2019年经济学人 约翰逊语言专栏--用委婉语掩盖性暴力会导致更恶劣后果(1)

 

Books & arts

图书与艺术

Johnson

约翰逊语言专栏

Unspeakable things

无法用语言表达的事

The problematic vocabulary of sexual violence

有问题的性暴力词汇

It is a cliché that three topics should stay off-limits in polite company: politics, religion and sex. But there are times for hard conversations, and the language used to talk about sex, and particularly sexual misdeeds, remains¹ wrapped in a gauze of misdirection and euphemism² that risks contributing to harm, even when intentions are good.

人们常说，在有礼貌的场合，有三个话题是不能谈的：政治、宗教和性。但有时会有艰难的对话，而用来谈论性，尤其是性犯罪的语言仍然被误导和委婉语所掩盖，即使本意是好的，也有造成伤害的风险。

A recent case in Barcelona illustrates³ the power of language. Five men who gang-raped an unconscious 14-year-old girl were convicted of mere⁵ “sexual abuse”—not the graver “sexual assault”, because technically⁶ they had not used violence or intimidation⁷, as required by the statute⁸.

最近在巴塞罗那的一个案例表明了语言的力量。五名男子轮奸了一名失去知觉的14岁女孩，他们仅仅被判为“sexual abuse 性虐待”，而不是更严重的“sexual assault 性侵犯”，因为从技术上讲，他们没有使用法律所述的暴力或恐吓。

The furious protesters who turned out in Barcelona and other cities were not angry about the court’s leniency⁹ per se: the rapists received fairly long prison sentences. Rather they are demanding that the law be changed so that “sexual assault” reflects the absence of consent, rather than the use of force. In other words, they are asking politicians to redefine that term.

在巴塞罗那和其他城市，愤怒的抗议者并没有对法院的宽容感到愤怒：强奸犯被判了相当长的刑期。相反，他们要求修改法律，使“性侵犯”反映的是未经同意，而不是使用武力。换句话说，他们要求政客们重新定义这个词。

There is an irony¹⁰ in their protest. Demonstrators shouted “No es abuso, es violación” (it’s not abuse; it’s rape⁴). But the Spanish word “violación” itself clearly displays its etymological¹¹ link to “violence”, the lack of which was at the heart of the controversy¹². Other European languages also reflect a historical belief that rape is, by definition, violent: Vergewaltigung in German includes Gewalt, violence, for instance.

他们的抗议带有讽刺意味。示威者高呼“No es abuso, es violación”(这不是虐待;这是强奸)。但西班牙语单词“violación”本身就清楚地显示出它与“暴力”的词源联系，而缺乏“暴力”正是这场争论的核心。其他欧洲语言也反映了一种历史信仰，即强奸从定义上说就是暴力的:例如，德语中的Vergewaltigung包括Gewalt，即暴力。

1 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。

2 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。

3 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 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。

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

8 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

9 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。

10 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

11 etymological   

adj.语源的，根据语源学的

参考例句：

• The etymological closeness of the Sanskrit and English words is striking. 梵语和英语的词源的连结性是如此地惊人。 来自互联网
• But the Chinese have often ignored this etymological hint. 但中国人经常忽略这一词根上隐含的意义。 来自互联网

12 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。