英國裝腔指南 像上流社會一樣說英語

邀請別人赴宴

When issuing an invitation, it should be written on writing-paper rather than note-paper.
邀請不能用筆記本的紙寫，而要寫在信紙上。

Address male guests by their surname alone, unless they are a government minister, whenSir is required, or the king, when it should be Sire.
只寫男賓的姓氏，除非他是政府大臣（這時需要加上Sir）或國王（需要加上Sire）。

When giving your address, avoid non-U house names like Fairmeads; U speakers stick to formal titles like Shinwell Hall. I can think of a potential problem here for people who don’t live in a manor house, but I presume that not living in a manor house is also non-U.
提及自己的住址時，別像非上流社會的人那樣管自己的房子叫Fairmeads之類的名字。上流社會總是使用正式名稱，例如Shinwell Hall。我能想象這裏可能會有一個問題，有些人並不住在莊園裏。但我覺得住不起莊園也算不上上流社會的人。

The next difficulty is determining the correct term for the meal itself to which the guests are invited. Is dinner taken at midday or in the evening? What about lunch and supper – are these acceptable terms, or will they immediately flag your lowly status? Properly speaking, one should have lunch (or even luncheon) in the middle of the day and dinner in the evening. To refer to lunch as dinner, or to use the term evening meal is to betray your non-U origins. If a dinner guest praises the supper, then the implication is that the meal was insubstantial and unsatisfying.
下一個難點是如何正確描述要請賓客吃哪頓飯。Dinner這個詞究竟是說午飯還是晚餐？可以使用lunch和supper嗎？它們會不會立刻顯得你沒那麼高大上？正確的說法是，午餐應該叫lunch甚至luncheon，晚餐則叫dinner。管午餐叫dinner或是管晚餐叫evening meal都會暴露你非上流社會的出身。要是一位客人說今晚的supper真不錯，那他不是在暗示晚餐不夠豐盛，就是說它不夠美味。

Never issue an invitation to high-tea, as this is an exclusively non-U invention.
絕對不要邀請別人參加high-tea，只有非上流社會的人才會使用這個詞。

When stating the dress code, be sure not to use the terms dress-suit or evening-dress. The refined equivalent is to state simply: ‘We will be changing for dinner’. How your guest is supposed to glean what to wear from this is a mystery to me, but I suppose that is precisely the point. If you have to ask, you shouldn’t be going.
提到着裝規定時，一定不要用dress-suit或evening-dress，而是簡單的說 “We will be changing for dinner”就可以了。對我來說，客人們如何領會該穿什麼其實是個謎，但如果不知道穿什麼，他們就不會去。

宴會前

Should you be lucky enough to receive a return invitation, never arrive by bus. Should necessity require you to make use of public transport, be sure to muddle the terms bus and coach (properly, the former is used in towns and the latter in the country) to show that you are unaccustomed to such degradations.
要是你幸運的收到回訪邀請，千萬別坐公交去。就算迫不得已，也要故意用錯bus和coach（它們的正確用法是bus是市內公交而coach是城際公交），這樣才能顯得你和這些屌絲交通工具不熟。

On arrival, ensure that you praise your host’s lovely house rather than home.
到達後別忘了稱讚主人的房子，要說lovely house，別用home這個詞。

Never refer to a room as the lounge, since for U speakers lounges are found only in hotels.
千萬別管房間叫lounge，對上流社會的人來說，只有旅館裏的房間才叫lounge。

When introduced to strangers, the correct response to ‘How do you do?’ is to repeat the phrase. Giving an answer, such as ‘Fine thanks’, is a major faux pas.
被介紹給陌生人時，如果對方說“How do you do”，正確的回答是重複“How do you do”。“Fine thanks”之類的回答可是很失禮的哦。

宴會中

Linguistic etiquette during the meal is crucial. You should never serve anyone greens, or ask them to pass the cruet. Should you need to wipe your mouth, use your napkin not your serviette. If you need to check the result, ask for a looking glass rather than a mirror. Avoid coy euphemisms such as temple of health or WC; U speakers refer directly to the lavatory.
宴會中的言談禮節十分重要。你不能管蔬菜叫green，也不能管調料瓶叫cruet。擦嘴用的餐巾叫napkin，不能叫serviette。想照鏡子的話，要管鏡子叫looking glass，不能說mirror。彆扭扭捏捏的用temple of health或WC這樣的隱語，上流社會的人直接說去衛生間(lavatory)。

宴會後

How to entertain your guests after the meal is another social and linguistic minefield. Real tennis is an acceptable pursuit. A card game might seem like safe ground, but steer clear of whist, pontoon, nap, and even slippery sam, which are all non-U. Never stand up to deal and always refer to knaves rather than jacks.
安排客人們的餐後娛樂活動是另一個社交和語言上的雷區。室內網球是個不錯的活動。打牌也沒什麼問題，只要不是惠斯特、二十一點、拿破崙牌甚至狡猾薩姆就行，只有非上流社會的人才玩這些。發牌的時候不要站着，別管J叫jacks，別叫knaves。