Dear Mr. Yang,

I would like to know the usage of the words like "with which", "about which",
"in which", etc.

Thanks a bunch

Regards,
Daniel

Dear Daniel ,

1. I play an antique piano , with which I enjoy many hours of pleasure .
( I enjoy many hours of pleasure playing antique piano )
2. I heard a lecture on physics , about which I know very little .
( I know very little about physics , though I did hear a lecture on it )
3. I visited the palace , in which are displayed many treasures
( In the palace I vistied are displayed many treasures )
4. I took a look at John's desk , on which are many papers
( I took a look at John's desk , which had many papers on it )

TLY

致敬愛的楊伯伯：

在您的網頁上看到您積極地與我們後輩分享英文研究心得，真的感謝您的慷慨與熱誠，不知道你沒有當法官以後，是不是就一直擔當眾人的老師？希望您不單教我們語文和西方禮儀，還會教我們做人的道理。

今次有難題想請教前輩，主要是「博愛」一詞，我在電腦字典上找到「philanthropic」一字，但在「林語堂電子字典」網頁上，這個字的解釋似乎又有些差距，只形容為「樂善好施」，這似乎跟我想表達的「愛」有點距離。而「林語堂字典」對於「博愛」的建議是「love
for all」，但這個看來似一個 Phrase，用來串成句子尚可，不太適合來作一個形容詞來形容一個人的素質。之後我再回到本來的電腦字典再探究下去，就發現「philanthropic」這個字的字首有其缺點，就是與另一個字「philander -- 與女人調情；玩弄女性」的串法相近，一旦打錯字會很容易造成誤會。而我猜想這兩個字的字首也是「philan」，它們的的本意是不是有相通之處？如果是的話，「philanthropic」一字本來所表達的意思，那種「愛」可能有點「不正派」是不是？也許我得找另一個形容詞。

請問前輩有何建議？簡單一點用「Broad Love」可不可以？或在文法上不能與「Broad -- 淵博」串在一起？

因為本人對世界的約誓正是「誠實、博愛、勇敢」，用中文就很容易說：「我是一個：誠實、博愛、勇敢的男人！」但用英文就不容易找到三個洽當的形容詞去說出：「I am a man of: Honesty......,......and......」我一直在不同的字典裡研究這三個字，不過未有成果。可能是因為自己的英文底子不好，所以即使找到了字，又不敢用。現在就很難向我兩位澳洲藉及美國藉的乾爹形容這一點，不知怎樣表達。

恭請前輩指引！

晚輩
天倫 Kevin Cheng (*_^)

Dear Kevin ,

The best translation I can think of is "philanthropy" - it is perfectly
respectable word with no sinister implications . I advise you to use this term
, which everybody understands .

TLY

Hello Mr. Yang,

sometimes i hear people pronounces the "R" in a funny way, like something is vibrating inside their mouth. it's often heard from the Philipinnos and from the Opera.

i've searched and found something i guessed relevant, like the "trilled R", the "rolled R", and even the disscussion about the pronounciation of the "rr" in Spanish and also the "r" in French.

i tried to imitate and now i can vibrate my tongue again my alveolar ridge, but i know there are some other ways that they are not using the tongue.

do u have any information about this "trilled r" that can share with me?

thanks in advance.

---
matt

Dear Matt,

Well , people whose mother tongue is not English often pronounces the "R" in
different ways , eg Japanese , people from different parts of China , French ,
German , Indian , etc .
I always try to follow the way English people pronounce "R"

TLY

Dear Mr Yang

I work as a flight attendant & years ago, I got a chance to serve the royal
family of Tonga in the F class cabin. However, my colleagues & I had no idea
how to address them. All I knew was "Your Majesty" & "Her Majesty" but did
not actually know how to use them. Embarrassingly, I kept making mistakes
when addressing the royal couple & the prince but was luckily forgiven.

Since I am away from town quite often & will probably miss your radio
programmes, your reply by email will be highly appreciated. Thank you very
much in advance for your advice!

Yours sincerely

Fanny Chung

Dear Fanny ,

In England and I suspect elsewhere too, all you need to do is to say " Sir " or
"M'am" . It is not necessary to say your Majesty , His Majesty, Her Majesty ,
when speaking face to face with monarch . It is also usual for a lady to curtsy
to the King and Queen .

TL Yang