委婉语

本帖最后由 乌龙水草 于 2011-12-28 10:01 编辑 Euphemisms 委婉语 Making murder respectable 让谋杀看起来正派 Phoney politeness and muddled messages: a guide to euphemisms 假装的礼貌和混乱的信息： 委婉语导引 Dec 17th 2011 | from the print edition  SHORT sharp terms make big points clear. But people often prefer to soften their speech with euphemism: a mixture of abstraction, metaphor, slang and understatement that offers protection against the offensive, harsh or blunt. In 1945, in one of history's greatest euphemisms, Emperor Hirohito informed his subjects of their country's unconditional surrender (after two atomic bombs, the loss of 3m people and with invasion looming) with the words, "The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage." 简短而辛辣的言辞有助于廓清重要的论点。 可是人们往往喜欢软化自己的话语，使用婉言隐语：婉言隐语乃是一堆混杂之物， 包括概念抽象， 隐喻比拟， 市井俚俗以及言不尽意的轻描淡写， 以此掩饰无礼， 缓和刺耳， 减轻唐突。裕仁天皇于1945年向国民发表日本（遭到两颗原子弹轰炸，三百万人丧生，亡国之危迫在眉睫之后）无条件投降诏书的时候这样说："战事未必对日本有利"。这是历史上最著名的委婉语之一。 Euphemisms range promiscuously, from diplomacy ("the minister is indisposed", meaning he won't be coming) to the bedroom (a grande horizontale in France is a notable courtesan). But it is possible to attempt a euphemistic taxonomy. One way to categorise them is ethical. In "Politics and the English Language", George Orwell wrote that obfuscatory political language is designed "to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable". Some euphemisms do distort and mislead; but some are motivated by kindness.  从交际辞令（"部长有些不舒服"意味着他不会来了）到两性关系（横陈贵体在法语里是艳名四播的贵胄情妇），委婉语涉及范围极广。不过我们可以把委婉语进行分类。一种方法是按照道德标准分类。乔治・奥威尔(George Orwell )在《政治和英语》（Politics and the English Language）一书中写道，含糊不清的政治语言可以使"谎言听起来真实可信，让谋杀看起来正派合理。"有些委婉语起到了曲解和误导的作用，不过有些则出自善意的驱使。 Another way to typify them is by theme. A third―and a useful way to begin―is by nationality. A euphemism is a kind of lie, and the lies peoples and countries tell themselves are revealing. 第三种方法是按照国家分类，初级分类用此相当有效。委婉语实际上就是谎言，研究人们和国家对自己编一些什么谎言可以揭示不少的东西。 American euphemisms are in a class of their own, principally because they seem to involve words that few would find offensive to start with, replaced by phrases that are meaninglessly ambiguous: bathroom tissue for lavatory paper, dental appliances for false teeth, previously owned rather than used, wellness centres for hospitals, which conduct procedures not operations. As the late George Carlin, an American comedian, noted, people used to get old and die. Now they become first preelderly, then senior citizens and pass away in a terminal episode or (if doctors botch their treatment) after a therapeutic misadventure. These bespeak a national yearning for perfection, bodily and otherwise.  美式委婉语自成一格，主要原因在于这种委婉语压根儿用的就是一些难以得罪人的词儿，随后几经置换，代以一些没有意义且含糊不清的措辞：把便纸说成浴纱，把假牙说成牙具，把旧货说成曾用，把看病医院说成健康中心，在那里，开刀手术就是程序执行。正如已故美国喜剧演员乔治•卡林（George Carlin）所说：过去，人们老去而死。现在，他们先变成 前长者，随后成为 资深者，最后要嘛在人生逆旅之末隐没，要嘛在治疗意外后（如果医生的治疗失误）仙逝。这些委婉语都彰显出一个民族对于完美-----无论是身体上的还是别的方面的完美------的追求。 Sensitive China, perfidious Albion 中国：敏感。 英国：狡猾 Some Chinese euphemisms also stem from squeamishness. Rather than inquire about a patient's sex life, doctors may ask if you have much time for fang shi (room business). Online sites sell qingqu yongpin, literally "interesting love products". 有些中国委婉语同样脱胎于拘谨这一因素。医生询问病人时不会说"性生活"，而是问是不是"房事"过密。网络商城销售的是"情趣用品"。 But Chinese circumlocution is often a form of polite opacity. Chinese people don't like being too direct in turning down invitations or (as many journalists find) requests for interviews. So they will frequently reply that something is bu fangbian (not convenient). This does not mean reapply in a few weeks' time. It means they don't want to do it, ever. If they don't want to tell you what is going on they will say vaguely they are bu qingchu: literally "I'm not clear." 不过中国人讲话喜欢兜圈子，他们通常都是出于礼貌性才会讲些难懂的话。中国人不喜欢直接拒绝邀请或者采访要求（许多记者均有此感）。于是他们常说"有些不方便"。这样说可不是为了过几个星期再约时间，而是说他们根本没有此意。如果他们不想告诉你发生了什么事情，他们会含糊地说"不清楚"。 One feature of Chinese euphemisms comes from the tonal nature of the language. Yan is slang for cigarettes; jiu means alcohol. But, with different tones, the two syllables together can also mean "to research". So a corrupt official being asked to do something might suggest, "Let's research (yanjiu) this issue together", by which he would probably mean, "Give me some cigarettes and some alcohol and I'll make it happen." 中国式委婉语的特点之一源于中文的发音特质。香烟的俚语是烟，酒精饮料的俚语是酒。这两个词和在一起的就是"研究"（烟酒），音调就大不相同了。某个贪腐官员想要贪污时就会说"我们一起研究（烟酒）这件事情。"他的意思其实是"送我烟和酒，我就帮你办事。" The British are probably the world champions of euphemism. The best of these are widely understood (at least among natives), creating a pleasant sense of complicity between the euphemist and his audience. British newspaper obituaries are a rich seam: nobody likes to speak ill of the dead, yet many enjoy a hint of the truth about the person who has "passed away". A drunkard will be described as "convivial" or "cheery". Unbearably garrulous is "sociable" or the dread "ebullient"; "lively wit" means a penchant for telling cruel and unfunny stories. "Austere" and "reserved" mean joyless and depressed. Someone with a foul temper "did not suffer fools gladly". The priapic will have "enjoyed female company"; nymphomania is "notable vivacity". Uncontrollable appetites of all sorts may earn the ultimate accolade: "He lived life to the full." 英国在使用委婉语方面可谓全世界无人能及。一些最妙的委婉语通俗易懂（至少英国本地人能够明白）。说委婉语的人和听众之间达成了某种愉悦的共通关系。英国报纸刊登的讣告可谓最佳范例，人们不愿意诋毁死者，"仙逝者"哪怕是一丝的美德都会得到大加赞赏。醉汉在人们口中成了"convivial（意为怡然自得）"或"cheery（意为兴致很高）"的人。那那些唠唠叨叨令人不胜其烦的人就是很"sociable（意为合群）"，严重的可以是"ebullient（意为热情洋溢）"，"lively wit（意为活泼机智）"是说有些人偏爱讲些惹人反感、无聊至极的事情。"Austere（意为朴素）"和"reserved（意味含蓄）"则说明无趣与压抑。脾气暴躁的人则是"did not suffer fools gladly（意为没有耐心与蠢人周旋）"。色男被称为"enjoyed female company （意为喜欢女性陪伴）。"notable vivacity（意为众人皆知的活泼）"指荡女。放任欲望不加约束则会赢得终极赞誉："He lived life to the full（意为他的人生完满无憾）"。 Such euphemisms are a pleasant echo of an age when private lives enjoyed a degree of protective discretion that now seems unimaginable in Britain. That left room for "a confirmed bachelor" (a homosexual) or someone "" (leaving the reader guessing whether the problem was indecent exposure, adultery or cross-dressing). 这些委婉语是英国私生活依然处于受保护时代发出的快乐回响，而这种保护态度现在则不能想象。左边的房间是给那些"a confirmed bachelor（意为确定无疑的单身汉）即同性恋者" 或者"burdened by occasional irregularities in his private life（意为在私生乎中偶尔犯规而背负重担）"的人（让读者去猜到底是露阴癖，通奸者还是易装癖）。 Writing about dead people is a question only of taste, because they can't sue. Describing the living (especially in libel-happy jurisdictions such as England) requires prudence. "Thirsty" applied to a British public figure usually means heavy drinking; "tired and emotional" (a term that has moved from the pages of Private Eye, a satirical magazine, into general parlance) means visibly drunk. "Hands-on mentoring" of a junior colleague can be code for an affair, hopefully not coupled with a "volatile" personality, which means terrifying eruptions of temper. References to "rumbustious" business practices or "controversial", "murky" and "questionable" conduct usually mean the journalist believes something illegal is going on, but couldn't stand it up in court if sued. 描写死者纯属品味问题，因为他们无能提出控诉。描写活着的人则需要考虑周详（尤其是在英格兰这种以审理诽谤案件为乐的司法区域）。如果在英国公众人物的身上看到了"Thirsty（意为饥渴）"的字眼，那就是说此人已经喝得不省人事，要是说"tired and emotional（意为疲倦情绪化）"（这个词最早出现在讽刺杂志《侦探》当中，后成为流行语）就是说已经喝得烂醉如泥。"Hands-on mentoring（意为手把手指导）"年轻同事可理解为风流韵事，但愿不要再加上性格"volatile"的描述，因为这意味着脾气一触即发。记者要是提到商业惯例"rumbustious（意为无法无天）"，或者"controversial（意为存在争议）"、"murky（意为黑暗不堪）"以及"questionable（意为疑点甚多）"这些词汇的时候，就表示他们相信有人在进行非法勾当，不过却不足以成为呈堂证供。 In the upper reaches of the British establishment, euphemism is a fine art, one that new arrivals need to master quickly. "Other Whitehall agencies" or "our friends over the river" means the intelligence services (American spooks often say they "work for the government"). A civil servant warning a minister that a decision would be "courageous" is saying that it will be career-cripplingly unpopular. "Adventurous" is even worse: it means mad and unworkable. A "frank discussion" is a row, while a "robust exchange of views" is a full-scale shouting match. (These kind of euphemisms are also common in Japanese, where the reply maemuki ni kento sasete itadakimasu―I will examine it in a forward-looking manner―means something on the lines of "This idea is so stupid that I am cross you are even asking me and will certainly ignore it.") 英国上层当局视委婉语为一项精细艺术，新人要快速融会贯通。"Other Whitehall agencies（意为白厅其它机构）"或"our friends over the river（意为我们河对岸的朋友）"则是说情报部门（美国间谍则常说他们"work for the government意为为政府工作"）。公务员警告部长说这项决定应该"courageous（意为一往无前）"，就是在说这个决定不得人心，而"Adventurous（意为具有冒险性）"一词程度就要严重得多，意即太疯狂了，没有可行性。"frank discussion（意为坦诚交谈）"表示将要大吵一架，"robust exchange of views（意为全面交换意见）"则是要从头到尾吵个不休。（这种委婉语在日本也很普遍，日本人要是说我会继续观察，那么就表示这个主意愚蠢至极，你居然向我提起，我很生气，肯定不会当回事。） Euphemism is so ingrained in British speech that foreigners, even those who speak fluent English, may miss the signals contained in such bland remarks as "incidentally" (which means, "I am now telling you the purpose of this discussion"); and "with the greatest respect" ("You are mistaken and silly"). This sort of code allows the speaker to express anger, contempt or outright disagreement without making the emotional investment needed to do so directly. Some find that cowardly. 委婉语已经成为英国人演讲中不可或缺的一部分。外国人甚至那些能讲一口流利英语的人都可能错过那些毫不起眼的闲谈中所包含的信号。比方说，"incidentally（意为顺便地）"（意思是"我现在告诉你的是此次谈话的目的"），"with the greatest respect（意为给予最诚挚的尊重）"的意思是你错得愚蠢）。说话者可以利用这些密码来表达愤怒、蔑视或者断然反对等等情绪，从而避免了直抒胸意。不过有人认为这都是些懦弱的表现。 Boardroom, bathroom, bedroom 会议室、浴室和卧室 A thematic taxonomy of euphemism should have a category devoted to commerce. Business euphemisms are epitomised by the lexicon of property salesmen. A "bijou" residence is tiny (it may also be "charming", "cosy" or "compact"). A "vibrant" neighbourhood is deafeningly noisy; if it is "up and coming" it is terrifyingly crime-ridden, whereas a "stone's throw from" means in reach of a powerful catapult. Conversely, "convenient for" means "unpleasantly close to". "Characterful" means the previous owner was mad or squalid. "Scope for renovation" means decrepit; "would suit an enthusiast" means a ruin fit only for a madman. 委婉语还应分为商务委婉语，是房地产销售人员使用词汇的集中体现。"bijou小巧"的住宅就是面积极小（还可能是"charming（意为吸引力十足）""cosy（意为舒适惬意）"或者"compact（意为简洁紧凑）"）。说邻居"vibrant（意为朝气蓬勃）"，实际上是指嘈杂地几近震耳欲聋。销售人员口中的"up and coming（意为前景良好）"就表示该处犯罪活动猖獗，这些地方若有"stone's throw from（意为一步之遥）"就意味着还远着呢。相反地，"convenient for（干……很便利）"实为"unpleasantly close to（和……近得令人不快）"。"Characterful（意为有个性）"表示前任业主要么疯狂不羁，要么拉里邋遢。"Scope for renovation（意为可以翻新）"实为破败不堪。"would suit an enthusiast适合热情人士"就是说只有狂人才会适合那种破房滥瓦。 But the richest categories would centre on cross-cultural taboos such as death and bodily functions. The latter seem to embarrass Americans especially: one can ask for the "loo" in a British restaurant without budging an eyebrow; don't try that in New York. Lavatory and toilet were once euphemisms themselves; they in turn were replaced by water closet (WC) and the absurd "rest room". British English encourages lively scatological synonyms: foreigners told that someone is "taking a slash" or "on the bog" may be mystified. 委婉语在不同文化里的禁忌方面得到了最全面的运用，比如死亡和肉体机能。美国人似乎尤为因后者而不知所措：在英国的餐馆中你可以随意询问"loo厕所"在哪，但是在纽约可不能这样做。洗手间（Lavatory）和盥洗室（toilet）曾是美国人的委婉语，现在却改用WC和rest room（荒唐无比的一个词）来表示厕所。英式英语鼓励人们使用并不雅观的同义词，比如外国人说有人"taking a slash正在撒尿"或者"on the bog身陷险境"的时候，他们可能会困惑不解。 Sex outstrips even excretion as a source of euphemism. The Bible is full of them: "foot" for penis, "know" for intercourse, with "other flesh" if transgressive. Masturbation was self-abuse or the sin of Onan to the Victorians; oral sex is "playing the bamboo flute" in Japanese. A prostitute accosting a client on the streets of Cairo will ask ? (Literally, "Do you have someone to wash your clothes?") 性也是委婉语的来源之一，比重甚至超过针对排泄物的委婉语。圣经中这样的例子比比皆是："foot（脚）"表示阴茎，"know（任我们所为）"表示性交，Masturbation（手淫）对维多利亚时代的人来说叫作自我虐待或俄南之罪。日语当中的"演奏竹笛"意为口交。开罗街头的妓女在和客人搭讪的时候会说"Fi hadd bitaghsal hudoumak （意为有人为你洗衣服吗）？" Even the most straight-talking obfuscate that line of work. Swedes, like many others, refer to världens äldsta yrke (the world's oldest profession). A brothel in Russian is a publichny dom―literally a "public house", which causes problems when British visitors with rudimentary Russian try to explain the delights of their village hostelry. In China many hair salons, massage parlours and karaoke bars double as brothels. Hence anmo (massage), falang (hair salon) or a zuyu zhongxin (foot-massage parlour) can lead to knowing nods and winks. For obscure reasons, Germans call the same institution a Puff. In Japan, such places are called sopurando, (a corrupted version of "soapland") or a pin-saro (pink salon). 即便是最直白的语言也会让妓女这种工作变得晦涩难解。和其他国家一样，瑞典将妓女称为 världens äldsta yrke （意为最古老的职业）。俄罗斯语的"旅店"就是指妓院，操着蹩脚俄文的英国游客向别人解释他们乡村旅店的美丽之处的时候常会引发歧义。在中国，许多发廊、按摩室和歌厅都兼营妓院生意，因此人们对按摩室、发廊和足疗中心的作用心知肚明。不知道为何，德国人把妓院称之为"Puff。而在日本，妓院叫做sopurando（洗浴中心，是对soapland一词的错误拼法）或者pin-saro（粉红沙龙）。 Euphemisms for the act itself may be prim (carnal knowledge), poetic (make love) or crude (shagging). Over time such expressions lose their suggestive power and may even become off limits themselves. To engage in sexual intercourse in German is b umsen (to thump), along the lines of the English "bonk". To masturbate is wichsen (to polish). In both cases the slang sexual connotation has overtaken the original one. 对于性的委婉语可能是prim（一本正经，意为性交），poetic（充满诗意，意为做爱）或者crude（粗野，意为性交）。久而久之，这些表述渐渐失去了挑逗力，不再被人们使用。德国用bumsen（意为重击）这个词表示性交，英语中则使用bonk（意为重击）这个词。用wichsen（意为摩擦）表示手淫。在这两种情况下，性俚语的言外之意都超出了字面本身的含义。 Personal ads provide an entire subgenre of euphemism. "Cuddly" means "fat". "Romantic" means needy and clingy. "Old-fashioned" means inconsiderate sex (if male) or infrequent (for females). "Outgoing and fun-loving" mean annoyingly talkative, promiscuous or both. "Open-minded" means desperate. 个人信息贡献了一整套委婉语。比如说，Cuddly（意为让人想拥抱他）表示肥胖。Romantic（意为浪漫的）表示贫困和依赖性强。Old-fashioned（意为老套）表示男性只顾自己爽的性爱或者女性缺乏性生活。Outgoing and fun-loving（意为外向活泼）表示唠唠叨叨惹人厌烦，或者男女乱交，或者两者皆有。Open-minded（意为心胸开阔）表示性饥渴。 Little white lies 善意的谎言 Orwell was right: euphemisms can be sneaky and coercive. They cloak a decision's unpleasant results, as in "let go" for "fire", or "right-sizing" for "mass sackings". They make consequences sound less horrid―as, chillingly, in "collateral damage" for "dead civilians". 奥威尔（Orwell）是对的：委婉语既鬼祟又强硬。使用了委婉语之后，某个决定令人不快的结果就得到了伪装，比如说let go（意为让他走人）表示解雇，right-sizing（意为合理精简）表示大规模裁员。 Such jargony, polysyllabic euphemisms, often using long Latinate words instead of short Anglo-Saxon ones, can quickly become an argot used by slippery-tongued, well-educated insiders to defend their privileges. With luck, the real word may fall into disuse and the humble outsider will feel intimidated by the floppy, opaque language that masks wrongdoing or shortcoming. How do you begin to complain if you don't know the lingo? 这类多音节的行话委婉语通常由较长的的拉丁字符组成，而非简短的盎格鲁撒克逊字符，它们很快成为了油嘴滑舌受过高等教育的业内人士为保护自己的特权而使用的暗语。运气好的话，原词会因为不使用而慢慢消逝，那些可怜的行外人就会被这些委婉的、难解的语言喝阻，而坏事和缺点都已经被掩藏的毫无破绽。要是你对行话一无所知，该如何提出控诉呢？ Politically correct euphemisms are among the most pernicious. Good and bad become "appropriate" or "inappropriate". A ghastly problem becomes a less alarming "challenging issue". Spending is investment; cuts are savings. "Affected by material error" (in European Union parlance) means money stolen from the budget. 政治委婉语是危害性性最强的委婉语。好与坏摇身一变成了"appropriate恰当"与"inappropriate不恰当"。可怕的问题被说成是不那么令人震惊的"challenging issue（意为具有挑战性的事件）"。开销说成是投资，削减则变成了节省。"Affected by material error（意为受到物质错误影响）"（按照欧盟的说法）则表示预算款项遭人挪用。 But euphemisms can also be benign, even necessary. Sometimes the need to prevent hurt feelings justifiably takes precedence over clarity. Saying that dim or disruptive children have "special needs", or that they exhibit "challenging behaviour", does not make them easier to teach―but it may prevent them being teased or disheartened. "Frail" (of an old person) is nicer than doddery or senile. Euphemisms may be a species of lie, but some of them are white. 然而委婉语也有良性作用，甚至是不可或缺的。有时候避免伤害感情要比凡事清楚明白重要得多。比如说那些智力低下或性格缺陷的儿童都是有"special needs（意为特殊需要）"，又或者他们在展现"challenging behaviour（富于挑战性的行动）"，这样做也许不会让孩子们乖乖听话，但却可以保护他们不被欺负，不会丧失信心。在形容老年人时，说"Frail脆弱"要比"doddery衰老"或"senile上年纪"亲和得多。虽与谎言别无二致，不过有些委婉语却是出于善意。 A culture without euphemism would be more honest, but rougher. Here's a New Year's resolution: scrub your conversation of euphemism for a day. The results will startle you. 某种文化若没有委婉语来点缀，虽会去伪存真，却也显得稍欠雕琢。来试试这项新年新计划：尝试一天内不说一句委婉语。结果将会使你大为惊奇。 from the print edition | International