又中又英｜Hit you between the eyes

Is it my imagination or has Hong Kong changed a lot since my previous visit six months ago? My local friends tell me it's not my imagination. They say Hong Kong has changed since I was last here. Residents of a city usually take longer for changes to hit them between the eyes. They are too busy with their own lives, especially in a stressful city like Hong Kong, to notice changes. Frequent Hong Kong visitors like me notice changes very quickly. But my friends tell me the changes have hit them between the eyes very quickly too because they are happening so fast. The changes jumped at me soon after I arrived.

The expression “hit you between the eyes” used this way means to suddenly become aware of something. If something jumps at you, it means you notice it immediately. I noticed many changes soon after I arrived in Hong Kong about a month ago. What jumped at me the most was the big increase in people speaking Putonghua. At first, I thought most were mainland tourists but noticed many of those speaking Putonghua were wearing suits and ties in Central and on the MTR. I even heard a lot of Putonghua in places mainland tourists seldom visit.

My friends told me many mainlanders and their families have moved to Hong Kong through government schemes and by studying in local universities. They wondered how long it would take for Putonghua to replace Cantonese as the main dialect.

这是否只是我的幻觉，抑或香港自我六个月前到访，真的转变了许多？我的本地朋友们告诉我，这并非我的幻觉。他们说，自我上次来港以后，它真的转变良多。通常一个城市的转变要令该地的居民也能惊觉（hit them between the eyes），需要较久的时间。他们生活忙碌得难以察觉转变，尤其像香港般紧张而压力大的城市。而经常访港者如我，则能迅速留意到转变。然而，我的朋友们跟我说，他们也能很快地注意到（hit them between the eyes）那些转变，因为转变实在发生得太快。当我一抵港，我一下子就注意到（jumped at me）那些改变了。

习语“hit you between the eyes”在这里是指突然注意到某事物。若某事 jumps at you，意即你一下子就注意到了。我一个月前回到香港时，很快便留意到有许多的转变。最令我霎时注意到的（jumped at me），就是说普通话的人大幅增加。起初我以为那大多是内地游客，但后来注意到，在中环和港铁里也有许多说普通话的人，穿西装打呔。我甚至在一些内地游客鲜有到访的地方，听到许多人讲普通话。

我的朋友们告诉我，许多内地人和他们的家庭，透过政府计划，或因到本地大学就学而移居香港。他们在思忖，过多久的时间，普通话会取代广东话成为主要语言呢。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻