Ask & Learn聞問切英語口語:稱謂用大楷
讀者Elinore Wan在Harry Potter小說看到下面的句子:
I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles.
Elinore想知道為何Uncle用大楷而不是小楷?
英文里的一些人稱,像哥哥、弟弟、叔叔、阿姨、醫(yī)生、警官、船長等,既可以是普通名詞,也可以是稱謂。稱謂是專有名詞的一部分,所以用大楷,如Captain Cook、Officer Chan等。
如此說來,Elinore看到的句子里的Uncle Damocles其實大寫小寫都可以,只不過意思有一點不同。如果用小寫,his uncle Damocles可以翻譯成「他的叔叔Damocles」,如果用大寫,意思就是「他的Damocles叔叔」。
再看下面的句子就會更加清楚:
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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