（每日一读）2月高考英语考前突破 阅读理解能力 社会生活 斯里兰卡政府因错误翻译致歉.docVIP

斯里兰卡政府因错误翻译致歉 近日，斯里兰卡官方标识和文件的泰米尔语译文出现翻译错误，其中之一是一条“孕妇专座”的标识，斯里兰卡语和英语均正确，但是泰米尔语却错译为“母狗专座”。政府为此致歉。 ? Sri Lankas government has apologised for errors in translating official notices and documents into the language of the minority Tamil community. ? A number of mistakes have been highlighted recently in local media. ? One was of a sign that read Reserved for pregnant mothers in Sinhala and English. A mistake changed that to Reserved for pregnant dogs in Tamil. ? Officials stress that sloppiness（凌乱，马虎） was to blame and there was never any intention to insult Tamils. ? Sri Lanka emerged from a long civil war between the Sinhala-dominated army and Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009. ? Not fluent ? Minister for National Languages and Social Integration, Vasudeva Nanayakara, told BBC Tamil that the mistakes had been made by people not fluent in Tamil. ? Sometimes, also translations into Sinhala in mainly Tamil areas are wrong, as there are not enough Tamil people in those areas fluent in Sinhala, he added. ? Some Tamils say it is quite common to find mistakes in their language. ? Tamils find language errors in name boards on buses, streets and many government official buildings, says a local Tamil rights activist, S Balakrishnan. ? They also allege that Tamils find it difficult when visiting government offices as many officials cant speak Tamil fluently. ? Language policy ? The issue of language in Sri Lanka is highly sensitive. ? In 1956, the government decided to replace English as the countrys official language with Sinhala, the language of the majority. ? But it did not give official status to Tamil. ? Many Tamils lost government jobs because they were not fluent in Sinhala. ? Although the policy was eventually amended, the decision contributed to a growing sense of alienation in the Tamil minority. ? Confrontation between the two communities erupted into full-scale civil war in 1983, with the Tamil Tigers fighting for a separate homeland. ? National harmony ? Two years ag