Thu, Jan 16, 2020 page15

• American & British English 美式英文&英式英文

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  The UK system of roads includes major high-speed limited-access routes known as motorways, with a network of smaller A-roads — with traffic lights or intersections — radiating out of London to other parts of England and into Scotland and Wales. In American English, the equivalents of the British motorway are the highway (sometimes with tolls), the freeway (never with tolls, hence the name) and the interstates/interstate highways extending across state lines.

  There are other differences in road vocabulary between British and American English. In the UK, they talk about a crossroads, in America an intersection; in the UK a flyover for a section of road over another section of road or a railroad, called an overpass in American English; and a transport cafe in which to take a break during a long journey, known as a truck stop in American English.

  In British English, the railroad is called the railway, a train station is called a railway station and a train car is called a coach. If you want to know what time the trains depart, you consult a timetable, not the schedule as in American English. And the subway is called the Underground (or the “Tube”) in London, although they do use “subway” for the system in Glasgow, Scotland.

  

  If you only want to go one way on the railway or underground in the UK, you buy a single ticket; if you want to go and return on the railroad or subway in the US you buy a round-trip ticket. In British English, this is called a return ticket.

  (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

  英國的道路系統包括「motorways」，亦即高速行駛、車輛上路有限制的主要道路，以及較小的、以「A」編號的道路網（有交通號誌或十字路口），由倫敦向外呈輻射狀散出，通往英格蘭其他地區，以及蘇格蘭、威爾斯。相當於英國「motorway」的，在美式英文中有「highway」（有些設有收費站）、「freeway」（無收費站，因此而得名），以及跨越州邊界的「interstates」∕「interstate highways」（州際公路）等數種道路。

  英、美式英文中有關道路的詞彙還有其他不同。「十字路口」在英國叫「crossroads」，在美國則稱做「intersection」；高架越過一段路或鐵路的「陸橋」，在英國叫「flyover」，美式英文稱做「overpass」；長途旅程中提供停歇處的「休息站」，在英國叫「transport cafe」（公路邊小餐館），美式英文則稱為「truck stop」（卡車停靠站）。

  「鐵路」在英式英文中叫做「railway」，美式為「railroad」；「火車站」英式稱「railway station」，美式為「train station」；「火車車廂」英式稱「coach」，美式為「car」。若想知道火車何時發車，就查詢「時刻表」，英式英文叫「timetable」，美式則說「schedule」。「地鐵∕地下鐵」在美式英文叫做「subway」，倫敦的地鐵叫「Underground」（或稱「Tube」），雖然在蘇格蘭的格拉斯哥是稱做「subway」。

  若搭火車或地鐵只坐單程，所買的「單程票」在英國稱「single ticket」，美式為「one-way ticket」；若亦需搭回程，則要買「來回票」，美國稱「round-trip ticket」，英式英文則叫做「return ticket」。

  （台北時報林俐凱譯）
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