2021年经济学人 约翰逊专栏--口音歧视(2)（在线收听）

And French leaders face more than just condescension. When Jean Castex, who has a notable south-western accent, became prime minister, reactions were predictably patronising. But such snobbery can have serious consequences, notes Jonathan Kasstan of Westminster University. The political editor of France’s national broadcaster said Mr Castex’s pandemic guidance seemed less credible when delivered in his “patelin”, or village, accent.

法国领导人面临的不仅仅是高人一等的现象。有着明显西南口音的让·卡斯特克斯当上法国总理后，法国人民的反应不出所料，他们觉得自己高人一等。但威斯敏斯特大学的乔纳森·卡斯坦指出，这种自以为优越的态度可能会产生严重后果。法国国家广播公司的政治编辑表示，卡斯特克斯总理用乡村口音传达的疫情指导似乎不那么可信。

In truth, some other countries are more like France than they may think. Beyond the BBC, it remains common in Britain to hear public figures belittled for how they speak. The liberal left indulges these prejudices, too. Alastair Campbell, erstwhile press secretary to Labour’s Tony Blair, mocked the Conservative home secretary, Priti Patel, on Twitter: “I really would prefer it if we had a home secretary who could pronounce the G at the end of a word.” Here snobbery is dressed up as concern for correct enunciation.

事实上，其他一些国家在口音歧视方面比他们想象的更像法国。除了BBC之外，英国公众人物因说话方式而被轻视的现象仍然很普遍。自由左派也纵容了这些偏见。前工党托尼·布莱尔的新闻秘书阿拉斯泰尔·坎贝尔在推特上嘲笑保守党内政大臣普里蒂·帕特尔：“我真的更希望我们的内政大臣能在词的末尾发G音。”他在这里将自以为优越的态度粉饰成对正确发音的关注。

But is a ban on such gibes the answer, in France or elsewhere? The case for one is that it would send a powerful signal: there is no rational reason to withhold a job or a loan because of an applicant’s accent. But a specific ban on accent discrimination may not be necessary. Donald Dowling, a lawyer at Littler Mendelson in New York, points out that, in many countries, accent mockery is already used as evidence of other forms of illegal discrimination, such as the racial kind. If you deride a Frenchman for an accent suggesting African origins, you are already breaking the law. In theory that law could be extended to cover (say) Breton origins without specifically adding “accent” to protected categories.

但在法国或其他地方禁止口音嘲笑会是解决口音歧视问题的答案吗？其一，这将发出一个强有力的信号：因为申请人的口音而拒绝提供工作或贷款的理由不合理。但针对口音歧视的具体禁令大可不必。纽约门德尔松律师事务所的律师唐纳德·道林指出，在许多国家，口音嘲笑已经被用作种族歧视等其他形式的非法歧视的证据。如果你嘲笑带有非洲血统的法国人的口音，那你已经触犯了法律。从理论上讲，可以拓展法律适用范围，比如涵盖布列塔尼语，而不必在受保护的类别中特别添加“口音”。