为什么中国人总为自己的英语水平道歉？ [美国媒体]

-------------译者：统而言之-审核者：hgj1998------------



Sometimes their English may not be that poor after all. What's the mentality behind this whole sorry-my-English-is-poor attitude?

有时候，他们的英语水平其实根本没那么糟糕。在这整个“我英语很糟糕”态度背后是个怎么样的心理状态呢？


-------------译者：统而言之-审核者：伊织姫------------

Whitney Lane I'm a teacher.
upxed Oct 16 2015

Whitney Lane我是一名老师。

Because Chinese culture forbids you from accepting any compliment or praise. You must always say your English is bad no matter how good it is. Here's an example in the Joy Luck Club. The Chinese mother says that her very best dish is too salty not good. 

因为中国文化禁止我们接受任何表扬或者赞美。你必须经常说你的英语水平很糟糕，不管你的英语有多好。在Joy Luck俱乐部就有这样一个例子。一个中国母亲说她最拿手的菜太咸了不够好。

When I was in Taiwan the word for "where" was one of the first words I'd learned. When I complimented someone I was very confused when they said "哪里哪里 （nali nali)" which I knew meant "where." At first I responded like this: 

当我在台湾的时候，“哪里”这个词是我学的第一个词。当我表扬一个人的时候，他们说“哪里哪里”，我就很困惑。起初，我这么回应：

Me: You look nice today. 

我：你今天看上去好漂亮。

Chinese friend: 哪里，哪里 （nali nali)?

中国朋友：哪里哪里

Me: Um...uh your hair and uh...your shirt is nice. 

我：嗯......你的头发和嗯......你的裙子很美。

(I thought they wanted me to be more specific.)

我以为他们是想让我表扬的更加具体些。

Finally someone explained to me that "哪里" was a common response to a compliment meaning "No I don't" or some other expression of modesty. It's rude to accept a compliment. You must always deny it. Most responses mean "Oh no I'm not/no it isn't/etc."  I learned to reply this way when someone said my Chinese was good. "Oh no. It's bad!" (Of course in this case that was true.)  

最后有人向我解释说“哪里”只是一个对表扬的普通回应，意思是说“不，我没有那么好或者是谦虚的一种表现”。直接接受一个表扬是很无礼的。你必须经常否定它。很多回应意味着“哦，我不是那样，或者我没有那样等等”。当别人夸我中文很好地时候，我学着用这样的方式来回应。“哦，不，我中文很糟。”（当然，某种意义上说，这是真的。）

So this is 95% cultural. Chinese people just aren't supposed to acknowledge or accept compliments. It's considered rude.

因此，95%是文化的原因。中国人不认为认可或者接受一个表扬是应该的。这被认为很无礼。

-------------译者：naddylee-审核者：我养你啊------------

Feifei Wang 14 upvotes
I bite on my teeth when he pull soy sauce on the dish... eh!!!!! You don't EVER put soy sauce on a finished dish!

在他往菜上洒酱油的时候，我紧紧咬住了牙关……呕！！！永远不要往已经装好盘的菜上面洒酱油！

Kent Fung 13 upvotes
"Um...uh your hair and uh...your shirt is nice."

“嗯……哦，你的头发和，哦……你的衬衫不错。”

HA!!! That's just beautiful you've made my day!

哈！！！你一下子令我的日子阳光灿烂！

Yinso Chen 23 upvotes
It's because we are taught to stay humble and work hard and accepting compliments makes it seem that we let them go to our head and rest on our laurels.

这是因为，我们被教育要保持谦虚，工作勤奋，而接受赞美会让人觉得我们沾沾自喜。

-------------译者：一只番茄炒鸡蛋-审核者：cortex------------

Greg Moore 10 upvotes
This is also true in Anglo-American society -- most people also find compliments very hard to accept.  Our parents instruct us to say "thank you" but we pull back shyly from a compliment as socially it is considered very bad form very egotistical and rude to bask in a compliment and particularly - to agree with it!  Often a compliment is deflected with a joke or some silly phrase.

这一点也存在于英裔美国人社会里--大多数人难以接受表扬。我们的父母总要求我们说“谢谢”，但我们经常会感到害羞，因为在我们的社会文化里，如果陶醉在赞扬特别是同意赞扬往往被认为是非常傲慢和粗鲁的。这样的赞扬往往会被一个玩笑或是比较蹩脚的回应打发掉。

Humility and hard work are ethics that Americans share with the Chinese though I find myself in awe at the ability of many Asians to work quietly at a project or business for extremely long periods of time - patience is a virtue that seems to be very strong in the East.

谦卑和勤奋工作是中美两国人共有的特点，我对于亚洲人能够长时间默默的完成一个项目或是生意这一点很敬畏--耐心这个优点在东方人身上表现得很突出。

-------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：菲儿尹泽厚------------

Catherine Becker 21 upvotes
Many years ago my sister and I were having dinner with our parents in a small Chinese restaurant that served authentic Sichuan (please pardon any spelling errors ) cuisine.

多年前，我的父母带着我和妹妹在一家很小的四川菜餐馆吃晚餐。（如果四川拼错了话，请原谅）

Being kids we made fun of the waiter's thick accent.
Our Father was not pleased and said very sternly:
"How well do you speak Chinese? "
It was a lesson that has been with me ever since.

因为年纪小（不懂事） ，我和妹妹对服务员浓重的口音进行打趣。我的父亲非常生气，并严厉的对我们说：你们中文又讲得有多好？这让我铭记终生。

c99;
Shijia Wei 3 upvotes
The host is impolite (for Chinese standard) far too cold to the guest.

对客人太冷淡会显得主人很失礼（中国标准）

Wang Di 5 upvotes
BTW it should be 哪里哪里 or 哪里哪里.

顺便说一下，应该是 哪里哪里 还是哪里哪里？

-------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Daniel Cho 6 upvotes
The Chinese saying: There is never a number one Scholar just like there is never a number 2 Fighter. People that are well educated are required to be humble and never claim they are better than the rest (even if they truely are). I lived my live 50% in HK 25% in Australia and 25% in Germany. I would say being humble looked very strange in Australia but it works extremely well in Germany. Germans are as humble as Chinese and never admit they are any smarter or more knowledge than their peers even if they are truely the best in the field. So it is just how one is being educated not only a Chinese virtue.

中国人有句谚语叫做：文无第一，武无第二。受过良好教育的人要求时刻保持谦逊，不要一副老子天下第一的样子。（即便他真的很牛逼） 我50%的时间住在香港，25%的时间在澳大利亚，剩下25%的时间住在德国。我得说，在澳大利亚，谦逊是一种怪异的行为。但在德国却完全有必要。德国人跟中国一样谦逊，他们永远不会承认他们比他们的同仁更聪明或知识更丰富。即便他们在某个领域是No.1。所以人们接受的教育就是如此。不光是中国有这种美德。

Hasib Reza 1 upvote
It's great how instead of respond to this seemingly strange custom as weird and despising it rigidly as most people do when faced with an entirely strange foreign idea you've taken this idea and truly live the way of "When in Rome do as the Romans do"

很好，当以一个外国人的思维来面对一些看起来陌生的习俗的时候，不是像大多数人一样把他当成怪异的行为并嗤之以鼻。你就成功的领悟并做到了入乡随俗。

-------------译者：统而言之-审核者：菲儿尹泽厚------------

Avalina Kreska 1 upvote
This is interesting in Judaism it is incorrect to flatter/compliment someone and there is very good reason for this. 1. It raises the ego of the person saying it and the person receiving it. 2. If an enemy overheard the flattery or compliment then it can rouse jealousy and cause problems.
Why do we want to compliment people? To become closer to somebody like a bribe. It just makes the receiver of the compliment feel uncomfortable.
Thanks for the insight into Chinese culture Whitney.

犹太人很有意思，他们认为表扬或者拍别人马屁是不对的，而且理由很充分。1、这么做会让表扬的人和被表扬的人都自我膨胀。2、如果心怀叵测的人偷听到了夸奖，会心生嫉妒，造成事端。
为什么我们想要表扬别人呢？如果是像行贿一样来刻意拉近关系，就会让受到表扬的人感觉很不舒服。
让我们深入了解了中国文化，非常感谢！

Kok-Yong Tan 12 upvotes
Having a more Western mindset I used to get raised eyebrows when I absent-mindedly responded  to compliments from traditional Chinese people with「多谢」("many thanks") instead of the more traditional「小人不敢」("this humble person does not dare [to accept such compliments]) or 「失礼， 失礼」("you're making me lose face [from the embarrassment of it all]") or「您太客气了」("[honored]you are standing too much on ceremony")  :-D

因为我是一个更加西方思维的人，当我回应老一辈中国人的表扬说“多谢”时，经常引人侧目，而如果用更传统的回应语句，比如“小人不敢”（表示谦虚的人不敢接受这个表扬），“失礼失礼（表示你的表扬让我丢脸了，很尴尬）”，“您太客气了”（受尊敬的，您太讲究客套了），那可能就不会了。

-------------译者：yanzi1990-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Kris Lim 2 upvotes
The similar response in Singlish:

新加坡人也这样

Friend: "Hey you look beautiful today."
You: "No lah where got.."

朋友：“你今天看起来很漂亮”
你：“没有啦，哪里哪里”

Singlish: Colloquial Singaporean English

Singlish: 新加坡英语

Bill Sell 8 upvotes
I never witnessed anyone (Americans whoever) pour soy sauce salt or any condiment on the serving plate.  That was just world-wide rude not "western" at all.

我没见过任何人（美国人）把酱油，盐或其他调味品倒在餐盘上。那样很粗鲁一点也不符合“西方文明”

Waitai West Rakete 1 upvote
I've given deserved praise to some Chinese students and they say something like "Really?" and I say "Yes". To which they respond "Thank you". Even for us Kiwis it's sometimes hard to accept compliments but this example is very suitable. It means that the recipient takes the praise and feels encouraged and the giver is emboldened to recognise further achievements.

我曾经夸赞过某些优秀的中国留学生，他们通常回答“真的吗？”，然后我说“是的”。之后他们就说“谢谢您”。对我们新西兰人来说，有时候也难以承受外界的赞美。但是上面的例子说明了接受者接受赞美，更加鼓起干劲，给予者也可以期待接受者做出更好的成绩。

 -------------译者：magicqueen99-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Yuan Shuang 2 upvotes
Yes this used to be true. It is still exercised by my parents and people their age. But youngsters are not that modest anymore.

是啊过去是这样的。我父母那辈人现在还这样。但是年轻人们已经不再那么谦恭了。

Bob 11 upvotes
I am a Chinese I am sure in my Parents generation its very true. But for the younger generation its getting more westernised.

我是中国人，我相信我父母那辈人就是这样的。但是年轻人已经越来越西化了。

Adco Leung 6 upvotes
Nali nali is short for naliyou (哪里有)
It could be translated as "where did that come from" or "I don't have" or "where do I have."  

nali nali就是“哪里有”的简略语。
可以翻译成“从何说起”“我没有”或者“我在什么地方具备了这个”.

Implying they don't think they have the attributes you just complimented them for.  

意思是他们不认为自己具有你赞扬他们的那种特质。

It's funny in your story though :)

不过你的故事很有趣:)

-------------译者：菲儿尹泽厚-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Rafael Lopez Cardeño
Fairly certain this is common in eastern countries. One of the phrases commonly teached in Japanese language courses is the exchange of one person saying you're Japanese is very good and your reply being that "no it's not very good." I also typically find myself saying "thank you but it's not that good yet" when someone compliments me on whatever I'm doing.

这种情况，在东方国家是很常见的。在日语课程中学习到的一个常用短语就是，如果有人夸奖你的日语说的不错，你应该回应“不，我的日语还不够好”以示谦虚。我也发现通常不论我在做什么，别人恭维我的时候，我会回答“谢谢，我做的并没有那么好”。

Far more than just humility and politeness I see this as an attitude of believing that the work is never done and that there's always more room for improvement.

我觉得这不仅仅是谦虚和礼貌，而是一种认为工作尚未完成，更有改进空间的对事态度。

Patrick McAsey 7 upvotes
I understand that ‘哪里，哪里’ is short for '哪里，哪里，我还不行！‘ (nali nali wohaibuxing!) which I suppose in English loosely means 'Now now - I'm not there yet!'

我认为中文“哪里，哪里”比“哪里，哪里，我还不行”要短一些，“哪里，哪里，我还不行”用英语的话也可以泛指“现在，我还差得远呢”

 -------------译者：lxlewis-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Susan Dayton
I meet many people mainly women at my job at an Origins cosmetic counter near a college. I rarely hear anyone from China apologize for his/her use of the English language. I feel as though she realizes that her ability to communicate is adequate. It does seem as though there is less of an emphasis on the speaking of the English language in China than in other Asian countries such as Korea.

我在一所大学附近的化妆品柜台工作，每天都会见到很多人，主要是女人。但我很少听到中国来的人为他/她的英语的使用而道歉。我感觉好像她意识到她的交流能力是足够的。
看起来在中国不如比其他亚洲国家那么强调英语口语，比如韩国。（2333，韩国人口语很好么...）

-------------译者：cortex-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Matt McAnelly 3 upvotes
I think the answer is true but sorta puts a negative spin on it.  I think the purpose is to never put yourself above another rather than not acknowledge the compliment.  For instance Thank you for your kind words but I know that I am nothing special would be a perfectly acceptable response.

Ideally people would actually feel this way rather than only pay lip service to the ideal but better to have a culture based on humility than bravado.  It creates a far more considerate setting where if you want to get noticed you can't just go around singing your own praises louder than everyone else.  All around it's a much less socially aggressive way to go about things if you ask me.
Wang Di 1 upvote
Dead on.

我认为，那个回答是正确的但也给出了有点消极的解释。我觉得（回答的）关键是不把自己放在别人之上而不是否认恭维。比如说“感谢你溢美之词但我只是马马虎虎”就是很棒的回应。
理想情况下，人们会在人性上真切的感受到这个，而不是仅仅出于虚张声势口头表述。这样就创造了一种更体贴的，而不是只要比别人更大声地赞美自己就能吸引注意的环境。如果你询问我的话，这些就是我给出在社交上不那么侵略性的思路。
楼上说得好

-------------译者：lxlewis-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Jorge Sanchez 3 upvotes
Modesty is definitely a value that transcends cultures. I love music and have learned to play several instruments. One of the questions I hate getting asked are "how many instruments do you play?" because I do not want to overstep the boundries of modesty. I'm not sure exactly what my response is supposed to be. I even had struggles writing this comment because of the modesty principle and how this message might come across to others but this is an idea I've held for a while and want to express.

谦虚绝对是超越文化的价值。我爱音乐并学过演奏几种乐器。但我最讨厌被问的一个问题是“你能演奏多少种乐器？”，因为我不想超越谦虚的界限。我不确定我会如何回答这个问题。甚至我也纠结于是否要写这条评论，因为我所坚持的谦虚的原则，而且不知道别人对我写这些会怎么想。这只是我个人坚持了很长时间并想表达的一种想法。

Chin Sau Yong 2 upvotes
Lol good answer! 

大声笑~很好的回答！

But I'd add it's not so much a case of accepting compliments being seen as rude but more as immodest. 

但是我想补充一点，接受恭维并不是被视为粗鲁，而更多的是被看做不谦虚。

Thanks for sharing :-)

谢谢分享:-)

-------------译者：统而言之-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Saikat Bhowmick
Though a bit out of topic but I would like to add this thing is common in almost all the asian nations. In India even owner of 7 story building will invite you to his home as "Kabhi hamare garib khane main aiyega" (Please take the pain to visit the home of this poor). It's the culture that forbids taking complements.

尽管有些跑题，我还是想补充一下，对于几乎所有亚洲民族来说都是这样。在印度，一个拥有七层楼的房主会邀请你去他家因为"Kabhi hamare garib khane main aiyega" （请忍痛参观他“贫穷的家”吧）。这就是禁止接受表扬的文化。

Gary Miguel 1 upvote
When someone pays you a compliment and you disagree you are saying they do not have good taste. Best to just say "thank you "and leave it at that. Learn how to accept a compliment and not insult the compliment giver.

当某人表扬你而你不认可他们的表扬就意味着他们品味不好。最好的回答就是说“谢谢！”然后淡然处之。要学会如何接受别人的表扬而不冒犯表扬人。

-------------译者：菲儿尹泽厚-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Candy Hu
Well I often get feedback from my friends (from west) which give me an impression that western people think all Chinese people or cities or dishes are like the one they have met or been or tasted. No more other aspects. This is an phenomenon which we call it brainwash or prejudice from the washedbrain. I think it's also funny that so many people in quora ask is the safest country safe to visit. China is especially safe for foreigners. Old generation is truly humble but it doesn't mean all Chinese are modest so that make people feel fake.
Just say my personal feelings. Your question is only a trigger.

我经常从西方的朋友们那里听到一些他们对于中国感觉的印象，那就是他们通常认为他们所了解的中国人或去过的城市或尝过的中国菜都是一个样子，完全没有什么标新立异的地方。我们通常把这种认知叫做洗脑或者是偏见，另外我觉得这就和很多人在Quora上问中国是不是最安全的旅游国家一样有趣。对外国人来说，中国是比较安全的。老一辈的中国人都很谦逊，但并不意味着所有中国人都是谦虚的，以致于会让人觉得虚伪。
以上就是我的个人感受，也是对你所提问题一点建议。

-------------译者：lxlewis-审核者：r19961r------------

Lelouch Lamperouge
It is not that simply dude. 

不是那么简单的，兄弟。

Being humble is a way to protect yourself and avoid losing face in case you do things wrong. Of course if you want attentions and don't mind losing face then you don't have to follow it.

做人谦逊一点是一种保护自己的方式，可以避免你万一做错事而丢面子。当然如果你想吸引别人的注意也不在乎丢面子，你可以不必这样。

Britt Halliburton
Actually this isn't just an aspect of Chinese culture I'd argue many (if not most) are expected to be modest. To accept compliments freely or to congratulate oneself openly in the UK would be consider rude and arrogant. If someone compliments you you ought to either deny it outright or at the very least degrade the compliment. This expression of humility is considered endearing and the proper way to behave.

实际上这不仅仅是中国文化的一方面，我想很多文化（即使不是大多数）也强调谦虚。在英国自由地接受恭维或者公开祝贺自己也会被认为粗鲁和傲慢。如果有人恭维你，你应该要么完全否认，要么至少否认一部分。谦卑的表达被认为是可爱的，也是恰当的举止方式。

I remember Eddie Izzard once expressed the difference between American and British award ceremonies he'd been to during one of his stand up routines. Hesaid the Americans if they win will applaud themselves while their British counterparts will nail their hands to the chair.

我记得艾迪·伊扎德在他的一个单口相声中曾经说过美国人和英国人在他去过的颁奖典礼上的不同之处。他说美国人如果获奖，会为他们自己鼓掌，而英国人获奖时绝对会把自己的手钉在椅子上。

-------------译者：magicqueen99-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Lili Dong
故作推脱，can be viewed as fake and negative. Come on you are happy to hear the compliment then why the...? Sometimes it's almost second nature no it is absolute nature to respond in that way with a Chinese background. However I do find some Australians also shy/uncomfortable to accept compliments. So I would say maybe it's a common thing.

故作推脱，可能被当成既虚伪又消极。拜托，你听到人家恭维其实很开心的好不好，那为什么又......? 如果有中国人的背景，这几乎成了第二天性，不对，做出这样的反应已经是绝对的天性。不过我确实发现有些澳洲人在听到赞扬时也会显得羞怯/不自在。所以我想说，这也许是一种共性。

Anatoliy Mas 1 upvote
Thanks for explaining i was always wondering why they do that even though they appear to know english pretty well.

谢谢解释。我总是很奇怪为什么他们要这么做，其实他们英语已经很好了。

Shiplu Mokaddim
Same happens here (Bangladesh). We hardly respond positively to any compliment.

我们这里也是这样的（孟加拉国）。我们很少对赞美作出积极的回应。

Naoyuki Tomizawa 1 upvote
I see this in Japan too. I'm guessing this is true Asia-wide.

我在日本也发现了这种情况。我猜这在亚洲很普遍。