雙語|英國人怎麼稱呼「親」?是用MATE,CHAP還是BUDDY?

Britain has often been stereotyped as home to 「the stiff upper lip」, signifying strength of character and an adversity to emotional expression. This might lead some to assume that the Brits are formal and polite when addressing friends. As is often the case, when you scratch beneath the surface, a truly different picture emerges. This can be seen when we look through the numerous words in the English language that are used by 「blokes」 to affectionately refer to one another.

大家都說英國人都是「刀子嘴」，個性強硬，不樂於表達感情。可能有的人覺得英國人和朋友一道時也很正經有禮貌。其實如果你能捅破表面那層紙，就會看到和想像中完全不同的英國人。看到英文中有這麼多稱兄道弟的詞就知道了。

ANTIQUATED TERMS? 這些說法已經過時了？

Casual conversations in Britain are often peppered with terms of endearment that can be as varied and bizarre as any other of our whacky cultural norms. Some of these differences can be put down to globalisation, such as the ubiquitous and much scorned 「dude」 that has somehow been extracted from sunny California and plonked in the UK, home to all things wet. Others, however, are British through and through. Some antiquated terms that one occasionally hears are 「chap」, 「old boy」 or even 「old fruit」. These old-fashioned terms still thrive in places such as the University of Oxford, where even the freshest of freshers hang on to ancient traditions like there’s no tomorrow.

在英國，日常對話中經常會出現表示親密的詞語，千奇百怪，就和我們的其他文化禮儀一樣。其中一些說法可能是由全球化帶來的，譬如無人不曉、略顯輕蔑的「dude」，別看它在溼漉漉的英國已經扎了根，人家可是從陽光燦爛的加州漂洋過海遠道而來。其他稱呼就徹頭徹尾都是咱英國的了。我們偶爾聽到的一些詞有「chap」，「old boy」和「old fruit」。在像牛津大學一樣的地方，這些老派說法還是很風行的，最嫩的新生也會抓住一切機會表現這些個古老的傳統。

"MATE" 弟兄！還是交配？！

Nevertheless, if a foreigner truly wanted to 「get down with the kids」 and sound like a modern day Brit, the most common way to refer to a friend is to call them 「mate」. The term originates from West Germanic languages, where it actually meant 「meat」. This curious connection between friend and food comes from the familiarity that is created when people eat together – a sentiment shared by many cultures around the world. Be warned however: another meaning of the word 「mate」 (particularly in a biological context) is a sexual partner, so be careful how you ask for new friends!

但是假如外國人真心想放開，想像現代英國人一樣說英語，稱呼朋友最常用的方式就是叫他們「mate」。這個詞的詞源可追溯到西日耳曼語，意思是肉（meat）。人們共享美食，就會漸漸變熟，而朋友和食物間不可言表的聯繫正是來自於此——世界上許多文化都是這樣。但得注意了：「mate」還有交配對象的意思（特別在生物學中），所以交新朋友的時候可要小心別搞錯了！

「BUDDY」 弟兄和三明治能有啥聯繫？

Last but not least is the ever popular term 「buddy」. The origins of this term have been disputed, but there seem to be two major schools of thought on the topic. Some argue that the etymology of 「buddy」 lies in the notion of 「booty fellows」: these were soldiers who shared the wealth of conquered lands with one another. Another explanation places the origin of 「buddy」 with the term 「butty」, which is a variation of brother. As per usual with the English, this brings us to the topic of breakfast. A bacon butty is a name for a bacon sandwich, and there is no denying that these are a true buddy to the Brits!

最後得提到「buddy」，此詞可謂是歷久彌堅啊。關於它的出身爭論不斷，大體有兩大說法。有的人說「buddy」的語源來自「分贓同夥（booty fellows）」: 舊時互相分享侵略地上搜刮來的財富的士兵。另一個解釋說「buddy」和兄弟（brother）的另一個說法「butty」有關。英國人就喜歡說吃的，這回咱再來說說早餐。培根三明治又叫做「bacon butty」，不得不說「三明治弟兄」真心是英國人的好夥伴！