母語者比較不會用英文溝通?

Wut...?

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When it comes to communicating in English with an international audience, native speakers don’t always do so well.

若要以「英語」與國際聽眾進行交流，母語者未必能與非母語者進行有效地溝通。

Sometimes, such inability to accommodate non-native speakers can lead to substantial financial losses for multinational companies.

有時，無法考量非母語者的溝通需求，可能會使跨國公司蒙受巨大的經濟損失。

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《ＮＰＲ》報導：

Picture this: A group of nonnative English speakers is in a room. There are people from Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Nigeria and France. They're having a great time speaking to each other in English, and communication is smooth.

•picture(v.) 想像，設想
•have a great time doing sth 做某事很開心
•smooth 順利的，流暢的

想像一下：一群母語非英語的人同在一個房間裡。有來自德國、新加坡、韓國、奈及利亞以及法國的人。他們開心地以英語交談，而整體的溝通也相當流暢。

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And then an American walks into the room. The American speaks quickly, using esoteric jargon ("let's take a holistic approach") and sports idioms ("you hit it out of the park!"). And the conversation trickles to a halt.

•esoteric 極不尋常的；只有少數人（尤指內行）才懂的；限於小圈子的
•jargon 行話，行業術語
•a holistic approach 全面性的方法 ; 完整取向、全方位取向
•sports idioms 體育相關的成語，慣用語
•trickle to a halt 遂逐漸停止
•trickle 從…向下滴（或淌）

*hit/knock the ball out of the park 字面上的意思是「把球打出棒球場」，慣用語的意思則是「某事做的非常好，令人驚艷」。

結果，有個美國人走進房間。這位美國人說話很快，使用少數人才懂的的術語（「讓我們採用整全的方式」）以及與體育相關的成語（「你把球打出了公園！*」）。整場談話遂逐漸停止。

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Decades of research shows that when a native English speaker enters a conversation among nonnative speakers, understanding goes down. Global communication specialist Heather Hansen tells us that's because the native speaker doesn't know how to do what nonnative speakers do naturally: speak in ways that are accessible to everyone, using simple words and phrases.

•communication specialist 溝通專家
•accessible 可以理解的；易懂的

數十年的研究表明，當母語為英語的人參與非母語者之間的談話時，理解力會下降。全球溝通專家 Heather Hansen 告訴我們，這是因為母語者無法自然地以非母語者的方式來溝通：以大家都能接受的方式交談——使用簡單的詞彙與片語。

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And yet, as Hansen points out, this more accessible way of speaking is often called "bad English." There are whole industries devoted to "correcting" English that doesn't sound like it came from a native British or American speaker. …It turns out that these definitions of "good" and "bad" English may be counterproductive if our goal is to communicate as effectively as possible.

•point sth out 指出
•turn out …地發生（或發展）；結果是（尤指出乎意料的結果）
•counterproductive 産生相反效果的；産生相反作用的；事與願違的，適得其反的

惟正如 Hansen 所指出，這種所謂更容易理解的說話方式，通常被稱為「破英語」。也有行業致力於「糾正」那些聽起來不像英國或美國母語者的英語。⋯⋯事實證明，如果我們的目標是盡可能地有效交流，那麼這些對「好」英語與「壞」英語的定義可能會適得其反。

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A balance needs to be struck. There is also a clear difference between helping students improve their English in a classroom and being overly judgmental in a business meeting (or on the Internet ><).

就我個人而言，我認為在這種情況下需探求一個平衡點。在課堂上幫助他人提高英語能力，以及在國際商務會議（或網路上）中過於苛刻，這兩者顯然有極大的區別。

However, if the goal is to communicate effectively with an international audience, native speakers could be more accommodating. At least, that's the view taken by the articles below.

但以下文章認為，若母語者的目標是有效地溝通，那麼在以英語與國際聽眾交流時，母語者應表現得更加隨和。

*accommodating 樂於助人的；與人方便的；通融的

完整ＮＰＲ報導：https://n.pr/3y6g9IM

ＢＢＣ相關報導：https://bbc.in/3h5MkCy

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圖片出處: https://bit.ly/3x2lr7X

#Hi家教英語活用系列
罷工事件沸沸揚揚，其實無論國內外，都曾出現罷工事件。而關於罷工的行為該怎麼用英文表達呢？
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Strike在工作方面可以解釋為罷工的意思

🚩Strike for sth 為了…而罷工
The cabin crew struck for decreasing overtime flight.
機組人員為了減少超時航班而罷工。

🚩Go on strike 參與罷工
He went on strike to show his anger against the policy.
他去參與罷工來表達他對政策的憤怒。

🚩Sit in 靜坐抗議
They sat in all night to express their dissatisfaction.
他們靜坐整晚來表達他們的不滿。

🚩Hunger strike 絕食抗議
The charity went on a hunger strike to protest the government’s decision.
慈善團體參與絕食抗議來抗議政府的決策。
#罷工 #靜坐 #抗議 #絕食
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📌立即追蹤HiTutor IG學習英文：https://www.instagram.com/hitutor/

聽鬼故事學英文，今天就來認識吸血鬼這種讓人又愛又恨的生物吧！
http://t.cn/RsPbFzt

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know what a vampire is. These undead monsters who survive by drinking human blood are everybody’s favorite scary creature. They’re not only popular around Halloween, but can be found in books, movies and TV shows any time of the year. The public thirst for vampires is almost as endless as vampires’ thirst for blood. But where do vampires come from?

除非你是與世隔絕，否則應該都知道吸血鬼是什麼。這種活死人怪物靠飲人血維生，是大家最喜愛的可怕生物。他們不只在萬聖節時流行，一年到頭也都能在書、電影和影集中看到。大眾對吸血鬼的渴望，猶如吸血鬼對血的渴求一樣永無止境。但吸血鬼是從哪裡來的？

The word vampire has Slavic origins, so it’s not surprising that vampires can be traced back to Eastern European folklore. In the early 18th century, stories began appearing about corpses climbing out of their graves at night and drinking the blood of the living. When villages were struck by mysterious plagues, the deaths were often blamed on vampires, and teams of vampire hunters were formed to find the culprits. These teams dug up graves at the local graveyard, and when they found corpses with certain signs—like blood around the mouth or lack of decay—they “killed” them with a wooden stake through the chest.

vampire 一詞源自斯拉夫語，因此吸血鬼可追溯到東歐民間傳說也不足為怪。18 世紀初，屍體在夜間從墳墓中爬出並吸活人血的傳聞開始出現。村子裡爆發神祕的瘟疫時，村民往往將死因歸咎於吸血鬼，並組織吸血鬼獵殺隊尋找罪魁禍首。獵殺隊會在當地墳場挖掘墳墓，只要在屍體上發現某些跡象，比如嘴邊有血跡或屍體未腐爛，就會用木樁刺穿胸部，「殺死」屍體。

上面的文章中有live under a rock 這個片語，為「與世隔絕」的意思。
當你發現一個人對外界發生的事漠不關心，大家都知道的事，他都沒聽說過，會驚愕地問他：「你是山頂洞人嗎？」live under a rock就是形容一個人最近發生的重大事件渾然不知。
A: Who are the Kardashians? Is that the name of a band or something?
卡戴珊家族是誰啊？這是樂團的名字還是啥？
B: You don’t know who the Kardashians are? Have you been living under a rock?
你不知道誰是卡戴珊家族？你是山頂洞人嗎？

想看更多，請見《最讓人發毛的鬼話英文：EZ TALK總編嚴選特刊》。
http://t.cn/RsPbFzt