大学体验英语第四册Unit4-Passage B

Could 'Japanglish' be a Legitimate¹ Language?
　"We wish all the time to be able to provide you fresh bread and to propose you a joy of eating life with bread," says the sign in my local bakery. "Especially, we want to be a host at dinner of your kitchen1. We are waiting for you with various kinds of bread, cakes and sandwiches."　
　The general meaning is clear, but could it ever be considered correct English? Yes, according to an American academic in Japan, who says that "Japanese English" has as much claim to legitimacy² as the English spoken in, for example, India, Jamaica and the Philippines. 　

　Marshall Childs, who has a doctorate³ in education, believes that Japanese students should ignore the "snobbery⁴" of British and American English and speak the language in a way that suits them, even if that means breaking the accepted rules of grammar, pronunciation and sentence structure.　

　But his championing of "Japlish", also known here as "Japanglish," has infuriated some of his colleagues and led to a lively spat⁵ in the columns of Japan's English language newspaper, the Daily Yomiuri 　

?Mr Childs, who is academic dean of an international college in Japan, says the blend of two languages is acceptable because it makes English comprehensible to the Japanese ear. 　

　"Creative syntax is the hallmark of Japanese English. The result is a waker-upper for those who expect standard syntax, but the meaning is usually perfectly⁶ comprehensible, perhaps because it follows a natural flow of thoughts.　

　"If we (native English speakers) feel prejudice against Japanese English, that is our problem, not a Japanese problem."　

? A resident of Japan for 16 years, Mr Childs criticizes English language schools which "shame" their students into signing up for lessons in "correct" English. 　

?"I know one student who, after 15 years of English study, faithfully accepted the word of a new teacher that she had to relearn pronunciation from the ground up, this time learning it 'properly' in British English. 　

?"That experience set her back several years and several million yen⁷. Most students do not need high-prestige accents; they need to develop smooth habits of hearing and speaking. These habits are much more easily developed if the variety of English is congenial to the learner." 　

?Mr Childs adds: "The sheer exuberance⁸ of popular uses of Japanese English is admirable and should be encouraged, not condemned⁹."　

　"In school, students are rightly bored with the 'correct' English that does not touch their lives." Fluency¹⁰ in standard British or American English, he suggests, should be left to specialists in literature, the performing arts, interpreting and international negotiation¹¹. 　
　Nonsense, retorts fellow American academic Daniel Webster, who says Mr Childs is doing Japanese students of English a disservice by telling them something is right when it is simply wrong.　

　"People in Asia and the Caribbean who speak those other kinds of English to which Childs compares Japanese English can and do converse¹² fluently in them, with each other and with foreigners", says Mr Webster, a visiting instructor¹³ in the English department of Waseda University in Tokyo. "They can also understand English-language movies without subtitles¹⁴, and the educated among them can understand Henry James. Some of these latter can even write in an English that is of the highest literary quality.　

　"None of the above is true of those who use 'Japanglish'. In fact, I can assure Childs that the only place where this Japanese-English exists as a real medium for more than the most rudimentary kind of communication is in households where one, or some, of the members is a native-speaker of Japanese and the other, or the others, is not. 　
　"It will never extend beyond these homes. Outside of those individual houses and apartments, the Japanese-English Childs admires so much is just a lot of gobbledegook. And that's exactly what it will always be," Mr Webster declares.　
　Japan is currently looking for ways to improve the standard of English teaching in its schools. Although virtually all children learn English for several years, the Japanese lag behind other Asian countries in English proficiency¹⁵ --- a trend which politicians and business leaders say makes them less effective in commerce and diplomacy¹⁶. A textbook called "English for the Over-40s" is a bestseller here, and growing numbers of executives are enrolling¹⁷ in English courses to improve their promotion¹⁸ prospects¹⁹.　
　Last year, a panel of experts advising then prime minister Keizo Obuchi called for a national debate on whether to make English Japan's "second official language". The idea, which would oblige the government, local councils and other official bodies to draw up documents in both languages, has been criticized by some as a further move towards western erosion of Japanese culture.　
　Whatever the new government of Junichiro Koizumi decides, one can only hope that no one removes the notice at the Tokyo City Air Terminal which advises passengers to be "cautious for pickpockets²⁰." Or the sign on a drinks vending²¹ machine which says the company responsible has selected "first class ingredients with confidence for offering consumer best products which get you a nice time day after day."　

1 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

2 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

3 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

4 snobbery   

n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格

参考例句：

• Jocelyn accused Dexter of snobbery. 乔斯琳指责德克斯特势力。
• Snobbery is not so common in English today as it was said fifty years ago. 如今＂Snobbery＂在英语中已不象50年前那么普遍使用。

5 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

8 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

11 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

12 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

13 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

14 subtitles   

n.说明字幕，印在外国影片上的对白翻译字幕，译文对白字幕；小标题，副标题( subtitle的名词复数 )；（电影的）字幕

参考例句：

• subtitles for the deaf and the hard of hearing 为耳聋和听力不佳者打出的字幕
• a Polish film with English subtitles 附有英语字幕的波兰影片

15 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

16 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

17 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句

18 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

19 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

20 pickpockets   

n.扒手( pickpocket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crowded markets are a happy hunting ground for pickpockets. 拥挤的市场是扒手大展身手的好地方。
• He warned me against pickpockets. 他让我提防小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册