Americans Don't Understand English | The Jonathan Ross Show · The Jonathan Ross Show
Michael McIntyre幽默讲解美国人如何为了便于理解而简化英语词汇，如将‘pavement’改为‘sidewalk’，‘bin’改为‘waste paper basket’等。适合练习英语词汇和幽默表达。
The thing about Americans that I've thought about the language is that they speak...
关于美国人，我一直思考的一个问题是：他们的说话方式……
They say they speak English, but they've had to change it to make them understand it more.
他们声称自己会说英语，但实际上他们不得不改变说话方式，才能让对方更好地理解他们的意思。
Go with me on this, because I've thought it through.
请跟我一起考虑这个问题，因为我已经想得很清楚了。
They've changed some of the words.
他们修改了一些词语的内容。
So they've taken the English language, but they've looked at some of it and they thought, no, no,
所以他们采用了英语这种语言，但仔细研究后发现某些部分并不适合他们的需求，于是他们决定放弃使用这些部分。
I think we need a little bit more explanation here, okay?
我认为我们在这里还需要更多的解释，好吗？
That's my American accent.
那就是我的美国口音。
So things like pavement.
比如人行道之类的设施。
So they can't work with pavement, so they've changed it to sidewalk.
因此，他们无法使用铺好的路面（即人行道），于是将设计方案改为人行道。
They needed more information.
他们需要更多的信息。
They needed to know where they were going to be walking, so that they wouldn't get run over.
他们需要知道自己将要走在什么地方，这样才能避免被车辆撞到。
So that's...
那么，这就是……
I didn't think of that.
我之前没想到这一点。
Pavement, sidewalks.
路面、人行道。
There must have been a period of time where they ran with the word pavement, but they kept getting hit by cars.
肯定有一段时间，他们一直使用“pavement”（人行道）这个词，但却不断遭到汽车的撞击。
So they changed it to sidewalk.
于是他们把这个词改成了“人行道”。
Now bear with me here, John, because I've thought this through.
现在请听我说完，约翰——因为我已经仔细考虑过这个问题了。
Bin, the word for bin.
Bin”这个词的意思就是“垃圾桶”。
In American, waste paper basket.
在美国，废纸应该放在专门的废纸篓里。
They needed to know what to put in it.
他们需要知道该往里面放些什么。
They needed to know that not only it was paper, but waste paper, and then it goes into a basket.
他们需要知道：这些纸张不仅属于废纸类别，而且最终会被放入专门的回收篮中。
It's not just any paper.
这可不是一张普通的纸。
They kept throwing away fresh paper for a period before they introduced the word waste paper best.
在将这种纸称为“废纸”之前，他们曾多次将新鲜的纸张扔掉。其实，“废纸”这个称呼用起来更为恰当。
You see, it's like they need instructions.
你看，他们就像需要一些指导或说明一样。
Glasses, for your eyes, they call them eyeglasses.
眼镜，是用来保护眼睛的，人们称之为“ eyeglasses”（眼镜）。
They needed to know where to put them on their face, because they used to have glasses and they would put them on their thighs,
他们需要知道应该把那些东西放在脸部的哪个位置。因为他们以前戴眼镜，所以习惯把眼镜放在大腿上。
and they would put them on their feet, and they would say, I can't see any better with their glasses.
然后他们会把这些眼镜戴上，接着说：“戴上眼镜之后，我的视力并没有任何改善。
And then somebody went, no, they're eyeglasses.
然后有人说道：“不，那只是眼镜而已。
Well, why didn't you call them eyeglasses?
那么，你为什么不把它们叫做“眼镜”呢？
There's a game called Squash.
有一款叫做《Squash》的游戏。
Have you heard of it?
你听说过它吗？
Yes.
是的。
Not in America.
在美国不行。
Rocket ball.
《火箭球》（Rocket Ball）。
They needed it.
他们需要它。
They could trust it.
他们可以信任它。
They needed to know what they were going to be playing with.
他们需要清楚自己将要使用的是什么工具或资源（即他们将要“操作”什么）。
A rocket ball.
一个“火箭球”。
And even then they get confused, because there's no court.
即便到了那个时候，他们还是会感到困惑，因为根本就没有法庭可言。
They don't know where to go.
他们不知道该去哪里。