20180116-Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：又中又英——“after you”
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：又中又英——“after you”
22:59 16/1/2018
There is a phrase in the English language that I rarely hear Hong Kong people use. The phrase is “after you”. I often use this phrase. My foreign friends use it too. It means “you go first”, or “I’ll go after you”. This phrase can be used for many occasions. It can be used when entering or exiting a lift (elevator). If you want others to enter or exit first, you can say “after you”. It shows you are polite to others by letting them go first. You don’t always have to say “after you” if you want to be polite. You can say nothing but still let others go first when entering or exiting places such as a lift, a shopping mall, or a restaurant.
Some time back, as I was entering a restaurant, two domestic helpers behind me saw there was only one table left. They rushed past me and took it. Last week, I was waiting for the lift at the building where I live. When the lift doors opened, two young mainland people suddenly went in front of me and entered first. I was startled (surprised, suddenly shocked) and shook my head in disgust. Even the security guard apologized to me. A few weeks ago, four local students entered the same lift and pressed the button to close the door even though they saw me. The door closed and I couldn’t enter.
My good friend and columnist Chip Tsao (To Kit) once wrote that different races have different traits. The word “trait” means a special quality or characteristic. People criticized him for saying that but I agree with him. Indians, for example, have the trait of moving their heads in a special way when they want to make a point. Most Hong Kong people have the trait of always wanting to be the first to enter and exit a door. The phrase “after you” doesn’t exist here. Most Western people are polite. It is their trait. Most Asians are not as polite, except for the Japanese. It is not politically correct to say this but it’s the truth.
***
英文裏有句片語，我很少聽到香港人用。那句片語就是「after you」。我不時會用上這句話，我的外籍朋友也會用到它。它的意思是「你先」或「在你之後」。這句片語可以在很多情況下使用，例如進出升降機（lift）時，若你想讓別人先進入或先離開，你可以說「after you」，表明你是禮貌地容讓他人先走。你想有禮的話，當然也不用常常說「after you」，你亦可以不說一話，仍容讓他人先進出升降機（lift）、商場或餐廳。
好一段時間之前，有次我走進餐廳之際，兩名在我身後家庭傭工見餐廳內只餘下一張枱，就衝過我先取了枱。上星期，我在我居住的大廈內等升降機，門一開的時候，兩名內地的年輕人就突然走在我前面，先進了去。我很吃驚（startled），滿是厭惡的搖頭。就連保安員也向我致歉。幾個星期前，四名本地學生走進同一部升降機，即使已經看到我，還是按制關門。門給關上了，我最終進不了升降機。
我的好友、專欄作家陶傑有次寫到，不同的種族有不同的特點（traits）。Trait解作特質或特徵。有人會批評他他這樣說，但我同意他的說法。舉例說，當印度人要表明一種看法時，有特別一種搖搖頭的特徵（trait）。大部份香港人也有一個特點（trait），就是總會想先進或先出門口。片語“after you”在這裏是不存在的。大部份的西方人都很有禮，這是他們的特點（trait）；大部份的亞洲人都不那麼有禮，除了日本人。這樣說是政治不正確的，但這是事實。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
22:59 16/1/2018
There is a phrase in the English language that I rarely hear Hong Kong people use. The phrase is “after you”. I often use this phrase. My foreign friends use it too. It means “you go first”, or “I’ll go after you”. This phrase can be used for many occasions. It can be used when entering or exiting a lift (elevator). If you want others to enter or exit first, you can say “after you”. It shows you are polite to others by letting them go first. You don’t always have to say “after you” if you want to be polite. You can say nothing but still let others go first when entering or exiting places such as a lift, a shopping mall, or a restaurant.
Some time back, as I was entering a restaurant, two domestic helpers behind me saw there was only one table left. They rushed past me and took it. Last week, I was waiting for the lift at the building where I live. When the lift doors opened, two young mainland people suddenly went in front of me and entered first. I was startled (surprised, suddenly shocked) and shook my head in disgust. Even the security guard apologized to me. A few weeks ago, four local students entered the same lift and pressed the button to close the door even though they saw me. The door closed and I couldn’t enter.
My good friend and columnist Chip Tsao (To Kit) once wrote that different races have different traits. The word “trait” means a special quality or characteristic. People criticized him for saying that but I agree with him. Indians, for example, have the trait of moving their heads in a special way when they want to make a point. Most Hong Kong people have the trait of always wanting to be the first to enter and exit a door. The phrase “after you” doesn’t exist here. Most Western people are polite. It is their trait. Most Asians are not as polite, except for the Japanese. It is not politically correct to say this but it’s the truth.
***
英文裏有句片語，我很少聽到香港人用。那句片語就是「after you」。我不時會用上這句話，我的外籍朋友也會用到它。它的意思是「你先」或「在你之後」。這句片語可以在很多情況下使用，例如進出升降機（lift）時，若你想讓別人先進入或先離開，你可以說「after you」，表明你是禮貌地容讓他人先走。你想有禮的話，當然也不用常常說「after you」，你亦可以不說一話，仍容讓他人先進出升降機（lift）、商場或餐廳。
好一段時間之前，有次我走進餐廳之際，兩名在我身後家庭傭工見餐廳內只餘下一張枱，就衝過我先取了枱。上星期，我在我居住的大廈內等升降機，門一開的時候，兩名內地的年輕人就突然走在我前面，先進了去。我很吃驚（startled），滿是厭惡的搖頭。就連保安員也向我致歉。幾個星期前，四名本地學生走進同一部升降機，即使已經看到我，還是按制關門。門給關上了，我最終進不了升降機。
我的好友、專欄作家陶傑有次寫到，不同的種族有不同的特點（traits）。Trait解作特質或特徵。有人會批評他他這樣說，但我同意他的說法。舉例說，當印度人要表明一種看法時，有特別一種搖搖頭的特徵（trait）。大部份香港人也有一個特點（trait），就是總會想先進或先出門口。片語“after you”在這裏是不存在的。大部份的西方人都很有禮，這是他們的特點（trait）；大部份的亞洲人都不那麼有禮，除了日本人。這樣說是政治不正確的，但這是事實。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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