每日英語 #124: Saying “Sorry” in Business

2024/09/18閱讀時間約 6 分鐘

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Saying “Sorry” in Business

When someone makes a mistake and does something that “causes you harm” (hurts you), you expect the person “to apologize” (to say “I’m sorry”). And when someone apologizes, most of the time, you no longer feel so bad, and you forgive them – or at least, are less “bothered” (troubled) by their actions. Saying “I’m sorry” “goes a long way” (accomplishes a lot) in making a bad situation better.

當某人犯錯並造成「傷害」（對你造成困擾）時，你會期望那個人「道歉」（說「對不起」）。當某人道歉時，大多數情況下，你會覺得不那麼難過，也會原諒他們——或至少，對他們的行為感到不那麼「困擾」（煩惱）。說「對不起」在改善糟糕的情況下「效果顯著」（非常有效）。

So why does “I’m sorry” seem so difficult for some businesses to say? The answer, at least in the United States, can be found in our legal system. Saying “I’m sorry” is admitting that you did something wrong, and if you admit you did something wrong, someone can easily sue you. “To sue” means to go to a judge and ask for money for whatever “damages” (financial loss or injury) you have suffered. “I’m sorry” means you are “guilty” (did something wrong or illegal) in the U.S., and most companies don’t want to have to pay for their mistakes.

那麼，為什麼對一些企業來說「對不起」似乎如此困難呢？在美國，答案可以在我們的法律系統中找到。說「對不起」等於承認你做錯了事情，而如果你承認錯誤，別人就可以輕易地「起訴」你。「起訴」的意思是去找法官並要求賠償你所遭受的「損害」（財務損失或傷害）。在美國，「對不起」意味著你是「有罪的」（做錯了或非法的事情），大多數公司不希望因為錯誤而支付賠償金。

Doctors and hospitals are especially “reluctant” (resistant; unwilling) to say, “I’m sorry” due to “medical malpractice suits” (legal actions against a doctor because of physical harm he or she caused). But many people sue their doctors because they are angry that the doctor doesn’t just apologize for doing something wrong. If their doctors apologized, they would actually be less likely to sue. For this reason, more than 36 states have passed “apology laws,” where saying “I’m sorry” cannot be “used against you in court” (cannot be used as proof you did something wrong and therefore you must pay money). States that have apology laws have less expensive malpractice suits than those that do not have these laws.

醫生和醫院尤其「不願意」（抵抗；不願）說「對不起」，因為「醫療事故訴訟」（針對醫生的法律行動，因為他們造成了身體傷害）。但許多人起訴他們的醫生，因為他們對醫生沒有因錯誤道歉感到生氣。如果醫生道歉，他們實際上不太可能起訴。為此，超過36個州通過了「道歉法」，根據這些法律，說「對不起」不能被「用作證據」（不能被用作證明你做錯了事的證據，因此必須支付賠償）。擁有道歉法的州的醫療事故訴訟費用比那些沒有這些法律的州要便宜。