中式英語登堂入室，再下一城！2010 年整合後重新推出、定期增補更新的線上版《牛津英語詞典》(The Oxford English Dictionary Online)，收錄了 to break a person's rice bowl "砸飯碗"。中文的 "飯碗" 本義指 "盛飯的碗"，俗語裡還可引申為 "賴以謀生的職業"。本義的 "飯碗" (rice bowl)《牛津英語詞典》收錄得早，但引申義的 "飯碗" 直到最近才列身《牛津英語詞典》的殿堂，成為英語詞彙的一員。
rice bowl, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /'rʌɪs bəʊl/ , U.S. /'raɪs boʊl/
Etymology: < rice n.2 + bowl n.1; in sense 1 partly after Chinese fànwǎn bowl out of which rice is eaten, job, means of living ( < fàn cooked rice + wǎn bowl). With sense 2 compare earlier granary n. b.
In quot. 1853 at sense 1b (to break a person's rice bowl) after early modern Singhala bat-kuma binäyi, but the expression is not otherwise widespread in India.
With sense 1b compare Chinese tiě fànwǎn secure job, lit. 'iron rice bowl', etc.; in to break a person's rice bowl in 20th cent. use after zá fànwǎn to deprive (a person) of the means of living, to dismiss from a job, lit. 'to break the rice bowl'.
1.
a. A bowl out of which rice is eaten.
(Quotations omitted here)
b. fig. Esp. in Asian contexts: a person's livelihood or source of income. Freq. in to break a person's rice bowl: to deprive a person of the means to make a living.
1853 R. S. Hardy tr. Amáwatura in Man. Budhism vii. 271 The tirttaka declared that his rice-bowl was broken, his subsistence gone.
1926 Peabody Jrnl. Educ. 3 198 The honest effort to earn their 'rice bowl'—the Chinese phrase for 'bread and butter'—by tilling the farms.
1952 N.Y. Amsterdam News 12 Jan. 2/2 In the Far East we have a rule that no one has the right to break the other man's rice bowl.
1989 T. Clancy Clear & Present Danger xxix. 619 That was his rice bowl, as the government saying went.
2008 A. C. Clarke & F. Pohl Last Theorem viii. 61 You were breaking his rice bowl, you know. If the guests opened their own Coke bottles, the beverage wallah would be out of a job.
2. An area in which abundant quantities of rice are grown.
(Quotations omitted here)
第 1b 條的定義說得很清楚，rice bowl 的引申義 "生計；收入來源" 為亞洲的用法，常以 to break a person's rice bowl 的型態出現，義為 "剝奪某人賴以謀生的職業"。在詞源解說裡，《牛津英語詞典》更明白指出，to break a person's rice bowl 這條慣用語乃仿自中文的 "砸飯碗"。
詞源解說也提到了中文的 "鐵飯碗"，字面義為 iron rice bowl，也就是英語所說的 secure job "穩固的職位"。看來，iron rice bowl "鐵飯碗" 正式受到《牛津英語詞典》的認可，應該是指日可待的了。
3 comments:
I find it quite interesting to learn some English expressions closely related to our everyday life. An English dictionary, whatever the format, indeed makes it much easier to express our feelings and thoughts in English. It would be great if someday we could consult the Oxford English Dictionary through mobile devices, such as cell phones. Well, I hope this is not a mission impossible!
老師，近來好嗎？學生寫信給您是無事不登三寶殿，如打擾到您，先致上歉意。
有個在美國讀書的朋友，因為研究的關係需要做一份報告，需要100~150人協助填寫問卷，需耗時最長30分鐘（視各人填答速度），時間約在今年冬季。學生想到您上的課，有的是大堂課，但因為牽涉到您的教學權益與學弟妹的受教權益，想跟您商量，不知是否有這個可能？請老師不用有任何顧慮，不用有時間上的壓力。到時如果可以，學生先代友人向您致謝，如果您不方便，學生也代友人向您感謝。也感謝老師抽空看信，祝
順心
學生堡方敬上
堡方，我的選修課已經嚴格限制人數，現在都是小班課了，很抱歉無法幫上忙。
另，各位格友，若有問題，請多利用電郵跟我聯絡。與部落格貼文無關的評論，我將來不便回應，敬請諒解。
Post a Comment