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语言的罪行(下)
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“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。
双语精读
Call it the "dysphemism treadmill". In its opposite, the "euphemism treadmill" (a term coined by Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard), people run from one polite banality to another.
这种写作风格可以称为“粗直语轮转”。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 pejorative; then they opted for "retarded", which became unsayable; and then they devised "special", which is now a taunt 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“弱智”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 swapped 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 sickles or swastikas and are sometimes applied 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 crescendo. Countries in west and central Africa have seen seven of the classic storming-the-presidential-palace sort of "coup" in less than four years.
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。在不到四年的时间里，西非和中非国家经历了七次典型的“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 Sanchez with Catalan separatists, in exchange for a few votes in a freely elected parliament. Spain is not so much witnessing a coup as a political zoo.
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，为的是在自由选举的议会中换来几张选票，让桑切斯继续掌权。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 militias in Sudan who are rounding up black African tribes, such as the Masalit, murdering men and boys, raping 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 hewing strictly to what the word's definition is, which is the intentional destruction of people for the mere 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. You cannot outshout the crowds. So distinguish yourselves by choosing accurate, vivid words between the evasions of euphemism and the temptations of exaggeration.
这里有一个给写作者的建议。你无法比一群人喊叫得更响亮。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。
词汇预习
definition [高考]
美[ˌdefɪˈnɪʃn] | 英[ˌdefɪˈnɪʃn]
n. 定义；阐释；清晰度
destruction [高考]
美[dɪˈstrʌkʃn] | 英[dɪˈstrʌkʃn]
n. 破坏；毁灭
mere [高考]
美[mɪr] | 英[mɪə(r)]
adj. 仅仅的；只不过的 n. 小湖；池塘 n. (Mere)人名；(日)目连(姓)；(西)梅雷
fate [高考]
美[feɪt] | 英[feɪt]
n. 命运，宿命 vt. 注定
verbal [高考]
美[ˈvɜːrbl] | 英[ˈvɜːbl]
adj. 口头的；用言语的；用文字的；逐字的；动词的 n. 动名词
imaginable [高考]
美[ɪˈmædʒənəbəl] | 英[ɪˈmædʒɪnəbl]
adj. 可想像的；可想到的
media [高考]
美[ˈmiːdiə] | 英[ˈmiːdiə]
n. 传播媒介；(medium的复数)媒体；新闻媒介
classic [高考]
美[ˈklæsɪk] | 英[ˈklæsɪk]
n. 杰作；古典作品；第一流艺术家 adj. 最优秀的；传统的；古典的
political [高考]
美[pəˈlɪtɪkl] | 英[pəˈlɪtɪkl]
adj. 政治的；政治上的；政党的；人事的；争权夺利的
crime [高考]
美[kraɪm] | 英[kraɪm]
n. 犯罪；恶行
extreme [高考]
美[ɪkˈstriːm] | 英[ɪkˈstriːm]
adj. 极度的；极端的 n. 极端；极限
distinguish [高考]
美[dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ] | 英[dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ]
vt. 区别；辨认；使显著
accurate [高考]
美[ˈækjərət] | 英[ˈækjərət]
adj. 准确的；精确的
mild [高考]
美[maɪld] | 英[maɪld]
adj. 温和的；柔和的；宽大的；清淡的
vivid [高考]
美[ˈvɪvɪd] | 英[ˈvɪvɪd]
adj. 生动的；鲜艳的；栩栩如生的
communist [高考]
美[ˈkɑːmjənɪst] | 英[ˈkɒmjənɪst]
adj. 共产主义的 n. 共产主义者
disagree with [高考]
美[ˌdɪsəˈɡri wɪð] | 英[ˌdisəˈɡri: wið]
与 ... 有分歧； 不一致
have nothing to do with [高考]
美[hæv 'nʌθɪŋ tə dʊ wɪð] | 英[hæv 'nʌθɪŋ tə duː wɪð]
与 ... 无关
in the long run [高考]
美[ɪn ðə lɔːŋ rʌn] | 英[ɪn ðə lɒŋ rʌn]
从长远看来
in exchange for [高考]
美[ɪn ɪks'tʃeɪndʒ fɔːr] | 英[ɪn ɪks'tʃeɪndʒ fɔː]
交换； 调换
parliament [高考]
美[ˈpɑːrləmənt] | 英[ˈpɑːləmənt]
n. 议会；国会；一届议会的会期
where [高考]
美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]
adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方
intentional [四级]
美[ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl] | 英[ɪnˈtenʃənl]
adj. 故意的；存心的；策划的
strictly [四级]
美[ˈstrɪktli] | 英[ˈstrɪktli]
adv. 严格地；完全地
presidential [四级]
美[ˌprɛzɪˈdɛnʃəl] | 英[ˌprezɪ'denʃl]
adj. 总统的；总统制的
make it [四级]
美[mek ɪt] | 英[meik it]
成功 达到预定目标,性交易,幸存
do with [四级]
美[dʊ wɪð] | 英[duː wɪð]
处理； 利用； 忍受； 需要； 相处
exaggeration [四级]
美[ɪɡˌzædʒəˈreʃən] | 英[ɪgˌzædʒəˈreɪʃn]
n. 夸张；夸大
euphemism [专八]
美[ˈjufəˌmɪzəm] | 英[ˈju:fəmɪzəm]
n. 委婉语
works [专八]
美[wəks] | 英[wə:ks]
n. 工厂；修建；机器部件；全套物品
fascist [专八]
美[ˈfæʃɪst] | 英[ˈfæʃɪst]
n. 法西斯党员；法西斯主义者；极右分子 adj. 法西斯主义的；法西斯主义者的；极右分子的
taunt [专八]
美[tɔːnt] | 英[tɔːnt]
n. 辱骂；嘲弄 v. 嘲弄
ethnicity [考研]
美[eθˈnɪsəti] | 英[eθˈnɪsəti]
n. 种族划分；属于少数民族
crescendo [考研]
美[krəˈʃendoʊ] | 英[krəˈʃendəʊ]
n. 声音渐增；高潮；顶峰
characterise [考研]
美['kærɪktəˌraɪz] | 英['kærɪktəraɪz]
vt. 表示 ... 的特征； 描述 ... 的特征
less than [雅思]
美[les ðən] | 英[les ðən]
不到； 少于
重点讲解
Call it the “dysphemism treadmill”. In its opposite, the “euphemism treadmill” (a term coined by Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard), people run from one polite banality to another.
这种写作风格可以称为“粗直语轮转”。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。
coin v. 铸造硬币；创造（新词语）
【例】The term 'netizen' was coined in the early days of the internet.
“网民”这个词是在互联网早期被创造出来的。
No news is good news, to coin a phrase.
常言道，没有消息就是好消息。
【拓展】Pay someone back in their own coin.
以其人之道，还治其人之身。
They referred to people as “idiotic” until that became pejorative; then they opted for “retarded”, which became unsayable; and then they devised “special”, which is now a taunt 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“弱智”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。
coin v. 铸造硬币；创造（新词语）
【例】The term 'netizen' was coined in the early days of the internet.
“网民”这个词是在互联网早期被创造出来的。
No news is good news, to coin a phrase.
常言道，没有消息就是好消息。
【拓展】Pay someone back in their own coin.
以其人之道，还治其人之身。
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 swapped 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”。
swap (out) A for B 用A来交换B
【例】I swapped my red scarf for her blue one.
我用我的红围巾换了她的蓝围巾。
【辨析】replace A with B 用B来替换A
apply sth to 把某物用于
【例】apply the technology to farming 把科技用于农业种植
apply the word “genius” to him 用“天才”这个词来形容他
【拓展】apply yourself to do sth 全力以赴做某事
As is true of many modern trends, the most extreme words have radiated from America, where “communist” and “fascist” have nothing to do with sickles or swastikas and are sometimes applied 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。
swap (out) A for B 用A来交换B
【例】I swapped my red scarf for her blue one.
我用我的红围巾换了她的蓝围巾。
【辨析】replace A with B 用B来替换A
apply sth to 把某物用于
【例】apply the technology to farming 把科技用于农业种植
apply the word “genius” to him 用“天才”这个词来形容他
【拓展】apply yourself to do sth 全力以赴做某事
Social media, the “great awokening” on the left and the MAGAfication of the right have contributed to a verbal crescendo. Countries in west and central Africa have seen seven of the classic storming-the-presidential-palace sort of “coup” in less than four years.
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。在不到四年的时间里，西非和中非国家经历了七次典型的“政变”，但实际上就是群众冲进了总统府。
storm v.
1. 气冲冲地闯入；攻占
【例】He stormed into the manager’s office.
他气冲冲地闯入了经理的办公室。
2. 怒吼；大发雷霆
【例】He stormed at the waiter.
他对服务员大发脾气。
not so much A as B 与其说是A，不如说是B
【例】He is not so much my teacher as my friend.
比起老师，他更像是我的朋友。
Yet the same word has been used recently to describe an iffy deal to stay in power, struck by Spain’s Pedro Sanchez with Catalan separatists, in exchange for a few votes in a freely elected parliament. Spain is not so much witnessing a coup as a political zoo.
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，为的是在自由选举的议会中换来几张选票，让桑切斯继续掌权。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。
storm v.
1. 气冲冲地闯入；攻占
【例】He stormed into the manager’s office.
他气冲冲地闯入了经理的办公室。
2. 怒吼；大发雷霆
【例】He stormed at the waiter.
他对服务员大发脾气。
not so much A as B 与其说是A，不如说是B
【例】He is not so much my teacher as my friend.
比起老师，他更像是我的朋友。
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。
bandy sth about 四处传播某事
【例】Rumors about the celebrity's divorce were being bandied about.
关于那位名人离婚的谣言正在四处传播。
【近义词】spread/circulate v. 传播；流传
round up
1. 聚集；聚拢
【例】round up the sheep into the pen
把羊聚集起来，赶到羊圈里
2. 围捕；搜捕
【例】to round up the criminals
把罪犯一网打尽
hew to 遵守；坚持
【例】hew to principles/rules/a policy
坚持原则/遵守规定/遵从政策
【近义词】stick to/adhere to 坚持；遵守
The word is used correctly when describing the Arab militias in Sudan who are rounding up black African tribes, such as the Masalit, murdering men and boys, raping 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。
bandy sth about 四处传播某事
【例】Rumors about the celebrity's divorce were being bandied about.
关于那位名人离婚的谣言正在四处传播。
【近义词】spread/circulate v. 传播；流传
round up
1. 聚集；聚拢
【例】round up the sheep into the pen
把羊聚集起来，赶到羊圈里
2. 围捕；搜捕
【例】to round up the criminals
把罪犯一网打尽
hew to 遵守；坚持
【例】hew to principles/rules/a policy
坚持原则/遵守规定/遵从政策
【近义词】stick to/adhere to 坚持；遵守
But those using the term “genocide” to characterise Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza are not hewing strictly to what the word’s definition is, which is the intentional destruction of people for the mere 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。
bandy sth about 四处传播某事
【例】Rumors about the celebrity's divorce were being bandied about.
关于那位名人离婚的谣言正在四处传播。
【近义词】spread/circulate v. 传播；流传
round up
1. 聚集；聚拢
【例】round up the sheep into the pen
把羊聚集起来，赶到羊圈里
2. 围捕；搜捕
【例】to round up the criminals
把罪犯一网打尽
hew to 遵守；坚持
【例】hew to principles/rules/a policy
坚持原则/遵守规定/遵从政策
【近义词】stick to/adhere to 坚持；遵守
So here is a suggestion for writers. You cannot outshout the crowds. So distinguish yourselves by choosing accurate, vivid words between the evasions of euphemism and the temptations of exaggeration.
这里有一个给写作者的建议。你无法比一群人喊叫得更响亮。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。
outshout v. 更大声地喊叫
【例】The coach had to outshout the cheering fans to make himself heard during the game.
比赛期间，教练不得不比欢呼的粉丝更大声地喊话，才能让队员听见他。
【拓展】outrun/outlive/out-think/out-speak
跑得更快/活得更久/更聪明/口才更好
evasion n. 躲避；回避
【例】evasion of one's duty 逃避责任
His speech was full of evasions and half-truths.
他的发言尽是些遁词和真假参半的说法。
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。
outshout v. 更大声地喊叫
【例】The coach had to outshout the cheering fans to make himself heard during the game.
比赛期间，教练不得不比欢呼的粉丝更大声地喊话，才能让队员听见他。
【拓展】outrun/outlive/out-think/out-speak
跑得更快/活得更久/更聪明/口才更好
evasion n. 躲避；回避
【例】evasion of one's duty 逃避责任
His speech was full of evasions and half-truths.
他的发言尽是些遁词和真假参半的说法。
课后练习
What does the "euphemism treadmill" mean?
A. The process by which polite terms eventually become offensive.
B. The evolution of language and meaning over time.
C. The constant need for people to create new words.
D. The ambiguity of offensive terms in language.
Which of the following is true about dysphemism treadmill?
A. It involves changing offensive terms into more polite or neutral ones.
B. It involves replacing mild terms with more extreme ones over time.
C. It involves adopting terms from different cultures and languages.
D. It involves using exaggerated words to show disagreement.
What does the example of Pedro Sanchez illustrate?
A. The misuse of exaggerated terms in describing political events.
B. The role of social media on spreading false information.
C. The influence of political coups in many countries.
D. The changing political landscape in Spain.
What advice does the author give to writers?
A. To actively participate in political debates.
B. To use social media to increase their influence.
C. To be brave to speak out and persuade other people.
D. To choose accurate language and give a factual account.