French President Has Language Slip-Up in Australia
法国总统在澳大利亚出现语言失误
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, called the Australian prime minister’s wife Lucy “delicious” while thanking the couple for their hospitality this week at a press conference. Macron is fluent in English, but accidentally confused a similar French and English word. In French, the word “délicieux” can mean delicious or very agreeable. The latter definition, which Macron meant, is not used in the same way when referring to people in English. The English word “delightful” would have been a more appropriate word choice for describing Lucy Turnbull. Similar sounding words that can create misunderstandings in different languages are called “false friends.”
法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在本周的新闻发布会上感谢澳大利亚总理夫妇的热情招待时,称总理的妻子露西为“美味的”。马克龙的英语很流利,但却不小心弄混了一个相似的法语单词和英语单词。在法语中,“délicieux”这个词可以表示美味或者令人愉悦。但是马克龙所指的后者这个意思在英语中的使用方法不同。描述露西·特恩布尔使用“delightful”会更加合适。不同语言中发音相似但会导致误解的单词叫“同音异义词”。
译文属可可英语原创,未经允许,不得转载。