20160614-Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：又中又英——“put new wine into an old bottle”
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：又中又英——“put new wine into an old bottle”
20:23 14/6/2016
Even fluent English speakers sometimes make grammar and other mistakes. I sometimes make English mistakes on my TVB show. Often, I don’t know I’ve made a mistake until I watch the show myself. Most Hong Kong people make grammar mistakes because English is not their first language. There is nothing wrong with this. You cannot expect people to speak perfect English if English is not their first language. Similarly, you cannot expect foreigners living in Hong Kong to speak flawless (perfect) Cantonese if it is not their first language. I have said many times before that it is not my intention to mock (ridicule, tease, insult) people when I point out their English mistakes in this column. I point out mistakes so we can all learn.
I recently heard legislative councillor Charles Mok Nai-kwong talk about September’s Legislative Council elections on an English-language radio station. He mocked the Electoral Affairs Commission for using outdated election rules to control the freedom of election candidates and their supporters to use social media. He used the expression “force new stuffs into old cans” to mock the Electoral Affairs Commission for trying to force the new age of social media into old rules. However, there is no such expression as “force new stuffs into old cans”. Mok Nai-kwong made up the expression. The actual expression is “put new wine into an old bottle”. The well-known expression “do not put new wine into an old bottle” means you should not try to combine the new with the old.
According to the Bible, Jesus first used the expression when he said: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins”. There were no glass bottles during the time of Jesus and wine was put into a wineskin, which means a bag made of animal skin. Although Mok Nai-kwong did not use the actual expression, I think it is still OK nowadays to create new expressions from old ones. I also agree with him that the Electoral Affairs Commission is living in the past. I have said many times before that the members of the commission are idiots.
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即使是操流利英語的人，有時也會犯下一些文法或別的錯誤。我有時也會在無線電視節目上犯了些英語錯誤。許多時候，我犯了錯自己也不知道，直至重看節目片段。大部份香港人也犯下文法錯誤，因為英語不是他們的母語。這亦無可厚非。若英語不是他們的母語，你總不能期望他們會說完美的英語吧。同樣，你也不能期望住在香港的外籍人士能說完美無瑕（flawless）的廣東話，若那並非他們的母語。我曾經說過多遍，當我在這專欄中指出某些人的英語錯誤，我的動機不是要嘲笑（mock）他們。我指出錯處，只為我們人人都能從中學習。
我最近聽到立法會議員莫乃光在一英語電台上談及九月的立法會選舉。他嘲笑（mocked）選舉管理委員會還在用一些過時的選舉條例，去管制候選人與其支持者使用社交媒體的自由。他用了個說法“force new stuffs into old cans”，去嘲笑（mock）選管會嘗試將社交媒體新時代塞進舊規則裏。然而，根本就沒有“force new stuffs into old cans”這個習語，是莫乃光自創的。真正的習語是“put new wine into an old bottle”。“Do not put new wine into an old bottle”這個廣為人知的習語，意思是不應嘗試將新舊融合，將新酒裝進舊瓶裏。
根據聖經所述，是耶穌首先用上這個習語：「沒有人把新酒裝在舊皮袋裏。」（“No one puts new wine into old wineskins”）在耶穌的時期，沒有玻璃瓶，酒都是用皮袋（wineskin）裝的，就是用動物皮造的酒袋。雖然莫乃光沒有用上真正的那句習語，但我認為，今天要從舊有習語中創作出新的說法是可以的。我也認同他所言，選管會一直活在過去。我曾經說過多遍，選管會的成員都是傻瓜。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
20:23 14/6/2016
Even fluent English speakers sometimes make grammar and other mistakes. I sometimes make English mistakes on my TVB show. Often, I don’t know I’ve made a mistake until I watch the show myself. Most Hong Kong people make grammar mistakes because English is not their first language. There is nothing wrong with this. You cannot expect people to speak perfect English if English is not their first language. Similarly, you cannot expect foreigners living in Hong Kong to speak flawless (perfect) Cantonese if it is not their first language. I have said many times before that it is not my intention to mock (ridicule, tease, insult) people when I point out their English mistakes in this column. I point out mistakes so we can all learn.
I recently heard legislative councillor Charles Mok Nai-kwong talk about September’s Legislative Council elections on an English-language radio station. He mocked the Electoral Affairs Commission for using outdated election rules to control the freedom of election candidates and their supporters to use social media. He used the expression “force new stuffs into old cans” to mock the Electoral Affairs Commission for trying to force the new age of social media into old rules. However, there is no such expression as “force new stuffs into old cans”. Mok Nai-kwong made up the expression. The actual expression is “put new wine into an old bottle”. The well-known expression “do not put new wine into an old bottle” means you should not try to combine the new with the old.
According to the Bible, Jesus first used the expression when he said: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins”. There were no glass bottles during the time of Jesus and wine was put into a wineskin, which means a bag made of animal skin. Although Mok Nai-kwong did not use the actual expression, I think it is still OK nowadays to create new expressions from old ones. I also agree with him that the Electoral Affairs Commission is living in the past. I have said many times before that the members of the commission are idiots.
＊＊＊
即使是操流利英語的人，有時也會犯下一些文法或別的錯誤。我有時也會在無線電視節目上犯了些英語錯誤。許多時候，我犯了錯自己也不知道，直至重看節目片段。大部份香港人也犯下文法錯誤，因為英語不是他們的母語。這亦無可厚非。若英語不是他們的母語，你總不能期望他們會說完美的英語吧。同樣，你也不能期望住在香港的外籍人士能說完美無瑕（flawless）的廣東話，若那並非他們的母語。我曾經說過多遍，當我在這專欄中指出某些人的英語錯誤，我的動機不是要嘲笑（mock）他們。我指出錯處，只為我們人人都能從中學習。
我最近聽到立法會議員莫乃光在一英語電台上談及九月的立法會選舉。他嘲笑（mocked）選舉管理委員會還在用一些過時的選舉條例，去管制候選人與其支持者使用社交媒體的自由。他用了個說法“force new stuffs into old cans”，去嘲笑（mock）選管會嘗試將社交媒體新時代塞進舊規則裏。然而，根本就沒有“force new stuffs into old cans”這個習語，是莫乃光自創的。真正的習語是“put new wine into an old bottle”。“Do not put new wine into an old bottle”這個廣為人知的習語，意思是不應嘗試將新舊融合，將新酒裝進舊瓶裏。
根據聖經所述，是耶穌首先用上這個習語：「沒有人把新酒裝在舊皮袋裏。」（“No one puts new wine into old wineskins”）在耶穌的時期，沒有玻璃瓶，酒都是用皮袋（wineskin）裝的，就是用動物皮造的酒袋。雖然莫乃光沒有用上真正的那句習語，但我認為，今天要從舊有習語中創作出新的說法是可以的。我也認同他所言，選管會一直活在過去。我曾經說過多遍，選管會的成員都是傻瓜。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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