又中又英｜Cabbies

It was not surprising that Hong Kong’s taxi drivers pooh-poohed a government suggestion to learn Arabic. Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Algernon Yau Ying-wah urged taxi drivers to learn Arabic because the government wants to attract investments and tourists from the Middle East. But cabbies (taxi drivers) were dead set against it even after he clarified it was only a suggestion, not a requirement. To pooh-pooh an idea or suggestion means to reject it as being silly or impractical. To be dead set against something means to be completely opposed to it.

I wonder if the commerce secretary knows even spoken Arabic is one of the hardest languages to learn. It is completely different from Chinese. He said interested cabbies could learn a few Arabic welcome words as a start. Even that could be risky because greeting a Middle East visitor in Arabic could make the visitor think the cabbie knows Arabic. Cabbies speaking a few Arabic words will not increase the flow of Middle East tourists and investors. Such visitors will likely know English, the global language. Most Hong Kong cabbies can speak a few English words.

It is more practical to encourage cabbies to learn the English words of Hong Kong’s hotels and popular tourist spots. This will be useful for all tourists, not just those from the Middle East. The government should also instruct taxi drivers to be more polite. Its own figures show a sharp rise in complaints against cabbies. And the government should join other cities in legalizing Uber.

香港的士司机对政府建议他们要学学阿拉伯语嗤之以鼻（pooh-poohed），这并不令人意外。商务及经济发展局局长丘应桦主张的士司机要学阿拉伯语，因为政府希望吸引来自中东的外资及游客。但即使在他澄清那只是一个建议而非要求之后，的士司机（cabbies）仍是坚决反对（dead set against）。To pooh-pooh一个想法或建议，意思是认为它是很愚蠢、不切实际的，对其不屑一顾。To be dead set against something意即竭力反对某事。

我很好奇商经局局长是否知道，即使只是阿拉伯口语，也是其中一个最难学的语言。它跟中文完全不同。他说，有兴趣的的士司机（cabbies），可以学几个阿拉伯问候语作为开始。即使是这样，亦相当冒险，因为用阿拉伯语问候一名中东游客，可能令该游客以为那位的士司机（cabbies）懂得阿拉伯语。的士司机（cabbie）说几个阿拉伯语的字词，并不会增加中东游客与投资者的流量。这些游客很可能已懂得英语此一国际语言。大部分香港的士司机（cabbies）也能说几个英文字词。

鼓励的士司机（cabbies）学懂香港酒店和受欢迎的游客景点的英文，那更实际吧。这对所有游客来说都很有用，不单是来自中东的游客。政府应指示的士司机更为以礼待人。政府自己的数据也显示，针对的士司机（cabbies）的投诉急剧上升。而政府好应像其他城市一样，让Uber合法化。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻