英語說得地道有什麼優勢
The last time I wrote about the widespread use of English, a reader commented that those who didn’t speak it as a first language often struggled at work.
我上次就英語的普遍使用撰寫專欄後，一位讀者說，那些母語不是英語的人往往會在工作中遇到困難。
“Non-native speakers are at their biggest disadvantage when emotions come into play,” the reader wrote. “In a heated debate, those able to use cynicism, sarcasm or other weapons requiring linguistic mastery have an unfair advantage — and I have seen such unfair advantage being used many times. It can determine the course of corporate careers. Like mine.”
“母語非英語人士在情緒高漲的場合處於最大劣勢，”這位讀者寫道，“在激烈的辯論中，那些能夠使用挖苦、諷刺或其他需要語言功底的武器的人有着不公平的優勢，我見到過很多次有人利用這種不公平優勢。它能夠決定企業職場的道路。就像我的歷程。”
The comment reminded me of two leaders who had made similar points about native English speakers’ advantages.
這番言論讓我想起兩位曾就母語爲英語人士的優勢提出類似觀點的領袖。
The first was Steve Biko, the apartheid-era South African student leader, who split from white leftwing students because he believed blacks needed to develop self-reliance.
第一個是南非推行種族隔離政策時期的學生領袖史蒂夫•比科(Steve Biko)，他從白人左翼學生中脫離出來，因爲他認爲黑人需要依靠自己。
Biko, who died in police custody in 1977, spoke excellent English, but it was not his mother tongue. He was acutely aware of being at a disadvantage in English-speaking company. He spoke before his death of the frustration of talking to articulate, intelligent, native English speakers.
比科是在1977年被警方拘留時去世的，他說一口流利的英語，但英語不是他的母語。他清楚地知道自己在周圍人都說英語的環境裏的劣勢。他曾說到與口齒伶俐、聰明、母語爲英語的人士交談的沮喪。
“You may be intelligent, but not as articulate,” he said.
他表示：“你可能很聰明，但表達能力沒那麼好。”
In these conversations, a non-native speaker could start to feel intellectually inadequate. “You tend to feel that that [English-speaking] guy is better equipped than you mentally,” he said.
在這些談話中，母語非英語的人士可能會從智慧上感到不自信。他表示：“你往往會認爲，（說英語）的那個人在思想上要比你更高一等。”
A very different leader, Percy Barnevik, the founding chief executive of ABB, the Swedish-Swiss company that adopted English as its corporate language, also spoke of the danger of “mistaking facility with English for intelligence or knowledge”.
第二位領袖是瑞典-瑞士公司ABB的創始首席執行官珀西•巴內維克(Percy Barnevik)，他談到了“把英語能力誤當成智慧或知識”的危險。該公司採用英語作爲公司語言。
But does it follow, as the Financial Times reader asserted, that English speakers use their linguistic mastery to dominate discussions deliberately, inserting sarcasm where necessary?
但這是否意味着，就像上述英國《金融時報》讀者所聲稱的那樣，說英語的人會利用自己的語言功底蓄意主導討論，在必要時插入幾句諷刺的話？
I asked two non-native English-speaking FT readers who have emailed me in the past what they thought.
我問了兩位過去曾給我發送電郵的英國《金融時報》讀者的想法，他們的母語不是英語，但會說英語。
“Actually, I would tend to say the opposite,” Quentin Toulemonde, a Frenchman working in financial services in London, told me. “In an argument, I can pretend not to understand — to force my interlocutor to rephrase, which can perturb him.
“實際上，我傾向於相反的看法，”一位在倫敦金融服務業工作的法國人康坦•圖爾蒙德(Quentin Toulemonde)表示，“在辯論中，我可以假裝沒聽懂，迫使和我講話的人解釋給我聽，這樣可以擾亂他的思路。”
“Furthermore, foreigners have a more limited vocabulary which allows them to use stronger and almost tactless words, and to be excused for that.”
“另外，外國人的詞彙量較爲有限，這使得他們可以使用語氣更強烈且近乎得罪人的詞彙，而且得到原諒。”
Ivan Tejeda, a Spanish reader who has worked in the UK, Italy and France, said he had made strenuous efforts to learn about the local culture as a way of improving his ability to talk to colleagues at work. In the UK, this included watching comedy television programmes such as Fawlty Towers and The Office.
在英國、意大利和法國工作過的西班牙讀者伊萬•特赫達(Ivan Tejeda)表示，他曾付出艱苦的努力去學習當地文化，藉此提高他在工作時與同事交談的能力。在英國，這包括觀看喜劇電視節目，例如《弗爾蒂旅館》(Fawlty Towers)和《辦公室》(The Office)。
He had to make an effort in non-English speaking environments too. When he worked in Italy, he kept up with the local football news as it often came up in office conversation.
他在非英語環境裏也不得不付出努力。當他在意大利工作時，他會追蹤該國的足球新聞，因爲這個話題經常出現在辦公室聊天中。
He did not think native English speakers dominated work discussions on purpose. “I think what your reader is describing is more related to the empathy process than the deliberate use of sarcasm by English speakers.”
他認爲，母語爲英語的人士並沒有蓄意主導工作討論。“我認爲，您的讀者描寫的情況在更大程度上與同理心過程有關，而不是說英語的人故意使用諷刺字眼。”
Both these readers’ English is excellent, so they are perhaps not representative of most people in international companies who have to work in the language.
這兩位讀者的英語都很有功底，因此，他們或許不能代表多數在跨國公司工作、工作中必須使用英語的人。
I have certainly seen English-speaking holidaymakers try to use the language to bludgeon waiters, bus drivers or hotel receptionists into giving them what they wanted.
我確實看到過說英語的人士在度假時嘰裏呱啦地用英語迫使服務員、公交車司機或者酒店前臺爲他們額外服務。
I do not think I have ever seen it work. And I have never seen such bullying in a business environment. What I have seen is English speakers not being understood because their language is too quick, too garbled or overly colloquial.
我沒有看到過這種方法奏效。我從未在商業環境中看到過這種欺負人的行爲。我看到的是，說英語的人沒有被對方聽懂，因爲他們說的太快、語法混亂或者過於口語化。
Of all the communication and public speaking skills, talking to non-native English speakers is one of the most under-appreciated.
在所有溝通以及公開演講技巧中，與母語非英語的說英語者交談是最不受重視的技巧之一。
It does not come naturally to most English speakers, but, like all skills, it can be learnt. Rephrasing points in different ways helps. So do avoiding complex metaphors and watching people’s faces to see whether you are being understood.
多數說英語的人並不天生具備這種技能，但與所有技能一樣，它是可以學會的。用不同的方法複述要點會有所幫助。還有就是不要用複雜的比喻，以及觀察對方的臉，看看對方是否明白了你的話。
Because so few native English speakers speak another language these days they have little idea how hard it can be to operate in one.
如今很少有母語爲英語的人士會說外語，因此他們幾乎不知道說外語有多麼困難。
A failure to understand how you are coming across diminishes your impact, and can lead some to believe you are being cruel and sarcastic.
不知道別人聽沒聽明白會降低你的影響力，還可能會讓一些人認爲你刻薄無情。
