本文轉載自自由電子報
This article reproduced from the newsletter of The Liberty Times.


《中英對照讀新聞》Indian brides told to reduce mobile phone use 印度新娘被告誡少講手機
◎張沛元

An Indian state has told newly-wedded women to avoid talking too much on their mobile phones for the first two years of marriage in case it provokes jealousy from their husbands.

印度的一個邦已告知新婚婦女避免在結婚後頭兩年太常講手機，以免引發丈夫的妒意。

The Punjab State Commission for Women （PSCW） issued an official advisory last week urging brides "to focus on their domestic life instead of having long conversations on mobile phones".

旁遮普邦婦女委員會（PSCW）上週發布正式公告，籲請新嫁娘「專心於家庭生活，而不要講手機講太久。」

Commission head Gurdev Kaur Sangha told AFP on Monday that the advice was designed to avoid suspicion between new couples as they adjust to their new life together.

該委員會負責人古迪夫．考爾．姍格哈週一告訴法新社，該忠告的目的在於避免還在適應新生活的小倆口發生猜忌。

"I found that almost 40 per cent of women consider seeking a divorce on the grounds that her husband and in-laws do not like her talking on mobile phones," said Sangha, 70, from Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab.

「我發現幾乎有4成婦女因為老公或姻親不喜歡她們講手機而考慮離婚，」70歲、來自旁遮普邦首府昌迪加爾的姍格哈說。

"Most husbands said their wives are always on the phone and they doubted their character as they suspected them of talking to ex-boyfriends."

「大多數老公說，他們的老婆總是在講手機，讓他們對老婆的品格心生疑慮，因為他們懷疑老婆是在跟前男友暗通款曲。」

The advisory said most newly-married women were actually ringing their parents not former boyfriends, but warned that passing on hourly updates about their new home was damaging.

該公告說，大多數新婚婦女其實是在跟父母而非前男友講電話，但警告說，每小時跟娘家報告自己在新家的生活狀況有害婚姻。

新聞辭典

in case（something happens）：假如，以防萬一。例句：In case you didn’t know, I’m married.（先說如果你不知道的話，我結婚了。）

provoke：動詞，激怒，引發，挑釁。

focus on someone or something：慣用語，專注於。例句：Let’s focus on the question of the water bill.（讓我們專注於水費帳單的問題上。）