提倡少说“废话英语”

  Campaigners for the English language last week attacked a growing tendency for "obvious" public information posters, such as a police sign urging people: "Don't Commit Crime."

(简明英语运动的)倡导者们批评了公共标语过于“直白”的趋势，比如警方这样规劝人们：“禁止犯罪”。

Other examples highlighted by the Plain English Campaign--which fights for the effective use of English--include "Warning: Platform ends here" on the end of rail station platforms, and "May cause drowsiness" on sleeping pills.

简明英语运动致力于促进英语的有效使用，其着重指出的其他标语还包括火车站台尽头的“警告：站台到此结束”，还有用在安眠药物上的标识“可能会引起睡意”。

"It's a phenomenon we have noticed in recent years--a kind of talking in a vacuum. There are so many examples," said a spokesman. "The 'best' one I have come across was a sign reading 'Caution: water on road during rain'."

“这是我们近几年来注意到的现象——像是在说废话。诸如此类的例子还有很多，”一位发言人说。“我遇到的最牛的一个标题是：‘小心：下雨时路面有水’。

"They assume a lack of intelligence on the part of the reader. 'Do not commit crime. Pay for your fuel' is hardly a deterrent to a criminal who has every intention of driving off without paying."

他们认为读者没有脑子。‘禁止犯罪，加油付款’对一个想要加了油就跑的犯罪分子可没有什么威慑力量。”

The Plain English Campaign cited other examples including: "May irritate eyes"--on a can of self-defense pepper spray; "Removing the wheel can influence the performance of the bicycle"--from a Dutch bicycle manual.

简明英语运动举出的例子还有：“可能伤眼”——写在用于自卫的胡椒水喷雾罐上的提示语；“拆下车轮会妨碍自行车的正常使用”——来自一种荷兰产自行车的使用手册。

The campaigners added: "Our advice would be say what you need to plainly and simply then stop. If nothing needs to be said, say nothing."

该运动的成员还说：“我们的建议是简明易懂地说出你想要表达的意思就行了，如果没什么要说的，那就别说。”