Actor or actress?

BBC Learning EnglishWeekenderActor or actress?
　　Amber¹: Hello, I'm Amber, and you’re listening tobbclearningenglish.com.
　　In Weekender today, we consider a linguistic² dilemma³ -should we call a woman who acts an ‘actress’? Does theuse of the word ‘actor’ to describe both men and womenmake more sense?
　　We hear from two acclaimed⁴ actresses - Fiona Shaw and Zo?
　　Wannamaker. And from David Marsh⁵ who’s the author of TheGuardian newspaper style guide.
　　But first, a little history: The word ‘actress’ was firstused round about 1700. But women began acting⁷ on theEnglish stage in 1656, when King Charles II permitted it.
　　So there’s a gap between women starting to act in 1656when they were called ‘actor’, and women being called‘actress’ round about 1700.
　　Then, if we jump forward to the 1970s and 1980s, womenbegan to choose the term ‘actor’ instead of ‘actress’
　　as a direct result of the women’s movement and anawareness of gender⁸ bias⁹ in language. Women began to takeback the term ‘actor’, and it’s often used today.
　　Zo? Wannamaker explains that in the 1970s and 1980s therewas ‘a stigma¹⁰’ – a feeling that people disapproved¹¹ – ofbeing called an actress. This was because the word actressseemed to have the ‘connotation’, or suggested meaning,ofbeing a prostitute.
　　Zo? Wannamaker‘There was supposed to be a feeling of equality and also,there was this stigma against being called an actressbecause particularly in this country, in Great Britain, thename actress seemed to have this connotation of being aprostitute.’
　　Amber: So Zo? Wannamaker called herself an actor becauseit seemed more respectable! And some people still think theword actress is pejorative¹² – it expresses disapproval¹³.
　　The Guardian⁶ newspaper has banned the term ‘actress’ fromits pages,deciding that ‘actor’ should be used for both men andwomen. So, for example, the paper has to say that the actorHelen Mirren recently won an Oscar for Best Actress!
　　David March, author of the newspaper’s style guide, saysthe change was in response to feedback from readers whothought ‘actor’ should be used for men and women. But hepoints out that it’s very useful to have two terms. Why?
　　Oh, and as you listen, try to catch the informal word heuses to refer to men.
　　David Marsh‘If I want to say that Judy Dench is the finest actor inBritain, that’s unambiguous – it means she’s better thanthe blokes. If I say she’s the finest actress, it meansshe’s better than Helen Mirren and other female actors,which is not saying the same things at all.’
　　Amber: So having two words is useful because you can referto men and women performers as two groups. And the informalword for men? ‘Blokes’.
　　Now here’s Fiona Shaw who says the words we use are simplythe words we’re used to using – they’re ‘attitudes ofcustom and habit’. She explains that it doesn’t make theexperiences of actors and actresses the same, just by usingthe same word – that would be ‘humbug¹⁴’, nonsense anddishonest.
　　Fiona Shaw‘These are just attitudes of custom and habit aren’tthey? – what words we use – on one hand. On the otherhand, I think the experience of being an actress is sofundamentally different to being an actor that any illusionthat making the name the same, would make the experience ofan actress the same, would be humbug really and would justcover the cracks.’
　　Amber: Listen again and try to catch the expression sheuses to describe how using actor instead of actress is justa superficial change – a change on the surface of things!
　　Fiona Shaw‘These are just attitudes of custom and habit aren’tthey? – what words we use – on one hand. On the otherhand, I think the experience of being an actress is sofundamentally different to being an actor that any illusionthat making the name the same, would make the experience ofan actress the same, would be humbug really and would justcover the cracks.’
　　Amber: ‘Cover the cracks’ – a superficial change.
　　Finally, Fiona Shaw explains that there are so few partsfor women to act that their lives are harder. So it’s notdegrading, in her view, to be called an actress – there’sno ‘diminishment of status’! She says it’s not a sign,or ‘badge’, of shame but a badge of?
　　Fiona Shaw‘In young actors’ experience, there is one in eight partsfor women – I mean, one part for every eight parts thereare for men. So a young actress’s life is entirelydifferent to an actor’s and I don’t see any diminishmentof status in being called an actress as opposed to an actor– if anything, the badge of shame is the badge of pridebecause it’s a much tougher job!’
　　Amber: So, Fiona Shaw says being called an actress is a ‘badge of pride’ – it’s something to be proud of.
　　Now here’s a list of the language we focussed on in theprogramme today. stigmaconnotation pejorative blokes humbugdiminishment of status badge of shamebadge of prideMore topical stories and language explanations next time atbbclearningenglish.com

1 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

2 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

3 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

4 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

5 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 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。

10 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

11 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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

13 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

14 humbug   

n.花招，谎话，欺骗

参考例句：

• I know my words can seem to him nothing but utter humbug.我知道，我说的话在他看来不过是彻头彻尾的慌言。
• All their fine words are nothing but humbug.他们的一切花言巧语都是骗人的。