What They Really Mean
原來你是這意思？!
Episode Three: Euphemistic Feedback
第三集：委婉回應
That's an interesting idea.
那是個有趣的點子。
Sounds great, doesn't it? An interesting idea. But did she really mean it?
聽起來很棒，不是嗎？一個有趣的點子。但她的意思真的是這樣嗎？
You had an idea for our traffic app?
你對我們的交通應用程式有想出點子是嗎？
Yes. Well, you know how it tells you about slow traffic.
對。你知道現在這個應用程式告訴你交通壅塞的情況。
Yes.
是的。
Well, I thought we could show how noisy the traffic is.
對，我覺得我們可以顯示交通有多吵鬧。
That's an interesting idea.
那是個很有趣的點子。
We can get new clients who want a quiet journey.
我們可以吸引到想要安靜旅程的新客戶。
It's certainly a different approach.
這的確是個特別的作法。
I've put these graphs in for the different amounts of noise.
我把這些圖表放進去，可以顯示不同的噪音量。
I can see that you've been thinking about this.
我可以看出你有一直在思考這個。
Yeah.
對。
Why are you so happy?
你怎麼那麼開心？
Oh, it's Emily. She loves my ideas! I'm so happy!
喔，是 Emily 啦。她愛我的點子欸!我超開心的!
I wouldn't be so sure.
我可不會這麼確定。
What do you mean?
這是什麼意思？
Well, people often use euphemisms to avoid direct criticism and to sound polite.
嗯，人們通常都會用委婉語來避免直接的批評或想要聽起來有禮貌。
Euphemism: a word or expression used to refer to something without causing offence
委婉語：談論某事物避免造成冒犯的用字或表達
Euphemistic: using euphemism
委婉的：運用委婉語
Words like "interesting" and "different" mean that people can react without saying anything directly negative.
像是「有趣」和「特別」這種用字代表人們可以不用講直接負面的話語來反應。
So it didn't mean that she really liked the ideas.
所以這不代表她真的喜歡這些點子。
I'm afraid not.
恐怕不是的。
How could you tell when someone is doing this?
別人這樣做的時候你要怎麼知道？
Okay, people often use adjectives that could be positive but aren't always—like "interesting" or "different." Also, people might use phrases to recognize effort rather than achievement, such as "You've really thought about this" and "You have worked a lot on this." Pay attention to tone and body language as well. Are they saying "Well, I can see you've been working on that" or are they saying "Well, I can see you've been working on that"? You can see more examples of this kind of feedback at the end of the program.
好，人們常常用一些可以代表正面但不總是正面的形容詞－－像是「有趣」或「特別」。還有，人們可能會用一些措辭來認可努力而不是成就，就像「你真的有仔細想過了」跟「你在這上面下了很多功夫」。也要注意語調跟肢體語言。他們是說「嗯，我可以看出你下了些功夫」或他們是說「嗯，我可以看出你下了些功夫」？你可以在節目最後看到更多這類的回應。
I wonder what it would look like if she had really liked the ideas.
我想知道如果她真的喜歡這些點子會有什麼反應。
You had an idea for our traffic app?
你對我們的交通應用程式有想出點子是嗎？
Yes. Well, you know how it tells you about slow traffic.
對。你知道現在這個應用程式告訴你交通壅塞的情況。
Yes.
沒錯。
Well, I thought we can show how noisy the traffic is.
對，我覺得我們可以顯示交通有多吵鬧。
Wow. That is an interesting idea. I really like it.
哇。那真是個有趣的點子。我很喜歡。
We could get new clients who want a quiet journey.
我們可以吸引到想要安靜旅程的新客戶。
That is a really different approach. It's brilliant.
那是個很特別的作法。真聰明。
I've put these graphs in to show the different amounts of noise.
我把這些圖表放進去，可以顯示不同的噪音量。
I can see you've been thinking about it, and I really like it.
我可以看出你有一直在思考這個，而且我真的很喜歡。
Here are some more examples of euphemistic feedback.
這邊有更多委婉回應的例子。
That must have taken you a long time.
這一定花了你很多時間。
It's very original.
這很原創。
You've been very creative there.
你這邊很有創意。
I haven't seen anyone do it like that before.
我沒看過其他人那樣做過。
I can see what you were trying to do.
我可以看出你試著想做的事情。
- 「談論、提及」- Refer To
Euphemism: a word or expression used to refer to something without causing offence
委婉語：談論某事物避免造成冒犯的用字或表達 - 「在某事上下功夫」- Work On Something
Also, people might use phrases to recognize effort rather than achievement, such as "You've really thought about this" and "You have worked a lot on this."
還有，人們可能會用一些措辭來認可努力而不是成就，就像「你真的有仔細想過了」跟「你在這上面下了很多功夫」。 - 「也」- As Well
Pay attention to tone and body language as well.
也要注意語調跟肢體語言。
