你问我答

Honesty 和 truthfulness 的用法和区别

内容简介

听众 Yadi 来信询问 “honesty” 和 “truthfulness” 之间的区别。这两个名词的意思都与 “诚实” 有关。在使用中，区分它们的一个方法是：若想突出表达一个人的诚实品质，用 “honesty”；若想突出表达一件事情的真实性，用 “truthfulness”。本期节目将围绕它们之间的这个区别展开讲解。 

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Feifei
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。I'm Feifei.

Phil
And I'm Phil. Welcome.

Feifei
本期节目要回答的问题来自听众 Yadi，问题是这样的：

Question
Could you please explain the difference between 'honesty' and 'truthfulness'?

Phil
I love this question! These words are very similar, but there are two big differences and we'll look at those now! To start, we should mention that sometimes we can use these words to mean the same thing.

Feifei 
是的，“honesty” 和 “truthfulness” 在指某人所具有的 “诚实、说真话的品质” 的时候，含义相同，可以互换使用。来听两个例句。

Examples
In any relationship, it's important to show honesty.
（坦诚相待在任何人际关系中都很重要。）

Truthfulness is the key to building trust.
（诚实是建立信任的关键。）

Phil
But to really see the difference between these two words, we need to think what truth actually is. If something shows 'truthfulness', then it reflects the truth.

Feifei
这两个词之间有一个重要的区别。“Honesty” 与一个人的性格特征有关，如果某人表现出 “honesty（诚实的品质）”，那么这个人在主观上想要说真话、不愿意撒谎、误导别人。但有时，一个人所以为的真相与客观的事实并不符，在这种情况下，这个人所说的话虽然反映出了主观上的 “honesty”，但却不符合客观上的 “truthfulness（真实性）”。

Phil
So, if you pick up a bag that looks the same as yours at the airport, saying 'it's my bag' could be honest – as you think it's your bag, but it's not truthful, because it's not the truth. Listen to these examples.

Examples
I'm not questioning your honesty, I know you thought you saw her take the money, but it was just someone who looked similar.
（我不是在质疑你诚实不诚实，我知道你以为你看到偷钱的人是她，但那其实是另外一个长得和她很像的人。）

You told me the wrong date for the party! Don't worry, I trust your honesty, I know it was just a mistake.
（聚会的日期你给我说错了！没事儿，我相信你不是故意说错的。）

Phil
We've seen that honesty is more closely related to someone's character – and that gives us another difference – it has a much wider meaning than 'truthfulness'.

Feifei
“Honesty” 和 “truthfulness” 之间的第二个主要区别是：“honesty” 的适用范围更广。比如，“honesty” 可以指 “诚实守纪、遵纪守法的品德”，而 “truthfulness” 不能表达这个意思。请听两个例句。

Examples
Well done for handing in the money you found in the street. We appreciate your honesty!
（你把在街上捡到的钱上交了，做得很好。谢谢你这么诚实！）

Honesty is important for our company. We follow all the financial regulations.
（遵纪守法对我们公司很重要。我们遵守所有财务规章制度。）

Phil
And it doesn't just relate to rules that are written down. 'Honesty' can relate to ideas of fairness. Someone can show honesty by being fair.

Feifei
“Honesty” 还可以用在与 “公平、公正” 相关的语境中，指某人具有 “正直、老实、讲公平的品德”。请听例句。

Examples
I thought I could rely on your honesty, but I saw you take an extra slice of cake.
（我以为你很诚实，但我看到你多拿了一块蛋糕。）

The player showed great honesty in admitting that he fouled his opponent.
（这位球员非常诚实地承认他犯规了。）

Feifei
好了，我们来总结一下 “honesty” 和 “truthfulness” 的区别。“Honesty” 指 “人主观上的诚实，与客观事实未必一致”，而 “truthfulness” 指 “客观上的事实，真实性”。“Honesty” 还可以用来指 “人遵纪守法” 或 “正直、公正的品德”，适用的范围比 “truthfulness” 更广。

Phil
We hope we've answered your question! Remember that if you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Feifei
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye!

Phil
Bye!