黑警公函,貽笑大方 - 古德明

黑警公函,貽笑大方 - 古德明

七月初,英國國會議員古德曼(Helen Goodman)批評香港黑警的殘暴剿民手段,呼籲英國政府懲處薛鎮廷(Justin Shave)等任黑警指揮官的英國公民。香港四大黑警幫會因致函古德曼,着其道歉。只是黑警連英文都不會寫。

那封黑函批評古德曼說:It is evident to us that you have no understanding nor insight into what is happening here in Hong Kong(閣下對香港目前情況,顯然並不了解,也沒有真知灼見)。按「了解某事」,英文是to have an understanding of something,那介系詞of不可改為into。而「沒有甲,也沒有乙」,英文現在習慣說to have no... or...或to have neither... nor,很少人會說to have no... nor。所以,那句黑英文宜改寫如下:It is evident that you have no understanding of or insight into what is happening here in Hong Kong。

黑函還譴責古德曼公布了薛鎮廷的姓名:He, along with the two other expatriate officers, have been subjected to vitriolic cyber attacks and physical threats to their families(薛鎮廷與另外那兩名外籍警官,受到針對他們家庭旳惡毒網上攻擊及人身恐嚇)。按along with帶出的名詞,即使與句子主詞(subject)並列,也不算是主詞的一部分,所以,原文He之後不可用複數動詞have,必須改為單數的has;而「受到針對他們家庭的攻擊」等,說法奇怪,不如說「他們家庭受到攻擊……」,如下:His family, along with those of the other two expatriate officers, have been subjected to vitriolic cyber attacks and physical threats。這一句的主詞family是指「家人」,所以動詞用複數形式have。

那封黑函的英文,文法錯誤纍纍,這裏不能一一糾正。不過,文法之外,黑函以下一句,稱頌黑警功德,最為有趣:Our children can walk the streets without the fear of crime(我們的孩子走在街上,可以無懼罪惡)。論文字,fear之前的the字宜刪去;論內容,這一句輔以七月二十一日元朗黑幫輔助黑警剿民的照片,一定更加精彩,保證能教古德曼立即覆函,向黑警致歉。