Hi, I'm Johan and welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn something that will help you to sound more like a native speaker when you talk.
嗨，我是 Johan，歡迎來到牛津在線英語！
在這節課上，你學到的內容可以幫助你在講話時聽起來更像以英語為母語的人。
What is this thing? It's vague language.
這是什麼呢？是模糊語言。
What does vague mean? Vague means something that is not clear or detailed.
模糊是什麼意思？模糊指的是不清楚或不詳細的事情。
For example, if you ask me what I did yesterday, and I reply, "Just some stuff at home," that is a vague answer. I'm not giving you any details.
舉個例子，如果你問我昨天做了什麼，而我回答說：「就是在家做了點事」，那就是個模糊的回答。我沒有告訴你任何詳細情況。
Why does this matter? Vague language is both common and important in natural English.
這個有什麼重要的？模糊語言在自然的英語中既常見又重要。
It has many different uses, which you can learn about in this video.
Using vague language will make your English sound more natural and closer to native English.
它有很多不同的用法，你在這個視頻中就能學到這些用法。
使用模糊語言會讓你的英語聽起來更自然，更像英語母語者。
First, let's look at the most important use of vague language.
Part one: avoiding unnecessary detail.
首先，我們來看看模糊語言最重要的用法。第一部分：避免不必要的細節。
In some situations, vagueness is bad.
For example, if you have a contract or a legal document, it shouldn't be vague!
在一些情況下，模糊是不好的。
比如說，合同或法律文件就不應該模糊不清。
In general, we prefer to avoid vagueness in writing. However, speaking is often the opposite.
一般來說我們在書面語中會選擇避免模糊語言。但是在口語中通常恰恰相反。
Imagine you ask your friend, "What are you doing tomorrow?" Look at two possible answers.
假設你問你朋友：「你明天做什麼？」我們來看兩個可能的回答。
One: "First, I'm going into the city centre. I need to buy a shirt and some toothpaste, then at 10:30 I'm meeting William Bukowski for coffee at the café in Gloucester Square."
回答一：「首先，我要去市中心。我要買一件襯衫和牙膏，然後10:30的時候我約了 William Bukowski 在 Gloucester 廣場的咖啡廳喝咖啡。」
"I'm going into town to buy some stuff, then I'm meeting someone for a coffee." Which answer sounds more natural?
「我要去城裡買點東西，然後約了人喝咖啡。」哪一個回答聽起來更自然？
The second one, right? Can you explain why it sounds better?
第二個，對吧？你能解釋一下它為什麼聽起來更好嗎？
In speaking, being too detailed can sound very formal and unnatural. It also wastes time, if I ask you a simple question like, "What are you doing tomorrow," of course I don't want to know every detail: where you're going, what time, who with, and so on.
在口語中，講話過於詳細聽起來會非常正式，不自然。還很浪費時間，如果我問你一個簡單的問題：「你明天幹什麼」，我當然不想知道所有的細節：你去哪裡，什麼時間去，和誰一起去等等。
So what language can you use here? The words "thing" and "stuff" are very useful.
那麼在這裡可以用什麼樣的措辭呢？"thing" 和 "stuff" 這兩個詞非常好用。
So the word "thing" is very useful. You can use "thing" or "things" to refer to an object or objects.
"thing" 這個單詞很有用。你可以用 "thing" 或 "things" 指代物體。
For example: "Give me that thing to clean the window." Or "Don't forget to take your things with you."
舉個例子：「把那個東西給我，我要擦窗戶。」或者「不要忘了把你的東西隨身帶走。」
You can also use "stuff" in a similar way. Remember that "stuff" is uncountable.
也可以用相似的方式使用 "stuff"。記住，"stuff" 是不可數的。
For example: "We're only going for two days, so we don't need much stuff." Or "Every time I move apartments, I throw away loads of stuff."
舉個例子：「我們只去兩天，所以不需要帶太多東西。」或者「每次我搬家的時候都會丟掉好多好多東西。」
Both words "thing" and "stuff" can also be used to talk about things you have to do. For example: "I have to go to that thing tonight."
"thing" 和 "stuff" 這兩個詞還都可以用於談論你必須做的事情。舉個例子：「我今天晚上要去參加那個活動。」
Or "I have a lot of stuff to do next week." You often use vague language when talking about numbers.
或者「我下個周有很多事情要做。」談論數字的時候經常用模糊語言。
When talking about numbers or quantities, you can avoid unnecessary detail by using expressions like "loads of", "lots of", "a few", "a couple", etc. For example: "They sent me 34 emails yesterday."
講到數字或數量時，你可以通過使用 "loads of"，"lots of"，"a few"，"a couple" 等短語避免不必要的細節。舉個例子：「他們昨天給我發了34封電子郵件。」
Or "They sent me loads of emails yesterday." "I saw six of my old school friends last night."
或者「他們昨天給我發了巨多電子郵件。」「我昨天晚上見到了六個以前學校的朋友。」
Or "I saw a few of my old school friends last night." "I have to finish three more things, then we can go."
或者「我昨天晚上見到了幾個以前學校的朋友。」「我還有三件事要完成，做完我們就可以走了。」
Or "I have to finish a couple more things, and then we can go."
In all of these cases, it's more natural to avoid giving the exact number unless the number is somehow important.
或者「我還有幾件事要完成，做完我們就可以走了。」
在以上所有的例子中，避免給出確切的數字更自然，除非那個數字很重要。
Another way to use vague language is when shortening a list.
Imagine your friend came back from vacation, and you ask your friend, "What did you do?"
模糊語言的另一個用法就是用於縮略一長串內容。
假設你的朋友度完假回來了，你問你的朋友：「你都做了什麼？」
And your friend says: "We went swimming in the sea, sunbathed on the beach, read books, ate in restaurants, took a surfing lesson, visited different villages, slept a lot, went for a bike ride and spent one day relaxing."
That doesn't sound good, right?
你的朋友說：「我們去海裡遊了泳，在海灘上曬了太陽浴，看了書，去餐館吃了飯，上了一節衝浪課，參觀了不同的村莊，睡了很長時間，騎了自行車，還花了一天的時間放鬆。」
聽起來不怎麼樣，對吧？
It sounds quite robotic, no? In informal speech, we usually shorten long lists by using a phrase on the end like: ". . . and that kind of thing", ". . . and things like that", ". . . and so on", ". . . or something like that".
聽起來太機械了，是不是？在非正式講話中，我們通常會在句末加上下面這樣的短語來縮短很長一串內容："...and that kind of thing"，"...and things like that"，"...and so on"，"...or something like that" （等等；諸如此類）。
Your friend might say: "We went to the beach, did some sightseeing and things like that." Sounds more natural.
你的朋友可能會說：「我們去了海邊，四處遊覽了一下之類的。」聽起來更自然。
It's almost more polite in a way. When you say something like this, giving some details but not every detail.
在某種程度上，這樣更有禮貌。當你像這樣講話時，你給出了一些詳細內容，但又沒有事無巨細全說出來。
This shows that you are engaged in the conversation, but it also shows that you understand the person you're talking to probably doesn't want to hear every single detail.
Finally, it allows the other person to ask for more details if they're actually interested.
這表示你在對話時很專心，但也表示你知道跟你講話的這個人可能並不想聽到每一個細節。
最後，這讓對方有機會問你更多詳細內容，如果他們真的感興趣的話。
Instead of throwing information at someone, you're letting the other person choose where to take the conversation.
Let's look at some more examples of this: "They serve curries, kebabs, grilled chicken and that kind of thing."
你在讓對方選擇如何引導對話，而不是直接把信息丟給他。
我們再來看一些例子：「他們有咖喱、烤肉串、烤雞之類的。」
"He told me about his new job, how his kids are doing, and so on." "We could go see a film, or go for a walk or something like that."
「他跟我講了他的新工作，他孩子的近況等等。」
「我們可以去看一部電影，或者散個步，諸如此類的。」
In all of these cases, we could continue the list, but we don't need to.
Using vague language to avoid unnecessary detail is a very common and important use, but vague language also has other uses.
在上面所有的例子中，我們可以繼續列舉那些事項，但是沒有必要。
用模糊語言來避免不必要的細節是一個很常見也很重要的用法，但是模糊語言還有其他的用法。
Let's take a look. Part two: using vague language to be indirect.
我們來看一看。第二部分：用模糊語言使自己變得委婉些。
Imagine your friend comes to your home, you notice your friend looks cold, so you ask, "
Shall I turn on the heater?" Compare two answers: "Yes, please, it's cold in here."
假設你的朋友到你家來了，你注意到你的朋友看上去很冷，於是你問：「要我開暖氣嗎？」
比較下面兩種回答：「嗯，請開暖氣，這裡面好冷啊。」
Or "Yes, please, it's kind of cold in here." What's the difference?
或者「嗯，請開暖氣，這裡面有點冷。」有什麼區別？
The first answer sounds very direct, which could be quite impolite, sounds a bit like a criticism.
By using the phrase "kind of", the second answer is vaguer and therefore more indirect.
第一個回答聽上去很直接，可能會顯得很沒禮貌，聽上去有點像批評。
用了 "kind of" 這個短語之後，第二個回答意義變得模糊了些，因此變得更委婉了。
This makes it softer and more polite. You can use the phrase "kind of" or "sort of" in this way.
使回答的語氣更柔和，更有禮貌。可以按這種方式使用短語 "kind of" 或 "sort of"。
For example: "Can I have some milk? The food's kind of spicy."
舉個例子：「我能喝點牛奶嗎？食物有點辣。」
Saying "The food is spicy" sounds very direct, and could sound rude. "He sort of annoys me sometimes."
說「食物很辣」聽上去非常直接，可能會顯得很沒有禮貌。「有時候他讓我覺得有點煩。」
Of course this is a criticism of someone, but using "sort of" makes it softer. "I kind of just want to stay in tonight."
當然了，這是對別人的批評，但是使用 "sort of" 讓語氣變得柔和了些。
「我今天晚上有點只想待在家裡。」
Saying "I want to stay in tonight" sounds very direct.
Adding "kind of" and "just" as well makes it sound softer.
說「我今天晚上想待在家裡」聽上去非常直接。
加上 "kind of" 和 "just" 讓它聽起來更柔和了。
You might want to use this with times.
For example, you can use the word "about" or "around" when arranging to meet someone, especially if it's just a casual meeting.
在敘述時間時可以用上模糊語言。
比如你在安排與某人見面時，尤其是比較隨便的那種會面，可以用上 "about" 或 "around"。
For example: "Let's meet at four." More direct, could sound more like an order.
舉個例子：「我們四點見吧。」這個更直接，聽上去可能更像命令。
"Let's meet at about four." More indirect, sounds more like a suggestion.
「我們大概四點見吧。」這個更委婉，聽上去更像是建議。
"Can you get here at ten?", more direct. "Can you get here around ten?", more indirect.
「你十點能到這兒嗎？」，這個更直接。「你十點左右能到這兒嗎？」，這個更委婉。
Of course, you don't always want to use vague language.
If your friend needs to be here by ten o' clock at the latest, then you shouldn't say "Can you get there around ten?"
當然了，你不能一直用模糊語言。如果你的朋友需要最晚十點鐘到這兒，那你就不應該說：「你十點左右能到這兒嗎？」
But in other cases, using vague language will make you sound more indirect, friendly and generally more polite. Part three: using vague language when you've forgotten a word or a name.
但是在其他情況下，使用模糊語言會讓你聽起來更委婉，友好並且更加有禮貌。
第三部分：忘記了單詞或名字時使用模糊語言。
Many English learners complain that they can't remember vocabulary.
Well, I have good news: you don't always need to!
很多學英語的人抱怨說他們記不住單詞。
我有一個好消息：你不總是需要背單詞。
No native speaker knows every word in English, and native speakers also forget words all the time.
So what can you do if you can't remember the word for something?
沒有英語母語者認識所有的英語單詞，英語母語者也總是忘記單詞。
那麼如果想不起來表示某物的單詞，你能怎麼辦呢？
Vague language can be your friend! Take a look: "What does this thingy do?"
模糊語言可以助你一臂之力！看一下：「這個小東西是幹什麼的？」
"Well, you can use this little whatsit to take out your SIM card." Or "I found this little metal thingamajig in my desk drawer.
「你可以用這個小玩意兒把你的 SIM 卡拿出來。」或者「我在我桌子抽屜裡發現了這個小的金屬物件。
I've no idea where it came from." Words like "thingy" or "whatsit" or "thingamajig", these are not normally used in written English.
我不知道它是從哪兒來的。」"thingy"，"whatsit"，"thingamajig" 這樣的詞通常不會用在英語書面語中。
But you can use them whenever you're speaking if you don't know what something is called. You can also do this with people if you've forgotten someone's name.
但是在口語中，當你不知道某個東西叫什麼時就可以用這些詞代替。
如果你忘記了某個人的名字，也可以找詞來代替。
For example: "I've got a meeting with whatsisface from the ad company tomorrow."
Or "He's moving in with whatsername, you know, that girl he met at his friend's wedding."
舉個例子：「我明天要和廣告公司的那誰開會。」
或者「他要和那誰同居了，就是他在他朋友的婚禮上遇見的那個女孩。」
"Whatsisface" is a word made from the question "What is his face," which makes no sense, and it's not really very clear where it comes from.
"Whatsername" is easier to understand: it's made up from the question "What is her name."
"whatsisface" （那誰），是從 "What is his face" 演化而來的一個單詞，沒有什麼意思，我也不太清楚這個詞是從哪兒來的。
"whatsername" 更容易理解，它是由 "What is her name" 這個問題組成的單詞。
You can change the words to talk about men or women: "whatsisface"/"whatserface", "whatsisname"/"whatsername". Again, these words cannot be used in written English!
你可以把這兩個詞變一下，用來談論男性或女性："whatsisface"/"whatserface"，"whatsisname"/"whatsername"。
還是一樣，這些詞不能用在英語的書面語當中！
They are also very informal, so you really shouldn't use them unless you really know the person you're talking to well.
You should also never use these words directly to someone's face.
這些詞還很不正式，所以除非你跟和你講話的那個人非常熟，否則真的不應該用這些詞。
你還永遠不能直接當著別人的面用這些詞。
You can't say: "Hey, whatsisface! Good to see you, but I've forgotten your name."
你不能說：「嘿，那誰！很高興見到你，但是我忘記你叫什麼名字了。」
That doesn't sound good at all! Part four: using vague language to be rude.
那聽起來一點兒也不好！第四部分：用模糊語言來表現得無禮。
Before, we saw how you can use vague language to sound more indirect or polite. Sometimes, you can also use vague language to show that you don't want to talk to someone.
我們在前面講了如何用模糊語言使自己聽起來更委婉或有禮貌。有時候你也可以用模糊語言來顯示你不想跟某人說話。
For example, if you ask someone, "What did you do at the weekend," and the person answers by saying, "Stuff," this sounds rude. This is like saying, "I don't want to tell you."
舉個例子，如果你問別人：「你這個周末做了什麼」，而那個人回答說：「事情」，這聽起來就很無禮。這就像是在說：「我不想告訴你。」
Another example, if you ask your friend, "What do you want to do tomorrow," and your friend says, "Whatever," this also could sound quite rude. It's like saying, "I don't care what we do."
另一個例子，如果你問你朋友：「你明天想幹什麼」，而你的朋友說：「隨便」，這聽起來可能也會很無禮。
就像是在說：「我才不在乎我們做什麼。」
Generally, using vague language in a very short answer—one or two words—can sound rude.
It can sound like you don't want to talk to someone.
一般來說，在很簡短的回答中，一兩個字的回答中用模糊語言會聽起來很無禮。
聽起來可能像你不想跟某人講話。
So, use vague language when you speak, but remember that how you use it is important.
OK, that's the end of the lesson.
那麼，講話的時候請用上模糊語言，但是要記住，用法很重要。
好了，今天的課就到此結束了。
I hope you learned some new stuff about. . . whatchamacallit. . . vague language.
希望你學到了關於......叫什麼來著......模糊語言的一些新知識。
Thanks for watching, and see you next time!
感謝你的觀看，下次見！