T he word "cool" means slightly cold but as a slang word it can also mean something or someone that is good or popular. If you say "he's a cool guy", it means he's a nice guy. If you say "that's a cool suit", it means it's a good-looking suit or nice suit. I wonder if a Hong Kong teacher would fail a student for writing in an essay: "Baggy jeans are no longer hot but I like them. I think they look really cool". The teacher would probably tell the student that jeans cannot be hot and only food or summer can be hot. The teacher would probably tell the student that jeans cannot be cool and only things such as autumn days can be cool.
An example of how the English language is constantly changing can be seen in the latest additions to the Oxford English Dictionary. The words "Hongkonger" and "Hongkongese" have both been added to the dictionary. They both describe Hong Kong people. But would Hong Kong's teachers allow students to use these words, or would they insist that students use "Hong Kong people" instead of Hongkonger or Hongkongese? In the US, it is common to say New Yorkers for people from New York, and Californians for people from California. Teachers would not fail students for using those words, or for saying "tight-fitting jeans are hot." Hong Kong teachers and people must decide if they want to move with the times when teaching or learning English.
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在之前幾篇專欄，我寫到香港人糾纏於文法之上。這樣沉溺於文法的後果（consequence），就是香港人未能講好日常（everyday）英語。當人們未能說好日常（everyday）英語，他們就不能跟上英語的轉變，例如新的俚語或習語。譬如，今天用hot形容某件事或某人很受歡迎，是很普遍的。現時韓國電視劇在香港就紅極一時（hot）。鬆身（baggy）的牛仔褲現在已不再流行（hot）了，但緊身褲卻很受歡迎（hot）。
至於cool這個字，可解作清涼，但也是一個俚語，形容某人很酷或受歡迎。若你說："he's a cool guy"，即是說他是個不錯的人。若你說"that's a cool suit"，即是指那件衣服好看或挺不錯。我很好奇，如果一位學生在文中寫道："Baggy jeans are no longer hot but I like them. I think they look really cool"，到底香港老師會不會評為不合格？老師可能會跟學生說，牛仔褲不可能是熱（hot）的，只有食物和夏天才是熱（hot）的；牛仔褲也不可能是涼爽的（cool），只有秋天的事物才是涼涼的（cool）。
英語持續演變，從牛津英語辭典新增條目就可見一斑。字典加進了Hongkonger和Hongkongese這兩個字，也是指香港人。但香港的教師會否容許學生用這些字，抑或堅持學生只能用Hong Kong people而非Hongkonger或Hongkongese?
在美國，普遍會稱紐約人為New Yorkers，加州人為Californians，當地的老師不會因為學生用了這些用語或說了 "tight-fitting jeans are hot"，而將他們評為不合格。香港老師和香港人得決定，他們教授和學習英語時，是否想與時並進。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=279709§ion_name=wtt&kw=126