送交者: USTC2 于 2005-1-16, 20:32:26:
[ZT]
先来欣赏对钱钟书的肉麻吹捧:
来源: 《钱钟书文集》
"钱钟书在美国讲学，仅凭其操英语的口才，即令四座吃惊，
一位在哈佛大学研究院工作多年的美国学者说，他在美国
长这么大，生平从未听过像这样漂亮的英语，算来算去
只有哈佛的一位语言学教授的英语水平差堪同钱相媲婉美。"
"除此之外，钱钟书还精通英、法、意、德、拉丁、西班牙
等多种语言。对于一个曾经在牛津留学的文科学生来说，
通晓这些相关语言也许并不值得大惊小怪，但要做到纯正得
没有一点母语腔调，对所有这些语言文学全部贯通，烂熟
于心，却不是一件容易的事。"
再来读读钱钟书的蹩脚英语:
The link:
[天涯英语杂谈]为什么钱钟书的英语不是好的英语?
http://www.tianyaclub.com/new/Publicforum/Content.asp?idWriter=0&Key=0&strItem=english&idArticle=51350&flag=1
对钱钟书一封英语信的评论:
Let me take a detailed look at one of 钱钟书‘s English letters, written in May of 1971. Here is the original:
-----------------------------------------------------
My Dear Shu-Wu,
Your letter gives me a joyful surprise. Your English is
astonsihingly good. This is not “flannel” or “butter”
but my sincere opinion (my hand upon my heart!). The idea
found from your version of Chairman‘s statement is, to say
the least, quite unjust. Perhaps yuor hand is recovering
some of its old cunning momentarily lost through long lack
of practice. At any rate, it would be a pity - nay, a sin,
a crime - to let your English get rusty & become finally
unserviceable.
Yours in haste
By a slip of pen, you wrote “allocation” instead of
“Collocation”. This is a mere peccadillo. Don‘t let
meticulousness about such trifles cramp your style.
------------------------------------------------------
Let me ignore the typos here.
(1) Improper use of words: flannel, butter, unserviceable,
peccadillo, meticulousness.
(2) Heavy use of cliches: joyful surprise, my hand upon my
heart!, recovering some of its old cunning, a pity - nay,
a sin, a crime, cramp your style.
(By the way, "cramp your style" has become so hackneyed it
even sits, the style uncramped, in music: for example, "Cramp
Your Style" from the rapper Ice-T.)
(3) Vagueness: "The idea found ..." The key question here is:
Whose idea? 钱钟书‘s idea or 林书武‘s?
(4) Finally, "Perhaps your hand is recovering some of its old
cunning" suits a trickster better than a writer.
You can draw your own conclusion on 钱钟书‘s mature English
writing.