今天 (2023 年 9 月 6 日) 筆者來跟大家分享兩個跟 hobbies or free time activities 有關的 YouTube 影片,分別是:
1. << Talk about HOBBIES Fluently in English >> , by Speak English with Vanessa; (美國口音)
2. << What do you do in your free time? Hobbies >> , by English Conversation withJake; (英國口音)
What are your hobbies? What hobbies do you have?
What are your interests? What are you interested in these days?
上述問句是比較常見的正式問法,Vanessa 在影片的一開頭就告訴大家:在日常的對話當中,美國人幾乎不會使用 hobby 這個單字,而是較常使用間接的方式來獲知他人的嗜好或休閒活動。對美國人的日常生活而言,閱讀教科書或較為正式的場合,例如面試,才比較常見到與使用到 hobby 這個單字。然而,在看過 Jake 的影片之後,可以發現英國人的日常生活應該還蠻常使用 hobby 這個單字,所以也不必刻意不去使用 hobby 這個單字,將來若有機會在美國長住或定居,再深入學習當地的口語說法就好。
首先,筆者先來談一下 intonation。Vanessa 說:
In daily natural English converstations, we never use the word “hobby.“
注意到 Vanessa 如何透過 conversations 表達 non-final intonation, 也就是 continuation rise, 她將 conversation 的語調唸為:
la-la-La-LA (低 低 中 高)
而 conversation 在身為獨立單字時的語調是:
La-la-LA-La (中 低 高 中)
另一句同樣也是透過 converstaion 來表達 non-final intonation,Vanessa 說:
Unfortunately, this is a common word that is used in English textbooks, but in real conversation, we never use the word “hobby.” (udn 編輯系統會濾掉撇號)
在這句子中,她將 conversation 的語調唸為:
La-La-La-La (全部都是中平調)
由此可知,表達 non-final intonation 的語調模式不止一種,最常見的是拉尾音,或是把音高撐住不要讓它往下掉,但有些母語人士有他/她們個人化的表達風格,他/她們會把其中某些音節唸成低平調或中平調,例如 Vanessa 在第一句中是使用 la-la-La-LA 去唸 conversation,在第二句中全部使用中平調去唸 conversation。
再來看 Vanessa 講的另一個句子,她說:
When I have time, I usually have FRIENDS over.
當她講到 "time," 時,她使用了 fall-rise intonation 來表達 non-final intonation,講到 FRIENDS 時,她把音高拉到最高,用以表示 FRIENDS 是整個句子的 Focus Word。
好了,語調的部分暫時講到這裡,中後段還有一個語調要提。接下來,我們很快地走一遍跟 hobbies or free time activities 有關但較為輕鬆與口語化的說法。
問法:
What do you do in your free time? What do you like to do in your free time?
What do you do for fun? What kinds of things do you like to do?
What activities do you like to do?
What did you do this weekend?
(根據句子的時態與問的時間來判斷語意;此時的 this weekend 意思就是 last weeken,這句話通常會在禮拜一或二的時候聽到,但若在禮拜四或五的時候聽到,就會顯得有點奇怪,因為語意仍是指 last weekend,但問的時間點已經太晚,感覺有點奇怪)
What are you gonna do this weekend? (gonna = going to)
(根據句子的時態與問的時間來判斷語意;此時的 this weekend 意思是指即將到來的週末,這句話通常會在禮拜四或五的時候聽到,若在禮拜一或二的時候聽到,感覺也是有點怪怪的,似乎有點無心工作,只想趕快放假玩耍)
回答:
In my free time, I like to meet up with my friends.
In my free time, I like to hang out with my friends.
I am a fan of doing karate, so I do karate a bit in my free time. I also like to bowl. I bowl three times a week.
Well, I enjoy gardening. So when I have time, I like to work in the garden.
再問:How did you get into that?
Oh, well. I wanted to spend more time outside, so I just went for it.
再問:How long have you been doing that?
Well, it is just my second year, so my garden is not that big, but I really enjoy it.
在這裡要介紹一個口語化的句型,那就是:
Somebody is into something.
意思就是某人對某事物非常有興趣,某人對某事物非常著迷。例如:
She is really into fashion. (她對流行時尚非常有興趣)
這口語化的講法在影集裡常常聽到,母語人士在日常生活不常講 "I am interested in something.",因為聽起來太正式,大概聽了會有一種奇怪或彆扭的感覺。
再來看其它的相關問句,例如 Vanessa 說:
Do you usually do it alone or do you have friends who do it with you?
Jake 也問了相同的問題,但講法不太一樣,他說:
Do you prefer to have your free time alone or with other people?
Do you prefer to do your hobbies with other people or by yourself?
請留意上述的問句不是 YesNo Quesiotn, 而是 Choice Question,因此語調在第一個選擇項是得上揚,在第二個選擇項是得下降。
Do you usually (do it alone) or do you (have friends who do it with you)?
Use rising intonation on (do it alone), falling intonation on (have friends who do it with you).
在 Jake 的影片中,有一位女生的回答是:
Definitely with other people. If I want to have fun, I go out with my friends.
(She uses zero conditional sentence to talk about her habit.)
另一位男生的回答是:
That depends on my mood. Some days I am feeling sociable, some days not so much.
Jake 的街頭訪談還問了一個 Vanessa 沒有提到的問題,那就是:
Do you think your hobbies have changed since you were younger?
有些人回答「是」,有些人回答「不是」,還有一些人回答「不算有改變,而是嗜好的種類比以前多」,也有人回答「年紀大了,反倒回頭找回年輕時的嗜好」。
快走一遍差不多走完了,在本文結束之前,提醒一下,Jake 影片中有一位女生使用了 horseride 來當動詞,她說:
In my free time, I horseride a lot.
實際上,應該是沒有 horseride 這個動詞,因為筆者查了許多英英字典都找不到這個動詞單字,比較正確的講法應該是:
In my free time, I go horseback riding a lot.
好了,今天就分享到這裡。Have a nice day!