Swimming technique or technology?

 
Technique / Technology 技巧/技术
 
Classical music playing
 
Finn:    Today on Question and Answer of the Week, how about we all relax with
some soft, soothing classical music? I’m Finn and with me is Feifei… Eh,
what’s going on?
 
Sound of CD being taken out of a CD player
 
Feifei:  Sorry Finn. Not today.
 
 
Finn:  You’re changing the music?
 
Feifei:  Today we’re going to listen to some techno music… 现代电子乐。
 
Loud techno music playing
 
Feifei:  (shouting) 如果你在纳闷儿为什么我今天在节目中听电子乐，那是因为我们今天节目
内容会围绕  technology 科技这个词。Woo woo.
 
Finn:  Yes, yes, yes! Can we turn it down just a little bit? Phew. Yes, we received
this question from Sonia in China.
 
Insert
 
Sonia: I’d like to ask about the difference between the words technology and technique.
They both seem to mean 技术  in Chinese, but what are the differences? 
 
 
Feifei:  Sonia 的问题是关于technology 和  technique 这两个词。
 
Finn:  Yes, she says they can both be translated as 技术  in Chinese. 
 
Feifei:  是的，这两个词在汉语里都可以翻译为技术，but what’s the difference in English?
 
Finn:  Well funnily enough Feifei, I can see why this is confusing – and I have a
personal story about the word 技术。I remember learning the word for the
first time when I was studying Chinese in China, about 10 years ago.
 
Feifei:  Oh yeah?

 
Finn:  Do you want to hear my story? 
 
Feifei:   Oh yeah. 
 
Finn:   Ok, just let me just put that classical music back on. That’s better, there
we are. Yes, so I was studying hard, about 20 new words every day, and
one day I learned this word 技术。In my textbook it said it meant
‘technology’.
 
Feifei:  Finn在学习汉语的时候遇到了技术这个词，那么它相对应的英语翻译是technology.
 
Finn:  And I remember this was back during a very hot summer, and the next day
I really wanted to go swimming in the sea.
 
Feifei:  I didn’t know you were a swimmer, Finn… Finn看起来不像是爱游泳的人。
 
Finn:  That’s true, I’m not really much of a swimmer, but I was the only person
swimming that day. Very refreshing. When I came out of the water, a
Chinese man who’d been watching me came to me and said: 你游泳的技术非
常好。
 
Feifei:  你游泳的技术非常好。
 
Finn:  And I was a bit confused, because in my mind the word 技术 meant
technology, so if he said to me 游泳的技术  I thought that should mean
some kind of weird swimming machine or technology, or maybe he thought
I was a strange water robot… I said thank you 谢谢  to him anyway!
 
Feifei:  那个看Finn游泳的人说  Finn的游泳技术不错，Finn马上就把技术这个词和英语里机
器的technology 联系到了一起，他当时甚至觉得说话的这个人说他是一个机器人。
Finn, he meant your swimming skill was good, that you were good at
swimming!

 
Finn:  Yes, I think I eventually figured that out! He, of course, was talking about
技术meaning technique, not technology.
 
Feifei:  I think I’ll take over from here. Mind if I just put that techno music back
on?
 
Finn:   Oh go on then. 
 
Feifei:   那么从而得知，技术有两个意思，一是  technology, 另一个是方法，能力，技巧。
 
Finn:  And if you’re talking about someone’s ability or method, you should use the
word technique…
 
Insert
 
David Beckham has wonderful technique when it comes to passing and crossing the ball.
Scientists are using a new technique to test cold and flu drugs.

 
Jimi Hendrix’s guitar playing technique was really ground-breaking.
 
Finn:  Technique. So Jimi Hendrix had an amazing guitar playing technique – it
really was ground-breaking 独创的，有突破性的。So that was technique, but
if you’re talking about things like machines, computers and physical things,
we should use technology.
 
Insert
 
My new car has all the latest technology: sat nav, automatic parking… it even makes
coffee.
 
Information Technology, or IT, has changed the way people live and work.
 
My friend loves new technology – she’s always buying new gadgets.
 
Feifei:  希望在听完上面的这些例子后，你对  technology and technique 的区别有了更进一
步的了解，在最后一个例子中，很多人非常喜欢新科技，他们会买很多新的高科技工
具，小配件 gadgets.
 
Finn:  Yes, you can call these people technophiles: people who love technology,
热爱技术的人。
 
Feifei:    What about people who hate new technology?
 
Finn:  Who hate it? Well we have a word for them too. People who hate
computers and email and all things like that… you can call them
technophobes.
 
Feifei:    Technophobes 技术恐惧者，就是对技术非常惧怕的人。Any other techno 
   words? 
 Finn:   Well there’s techno music, which we heard earlier.
 
Feifei:    Ah yes… 电子乐。
 
Finn:    And technical, which describes anything to do with technology.
 
Feifei:    Technology 的形容词性  technical 技术的。
 
Finn:  And, when it all gets too much, when you’ve heard enough about hi-tech
computer systems and cars and websites, you can say it’s all just
technobabble.
 
Feifei:  Technobabble 是一个用来形容那种总是说很多大家都不懂得技术术语的行为。Finn,
do I get the impression you don’t really like technology?
 
Finn:  Well actually I love it Feifei. But I’m not the kind of person who buys a lot
of gadgets. So, are you a technophile or a technophobe Feifei? 
 Feifei:  Hmm, what do you think?
 
Finn:  Judging by that amazing mobile phone, I think you must be a technophile!
 
Feifei:  Well, I do love my new mobile. 那么听众朋友你们是technophile 还是
technophobe 呢？欢迎写信告诉我们。 
 
Finn:  Yes, take advantage of internet technology and email our team at
questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. 
 
Feifei:  别忘了如果你在英语学习过程中遇到任何问题，都欢迎写信给我们。 
 
Finn:  Yes, we’ve already answered lots of questions about things like improving
your written English – or should I say your writing technique…?
 
Feifei:  Yes – do look up our website www.bbcukchina.com for lots of interesting
programmes to help you learn English.
 
Finn:  So for this week, it’s bye from me, Finn.
 
Feifei:  And bye from me, Feifei.
 
Finn:  Now, how about we get back to some lovely classical music?