English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> 译通四海> 翻译服务

The royal we

[ 2009-05-25 16:06]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

The royal we

Nancy Matos

Reader Question: the royal we

“And who is the royal we?” Could you explain what the “royal we” refers to here?

My comments: The “Royal we” (also known as “Pluralis majestatis” [“majestic plural"]) when used is actually not referring to a group of people but only one person. It is a plural pronoun commonly used by royalty or a sovereign when addressing others.

A famous line using the royal we was uttered by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: “We are not amused.” There is some speculation that Queen Victoria was in fact speaking on behalf of the ladies of the court, not just herself. But the fact remains that the quote is widely used to describe the royal we usage in the first person.

If you hear British people speak or watch British television/movies, you will also encounter the use of the word “us” when referring to only one person. If someone ever says to you, “Give us a ring”, they are asking for you and only you to call them on the phone later. Some people get confused with this form of English, also known as the “Queen’s English”, and may ask “Who is ‘us’?” And if someone ever says to you, “Give us a kiss”, don’t worry. You aren’t being asked to kiss a whole group of people—just the person making the request.

本文仅代表作者本人观点,与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题,尊重他人,禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

Related stories

Dead soldier

Upper crust

Hit the jackpot

Juggle的活用

Rock bottom

Whistle-stop

Cherry-pick

Spoiler alert

 

About the author:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.

 

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn