美国国家公共电台 NPR--Michigan prisons ban Spanish and Swahili dictionaries to prevent inmate disruptions

Michigan prisons ban Spanish and Swahili dictionaries to prevent inmate¹ disruptions

Transcript²

Officials in prison systems across the United States have banned certain books as a way to prevent the flow of material that they say might incite³ violence.

In Michigan, the ban has extended to several non-English language dictionaries.

Over the last year, the Michigan Department of Corrections has banned dictionaries in Spanish and Swahili under claims that books' contents are a threat to the state's penitentiaries⁴.

"If certain prisoners all decided⁵ to learn a very obscure language, they would be able to then speak freely in front of staff and others about introducing contraband⁶ or assaulting staff or assaulting another prisoner," said Chris Gautz, the spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

He says allowing prisoners to gain access to language books other than English could encourage them to organize without the knowledge of staff.

"When it's in a language that we don't have the ability to read ourselves and understand exactly what it is that we're looking for, we're not able to allow it in," he added.

If staff is unable to find a translation the book request is denied, and the book is placed under the list of banned books – even when these are in Spanish. The second most spoken language in American households.

For Rodolfo Rodriguez getting books in his native Spanish language has been about learning how to communicate in English. Something he says he's been trying to do since his life sentence in 1993.

"One feels offended. One feels like they are telling you that pure Spanish is worthless, that you don't need to learn because you'll just stay here," he said in a call from Lakeland Correctional Facility in southern Michigan.

Because he doesn't speak and write well in English, Rodriguez says he's had a harder time navigating⁷ the legal process from prison.

Seven books in both Spanish and Swahili have been banned from the state's prisons in the last year, according to a list obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Kwesi Osundar was born in Detroit and has been requesting books in Swahili since 2009. He says he's been wanting to learn more about the African diaspora.

"So Swahili being one of the more widely spoken African languages that was the first stop for me," he said. He is at Chippewa Correctional Facility in northern Michigan.

Osundar says he's filed grievances⁸ with the prison, but these never went anywhere.

"It's just there because they have to give us some form of process to seek administrative⁹ remedies, but very seldom does anybody get any relief," Osundar explained.

But prison's spokesperson, Gautz, says the issue of banning language books isn't something that's come up a lot.

"If we were to start seeing requests, and the need to have something be reviewed along these lines, we could certainly be open to that," he said.

Paul Wright, the director of the Human Rights Defense¹⁰ Center and a former inmate at a correctional facility in the state of Washington, has been dealing¹¹ with censorships at prisons across the United States for the last two decades.

While he was incarcerated¹³, Wright founded Prison Legal News, a publication that he's fought to keep from being censored¹⁴.

"Prison officials like to censor¹² anything that's critical of themselves, and also they like to censor anything to do with minority anything," he said.

A 1989 Supreme¹⁵ Court ruling allows prisons to ban any book – as long as it's in the interest of safety.

Rodolfo Rodriguez would like the Michigan policy on books in different languages revised. He says incarcerated people deserve a right to educate themselves in their own native language.

1 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

4 penitentiaries   

n.监狱( penitentiary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Making use of written or common law, the serf-owners set up penitentiaries or private jails. 农奴主运用成文法或习惯法，设立监狱或私牢。 来自互联网

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

7 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

8 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

13 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

14 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。