职场中可能会遇到这样的情况,当下属向自己的经理或上司提出加薪(pay raise)请求时,对方可能会反问下属的想法:“你觉得给你加薪多少合适?”那么这句话在英文里可以怎么说呢?有观点认为,可以将其翻译为:How much do you think it is appropriate to give you a raise?这种看法对吗? 有没有比之更好一些的说法呢?下面Will的美语课和大家分享自己的见解。
你觉得给你加薪多少合适?英文里,如果将这句话翻译为:How much do you think it is appropriate to give you a raise?我个人觉得是不太顺的,从语法角度来看,甚至可以理解为是存在问题。
按照通常的思路,how much是询问价格(此处指涨薪幅度)的,如果将问句还原为陈述句,how much可以在陈述句中充当成分。比如:How much is the pay raise?若还原为陈述句,可以理解为:The pay raise is how much。然而在How much do you think it is appropriate to give you a raise?这个句子中,how much却无法被还原到陈述句中,因为You think it is appropriate to give you a raise,本身就是完整的,how much不能在其中充当任何成分。
若要修改这个句子使其更通顺,更容易理解的话,可以去掉句中的“it”,变成:How much do you think is appropriate to give you a raise?这个句子是可以被正常还原为陈述句的:You think how much is appropriate to give you a raise。
当然,除了这个修改后的句子,我们还可以考虑使用一些简单明了,不太拗口,或是更具体专业的问法,比如:(1)How much of a pay raise do you feel you deserve?(2)What amount do you have in mind for a raise? (3)What amount do you believe would be appropriate given your current responsibilities and performance? (4)What reasons do you have for seeking a pay raise? 注意句子(3), (4)其实还要求员工提供加薪的理由,这两个句子在关于薪酬调整的对话中也是很实用的。