頭條日報 頭條網 - The handle of the feather duster by Michael Chugani

have noticed that many British-trained Hong Kong lawyers try to speak English with a British accent. They include barristers and solicitors. In the American court system there are no barristers and solicitors. They are called attorneys or lawyers. But in the British system, which includes Hong Kong, there is a big difference between barristers and solicitors. A barrister is a lawyer who represents clients in court, particularly the higher courts. A solicitor is a lawyer who deals with legal matters such as conveyancing (preparation of documents for the sale of properties). Solicitors are also the middle men between clients and barristers and can also represent clients in lower courts. But in American English, solicitors are people who try to get orders for business. A person who phones you to sell you things is a solicitor in American English.

        M any of the British-trained Hong Kong lawyers speak fluent English. I think Gladys Li Chi-hei speaks with the most authentic (real, genuine) British accent. Many other Hong Kong lawyers speak with a feigned (artificial, fake, not real) British accent. I won't name them because they will get angry with me. Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit is a Cambridge-trained barrister who speaks fluent English. That is why I was surprised to hear him make mistakes in an English-language radio interview. He told the interviewer that his mother used to punish him by hitting him with a 雞毛掃 when he was young. But he did not know the English word for 雞毛掃. The interviewer told him it was feather duster.

        Leong Kah-kit also did not know the English word for 藤條, the handle of the feather duster. The interviewer told him it was rattan. But he mispronounced the word "rattan". He pronounced it as "rattin" instead of "rattaan". Very few parents beat their children with the rattan handles of feather dusters nowadays. I am sure Leong Kah-kit did not punish his children by beating them with feather dusters. That is probably the reason why he could not remember the English words for 雞毛掃 and 藤條, and why he could not pronounce the word "rattan" correctly.

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        我留意到，許多在英國受訓的香港律師，說英語時會盡量帶英式口音。他們包括大律師（barrister）和事務律師（solicitors）。在美國法院體系裏，並沒有barristers和solicitors，他們會被稱為attorneys或lawyers。但在英國體系裏，包括香港，barristers和solicitors的分別可大了。Barrister是大律師，代表當事人上庭，特別是高等法院；solicitor則是處理物業轉讓（conveyancing）之類法律事務的律師。Solicitors也是當事人與大律師（barrister）之間的中介人，也可代表當事人上較下級的法院。但在美式英語裡，solicitors也指推銷員，那些打電話游說你買東西的人，也可被稱為solicitors。

        許多在英國受訓的香港律師說得一口流利英語。我認為李志喜的英式口音就最正宗（authentic），許多其他香港律師只有造作（feigned）的英式口音。我不會點名了，免得他們惱怒我。公民黨議員梁家傑是於劍橋受訓的大律師（barrister），也說得一口流利英語。因此他在英語電台受訪時犯錯，令我很意外。他對採訪者說，他年輕時，母親會用雞毛掃來打他。但他不知道雞毛掃的英文，採訪者就跟他說是feather duster。

        梁家傑也不曉得藤條的英語，就是雞毛掃（feather duster）的手柄。採訪者跟他說是rattan。但他把rattan這個字讀錯了，讀了做 "rattin" 而不是 "rattaan"。今天，已經很少家長會用雞毛掃（feather dusters）的藤條（rattan）手柄來打小孩了。我肯定，梁家傑不會用雞毛掃（feather dusters）來打他的子女。也許這就是他不記得雞毛掃和藤條的英文，還讀錯了rattan的因由吧。 mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=274036§ion_name=wtt&kw=126