No Doubt… 不容置疑(?)

 

某天，我和丈夫在一張政府海報上看到這樣的宣傳標語：

「No doubt smoking weed hurts you.」

它要傳遞的意思明顯是「毫無疑問，食大麻是有害的」，但我們都覺得這表達方式有點不自然。

原因是「no doubt [that…]」這種比較口語的表達方式（原本應該是「there is no doubt [that…」，省略了「there is」），通常是要表達「某事情的確有這一面，但也有另外一面」。

也就是說，雖然「no doubt」這表達方式指的是「毫無疑問」，但我們一般是用它來先承認某件事的真實性，從而「軟化」之後的矛盾或差別。

例如：

No doubt the new restaurant is highly rated, but I've heard the service can be slow.

毫無疑問，這家新餐廳評價很高，但我聽說服務可能會有點慢

No doubt she is talented, but she needs more experience to lead the project.
毫無疑問，她很有才華，但她需要更多的經驗來領導這個項目

以上兩個例子，都先用了「no doubt」這種表達方式來認可一個「事實」，然後再以對立性的連接詞「but」去連接另一組子句，引出比較細微的矛盾觀點。

第一個例句中，「no doubt」引出嵌入子句「the new restaurant is highly rated」，承認了那是一家知名的好餐廳。然後，由「but」引出的另一組子句表達出對立的觀點 –餐廳的服務並不總是很好，儘管他們「無疑」有很好的評分。

第二個例句中，「no doubt」引出嵌入式子句「she is talented」，先認可她的能力。然後同樣地，連接一個由「but」引出的額外子句表達反面觀點 – 她可能沒有足夠的經驗來領導這個項目，儘管她「無疑」是很有才華。

因此，當我和丈夫看到標語時，都認為如果想要表達出「請不要吸食大麻，這百分百會傷害你」的意思，寫「no doubt smoking weed hurts you」實在有點不自然。

英文母語人士如果看到「no doubt smoking weed hurts you」，可能預期待之後會連接一個引入矛盾觀點的「but」子句。例如：

No doubt smoking weed hurts you, but it might help with pain relief in some cases.

毫無疑問，抽大麻對身體有害，但在某些情況下可能有助於緩解疼痛

由於「no doubt」通常都被用作這樣的表達，並非一種很堅定的陳述，它似乎就不太適合用作反吸食麻的口號了。

但有趣的是，如果我們在引入嵌入式子句前，補回被省略的「there is」，即「there is no doubt」，意思立刻又變回是「肯定」的。

這樣改寫一下標語，對表達預期意義而言就自然得多（雖然較生硬，不太似廣告標語）：

There is no doubt (that) smoking weed hurts you. 

毫無疑問，食大麻是有害的

只要它不是那常用的省略版「no doubt（+嵌入式子句）」，我們便不會預期隨後出現「but」的子句來引入對立觀點。

當然，我們也可以使用其他方式表達，例如「smoking weed definitely hurts you」，或者「smoking weed hurts you, 100%」。

日後，如果你想使用常用的省略版「no doubt（+嵌入式子句）」，記得它通常會連接另一組「but」的子句來表達反面立場。所以如果你是要說的是十分確定的事，就不要這樣表達了。

_______________

小練習：

試用「對立」或「有差別性」的觀點來完成以下句子：

No doubt he is a great teacher, but _____________________.

毫無疑問，他是一位出色的老師，但 __________________.

_________________

答案：

（例）No doubt he is a great teacher, but his methods can be unconventional.

（例）毫無疑問，他是一位出色的老師，但他的教學方法可能有些非傳統。

_______________________________

No Doubt… 不容置疑(?)

The other day, my husband and I saw a government poster with this tagline:

“No doubt smoking weed hurts you.”

The intended meaning is surely “smoking weed ‘definitely’ hurts you” (毫無疑問，食大麻是有害的), but we both thought that this was an unnatural way of expressing this meaning. 

The reason is that the (mainly spoken) expression “no doubt [that…]” at the beginning of a sentence -- eliding “there is” in “there is no doubt [that…]” -- is usually used to express something like “it is true that something is a certain way, BUT there’s also another side.”

In other words, even though the expression “no doubt” means “毫無疑問,” we usually use it to “soften” a coming contradiction or nuance by first acknowledging that something is true: 

For example:

No doubt the new restaurant is highly rated, but I've heard the service can be slow.

毫無疑問，這家新餐廳評價很高，但我聽說服務可能會有點慢

No doubt she is talented, but she needs more experience to lead the project.
毫無疑問，她很有才華，但她需要更多的經驗來領導這個項目

In both of these examples, the expression “no doubt” first acknowledges a “truth.” Then, later on in the sentence, there is an additional clause linked by the contradicting conjunction “but” to introduce a more nuanced contradictory perspective.

In the first example, the expression “no doubt” introduces the embedded clause “the new restaurant is highly rated,” acknowledging that the restaurant is good and popular. Then, a clause linked by “but” follows to add the contradicting point that the service is not always great despite the restaurant’s “undoubtedly” good rating.

In the second example, the expression “no doubt” introduces the embedded clause “she is talented,” acknowledging this fact about “her” abilities. Then, in the same way as example 1, an additional clause linked by “but” suggests the nuance that, actually, this “undoubtedly talented” person might not have enough experience, despite her qualities, to lead the project.

So, when my husband and I saw the tagline “no doubt smoking weed hurts you,” we thought it was an unnatural way of expressing the supposedly firm meaning that “smoking weed 100% hurts you -- so don’t do it.” 

When native speakers read “no doubt smoking weed hurts you,” they might expect a “but” clause that introduces a contradictory perspective. For example: 

No doubt smoking weed hurts you, but it might help with pain relief in some cases.

毫無疑問，抽大麻對身體有害，但在某些情況下可能有助於緩解疼痛

Because of how the expression “no doubt” is usually used, this is probably not a good way of formulating an anti-weed tagline, which supposedly needs to be firm.

Interestingly, if we add back the elided “there is” -- “there is no doubt” -- before introducing an embedded clause, the meaning would switch back to being “definitely.”

For example, this reformulated tagline would be more natural for this intended meaning: 

There is no doubt (that) smoking weed hurts you. 

毫無疑問，食大麻是有害的

When it is not the elided common expression “no doubt (+embedded clause),” there is no anticipation of a “but” clause afterwards to introduce a contradictory point. 

Of course, we can use other ways of expressing this too, like “smoking weed definitely hurts you” or “smoking weed hurts you, 100%.” 

If you want to use the elided common expression “no doubt (+embedded clause)” in the future, remember that it is usually followed by “but” clause that introduces a nuance -- so only use it if that is what you need to express. Don’t just use this expression to express something is definite.

_______________

Mini Exercise: 

Try to finish this sentence with a “nuance” or “contradiction”: 

No doubt he is a great teacher, but _____________________.

毫無疑問，他是一位出色的老師，但 __________________.

_________________

Answer: 

E.g. 

No doubt he is a great teacher, but his methods can be unconventional.

毫無疑問，他是一位出色的老師，但他的教學方法可能有些非傳統。