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.

這是否只是我的幻覺，抑或香港自我六個月前到訪，真的轉變了許多？我的本地朋友們告訴我，這並非我的幻覺。他們說，自我上次來港以後，它真的轉變良多。通常一個城市的轉變要令該地的居民也能驚覺（hit them between the eyes），需要較久的時間。他們生活忙碌得難以察覺轉變，尤其像香港般緊張而壓力大的城市。而經常訪港者如我，則能迅速留意到轉變。然而，我的朋友們跟我說，他們也能很快地注意到（hit them between the eyes）那些轉變，因為轉變實在發生得太快。當我一抵港，我一下子就注意到（jumped at me）那些改變了。

習語“hit you between the eyes”在這裏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。我一個月前回到香港時，很快便留意到有許多的轉變。最令我霎時注意到的（jumped at me），就是說普通話的人大幅增加。起初我以為那大多是內地遊客，但後來注意到，在中環和港鐵裏也有許多說普通話的人，穿西裝打呔。我甚至在一些內地遊客鮮有到訪的地方，聽到許多人講普通話。

我的朋友們告訴我，許多內地人和他們的家庭，透過政府計劃，或因到本地大學就學而移居香港。他們在思忖，過多久的時間，普通話會取代廣東話成為主要語言呢。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻