Avery's Vida Loca Avery的異想世界

英語是強勢語言。就算母語不是英語，許多人也會在說話時不知不覺用到英文單字（不只台灣這樣，而是舉世皆然）。舉例來說，「OK」跟「hi」大概是台灣最常用的單字，常用到我們根本不覺得這是英文。

只是，這些外來語進到台灣，意思也難免產生變化。譬如：

「他是我的lover。」


在英文裡，「lover」的意思近乎「砲友」。雖然「lover」在某些情況下也可以指「情人」，但兩者聽起來還是很不一樣。

一位美國朋友就說：「 我每次聽到台灣人說lover，都會想原來台灣這麼的開放喔！」


另一個可能讓英美人士大驚失色的例子，就是「high」這個字。例如：

「今晚一定要好好high一下。」

「high」的確有高興、快樂的意思，不過通常是指喀藥的「high」。至於「to get high」這個片語，完全就是「喀藥high」的意思，可不是我們想的「high翻天」那麼單純。

至於英美人士聽到這首歌的反應是什麼，我就不知道了。

It is not surprising that some common English words have entered many languages. After a while, those loanwords start to look native to locals. “Okay” and “hi” are just two among many examples in Taiwan.

What can be surprising, or sometimes funny, is how these words start to carry different meanings (which, by the way, happens everywhere--think about those English words in Japanese).

For instance, when Taiwanese people say “lover,” they’re really thinking about “someone who loves them and whom they love in a romantic way.”

The official definition of "lover" in English? Here's what my Longman Dictionary says: someone's lover is the person they are having a sexual relationship with but who they are not married to.

Another example: when the Taiwanese use the idiom “to get high,” they’re thinking about “to have a great time (partying).”

From a linguistic point of view, it’s just how languages evolve and influence each other, not necessarily a matter of right or wrong.

But it’s true that sometimes such difference can make you laugh--for different reasons. Check this out if you don't believe me.