▎對於…而言, (duìyú (Prep)...ér yán), as far as... is concerned (2)

 

Function This pattern marks the focus of the entire sentence.

1 對於這些新移民而言，語言溝通的障礙最大。

Duìyú zhèxiē xīn yímín ér yán, yǔyán gōutōng de zhàng’ài zuì dà.

The most difficult thing for new immigrants is the language barrier.

2 一直要員工加班，對於公司而言，不見得有好處。

Yìzhí yào yuángōng jiābān, duìyú gōngsī ér yán, bújiàndé yǒu hǎochù.

Regularly requiring employees to work overtime is not necessarily advantageous to the company.

3 對於這些志工而言，能輔導這些學童是一件快樂的事。

Duìyú zhèxiē zhìgōng ér yán, néng fǔdǎo zhèxiē xuétóng shì yí jiàn kuàilè de shì.

As far as these volunteers are concerned, they are happy just to be able to mentor school children.

4 我想對於任何人而言，受到種族歧視都是無法接受的。

Wǒ xiǎng duìyú rènhé rén ér yán, shòudào zhǒngzú qíshì dōu shì wúfǎ jiēshòu de.

I think anyone would agree that being discriminated against because of race is unacceptable.

 

Usage The pattern 對…來說 always applies to a person or group of people, e.g., 對台南人來說，早餐非常重要。Duì Táinán rén lái shuō, zǎocān fēicháng zhòngyào. ‘Breakfast is very important to the people of Tainan.’ This needn’t be the case for the formal pattern 對於…而言, e.g., 對於高科技的發展而言，如何培養研究人員是最重要的議題。 Duìyú gāo kējì de fāzhǎn ér yán, rúhé péiyǎng yánjiù rényuán shì zuì zhòngyào de yìtí. ‘When it comes to developing high tech, how to cultivate researchers is the most important issue.’