Why do the British say 'sorry' so much?
英國(guó)人為什么那么愿意說(shuō)“對(duì)不起”？

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獲得16.6k好評(píng)的回答@Lee Ballentine：

It means something different over there. In the United States, “sorry” has a few widely used meanings.
“sorry”這個(gè)詞在英國(guó)的含義和別處完全不一樣。在美國(guó)，“sorry”這個(gè)詞有幾個(gè)廣泛應(yīng)用的含義：

(1) As a form of apology. I’m sorry I kicked your shin.
（1）用來(lái)道歉。很抱歉踢到你腿了。

(2) As an expression of sympathy. I’m sorry for your loss.
（2）表達(dá)同情。對(duì)你的損失我深感遺憾。

(3) As an adjective meaning inadequate. You are a sorry specimen.
（3）形容“不合適”。你這個(gè)家伙不合適。

To these, the British add
說(shuō)到這兒，英國(guó)人要補(bǔ)充一句

(4) As an interjection meaning “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”
（4）用作插入語(yǔ)“我沒(méi)聽清，你能重復(fù)一下嗎？”

A: "Lie nuff cacophany?"
“謊話連篇？”

B: "Sorry?"
“抱歉能再說(shuō)一遍嗎？”

A: "I said, would you like another cup of coffee?"
“我說(shuō)，你再來(lái)杯咖啡嗎？”

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獲得70好評(píng)的回答@Nicholas Hayes：

I’m terribly sorry but we’re just doing it to be polite. Much like Japan, when your country develops it’s sense of manners under a system where armed warriors are the norm (knights/samurai), you tend to establish patterns of speech designed to reduce aggression.
我特別抱歉我們這樣說(shuō)只是為了表達(dá)禮貌。這一點(diǎn)跟日本人很像，當(dāng)你們國(guó)家的禮儀是在武裝力量常規(guī)化的體制（騎士和武士）下發(fā)展出來(lái)的話，你們就傾向于利用語(yǔ)言來(lái)降低攻擊性。

At this point the swords are more or less gone, but the speech patterns are traditional and cultural so we carry on carrying on.
現(xiàn)在武力幾乎已經(jīng)消失了，但語(yǔ)言模式仍保留著傳統(tǒng)和文化特點(diǎn)，所以我們繼續(xù)說(shuō)著“sorry”。

Sorry if that doesn’t illuminate it for you.
如果沒(méi)解釋明白我深感抱歉。

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（翻譯：菲菲）