2019年经济学人 约翰逊语言专栏--用委婉语掩盖性暴力会导致更恶劣后果(2)

 

Or consider the English word. Coming from Latin rapere, its oldest sense involves neither sex nor bodily harm; it means to take something by force (as in the adjective, “rapacious”). This represents the attitude of many centuries in which rape¹ was considered a property crime against a husband or father, robbing them of a woman’s virginity or chastity, which were the father’s to give away to a spouse². It was not something done to the woman herself.

或者想想英语单词。Rape 源自拉丁语 rapere，它最古老的意思既不涉及性也不涉及身体伤害；它的意思是用武力取得某物(如形容词“rapacious贪婪的”)。这代表了许多世纪以来的态度，强奸被认为是对丈夫或父亲的财产犯罪，剥夺了她们的贞操或贞操，而贞操是父亲送给配偶的。这不是女性自己做的事。

Fortunately, feminists³ long ago succeeded in placing the woman’s experience at the heart of the matter. But “rape” is now such a powerful and painful word that English-speakers have developed a hazier⁴ vocabulary to talk about and around it instead. “Sexual assault” rose in prominence⁵ in the 1970s. Its adoption⁶ reflected the fact that there were many ways to commit, and experience, traumatic sexual violence; the kind that could rob a woman of her virginity was only one, and need not always be privileged over others. Numerous American states and Canada, for example, no longer have a crime called “rape” on the statute⁷ books, but rather varying degrees of sexual assault.

幸运的是，女权主义者很久以前就成功地将女性的经验置于问题的核心。但“rape 强奸”现在是一个如此强大而痛苦的词，以至于说英语的人已经形成了一个更模糊的词汇来谈论和围绕它。“Sexual assault 性侵犯”在20世纪70年代开始流行起来。这个词的采用反映了这样一个事实，即犯下和经历创伤性暴力的方式有很多；能夺走一个女人童贞的东西只有一种，而且不必总是享有特权。

The breadth of the label “sexual assault” has its uses—for example, when statisticians want to aggregate⁸ different offences. It can convey the sense of violation⁹ that comes with all its manifestations¹⁰. It gives women who have suffered different kinds of harms an umbrella of solidarity¹¹. Finally, victims who use “sexual assault” may themselves not want to be more specific.

“Sexual assault 性侵犯”这个标签的宽度有它的用途——例如，当统计学家想要汇总不同的犯罪行为时。它可以传达所有的表现形式所带来的冒犯感。它为遭受各种伤害的女性提供了团结的保护伞。最后，使用“性侵犯”一次的受害者自己可能不想说得更具体。

1 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

2 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

3 feminists   

n.男女平等主义者，女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中，只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
• The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句

4 hazier   

有薄雾的( hazy的比较级 )； 模糊的； 不清楚的； 糊涂的

参考例句：

5 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

6 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

7 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

8 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

9 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

10 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。