PBS高端访谈:探究口音引起的歧视问题

JUDY WOODRUFF: We have all heard of racial profiling, but what about accent profiling? Hernan Diaz is the associate director of the Hispanic Institute at Columbia University, and his first novel was just nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Those are certainly accomplishments¹, and yet he possesses something else that sets him apart. That's tonight's In My Humble² Opinion.

HERNAN DIAZ, Author, "In the Distance": I work at a university in New York with a large population of international students. Walking around campus the other day, I was perplexed³ to see flyers advertising⁴ accent reduction or even accent elimination⁵. Having been born in Argentina, grown up in Sweden, and spent most of my life in the United States, I have, to some degree, a foreign accent in every language I speak. Something in my Spanish makes taxi drivers in Buenos Aires ask me where I'm from. In Swedish, my accent is very slight, but I have the vocabulary of a 12-year-old. In my early 20s, I lived in London for a couple of years, which left its mark. But the fact is, I got English almost as a gift, through Swedish. And there is still a Scandinavian lilt in there. Does my accent need correcting? I don't think so. To sound like who, exactly? A native speaker? What would that even mean? Looking at accent-reduction classes online, the third hit I got wasn't aimed at Eastern European or South American immigrants. It actually read, "Want to get rid of your New York accent?" An accent can be a stigma⁶, even within native speakers of the same language. These variations, determined⁷ by geography, class, and race, are always identified with stereotypes⁸, and fleeing from one means embracing another. In England a Russian writer may adopt an upper-crust British accent. In California, a Texan actor may aspire⁹ to a San Fernando Valley cadence¹⁰. Even though everybody has an accent, there certainly is such a thing as accent discrimination. Most of us have either suffered or witnessed it at some point. I can easily tell when I'm not being understood or when someone is underscoring a difference in pronunciation just to show me my place, because accent discrimination is, in the end, all about place, who belongs and who doesn't. An accent is the echo of one language or tone in another. I, for one, enjoy these ghostly presences of something strange in a familiar environment. They are a reminder¹¹ of the fact that language doesn't belong to anyone, not even to its native speakers. Language is shared. It is, in principle, a space where everyone is welcome and cooperates toward mutual¹² comprehension. And the very fact that there are accents in the first place, the fact that we can still understand each other through all the differences, is the most conclusive¹³ proof of the hospitality at the heart of every language.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Pulitzer Prize nominee¹⁴ Hernan Diaz.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：我们都听说过种族定性，但口音定性呢？哥伦比亚大学西班牙语研究院副院长埃尔南·迪亚斯推出首部小说作品，并获普利策奖提名。这些自然是他的成就，但还有一些东西，让他与众不同。就在今晚《管见所及》栏目。

埃尔南·迪亚斯，作者，《远方》：我在纽约的一所大学工作，这里有很多留学生。前几天我在校园里闲逛，看到有不少广告传单，上面写着要减轻口音甚至消除口音，对此我感到非常困惑。我出生在阿根廷，成长于瑞典，又在美国度过了我的一生，在某种程度上，我所说的每种语言中，都夹杂着外国口音。我讲西班牙语有口音，以至于布宜诺斯艾利斯的出租车司机问我是哪里人。在瑞典，我的口音很轻，但我的词汇量只有12岁。那时我20岁出头，在伦敦住了几年，于是留下了它的印记。但事实上，我通过瑞典语很容易就学会了英语。但我的口音里仍有斯堪的纳维亚人的痕迹。我的口音需要纠正吗？我不这么认为。听起来像是谁？ 母语是英语的人？ 那意味着什么呢？在网上看口音规范课，我受到的第三次打击不是针对东欧或南美移民的。它实际上说的是：“想摆脱你的纽约口音吗？”口音可能是一种耻辱，即使是在母语为同一种语言的人群当中。这些差异，由地理、阶级和种族决定，总是以刻板的印象来加以辨识，人们看待口音的方式总是非常偏执。在英国，俄罗斯作家可能会操着上流社会的英国口音。在加利福尼亚州，得克萨斯州的演员可能想要一个圣费尔南多山谷的节奏。尽管每个人都有口音，但口音歧视肯定存在。这种歧视，我们大多数人在某个时刻都遭遇过或目睹过。我可以很容易地知道，什么时候别人没有理解我的意思，或者有人通过口音的差异来证明我的来源地，因为口音歧视最终与地方有关，谁来自这里，谁不属于这里。重音是一种语言或另一种语言中语调的回声。我，在一个熟悉的环境中，享受这些奇怪的东西。它们提醒人们，语言不属于任何人，甚至不属于母语者。语言是共享的。原则上，这是一个人人都欢迎，相互合作，相互理解的空间。事实上，首先口音是存在的，而虽然存在这些差异，我们仍然可以通过它们彼此互相了解，这是最有说服力的证据，证明热情才是每种语言的核心。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：普利策奖提名人埃尔南·迪亚斯。

1 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

5 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。

6 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。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

10 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

11 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

12 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

13 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

14 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。