2021年经济学人 约翰逊专栏--口音歧视(2)

And French leaders face more than just condescension¹. When Jean Castex, who has a notable south-western accent, became prime minister, reactions were predictably patronising. But such snobbery² can have serious consequences, notes Jonathan Kasstan of Westminster University. The political editor of France’s national broadcaster said Mr Castex’s pandemic guidance seemed less credible³ when delivered in his “patelin”, or village, accent.

法国领导人面临的不仅仅是高人一等的现象。有着明显西南口音的让·卡斯特克斯当上法国总理后，法国人民的反应不出所料，他们觉得自己高人一等。但威斯敏斯特大学的乔纳森·卡斯坦指出，这种自以为优越的态度可能会产生严重后果。法国国家广播公司的政治编辑表示，卡斯特克斯总理用乡村口音传达的疫情指导似乎不那么可信。

In truth, some other countries are more like France than they may think. Beyond the BBC, it remains⁴ common in Britain to hear public figures belittled⁵ for how they speak. The liberal left indulges these prejudices, too. Alastair Campbell, erstwhile press secretary to Labour’s Tony Blair, mocked the Conservative home secretary, Priti Patel, on Twitter: “I really would prefer it if we had a home secretary who could pronounce the G at the end of a word.” Here snobbery is dressed up as concern for correct enunciation⁶.

事实上，其他一些国家在口音歧视方面比他们想象的更像法国。除了BBC之外，英国公众人物因说话方式而被轻视的现象仍然很普遍。自由左派也纵容了这些偏见。前工党托尼·布莱尔的新闻秘书阿拉斯泰尔·坎贝尔在推特上嘲笑保守党内政大臣普里蒂·帕特尔：“我真的更希望我们的内政大臣能在词的末尾发G音。”他在这里将自以为优越的态度粉饰成对正确发音的关注。

But is a ban on such gibes⁷ the answer, in France or elsewhere? The case for one is that it would send a powerful signal: there is no rational reason to withhold⁸ a job or a loan because of an applicant’s accent. But a specific ban on accent discrimination may not be necessary. Donald Dowling, a lawyer at Littler Mendelson in New York, points out that, in many countries, accent mockery is already used as evidence of other forms of illegal discrimination, such as the racial kind. If you deride⁹ a Frenchman for an accent suggesting African origins, you are already breaking the law. In theory that law could be extended to cover (say) Breton origins without specifically adding “accent” to protected categories.

但在法国或其他地方禁止口音嘲笑会是解决口音歧视问题的答案吗？其一，这将发出一个强有力的信号：因为申请人的口音而拒绝提供工作或贷款的理由不合理。但针对口音歧视的具体禁令大可不必。纽约门德尔松律师事务所的律师唐纳德·道林指出，在许多国家，口音嘲笑已经被用作种族歧视等其他形式的非法歧视的证据。如果你嘲笑带有非洲血统的法国人的口音，那你已经触犯了法律。从理论上讲，可以拓展法律适用范围，比如涵盖布列塔尼语，而不必在受保护的类别中特别添加“口音”。

1 condescension   

n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人)

参考例句：

• His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
• Despite its condescension toward the Bennet family, the letter begins to allay Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy. 尽管这封信对班纳特家的态度很高傲，但它开始消除伊丽莎白对达西的偏见。

2 snobbery   

n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格

参考例句：

• Jocelyn accused Dexter of snobbery. 乔斯琳指责德克斯特势力。
• Snobbery is not so common in English today as it was said fifty years ago. 如今＂Snobbery＂在英语中已不象50年前那么普遍使用。

3 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 belittled   

使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She felt her husband constantly belittled her achievements. 她觉得她的丈夫时常贬低她的成就。
• A poor but honest man is not to be belittled. 穷而诚实的人是不该让人小看的。

6 enunciation   

n.清晰的发音；表明，宣言；口齿

参考例句：

• He is always willing to enunciate his opinions on the subject of politics. 他总是愿意对政治问题发表意见。> enunciation / I9nQnsI5eIFn; I9nQnsI`eFEn/ n [C, U]。 来自辞典例句
• Be good at communicating,sense of responsibility,the work is careful,the enunciation is clear. 善于沟通，责任心强，工作细致，口齿清晰。 来自互联网

7 gibes   

vi.嘲笑，嘲弄（gibe的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• He smarted under the gibes of his fellows. 他因受同伴的嘲笑而苦恼。 来自辞典例句
• Don' t make gibes about her behavior. 别嘲笑她的行为。 来自辞典例句

8 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

9 deride   

v.嘲弄，愚弄

参考例句：

• Some critics deride the group as self - appointed food police.一些批评人士嘲讽这个组织为“自封的食品警察”。
• They deride his effort as childish.他们嘲笑他的努力，认为太孩子气。