2019年经济学人 约翰逊语言专栏--特朗普弹劾战中情绪化的用词(1)

 

Books & arts

来源于《图书与艺术》版块

Johnson

约翰逊语言专栏

Toil¹ and trouble

沐雨栉风

Emotive language takes on the legalistic kind in the impeachment² battle

在弹劾战中，情绪化的语言呈现出一种墨守成规的风格

“Witch hunt!” may be President Donald Trump³’s favourite way to describe the impeachment proceedings⁴, but that is far from his only colourful disparagement⁵. “A COUP,” he protested in October. His defenders⁶ have chipped in, calling the process a “Star Chamber”, a “show-trial”, “Soviet-style” and a “circus”. Then there is the ultimate inflammatory comparison: Mr Trump says he is the victim of a “lynching”.

“政治迫害!“这可能是唐纳德·特朗普总统描述弹劾程序的最喜欢的方式，但这远远不是他唯一的花式贬损。“一场政变，”他在10月抗议道。他的辩护人插话，称这个过程是“星际室”、“作秀审判”、“苏联式”和“马戏团”。还有一个极端煽动性的比较：特朗普说他是“私刑”的受害者。

Impeachment is a political process as much as a legal one—and it duly involves two linguistic⁷ struggles, one rhetorical and the other legalistic, waged simultaneously⁸ and overlapping⁹. Mr Trump and his allies have concentrated on the rhetorical task, generating a stream of emotionally charged images and comparisons designed to convince his supporters that the process is unfair—the better to keep their representatives in line. So long as Republican senators hold their ranks, Mr Trump will ultimately be acquitted¹⁰.

弹劾既是一个法律程序，也是一个政治程序，它必然涉及两种语言斗争，一种是修辞上的，另一种是法律上的，两者同时进行，相互重叠。特朗普和他的盟友专注于这一修辞任务，制造了一连串情绪激动的形象和对比，目的是让他的支持者相信这个过程是不公平的。只要共和党参议员坚守阵地，特朗普最终就会被判无罪。

To judge from opinion polls, this effort is succeeding, even if some of the metaphorical¹¹ flourishes are in poor taste. Some people seem to be confused about who does the chasing in a witch-hunt: at Halloween Republicans sold t-shirts depicting¹² Democratic leaders as witches. Actual coups¹³, meanwhile, involve the telegenic seizure¹⁴ of the presidential palace with tanks, not expert testimony¹⁵ in plodding¹⁶ congressional hearings. Lynching is an offensive analogy as well as an inapposite one; the murder of black Americans, often for imaginary transgressions¹⁷, has little in common with the attempted removal of the world’s most powerful man by constitutionally sanctioned means.

从民意调查来看，这种努力是成功的，即使一些隐喻性的华丽辞藻不合时宜。有些人似乎搞不清到底是谁在进行政治迫害：在万圣节前夕，共和党人出售将民主党领导人描绘成女巫的t恤。与此同时，真正的政变是用坦克占领总统府，而不是在冗长的国会听证会上提供专家证词。私刑是一个令人不快的类比，也是一个不恰当的类比；对美国黑人的谋杀，通常是出于想象中的越轨行为，与试图通过宪法批准的方式罢免世界上最有权势的人几乎没有什么共同之处。

1 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

2 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

5 disparagement   

n.轻视，轻蔑

参考例句：

• He was humble and meek, filled with self-disparagement and abasement. 他谦卑、恭顺，满怀自我贬斥与压抑。 来自互联网
• Faint praise is disparagement. 敷衍勉强的恭维等于轻蔑。 来自互联网

6 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

8 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

9 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

10 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

11 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

12 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

13 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

14 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

15 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

16 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

17 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网