Chapter 12 Li Funing: Endless English (1)

Li Funing (1917-2004) was born in Pucheng, Shaanxi, a master of Western languages ​​and literature, and a famous teacher in the field of Chinese foreign languages. Faced with a character like Li Funing, I am afraid that many people have to revise their concept of English: in 1946, when Li Funing, who was born in the Southwest Associated University, went to the United States for further study in the English Department of the Graduate School of Yale University, Chaucer and Shakespeare were regarded as "" The topic of "handy with ease" is not difficult enough.So he chose Old English studies as his doctoral direction, which is considered too difficult and daunting even by top European and American students.

Needless to say, Shakespeare has always been regarded as the symbol of English language and literature all over the world; who is Chaucer?He who wrote "The Canterbury Tales" is revered as "the father of English poetry". What is good English?This question weighs heavily on the hearts of the Chinese people, so that there are jokes like this: A certain gentleman said that he is good at English, how much is TOEFL, and how much is GRE.The English department students laughed when they heard that, Dumb English, God, can you communicate freely in English?The English expert laughed when he heard it, who to communicate with, God, can you recite Shakespeare?The old gentleman laughed when he heard that, what about Shakespeare, God, Old English?What about French?What about German?What about Latin?

Leaving aside the joke, Li Funing is indeed worthy of such a legendary "Old Mister".His scholarly talents have been evaluated for a long time, and he is proficient in multiple languages ​​such as English, French, German, Latin, Old English and ancient Greek. The scope of his studies involves linguistics, literature, philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, history and other disciplines , has set up professional English, professional French, Old English, English history, Latin, ancient Greek and Roman literature, medieval English literature, Shakespeare studies, history of European literature, history of English literature, history of French literature, Moliere special topics and Chinese-English translation and other courses.

The current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Li Zhaoxing, was admitted to the Department of Western Languages ​​and Literatures of Peking University in 1959. He still remembers the first time he took Mr. Li’s history of European literature class. When the bell rang, Mr. Li appeared at the door of the classroom on time, bowed slightly to the students, and said: "Comrades, letmetellyouastory, averyshortstory. (Classmates, I will tell you a story, a short story)" The story is about the gods of ancient Greece.In Li Zhaoxing's ears, "Mr.'s language is concise and fluent, and his tone is gentle. There is no deliberate cadence, but there is elegance in the plainness. My classmates and I were deeply moved. It turns out that beautiful knowledge can be like this." simple."

Many years later, as a diplomat, Li Zhaoxing met the Queen of England many times, and he found that the "Royal English" or "Queen's English" (Queen's English) that Western scholars talked about was so concise.Naturally, he "can't help but recall Mr. Li's 'little story'". Li Funing's requirements for English pronunciation should be quite demanding.When he was studying at Yale, Lin Yutang, who was famous for his good English, gave a speech at Yale. Li Funing's evaluation was actually: "Although his English writing is very authentic, his English pronunciation and intonation are not very good."

This is a talent that Li Funing has shown since he was a child. When he was 11 years old, he moved with his family from Xi'an to Beijing and transferred to a primary school in Beijing.The teacher asked him to stand up and read the text aloud. He used Shaanxi dialect, and the students raised their hands to point out his pronunciation error.He felt wronged in his heart, and when he went to school again, he didn't speak for a whole week. When he spoke again, it was all standard Mandarin.