T o raise your voice means to talk more loudly but it also means to shout in anger. The financial secretary did not raise his voice, or shout in anger, when Longhair Leung Kwok-hung threw "hell notes" at him in the Legislative Council recently. "Hell notes" are fake money burnt as an offering to the dead at Chinese funerals. Instead of getting angry, Tsang Chun-wah told Longhair to "go away" in his soft-spoken voice. The reader who sent me the e-mail said the financial secretary should have used much stronger words than "go away".
She suggested "get lost", "shoo", and "buzz off". These are all slang words that mean "go away". But she preferred the expletive "f..k off". That is what made me crack up. I cannot even imagine Tsang Chun-wah telling anyone to "f..k off". He is a martial arts expert but looks more like a wimp. Judo, kung fu, and karate are collectively called martial arts. A wimp is a weak and cowardly person. I do not think the financial secretary is a wimp even though he looks like a soft-spoken wimp. Senior government officials should not use expletives in public but I agree with the reader that Tsang Chun-wah should have used stronger words. He could have said "scram" or "bugger off", which both mean "go away". If he wanted to use something stronger, he could have said "piss off". Many people no longer regard this as an expletive.
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一位讀者傳來一封極之好笑（hilarious）的電郵，是有關財政司司長曾俊華的。這封電郵好笑得令我失聲大笑（cracked up）。習語cracked up有幾個不同的意思，當用作俚語時就解作捧腹大笑。我大笑不止（cracked up），因為那位讀者建議曾俊華應該學習怎樣用髒話（expletives）。曾俊華是個說話溫和（soft-spoken）的人。Soft-spoken的人就是說話輕柔的。我完全不是一個溫柔說話（soft-spoken）的人，當我發脾氣的時候，我會大聲喝罵，也常常用髒話（expletives），但我就從未見過曾俊華怒斥（raise his voice）任何人。
To raise your voice解作提高聲線，但也解作憤怒地喝罵。當長毛梁國雄近日在立法會向他擲陰司紙（hell notes）時，財政司司長並沒有扯高聲線怒罵（raise his voice）。Hell notes就是在中國儀式裏用來燒給先人的陰司紙。曾俊華沒有發怒，反而用他那輕柔的聲線（soft-spoken）叫長毛「走開啦」。傳電郵給我的讀者說，財政司司長應用更強硬的用詞而不是說「走開啦」。
她提議可用"get lost"、 "shoo"和"buzz off"，這些都是「走開」的意思。但她更希望用髒話（expletive）"f..k off"，令我捧腹大笑（crack up）。我甚至不能想像曾俊華叫人"f..k off"。他是武術（martial arts）專家，但更像軟弱無能的人（wimp）。柔道、功夫和空手道合稱martial arts，Wimp是懦弱的窩囊廢，我不認為財政司司長是個窩囊（wimp），即使他像極了聲線輕柔的弱者（soft-spoken wimp）。政府高官在公眾場合不應說髒話（expletive），但我認同那位讀者所言，曾俊華應用更強硬的字眼。他應說"scram"或"bugger off"，也都是「走開」的意思。若他想再強硬一點，可以說"piss off"，現在許多人已不再將它視作髒話（expletive）了。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=283799§ion_name=wtt&kw=126