Why do the British say 'sorry' so much?英国人为什么那么愿意说“对不起”？

 

获得16.6k好评的回答@Lee Ballentine：

It means something different over there. In the United States, “sorry” has a few widely used meanings.“sorry”这个词在英国的含义和别处完全不一样。在美国，“sorry”这个词有几个广泛应用的含义：(1) As a form of apology. I’m sorry I kicked your shin.（1）用来道歉。很抱歉踢到你腿了。(2) As an expression of sympathy. I’m sorry for your loss.（2）表达同情。对你的损失我深感遗憾。(3) As an adjective meaning inadequate. You are a sorry specimen.（3）形容“不合适”。你这个家伙不合适。To these, the British add说到这儿，英国人要补充一句(4) As an interjection meaning “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”（4）用作插入语“我没听清，你能重复一下吗？”A: "Lie nuff cacophany?"“谎话连篇？”B: "Sorry?"“抱歉能再说一遍吗？”A: "I said, would you like another cup of coffee?"“我说，你再来杯咖啡吗？”

 

获得70好评的回答@Nicholas Hayes：

I’m terribly sorry but we’re just doing it to be polite. Much like Japan, when your country develops it’s sense of manners under a system where armed warriors are the norm (knights/samurai), you tend to establish patterns of speech designed to reduce aggression.我特别抱歉我们这样说只是为了表达礼貌。这一点跟日本人很像，当你们国家的礼仪是在武装力量常规化的体制（骑士和武士）下发展出来的话，你们就倾向于利用语言来降低攻击性。At this point the swords are more or less gone, but the speech patterns are traditional and cultural so we carry on carrying on.现在武力几乎已经消失了，但语言模式仍保留着传统和文化特点，所以我们继续说着“sorry”。Sorry if that doesn’t illuminate it for you.如果没解释明白我深感抱歉。

 

（翻译：菲菲）

(来源:沪江)