14相信沒有一本正規的英文教材會認可I says這樣的表達，但在實際生活中，有些英美人士尤其是社會階層比較低或沒有受過良好教育的人，會用I says代替I say或I said，比如“So last week I was talking to my friend, and I says, ‘What do you think of my new haircut?’”這句話中的I says就屬于非正式表達。非正式表達是指人們在日常交談中用到的詞或短語，包括非標準的口頭用語、俚語、方言及粗話(通過對標準詞語、語法形式及短語的變形而形成)。除了I says，比較常見的還有ain’t (代替am not、is not、are not、has not、have not)和irregardless (代替regardless)等。雖然非正式英語可以出現在小說等文學作品中，用來表現人物的社會地位和所處的生活環境，但在商業、工業、教育、新聞媒體、官方等用語中(包括口語和書面語)都應堅決避免這類表達。試比較以下幾組句子，體會修改前后的效果差異。
例句點評Bad: Professor Fang, a prolific writer and distinguished literary critic, kicked the bucket in the early hours of Sunday morning.Good: Professor Fang, a prolific writer and distinguished literary critic, passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.評析第一句話中的kick the bucket (to die)是俚語，相當于中文中的“斷了氣”“翹辮子”，用在這句話中顯得很粗俗，不太合適。擁有豐富的詞匯量很重要，但要注意用詞的場合，是正式用語還是非正式用語，是褒義還是貶義，等等，否則將會惡語傷人。很多中國學生不敢用die，以為用這個表達會冒犯別人。其實，在英語中die是個中性詞，可以用died代替passed away，即使用在第二句話中也可以接受。例句點評Inappropriate: We kindly ask that all of you dress formally for the exhibition. The host ain’t gonna tolerate jeans or sneakers.Appropriate: We kindly ask that all of you dress formally for the exhibition. The host is not going to tolerate jeans or sneakers.評析原句中的ain’t是am not、is not、are not、has not、have not的縮寫形式，也是do not、does not和did not的縮寫形式，經常見于比較低下的社會階層，是不符合禮儀和規范的用法。原句中的gonna也是非正式用法，等于of be going to，主要用于非正式場合。例句點評Inappropriate: The Red Violin is a real interesting movie about a legendary instrument as it travels from one musician to another. It is cool that in this multinational epic one can hear English, Italian, German, French and Mandarin Chinese being spoken.Appropriate: The Red Violin is an interesting movie about a legendary instrument as it travels from one musician to another. This multinational epic features as many as five languages: English, Italian, German, French and Mandarin Chinese.評析原句中的real interesting是一個使用頻率相當高但有文法錯誤的表達，正確的表達應該是really interesting；原句中的單詞cool (used for emphasizing how good someone or something is)屬于非正式的口語表達，多用于小孩子和年輕人的口頭禪。例句點評Inappropriate: The explorers agreed that it was not so much the heat-wave in the Gobi Desert as the lack of illumination in the tent that sucked.Appropriate: ① The explorers agreed that the heat-wave in the Gobi Desert was not as bad as the lack of illumination in the tent.② The explorers agreed that the heat-wave in the Gobi Desert was actually more tolerable than the lack of illumination in the tent.評析原句中的suck (to be very bad, very annoying)是俚語，是非常不正式的表達，用在本句話中不合適。常見非正式用語及恰當表達中譯英實例1.青島有綠樹成蔭的街道，有沙灘，有游樂場所，那兒的室外活動簡直太豐富多彩了。 不合格譯文：There are streets with a bunch of trees, beaches, amusement parks in Qingdao. Its outdoor activities are really rich and colorful.【評析】原句中的“streets with a bunch of trees, beaches, amusement parks”意思是街道上有樹、沙灘和游樂場。街道上有樹可以理解，但如果有沙灘和游樂場就不合邏輯了。短語a bunch of一般可以形容flowers、grapes、bananas、keys等較小的事物，描述綠樹成蔭不合適。合格譯文：There are many tree-shaded streets, beaches and playgrounds in Qingdao, so the outside activities are absolutely colorful.【評析】這個譯文沒有錯誤，但用There are開頭，使整句話顯得較平淡，不夠精彩。最佳譯文：With tree-lined streets, beaches and amusement places, Qingdao is a celebration of the great outdoors. 【評析】句首是with引導的伴隨狀語，句子顯得靈活生動。這句話除了使用伴隨狀語之外，后半句話中的抽象名詞celebration (a social gathering or enjoyable activity held to celebrate something)用得也比較正規，該詞比較適合用于廣告宣傳、書面介紹等正式場合。2.你可以開車去看看那些名人富豪的房子。 Wrong: You can drive to see those big potatoes’ houses. 【評析】譯文中的big potato (someone very important or famous)太口語化，屬于俚語范疇，用在這句話中不合適。 Plain: You can drive to see the houses which are owned by the rich and famous.【評析】譯文中的which are完全可以省略。 Better: You can go for a drive past the homes of the rich and famous.【評析】譯文中的go for a drive也是口語化的表達，但這樣的表達不是俚語，屬于習慣用語范疇，會時表達顯得流暢自然。練習1. This contract sure is the beginning of a long-term partnership. (提示：sure是surely的非標準形式) ______________________________________________________________________________2. He’s nuts about her. (提示：nuts為俚語，英文釋義為crazy; insane; extremely enthusiastic)______________________________________________________________________________3. Because we have added English signs in our exhibition hall, most of our foreign visitors no longer need to ask where our information desk is at. (提示：at后面不能直接跟副詞where) ______________________________________________________________________________4. They are trying like there’s no tomorrow. (提示：like是as if的非正式用語)_____________________________________________________________________________5. Jonathan has a nice wife, and she managed to let us have a swell time. (提示：nice比較口語化，swell 是俚語，英文釋義為fantastic, great, wonderful)______________________________________________________________________________6. The actors and actresses gave a terrific performance, but the opera was rotten. (提示：terrific屬于口語，rotten是俚語，英文釋義為disgusting, yucky, smelly, unsightly or dirty) ______________________________________________________________________________7. I may not get the pass I have requested, but I am planning to go anyways. (提示：anyways是anyway 或in any case的非標準形式) ______________________________________________________________________________8. Charles Dickens produced lots and lots of great works. (提示：lot、lots、a lot of分別是much、many、a great deal的口語或非標準形式) ______________________________________________________________________________參考答案1. This contract is surely the beginning of a long-term partnership.2. He is infatuated with her.3. ① Because we have added English signs in our exhibition hall, most of our foreign visitors no longer need to ask the whereabouts of our information desk.② Because we have added English signs in our exhibition hall, most of our foreign visitors no longer need to ask where our information desk is.4. They are trying as if there is no tomorrow.5. Jonathan’s wife is a warm, genial person, and she helped make our evening delightful.6. The actors and actresses gave a superb performance, but the opera was inane.7. I may not get the pass I have requested, but I am planning to go anyway.8. Charles Dickens produced many great works.
