Ask & Learn闻问切英语口语:称谓用大楷
2014-05-13来源:易贤网

Ask & Learn闻问切英语口语:称谓用大楷

读者Elinore Wan在Harry Potter小说看到下面的句子:

I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles.

Elinore想知道为何Uncle用大楷而不是小楷?

英文里的一些人称,像哥哥、弟弟、叔叔、阿姨、医生、警官、船长等,既可以是普通名词,也可以是称谓。称谓是专有名词的一部分,所以用大楷,如Captain Cook、Officer Chan等。

如此说来,Elinore看到的句子里的Uncle Damocles其实大写小写都可以,只不过意思有一点不同。如果用小写,his uncle Damocles可以翻译成「他的叔叔Damocles」,如果用大写,意思就是「他的Damocles叔叔」。

再看下面的句子就会更加清楚:

My son is a doctor. At home, I call him by his name, but when I see him in the hospital, I call him Doctor Tam.

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