英国王室成员的职责 王室难当这些单词

众所周知，英国王室的世界和多数普通人的世界是截然不同的。他们一出生就含着金汤匙，一辈子生活在富丽堂皇的宫殿，坐拥数不尽的荣华富贵。

但这些王公贵族的日子可能并没有你想得那么舒服，至少言行举止不能随心所欲。

社会人类学家凯特·福克斯对英国王室用语习惯进行了研究。她发现，哪怕只是在措辞上，王室成员也有很多讲究之处，和普通人的习惯大不相同。

具体来说，女王威廉、凯特等王室成员是绝对不会使用下面这些单词的。

01pardon 对不起

We'd always thought "pardon" was more polite than the alternatives.

相比之下，我们一直认为“pardon（对不起）”是一种比较礼貌的说法。

Not being royal, however, we were wrong.

然而，我们错了。对于王室来说并非如此。

"Pardon" is forbidden to use.

“Pardon”是禁用词。

Instead, if you haven't heard what the Duke of Edinburgh has just said to you, you should say "sorry?" or even "sorry, what?"

如果你没听清爱丁堡公爵菲利普亲王对你说的话，你应该用“sorry”或“sorry, what”来代替“pardon”。

02toilet 厕所

The word "toilet" may be a more palatable term than "bog" or "loo", but it's the latter which is used whenever a member of the House of Windsor needs to relieve themselves.

与“bog”、“loo”相比，“toilet”用来表示厕所或许是一种比较礼貌的说法。但温莎家族需要方便时使用的是“loo”这个单词。

"Toilet" is French by origin, so is apparently avoided.

避免使用“toilet”是因为这个单词源自法语。

03perfume 香水

Complimenting someone on how they smell is a tricky one. It's a fine line between coming across simply as nice, or just plain creepy.

赞美一个人的体香是非常需要技巧的。让对方感到“友好”还是“诡异”的差别只在一线之间。

Unfortunately, the Royal's preferred word for perfume won't help.

不幸的是，王室在这方面的措辞毫无帮助。

The Royals don't wear perfume. They wear scent.

他们不会用“perfume”，而是用“scent”表示擦香水。

04tea 晚餐

According to Kate Fox, one surefire way of outing yourself as being decidedly un-royal is to refer to your evening meal as "tea".

据凯特·福克斯称，如果你用“tea”这个单词表示晚餐，那么无疑是在宣布你绝不是王室成员。

If you do want to convince her you're blue blooded, invite the Queen around for "dinner" or "supper".

如果你想让女王相信你出身贵族，那么邀请她共进晚餐时用“dinner”或者“supper”。

05lounge 客厅

The palaces have many rooms, but not one of them is a lounge, nor a living room.

王宫里有许多房间，但是没有一间房叫做“lounge（客厅）”或“living room”。

This isn't because the Royals aren't permitted a space to watch Hollyoaks or play Cards Against Humanity.

这倒不是因为王室成员没有地方看肥皂剧《圣橡镇少年》或者玩纸牌游戏。

Instead, it's because they retire to either a "drawing room" or "sitting room".

而是因为他们将休息的地方称为“drawing room（休息室）”或“sitting room”。

06posh 高雅的

The first rule of being posh? You never refer to someone - or yourself - as being posh.

举止优雅的第一准则是什么？永远不要用“posh（谈吐高雅的）”形容自己或别人。

According to Kate, you're "smart".

凯特·福克斯称，你可以选择“smart”替代。