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Showing posts from July, 2010

正字正確

廣州最近掀起保衛廣東話運動,早前星期日明報副刊一篇 文章 ,已對此作了精譬分析,我也不必插嘴了。 不過我想談談另一個相連的問題,相信久不久也會困擾好些港人,就是怎樣才算「正確」、「正統」的書面語。 我們自少便被老師耳提面命,廣東話絕不可用於寫作(雖然現在大行其道,我在網上留言甚至偶而寫電郵都會用廣東話),粵語和港式詞彙應以書面語(以普通話為標準的用語)取代,於是把雪櫃寫成冰箱、櫃桶寫成抽屜,諸如此類,從小已習慣,我也沒異議。 但香港實在很多獨有的或跟國內有差別的詞彙,應用於主要給香港人看的場合當然沒問題,但國內或其他華人就可能覺得蹩腳甚至不一定明白。同樣國內的好些用詞,港人看到也會覺得有點不自然甚至礙眼。我寫網誌不時都會掙扎,究竟用國內的用詞好(我想一般來說應該是比較「正規」的,而且近幾年跟來自國內的人多了交往,或多或少都學到一點他們的用語),還是香港的說法好(始終不少讀者都是香港人,用上國內的詞語他們或許會覺得有點怪怪的),所以我盡可能兩者兼用,港式說法通常以括號並列,但我有時祇會用國內的用詞,也有時祇用香港的說法,可見我也往往拿不定主意。 問題是應該怎樣劃界線,區別「正確」和「不正確」的書面用語呢?我們應該遵從甚麼的「標準」?比方說在香港,學生寫了一句「我的志願是太空人」,公認是沒有問題的,老師一般也不會勉強學生寫「我的志願是航天員」,好了,這樣便是承認了香港和國內的用語確有區別,但既然如此,為甚麼把該句寫成「我嘅志願係太空人」時,老師便一定不會容許?又或者為甚麼寫作時硬要把雪櫃寫成冰箱、櫃桶寫成抽屜?這道界線是誰定的,定立時又有甚麼理據?香港可不像很多國家般,有一個高高在上的法定語文機構(例如法國的Académie française),又或有權威性的詞典(例如英國的牛津字典,和國內的辭海),對語文作出一定規範,難免令人寫作時感到無所適從,甚麼香港和粵語詞彙可以用於書面、哪些不可。 用語的取向,也涉及文化取態的問題,我像一般港人一樣也認同寫作時要用書面語,盡量跟隨普通話的「標準」,但不會全盤用國內的詞彙和行文,一來不習慣,二來不免總有種維護本土文化的潛意識,特別是香港和國內社會制度上和文化上始終有點隔閡,這種矛盾不一定輕易化解。 究竟甚麼才算是「標準」、「正確」的書面中文,我想大概沒有「標準答案」,往往靠個人的見識和學養才可作出定奪,但隨著香港跟國內交往越來越

No through roads 路路不通

Melbourne had a new rail operator since the start of the year. Many passengers like I had high hopes for this rail company headed by Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, but instead of reducing cancellations and improving punctuality, railway operation has been going downhill recently. 墨爾本年初換了火車營運商,由港鐵公司為首的集團經營,本對其寄予希望,能減少火車脫班誤點,不過近來則每下愈況。 Last week there was a series of railway delays, and it struck when I least wanted. The trains decided to make a fool of me last Wednesday. I left work earlier than usual for a family occasion, but there was a problem with overhead power supply that was affecting train departures. I could sense something serious as the count-down timer for the next train had frozen, and I had to dust off my Plan B and took an unaffected train line so that my parents could pick me up somewhere else. (A Plan B is indispensable in Melbourne if one relies on public transport for the daily commute, and it will be practised at least 2 to 3 times a year.) It also didn’t help matters

Sunny Brisbane and Sunshine Coast 陽光普照的布里斯本和陽光海岸

Thanks to Her Majesty, we enjoyed a long weekend in the middle of June supposedly for her ‘birthday’. Since that was the last weekend of the year (12 to 14 June) and I haven’t been to the state of Queensland in the north of Australia at all, I decided to make a trip to the state capital Brisbane for a winter escape and visiting a friend. 六月中英女皇恩賜壽辰假期一天,趁是年內最後一個長週末(12至14日),而且一直沒有踏足過澳洲北面的昆士蘭州,我便北上至該州首府布里斯本(Brisbane)遊覽,順道探朋友和避寒。 The miserable weather and cold air of Melbourne gave way to the sunny skies and warmer weather as soon as the plane landed in Brisbane. But it took me by surprise that about half of the people in the streets, especially the youngsters, were wearing only shorts and T-shirts when the temperature was barely touching 20 degrees and I was still wearing a jacket. I wondered what those people could wear in the really hot summer days. 甫下機,墨爾本的迷濛煙雨和寒氣一掃而散,換來的是晴空一片和溫暖一點的天氣,不過令我不解的是,第一天下午,最高氣溫才剛好20度,我仍要穿夾克,但街上有一半人——尤其是年青人——祇是穿T恤短褲,究竟夏天更熱時他們還可以穿甚麼? The Brisbane CBD looked rat