《中英對照讀新聞》Cut the gobbledygook, world financiers told少打官腔 世界金融人士說

◎胡立宗

What do you understand if someone tells you they are about to withdraw accommodation？

如果有人告訴你，他們打算收回accommodation，你會認為他們想要做什麼？

For most people, nothing at all. Or perhaps they think they are being evicted.

對於大多數人來說，這句話沒什麼意義。或者他們可能認為租的房子要被收回去了。

Angel Gurria of the OECD, an economics think-tank, believes bankers and economists must speak simply, whatever their mother tongue, and he made the point while attending one of the world’s biggest gatherings of financial leaders, in Singapore.

經濟事務討論平台「經濟合作暨發展組織」的古利亞認為，銀行業者和經濟專家講話應該要更淺顯易懂，不管他們的母語是什麼。他是在新加坡參加一場世界上最大的經濟領袖會議（即世界銀行─國際貨幣基金IMF年會）時，說出上述看法。

"I asked a doctor friend what he understood when he heard the words ’we will remove accommodation gradually’," Gurria said. "He replied, ’someone plans to take your hospital bed away, but only bit by bit.’ "

「我問過一位醫師朋友，『我們將慢慢收回accommodation』，看看他覺得這句話是什麼意思，」古利亞說。「他回答，『有人想拿走你的醫院床位，但是會慢慢來』」。

What the phrase, often uttered by European Central Bank boss Jean-Claude Trichet, actually means in the world of high finance is that the central banker plans to raise interest rates.

這句歐洲中央銀行總裁特里榭常常掛在嘴邊的句子，在金融圈的真正意義是，中央銀行打算要調升利息了。

It is far from an eviction, even if it could push up the cost of your mortgage.

這和收回房屋根本沒有關係，雖然央行升息，是會增加你的房貸利率。

"Why not say I’m going to raise interest rates?" asked Gurria.

「幹嘛不直接說，我要升息就好了？」古利亞質疑。

新聞辭典

accommodation：在本文中被當成雙關語使用，一般用法多指房舍、住所、病床等，但在銀行界多指融資。因此，當雙方指涉不同時，就會出現文中「牛頭不對馬嘴」的情形。

OECD：Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development，經濟合作暨發展組織。

bit by bit：片語，逐漸、慢慢地。You have to finish the task bit by bit.（你得按部就班地做。）