沒想到對方的一句thank you就能讓我暴露年齡了......
當(dāng)對方說thank you，你會如何回答呢？
大多數(shù)接受國內(nèi)英語教育的我們可能會條件反射,“you're welcome”脫口而出，而這也是大多數(shù)年齡大些的美國人會用的經(jīng)典回答......
(Via網(wǎng)絡(luò))
外國博主直接拉開戰(zhàn)場，討論用哪句話回答對方的thank you更好：
“No problem” vs “you’re welcome”
千禧一代表示對于“you're welcome”是拒絕的
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
You almost never hear a Millennial say “you're welcome.” At least not when someone thanks them. It just isn't done. Not because Millennials are ingrates lacking all manners, but because the polite response is “No problem.” Millennials only use “you're welcome” sarcastically when they haven’t been thanked or when something has been taken from/done to them without their consent. It's a phrase that's used to point out someone else's rudeness.
你幾乎不會聽到一個千禧一代的年輕人說“you're welcome.”，特別是在別人感謝他時(shí)。不是因?yàn)檫@群年輕人忘恩負(fù)義且粗魯，在他們看來答以“No problem.”更有禮貌。千禧一代只會將“you're welcome”諷刺地用在他們沒有得到感謝或是別人未經(jīng)他們同意拿走他們的東西等方面時(shí)。因此這是一個用來指出他人粗魯行為的短語。
“No problem" vs "you are welcome"(via Tumblr)
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
小編在這想對插隊(duì)的朋友們說一句
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
但嬰兒潮出生的一代人更青睞“you’re welcome”，超級不爽“no problem”一類的答復(fù)，語言的代溝就這樣產(chǎn)生了 。（Baby boomer，a person born during a baby boom , especially after the Second World War。是（尤指第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后）生育高峰期出生的人，放到當(dāng)下就是美國55-73歲的人群。）
Baby Boomers, however, get really miffed if someone says “no problem” in response to being thanked. From their perspective, saying “no problem” means that whatever they’re thanking someone for was in fact a problem, but the other person did it anyway as a personal favor. To them “You’re welcome” is the standard polite response.
然而，嬰兒潮一代人會對別人回復(fù)“no problem”感到非常惱火。在他們看來，說“no problem”意味著無論他們在感謝什么都是為了造成的那個麻煩，但幫助者這么做無論如何都是出于個人的意愿。這一代人認(rèn)為“you’re welcome”才使標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的禮貌回答。
“No problem" vs "you are welcome"(via Tumblr)
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
然鵝不只是美國的年輕人，Buzzfeed的一篇文章指出，其他國家的人們也認(rèn)為“you’re welcome”聽上去很粗魯。比如在大洋彼岸的英國，人們總覺得這句話帶著點(diǎn)傲慢態(tài)度。而問題的關(guān)鍵更在于……
But the problem with “you’re welcome” isn’t sarcasm. Well, not the whole problem. Not th
at this is the intention, but "you’re welcome” can sound like you're taking the polite gesture from the thanker, and bringing attention to your kindness. To the unaccustomed ear, it can sound like “yes, I did you a favour, you should be thankful.”
但問題的關(guān)鍵不完全是這句話帶有諷刺的感覺。而是“you’re welcome”這句話本身會讓人誤以為你故作姿態(tài)，不習(xí)慣的人聽了會覺得你像是說“是的我?guī)土四愕拿Γ惚揪驮摳屑の摇?rdquo;
Here's Why "You're Welcome" Is Not The Right Response To "Thank You"(via Buzzfeed)
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
HuffPost的一篇文章也來補(bǔ)了一刀，表示
“You’re welcome” has continued to act as a sort of comic brag or sarcastic remark.“You’re welcome”已經(jīng)長期被大家經(jīng)常用作滑稽的自夸或是諷刺。2016年的迪士尼電影《海洋奇緣》中可愛但自大的半神角色毛伊就有一首浮夸的配樂叫作“You’re Welcome”。
(via GIPHY)
大家現(xiàn)在知道“You’re welcome”為什么這么不受待見了吧
?。ㄟ@一屆禮貌用語真的很苛刻）
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
那么“You’re welcome”到底為何淪落至此呢？？
小編總結(jié)了報(bào)道中提到的三大原因：
大家都想表現(xiàn)得謙虛
“We’re taught it’s good manners not to toot your own horn,” Diane Gottsman, founder of the Protocol School of Texas, told HuffPost. “People don’t want to appear as if they’re expecting praise. But in trying to be humble, what happens is that many of us have difficulty accepting gratitude or compliments. We tend to say things like, ‘Oh, no, it was nothing.’”
“我們認(rèn)為不自吹自擂才是禮貌。”德克薩斯禮儀學(xué)校的創(chuàng)始人Diane Gottsman告訴赫芬頓郵報(bào)的記者，“人們不想表現(xiàn)得好像在期待贊美。 但在試圖謙遜時(shí)，許多人卻變得很難接受感謝或贊揚(yáng)。我們往往會說“噢這其實(shí)沒什么”。
Why Don't We Say 'You 're Welcome' Anymore(via HuffPost)
2.人們希望回答得與眾不同
The shift away from “you’re welcome” is simply a matter of language habits changing, she noted.“Americans tend to value novelty,” Tannen said. “We don’t like saying exactly the same thing. We think we should say something a little different that has a little more character. We love our individuality and want to express it. ”
“you’re welcome”不再流行是簡單的語言習(xí)慣的變遷，喬治敦大學(xué)語言學(xué)教授Deborah Tannen提到。“美國人往往重視新穎性，” 她說，“我們不喜歡說一樣的話。我們認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該說些不同的帶有個性的。我們喜歡并希望表達(dá)自己的個性。”
Why Don't We Say 'You 're Welcome' Anymore(via HuffPost)
3.“you’re welcome”已經(jīng)被用成了沒感情的客套話
(via 網(wǎng)絡(luò))
Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University noting that “you’re welcome” is part of what’s known as formulaic language.“It’s part of a politeness formula,” she explained, adding that she’s found in her studies of child language acquisition that parents tend to emphasize this kind of communication.
波士頓大學(xué)心理與腦科學(xué)系榮譽(yù)教授Jean Berko Gleason指出“you’re welcome”算是種客套話。“這是禮貌的公式的一種，”她解釋道，并補(bǔ)充道她從兒童語言習(xí)得的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，父母往往會強(qiáng)調(diào)這種表達(dá)。
Why Don't We Say 'You 're Welcome' Anymore(via HuffPost)
但與此同時(shí)，不乏有人認(rèn)為“you're welcome”/“no worries”/”no problem”/”sure thing”/etc是視情況而使用的，也有禮儀專家提出“you're welcome”仍是很好的表達(dá)方式。
(via GIPHY)
你如何看待“you’re welcome”之爭？又遇到過什么其他的語言代溝現(xiàn)象呢？快來留言告訴大家吧！
整合：YANMING
原文：Tumblr, Buzzfeed, HuffPost
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來源：環(huán)球時(shí)報(bào)英文版
