷紝浣夸腑鏂囧崄鍒嗗濠夊拰瀹㈠銆備腑鍥戒汉鏄姝?/p>
鈥?/p>
璋ㄦ厧鍜岃唉铏?/p>
鈥?/p>
锛屾枃绔犲紑
澶村啓閬擄紝浠ヨ嚦浜庝粬浠兘娌℃湁璇嶈鏉ヨ〃杈?/p>
鈥?/p>
鏄?/p>
鈥?/p>
鍜?/p>
鈥?/p>
涓嶆槸
鈥?/p>
銆?/p>
Why do people keep fabricating these rumors? I thought. They describe us as though we were a tribe of those little