2023年经济学人 语言的罪行

 

    Culture

    文艺版块

    Johnson

    约翰逊专栏

    Say it like it is

    实话实说

    Euphemism¹ and exaggeration are both dangers, but extremism is the bigger threat.

    委婉语和夸大其辞都很危险，但极端主义是更大的威胁。

    George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”, published in 1946, took aim at the bureaucrats², academics and hacks³ who obfuscated⁴ their misdeeds in vague, jargon-packed writing.

    乔治·奥威尔在1946年发表了文章《政治与英语语言》，将矛头对准了那些用含糊不清、充满行话的文字来掩饰罪行的官僚、学者和写庸俗文章的人。

    Abstractions, euphemisms⁵ and clichés all served as “the defence of the indefensible”.

    抽象概念、委婉语和陈词滥调都是“在辩护不可辩护之言行”。

    Orwell lamented⁶ how “Millions of peasants are robbed of their farms and sent trudging⁷ along the roads with no more than they can carry: this is called transfer of population or rectification⁸ of frontiers.

    奥威尔悲叹道：“数百万农民被剥夺了农场，只能带上自己扛得动的东西在路途上艰难跋涉，而这却被称为人口转移或边境整顿。

    People are imprisoned⁹ for years without trial, or shot in the back of the neck or sent to die of scurvy¹⁰ in Arctic lumber¹¹ camps: this is called elimination¹² of unreliable elements.”

    人们未经审判就被监禁多年，或者被一枪打中后脑勺（实施死刑），或者被送到北极的伐木营地而死于坏血病，这都被称为消除不可靠因素。”

    If Orwell were writing today, he would find plenty of euphemisms to complain about.

    如果奥威尔在现代写作，他会发现大量值得抱怨的委婉语。

    On October 7th an open letter from a clutch of student groups at Harvard University vaguely¹³ described the “unfolding violence” in Israel without ascribing blame to Hamas.

    10月7日，哈佛大学的一些学生团体发表了一封公开信，含糊其辞地描述了以色列“正在发生的暴力事件”，且没有将责任归咎于哈马斯。

    Abstract brutality¹⁴ “unfolding” shocks rather less than a clearer description of Hamas slaughtering¹⁵ 1,200 Israelis, nearly all civilians¹⁶, including many children.

    抽象的残暴行为“正在发生”，这听起来要比清晰明了地描述哈马斯杀害了1200名以色列人（几乎都是平民，其中包括许多儿童）更不那么令人感到惊骇。

    As a onetime contributor to the BBC, it is easy to imagine Orwell defying the broadcaster’s refusal to use the word “terrorism”.

    笔者作为曾经为BBC撰稿的写作者，不难想象奥威尔会如何对BBC拒绝使用“恐怖主义”一词而表示蔑视。

    Orwell had no trouble doling¹⁷ out his medicine to both sides; he would have also had harsh words for those describing the “collateral damage” buried in Gazan rubble¹⁸, another abstraction designed to prevent readers picturing dead children.

    奥威尔完全可以给双方都开药，对于那些把埋在加沙废墟中的遇难者描述为“附带破坏”的人，奥威尔也会厉声谴责，附带破坏也是一个抽象概念，目的是防止读者去想象儿童死去的画面。

    Around 13,000 Palestinians have died since October 7th.

    自10月7日以来，大约有13 000名巴勒斯坦人死亡。

    Orwell’s famous essay had a long lead time: he was paid in December, and it appeared in print the next April.

    奥威尔的这篇著名文章过了很久才发表：他在12月拿到了稿酬，文章在第二年4月才见刊。

    Today, however, billions of people can publish their thoughts instantaneously.

    然而，如今，数十亿人可以立刻发表他们的想法。

    The desire to grab attention seems to incentivise stylistic sin.

    吸引眼球的欲望似乎会助长文体上的罪行。

    The social-mediafication of writing has steered¹⁹ the tone from the offence of euphemism to its twin offence of exaggeration.

    写作的社交媒体化将文体罪行从委婉语变成了夸大其辞。

    Taking what they no doubt believe to be an Orwellian starting point—the danger of being too soft in their language—keyboard warriors²⁰ cannot resist the temptation to reach for the most inflammatory words available.

    键盘侠们认为“语言过于柔和会带来危险”（他们无疑认为这是很奥威尔式的态度），在此起点之上，他们无法克制地想要使用最具煽动性的字眼。

    What used to be called chauvinism, then sexism, is now “misogyny”, a word once reserved for actual hatred²¹ of women.

    过去被称为沙文主义、然后被称为性别歧视的东西，现在变成了“厌女症”，而这个词过去就只是表示厌恶女性。

    Those who do not ascribe to left-wing views on race are accused not of bias²², prejudice or even racism²³, but of “white supremacy”, a phrase that just a decade ago was reserved for neo-Nazis.

    那些不发表左翼种族观点的人不会被指责有倾向性、有偏见，甚至有种族歧视，而是被指责认可“白人至上”，而这个词在十年前只能用来形容新纳粹主义者。

    Call it the “dysphemism treadmill²⁴”.

    这种写作风格可以称为“粗直语轮转”。

    In its opposite, the “euphemism treadmill” (a term coined by Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard), people run from one polite banality²⁵ to another.

    与之相对的是“委婉语轮转”(这是哈佛大学教授史蒂文·平克创造的一个术语)，表示人们把一个礼貌且平庸的词语换成另一个礼貌且平庸的词语。

    They referred to people as “idiotic” until that became pejorative²⁶; then they opted²⁷ for “retarded”, which became unsayable; and then they devised “special”, which is now a taunt²⁸ too.

    人们最开始用“白痴”这个词来形容人，然后这个词变成了贬义词，他们又选择了“智障”这个词，这个词也变得不太好说出口，然后他们又用了“特别”这个词，现在这个词也成了一种嘲讽。

    The dysphemism treadmill works the other way round: “prejudiced” seems too mild so is replaced with “racist”, which then suffers the same fate and must be swapped²⁹ out for “white supremacist”.

    粗直语轮转与之相反：“有偏见的”似乎太过温和，因此被“种族主义”取代，然后“种族主义”又遭遇了同样的命运，被换成了“白人至上主义”。

    As is true of many modern trends, the most extreme words have radiated from America, where “communist” and “fascist” have nothing to do with sickles³⁰ or swastikas and are sometimes applied³¹ to anyone you disagree with.

    正如许多现代潮流一样，最极端的词汇都来自美国，在美国，“共产主义”和“法西斯主义”与镰刀和万字符没有任何关系，有时当你不同意某人的意见时，就可以用这两个词来形容他们。

    Social media, the “great awokening” on the left and the MAGAfication of the right have contributed to a verbal crescendo³².

    社交媒体、左翼的“伟大觉醒”和右翼的“让美国再次伟大”都促成了一场语言高潮。

    Countries in west and central Africa have seen seven of the classic storming-the-presidential-palace sort of “coup³³” in less than four years.

    在不到四年的时间里，西非和中非国家经历了七次“政变”，但实际上就是群众冲进了总统府。

    Yet the same word has been used recently to describe an iffy deal to stay in power, struck by Spain’s Pedro Sánchez with Catalan separatists, in exchange for a few votes in a freely elected parliament.

    然而，最近“政变”也被用来描述西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯与加泰罗尼亚分裂派达成了一项可疑协议，协议内容是在自由选举的议会中换来几张选票，让桑切斯继续掌权。

    Spain is not so much witnessing a coup as a political zoo.

    与其说西班牙正在经历一场政变，不如说西班牙正在观看政治动物园表演。

    The worst crime imaginable—“genocide”—is also being bandied about more often.

    可以想象到的最严重的罪行“种族灭绝”也在越来越多地流传开来。

    The word is used correctly when describing the Arab militias³⁴ in Sudan who are rounding up black African tribes, such as the Masalit, murdering men and boys, raping³⁵ women and saying “the baby will be an Arab”.

    在描述阿拉伯民兵在苏丹围捕马萨利特等非洲黑人部落，杀害成年和未成年黑人男性、强奸女性，并说“生下来的孩子是阿拉伯人”时用“种族灭绝”这个词是正确的。

    But those using the term “genocide” to characterise Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza are not hewing³⁶ strictly³⁷ to what the word’s definition is, which is the intentional³⁸ destruction of people for the mere³⁹ fact of their ethnicity.

    但是一些人用“种族灭绝”来描述以色列对加沙平民的袭击，这些人就没有严格遵守这个词的定义，即仅仅因为人们的种族而故意毁灭他们。

    So here is a suggestion for writers.

    这里有一个给写作者的建议。

    You cannot outshout the crowds.

    你无法比一群人喊叫得更响亮。

    So distinguish yourselves by choosing accurate, vivid words between the evasions⁴⁰ of euphemism and the temptations of exaggeration.

    因此，在委婉语的回避和夸大其辞的诱惑之间，要选择准确、生动的词语让自己的语言更有辨识度。

    Crimes against language, in the long run, make it harder to describe crimes against humanity.

    从长远来看，语言的罪行会让人们更难以描述人类的罪行。

1 euphemism   

n.婉言，委婉的说法

参考例句：

• Language reflects culture and euphemism is a mirror of culture.语言反映文化,而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。
• Euphemism is a very common and complicated linguistic phenomenon.委婉语是一种十分常见而又非常复杂的语言现象。

2 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

3 hacks   

黑客

参考例句：

• But there are hacks who take advantage of people like Teddy. 但有些无赖会占类似泰迪的人的便宜。 来自电影对白
• I want those two hacks back here, right now. 我要那两个雇工回到这儿，现在就回。 来自互联网

4 obfuscated   

v.使模糊，使混乱( obfuscate的过去式和过去分词 )；使糊涂

参考例句：

5 euphemisms   

n.委婉语，委婉说法( euphemism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• No point is in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没有必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句
• No point in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句

6 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 trudging   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There was a stream of refugees trudging up the valley towards the border. 一队难民步履艰难地爬上山谷向着边境走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 两头骡子驮着沉重的背包，吃力地往前走。 来自辞典例句

8 rectification   

n. 改正, 改订, 矫正

参考例句：

• The process of producing a shift of the average value is called rectification. 产生平均值移动的过程叫做整流。
• This effect, in analogy to its radiofrequency counterpart, is known as optical rectification. 同它的射频对应物相仿，这种现象称为光学整流。

9 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

10 scurvy   

adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病

参考例句：

• Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。
• That was a scurvy trick to play on an old lady.用那样的花招欺负一个老太太可真卑鄙。

11 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

12 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

13 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

14 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

15 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

19 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

21 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

22 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

23 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

24 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

25 banality   

n.陈腐；平庸；陈词滥调

参考例句：

• Neil's ability to utter banalities never ceased to amaze me.每次我都很惊讶，尼尔怎么能讲出这么索然无味的东西。
• He couldn't believe the banality of the question.他无法相信那问题竟如此陈腐。

26 pejorative   

adj.贬低的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• In the context of ethnic tourism,commercialization often has a pejorative connotation.摘要在民族旅游语境中，商品化经常带有贬义色彩。
• But news organizations also should make every effort to keep the discussion civil and to discourage the dissemination of falsehoods or pejorat

27 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

28 taunt   

n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄

参考例句：

• He became a taunt to his neighbours.他成了邻居们嘲讽的对象。
• Why do the other children taunt him with having red hair?为什么别的小孩子讥笑他有红头发？

29 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

30 sickles   

n.镰刀( sickle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Sickles and reaping hooks were used for cutting the crops. 镰刀和收割钩被用来收庄稼。 来自互联网
• Being short of sickles, they are reaping by hand. 由于缺少镰刀，他们在徒手收割庄稼。 来自互联网

31 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

32 crescendo   

n.(音乐)渐强，高潮

参考例句：

• The gale reached its crescendo in the evening.狂风在晚上达到高潮。
• There was a crescendo of parliamentary and press criticism.来自议会和新闻界的批评越来越多。

33 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

34 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

35 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

36 hewing   

v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟

参考例句：

• The farmer spent a day in the woods hewing timber. 这个农夫花了一天时间在森林里砍木材。 来自辞典例句
• He was hewing away at the trunk of the tree. 他不停地照着树干砍去。 来自辞典例句

37 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

38 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

39 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

40 evasions   

逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口

参考例句：

• A little overwhelmed, I began the generalized evasions which that question deserves. 我有点不知所措，就开始说一些含糊其词的话来搪塞。
• His answers to my questions were all evasions. 他对我的问题的回答均为遁词。