Why“Sorry”Is the Easiest Word for Canadians to Say為什么“對不起”是加拿大人最易脫口而出的話

肖雅琪

Elton John once sang， “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.”But in Canada，there arent many words that are more easily spoken. Or， thats the way it lookslike， say visitors to the country. And its something that Canadians admit1themselves. So why do they apologize2 so much， even when they dont need to？

Its part of Canadian culture3， say some people. That doesnt mean othercultures are less polite4. But saying sorry does at least show youre trying to benice—and many people think Canada is a polite country， so Canadian may be tryingto protect5 that idea.

For many Canadians， apologizing has become something they do withoutthinking， says a writer of the CBC. Even if someone walks into you in the streetand you arent at fault6， you may say sorry. She adds that it could be a way toavoid7 conflict8， and its often easier to say sorry than to shout at someone andhave a fight.

And according to some Canadians， when they say sorry， it doesnt always meantheyre really sorry. Sometimes it means they think that something bad happened9，but they dont think its their fault.

So how do you apologize and meanit？ A survey from 2020 found that only62% of Canadians actually think“I amsorry”is a good apology. And 80% think“I sincerely10 apologize” is the bestthing to say.

埃爾頓·約翰曾唱道：“抱歉似乎是最難的詞。”但是在加拿大，沒有什么詞比它更容易說出口了。或者，來這個國家的旅客說，看起來就是如此。加拿大人自己也承認這一點。那么，為什么他們如此頻繁地道歉，即使他們并不需要這么做呢？

有些人說，這是加拿大文化的一部分。這并不意味著其他文化不禮貌。但是說對不起至少表明你在努力地表現出友好———而且許多人認為加拿大是一個有禮貌的國家，所以加拿大人可能在試圖維護這種看法。

加拿大廣播公司的一位作家說，對許多加拿大人來說，道歉已經成了他們不假思索就會做的一件事。即使有人在街上撞了你，你本身并沒有錯，你也可能會說對不起。她補充說，這可能是避免沖突的一種方式，而且說對不起往往比沖著某人大喊大叫和打一架更容易。

根據一些加拿大人的說法，當他們說對不起時，并不意味著每次他們都是真的感到抱歉。有時說對不起意味著他們認為有不好的事情發生了，但他們并不認為是自己的錯。

那么你確實感到抱歉時該如何表達呢？2020 年的一項調查發現，只有62%的加拿大人認為“對不起”是得體的道歉用語。而80%的人認為“我真誠地（向你）道歉”才是最好的說法。

Notes

1. admit. 承認

2. apologize. 道歉apology . 道歉

3. culture . 文化

4. polite .有禮貌的

5. protect . 保護；防護

6. fault . 錯誤

7. avoid. 避免袁防止

8. conflict. 爭執；爭論；分歧

9. happen . 發生

10. sincerely.由衷地；真誠地