老师来邮提问:
“Let’s meet at 12:00 noon.”对呢还是“at 12:00 at noon对?”
答疑:
前者是对的,应该是Let’s meet at 12:00noon.
在英文网站上查找相关资料时,找到这样一句话:
Was obama officially president at 12:00 noon, before he took the oath or was heonly president after he didit?
说到这个话题,顺便把在维基百科中查到的一些有趣的资料放在这里。维基对noon有很详尽的解释:
Noon (also mid-day or noon time),Noon is at 12:00a time near the middle of the day when workers in many countriestake a lunch break. The opposite of noon is midnight.
那么,通常英语里是如何表示12点呢?维基百科是这么说的:
In 24-hour time notation, "12:00" and "12:00:00" refer to noon atthe middle of a given date.
With 12-hour time notation, mostauthorities recommend avoiding confusion by using "noon," "12noon," or "12:00 noon."
这段话大致的意思是:在24小时制中,"12:00"and "12:00:00"是指某天的正午。而在12小时制中,大多数的权威人士推荐使用"noon," "12 noon," or"12:00 noon",以避免混淆。
其实这个说法和汉语倒是很相似。如果有人对你说:我们十二点见吧。你一定会问是中午12点,还是夜晚12点?所以,12:00noon就相当于汉语里的“中午12点”,而12:00 midnight就是“夜晚12点”的意思了。
通常电子表或电脑是用“12p.m.”表示正午。这个生活中可以接受,但它经不起逻辑上的推敲。当然这个已经超越语言交际功能的范畴了。如果感兴趣为何经不起推敲,可以点击上面那个“维基百科”的链接,那里有详尽的解释。
其实语言是一种约定俗成,如果大家能统一意见,也好办。但是有意思的是,有两份来自美国官方的手册,观点恰恰相反。请看:
(1)The 30th edition of the U.S.Government Style Manual (2008) sections 9.54 and 12.9b recommendsthe use of "12 a.m." for midnight and "12 p.m." fornoon.
(2)The 29th edition of the U.S.Government Printing Office Style Manual (2000) section 12.9recommended the opposite the use of "12 p.m." for midnight and "12a.m. " (formerly "12 m.") for noon.
前者(1)推荐把 "12 a.m."规定为午夜;把"12p.m."规定为正午;后者的推荐正好相反!所以,如果想避免误会,还是用"noon," "12 noon," or "12:00noon" or midnight," "12 midnight," or "12:00midnight"表示。而英美的飞机航班、车站指示、旅游公司等为了让游客清楚明白时间,通常会用"12:01 p.m." or"11:59 a.m."