20180206-Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：“spoon-feed”
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：“spoon-feed”
2018/02/06 08:41:32
Legislative Councillor Tanya Chan Suk-chong of the Civic Party speaks good but not flawless (perfect) English. No one is perfect. Many people I know whose first language is English do not speak flawless English. I also sometimes make mistakes. During a radio interview last week, Chan Suk-chong accused Transport and Housing Secretary Frank Chan Fan of giving too little information to the public about the high-speed railway. She said Chan Fan was “trying to spoon-feed the Hong Kong people” by answering only a few of the many questions she had asked about the details of the railway’s finances. But she incorrectly used the word “spoon-feed” because it has the opposite meaning to what she had wanted to say.
It was clear from the interview that she meant to say Chan Fan had only given details of the railway’s finances a little bit at a time. In Hong Kong, it’s common to use the Cantonese expression “squeezing toothpaste” to accuse people of giving information a little at a time. Critics had accused the new justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah of “squeezing toothpaste” by revealing details of her illegal structures a little bit at a time. But “spoon-feed” has the opposite meaning to “squeezing toothpaste”. The literal meaning of “spoon-feed” is to feed someone, like a baby or sick person, with a spoon. But “spoon-feed” also means to give people so much information or help that they don’t have to think for themselves or do things themselves.
By incorrectly using the word “spoon-feed”, Chan Suk-chong said Chan Fan had given the public too much information about the high-speed railway instead of too little information! Maybe she had intended to use the literal meaning of “spoon-feed” by accusing Chan Fan of using a spoon to feed the public with information one spoonful at a time. A “spoonful” means the amount a spoon can contain. But using the literal meaning of “spoon-feed” to say Chan Fan was “squeezing toothpaste” or only giving information in small amounts can confuse people because the literal meaning is normally used to mean actually feeding a baby with a spoon.
公民黨的立法會議員陳淑莊能操一口流利英語，但其英語亦非完美無瑕的（flawless）。沒有人是完美的。我認識許多以英語為母語的人，也不能說完美無瑕（flawless）的英語，連我自己有時亦難免出錯。上星期在一個電台訪問中，陳淑莊指責運輸及房屋局局長陳帆在高鐵一事上給予公眾的資訊太少。當她質詢到高鐵的財政細節時，她說他只回應了諸多問題的其中幾題，是在「嘗試 spoon-feed香港人」。然而，她錯誤運用了“spoon-feed”一字，因其意跟她想要說的意思恰恰相反。
顯然她在訪問中想要說的是，陳帆每次只會透露高鐵財政的一丁點細節。香港很常用廣東話俗語「唧牙膏」，去指責人們分多次逐少逐少的交代事情。批評者就指責新任律政司司長鄭若驊「唧牙膏式」的逐次披露其非法僭建的詳情。然而，“spoon-feed”跟「唧牙膏」的意思恰恰相反。“Spoon-feed”按字面解是用匙餵嬰孩或病人；然而，“spoon-feed”也解作填鴨式灌輸，提供太多的資訊以致人不用自己思考或動手去做。
陳淑莊本來要說陳帆在高鐵一事上提供太少資訊，但她錯誤運用“spoon-feed”一字，變相說成他向公眾透露太多資訊！或許她原意是用“spoon-feed”的字面意思，指責陳帆每次只用匙羹餵公眾「一匙」（one spoonful）資訊。A spoonful就是一匙的分量。然而，用“spoon-feed”的字面意思去說陳帆在「唧牙膏式」交代或只提供小量資訊，會令人很混淆，因為其字面意思只用作真正用匙羹餵嬰孩的時候。mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
2018/02/06 08:41:32
Legislative Councillor Tanya Chan Suk-chong of the Civic Party speaks good but not flawless (perfect) English. No one is perfect. Many people I know whose first language is English do not speak flawless English. I also sometimes make mistakes. During a radio interview last week, Chan Suk-chong accused Transport and Housing Secretary Frank Chan Fan of giving too little information to the public about the high-speed railway. She said Chan Fan was “trying to spoon-feed the Hong Kong people” by answering only a few of the many questions she had asked about the details of the railway’s finances. But she incorrectly used the word “spoon-feed” because it has the opposite meaning to what she had wanted to say.
It was clear from the interview that she meant to say Chan Fan had only given details of the railway’s finances a little bit at a time. In Hong Kong, it’s common to use the Cantonese expression “squeezing toothpaste” to accuse people of giving information a little at a time. Critics had accused the new justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah of “squeezing toothpaste” by revealing details of her illegal structures a little bit at a time. But “spoon-feed” has the opposite meaning to “squeezing toothpaste”. The literal meaning of “spoon-feed” is to feed someone, like a baby or sick person, with a spoon. But “spoon-feed” also means to give people so much information or help that they don’t have to think for themselves or do things themselves.
By incorrectly using the word “spoon-feed”, Chan Suk-chong said Chan Fan had given the public too much information about the high-speed railway instead of too little information! Maybe she had intended to use the literal meaning of “spoon-feed” by accusing Chan Fan of using a spoon to feed the public with information one spoonful at a time. A “spoonful” means the amount a spoon can contain. But using the literal meaning of “spoon-feed” to say Chan Fan was “squeezing toothpaste” or only giving information in small amounts can confuse people because the literal meaning is normally used to mean actually feeding a baby with a spoon.
公民黨的立法會議員陳淑莊能操一口流利英語，但其英語亦非完美無瑕的（flawless）。沒有人是完美的。我認識許多以英語為母語的人，也不能說完美無瑕（flawless）的英語，連我自己有時亦難免出錯。上星期在一個電台訪問中，陳淑莊指責運輸及房屋局局長陳帆在高鐵一事上給予公眾的資訊太少。當她質詢到高鐵的財政細節時，她說他只回應了諸多問題的其中幾題，是在「嘗試 spoon-feed香港人」。然而，她錯誤運用了“spoon-feed”一字，因其意跟她想要說的意思恰恰相反。
顯然她在訪問中想要說的是，陳帆每次只會透露高鐵財政的一丁點細節。香港很常用廣東話俗語「唧牙膏」，去指責人們分多次逐少逐少的交代事情。批評者就指責新任律政司司長鄭若驊「唧牙膏式」的逐次披露其非法僭建的詳情。然而，“spoon-feed”跟「唧牙膏」的意思恰恰相反。“Spoon-feed”按字面解是用匙餵嬰孩或病人；然而，“spoon-feed”也解作填鴨式灌輸，提供太多的資訊以致人不用自己思考或動手去做。
陳淑莊本來要說陳帆在高鐵一事上提供太少資訊，但她錯誤運用“spoon-feed”一字，變相說成他向公眾透露太多資訊！或許她原意是用“spoon-feed”的字面意思，指責陳帆每次只用匙羹餵公眾「一匙」（one spoonful）資訊。A spoonful就是一匙的分量。然而，用“spoon-feed”的字面意思去說陳帆在「唧牙膏式」交代或只提供小量資訊，會令人很混淆，因為其字面意思只用作真正用匙羹餵嬰孩的時候。mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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