商務禮節美語第14期:有面子(1)

Jerry要去中國出差，找同事Amy請教。

Jerry: Hey family is from China, right?

嘿，艾米……你來在中國對嗎？

A:Yep. I was born and raised in Shanghai. Why do you ask?

是的，我出生在上海，並且在那兒長大的。你爲什麼問這個？

J: Well, I hope you don't I'm planning a business trip to China soon and I was wondering if you could give me some pointers.

嗯，我希望你不要介意……我打算不久到中國商務旅行，我想知道你有沒有什麼建議？

A: You mean like where to go for food or shopping?

你是說到哪裏吃飯或者購物嗎？

J: That would be good, too. But I'm actually hoping you might give me some insights into doing business in China.

說這些也不錯。但是我是希望你能給我些在中國做生意的啓示。

A: ! I think I can help. Do you have a specific question?

哈……當然可以！我想我能幫助到你。你有特別想要問我的嗎？

Jerry準備去中國出差，希望Amy能給自己點建議give me some pointers. pointer is spelled p-o-i-n-t-e-r, pointer是指點，建議的意思。Amy從小在上海長大，看來Jerry算是找對人了。Jerry並不是想了解吃飯、購物的事，而是想知道在中國做生意的一些規矩。

J: Well, for starters, what do they mean by "Saving face?"

嗯，首先，有面子是什麼意思？

A: "Saving face" is a catch-all term for the concept of honor. In China there is a protocol to everything and it should be followed, otherwise you and the other party might be embarrassed.

有面子是所有跟榮譽和顏面有關的問題。在中國所有的事情都是有規矩的，並且都是要遵守的，否則會讓人覺得沒面子。

J: So in ng face is about avoiding embarrassment?

因此，簡而言之……有面子是避免難爲情嗎？

A: Exactly. Say you're late to a meeting. This would cause you to lose face.

的確是這樣。比如你開會遲到了，這樣的話會讓你沒有頭面子。

For starters, 首先，Jerry想知道什麼是有面子，saving face. Amy解釋說，saving face is a catch-all term for the concept of honor. 有面子包括了所有跟榮譽和顏面有關的問題。

這裏所說的catch-all is spelled c-a-t-c-h, catch, a-l-l, all, catch-all，意思是全部包含、統統適用的。Amy說，中國人幹什麼都講究規矩，protocol, p-r-o-t-o-c-o-l, protocol, 按規矩做事，大家都有面子，破壞了規矩，就會讓人lose face，丟臉，比如說開會遲到。

J: How can you go about regaining your "face", or your honor?

如何才能挽回面子，或者你的顏面呢？

A: It depends on how serious the offense was. If you were late, you can repeatedly apologize and the other person will probably forgive you.

這要看你的錯誤的嚴重程度了。如果你遲到了，你如果重複道歉，別人也許會原諒你。

J: But I would need to apologize more times than I would if I was late here in America?

但是在美國我可能要道歉更多次才行。

A: Yes. Make many apologies. The person will probably say it's not a big deal, but in fact it could be a pretty big deal to them, so make sure to say sorry if you make a mistake.

是的，再三地道歉。對方也許會說沒什麼大不了的，但是事實上，他們在心裏會非常在意，因此你要確信犯錯的時候要及時道歉。

如何才能regain face挽回面子呢？Amy說，這要看你錯誤的嚴重程度。It depends on how serious the offense was. 如果開會遲到，你最好使勁道歉，請求對方原諒。對方可能嘴上會說，it's not a big deal，沒什麼大不了的，但事實上，他們心裏可能非常在意，所以一定要再三道歉。