词汇大师(Wordmaster)--'Minority' and 'AHANA'

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: Has the word "minority" outgrown¹ its usefulness?

RS: Minority means less than half. In the United States, members of non-European racial and ethnic² groups are generally referred to as minorities.
AA: Americans of European descent are still in the majority, but other groups are growing. So much so that, in California, the last census³ found that Hispanics, blacks and Asians were fifty-one percent of the state's population. California, America's most populous⁴ state, was proclaimed its first "majority minority state."

RS: Similar changes have also taken place in the largest cities across the country, with whites either in the minority or close to it. So what does the future hold for the word "minority"? Reporter Phillip Martin in Boston examines that question.

PHILLIP MARTIN: In December, Boston鈥檚 City Council voted unanimously to delete the term "minority" from official documents. The sponsor of the resolution, Councilor Charles Yancey 鈥?who is African-American鈥?says the term is insulting and stigmatizes⁵ people like himself.

YANCY: "I do believe that to continue to label people as minorities establishes an almost caste-like system in the United States, where certain people will be permanently⁶ condemned⁷ to a status of second class citizenship⁸."

PM: But that argument failed to sway Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who later vetoed the resolution. A spokesperson says that the Mayor was concerned that dropping the word "minority" from official city documents could undermine programs, such as the Office of Minority Business, which depend on that very term to get special funding.

That same concern was voiced by some in San Diego in March 1999, when that city鈥檚 deputy mayor proposed eliminating 鈥渕inority鈥?from official records. Two years later he succeeded, and the term was removed with little resistance or repercussions⁹.

But the campaign in San Diego, and now the one in Boston, have nevertheless prompted some people to ask: Of all the terms on which to focus attention, why this one? And, once you get rid of the term minority, what do you use in its place?

SFX: SOUNDS OF BELLS AT BOSTON COLLEGE CAMPUS

On the campus of Boston College, some think they鈥檝e found answers to those questions.

DONALD BROWN: "In advance of coming, word is sent out to entering freshman¹⁰ that there is a new term in the lexicon¹¹ of Boston College. We don鈥檛 use the term minority. We use AHANA."

PM: Donald Brown directs the Office of AHANA Student Programs, which focuses on retention¹² and graduation of non-white students. The term AHANA has been in use at the school since 1979.

DONALD BROWN: "It means African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American."

PM: The name change was the result of a campaign by Puerto Rican and black students, who believed that they were being demeaned by the term minority.

Donald Brown asserts that since the name alteration¹³, retention rates for students of color at BC increased dramatically.

Though the correlation¹⁴ between retention and the altered language is not proven, he says that most students have embraced the AHANA label as strongly as some have rejected being called minorities.

SFX: SOUNDS OF STUDENTS

Sitting at a Filipino Society table, Scott Agulo says for him the choice of terms is a 鈥渘o-brainer.鈥?

SCOTT AGULO: "I prefer the term AHANA here at Boston College. I see the word minority as a pejorative¹⁵. And the word AHANA to be more neutral."

PM: But Cindy Uh, a Korean American from Florida, says the word AHANA took some getting used to.

CINDY UH: "When I first came to Boston College I didn鈥檛 think much of the AHANA acronym¹⁶. It was kind of placed upon me without choice, and as I began becoming more involved on campus I realized that the term is really beneficial to the students. Instead of using the word minority that's another way of saying your Asian, you鈥檙e African American and you guys are all united."

PM: It鈥檚 a belief shared by students at other colleges and universities as well. At least thirty, including the University of Alaska at Anchorage, Fairfield College in Connecticut and Boston University, have all adopted the term AHANA in place of minority.

SFX: SOUNDS OF CITY HALL

PM: Here at Boston City Hall a sign on a door still reads 鈥淭he Office of Minority Business.鈥?Councilor Mickey Roach 鈥?a former high-ranking police official who dealt with racial disorder¹⁷ in Boston -- says he will work with Mayor Menino to draft a compromise. Mister Roach, who is white, says he is convinced that the term minority has outlived its usefulness.

MICKEY ROACH: "The term in of itself is not highly charged emotionally as other words are, but in a way I think we鈥檝e come to a point where we just describe people physically¹⁸ the way they are: tall, short, the color of skin whatever it is and that could be one way to go forward."

PM: And if that doesn't work, says Mister Roach, he may join with Councilor Yancey and others in an attempt to override¹⁹ the mayor鈥檚 veto -- an action that requires the votes of nine of the 13 councilors. But most observers believe only a minority of them will vote to continue debate on this discordant²⁰ issue."

AA: Phillip Martin reporting from Boston, Massachusetts.

RS: We leave you with a programming note -- Wordmaster is joining the new program 鈥淐oast to Coast" on Thursday.

AA: But you'll hear a repeat on Sunday, at this slightly earlier time.

RS: We'll post all the details on our Web site...............With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

 

1 outgrown   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。
• The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 stigmatizes   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 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。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

9 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

11 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

12 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

13 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

14 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

15 pejorative   

adj.贬低的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• In the context of ethnic tourism,commercialization often has a pejorative connotation.摘要在民族旅游语境中，商品化经常带有贬义色彩。
• But news organizations also should make every effort to keep the discussion civil and to discourage the dissemination of falsehoods or pejorat

16 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

17 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

18 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

19 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

20 discordant   

adj.不调和的

参考例句：

• Leonato thought they would make a discordant pair.里奥那托认为他们不适宜作夫妻。
• For when we are deeply mournful discordant above all others is the voice of mirth.因为当我们极度悲伤的时候，欢乐的声音会比其他一切声音都更显得不谐调。