問:查牛津字典 Concise Oxford Dictionary ,freight的注釋是:The transport of goods in containers or by water or air or US by land。這是不是說,freight字美式英語意思和英式不同,單指陸路貨運?
答:Freight字意思,傳統英式英語的確和美式有別:英式英語以goods指陸運的貨物,而以freight指海運或空運的貨物;美式英語則無分海陸空,凡大批付運的貨物都叫freight,例如:The train was carrying no freight(那列火車沒有載貨)。
不過,由於貨櫃運輸興起,海、陸、空運或合而為一,即使陸運的貨物,英式英語現在往往也叫freight,和美式無別。第五版《朗文當代高級詞典》就說,海陸空貨運或所運貨物,都可以叫freight:goods that are carried by ship, train, or aircraft, and the system of moving these goods。
Concise Oxford Dictionary 給了freight字一個傳統的解釋,即「英式英語指海空貨運,美式則兼指陸路貨運」。其實,這分別今天幾乎已經泯滅。英式英語現在也大可以說:Please send the goods to us by road freight(貨物請以陸路運送敝公司)。假如是海運或空運,則可說by sea / air freight。
留意freight所說的貨運,一般較捷運便宜,但當然較為緩慢。「捷運」英文叫by express,例如:Please state whether you wish to have the goods sent by express or freight(請說明貨物欲捷運或普通方式運送)。