英语和汉语对比间接与直接.docx

1、英语和汉语对比间接与直接第九章 间接与直接(1ndirect vsDirect) 英语表达倾向于间接、婉约，汉语表达倾向于直接、明快。这一差异主要见于英语比汉语更多地使用委婉、含蓄和迂回的陈述方式。 一、委婉(Euphemism) 委婉说法是用一种比较间接的方式来谈论不宜直言的人或事物，用HWFowler的话来说，委婉语是“a mild or vague or periphrastic expression as a substitute for blunt precision or disagreeable truth”。人们在说话或写作时，往往会借用温和、动听的委婉语来代替粗鲁刺耳、令人不

2、适的言辞。使用委婉语常常是为了回避或掩盖某些严酷的社会现实，或为了防止“出语伤人”，避免“有失体统”，以显得文明礼貌。英语和汉语都有委婉语，尤其见于表达有关不雅、不洁、令人生畏、令人讨厌的人或事物。如表示“死亡”，英汉的委婉语都特别多，英语有pass away，go to ones Maker，sleep with ones fathers，join the great majority，pay the debt of nature，be with God，go to glory，go to a better world，sleep the final sleep，cross the Grea

3、t Divide，climb the golden staircase等几十种说法；汉语的说法也不少，如“逝世”、“寿终”、“作古”、“谢世”、“归寂”、“坐化”、“牺牲”、“阵亡”、“殉职”、“捐躯”、“百年”、“与世长辞”等，古代还有按等级之分的“死”，如帝王之死是“崩”、“晏驾”，诸侯之死是“薨”，大夫之死是“卒”，士之死是“不禄”等等。在提及人体的某些功能、缺陷等方面时，英汉也有各自的委婉语，如说“上厕所”，英语常用go to the restroom (washroom)，use the bathroom，wash ones hands，relieve oneself，answer

4、a call of nature，男子可说see a man about a horse，女子可说fix ones face，powder ones nose等；汉语则常用“大便”、“小便”、“方便”、“解手”、“大解”、“小解”等。谈到“怀孕”时，英语可说be expecting，in a family way (美)，in the family way (英)，in an interesting condition；汉语可说“有喜”、“重身子”、“双身子”、“产妇”。提到“身体太胖”时，英语可说stout，on the heavy side，汉语则说“发福”。说到“老人”、“年老”时，英语

5、常用senior citizen，elderly people，advanced in age等，汉语则用“年迈”、“年长”、“上了年纪”、“上岁数”、“年事已高”等。一般说来，在表达生活中不宜直言的事物或情况时，英汉都有各自的委婉语。 然而，与汉语相比，英语委婉语不仅数量多，使用频繁，而且涉及的范围也相当广泛。早在英国维多利亚女王时代，委婉语就十分盛行。当时的社会风尚提倡凡事都要兜圈子说话，不可直言，否则就会失礼。在现代英美社会，说话委婉、含蓄、幽默被认为是文明与礼貌的象征。近几十年来，英语委婉语大有流行之势，其使用范围已扩大到了许多领域，几乎涉及现代社会生活和公私事务的各个方面，从生、死、

6、性、爱、老、弱、病、残、贫困、金钱、罪过、相貌、职业、种族、各种禁忌与隐私直至商业、广告、教育、政治、经济、外交、战争及其他微妙敏感而又难以直言的话题，其中许多委婉语带有浓厚的社会文化色彩，在汉语里往往没有相应的表达法。以下仅举几方面为例： 1. 官方委婉语。美国政府机构汇集了各种官方英语 (officialese)，文武官员职员分别盛行联邦政府官僚英语(bureaucratese)、五角大楼英语(Pentagonese)、国务院英语(State-Departmentese)、官腔英语(gobbledygook)以及各地方市政府英语(urbanbabble)。英国官方则创造新的委婉语，甚至规定

7、某些具体词目不得在议会使用，议员不得在言谈中对各种大小官员表现出不忠不敬。在这些官方英语里，委婉语比比皆是，其中有些言辞成了政客们掩盖事实真相、欺骗选民、争取民意的一种手段。例如政府官员对于种种社会问题，常常采用委婉的方式加以粉饰：严重的失业现象，官方称之为underutilization(未充分利用人才)或human resources underdevelopment(人力资源未充分开发)；生活在贫困线下的穷人，称为the underprivileged(受到不公正的待遇)或disadvantaged(机遇不佳)；这些人入不敷出，债台高筑，官方谓之negative saver(负数储蓄者)

8、；他们居住的贫民区，叫做substandard housing(不合规格的住房)、inner city或central city(内城区)；许多人被送进监狱，按照官方的说法，则是进入house of correction或correctional facility(改造所，教养院)。为了掩盖官方丑闻，“捏造”只是less than truthful(不大真实)，“窃听”也只是intelligence gathering(收集情报)，“暗杀”不过是liquidation(清算)而已。总之，政治常常成了一场玩弄委婉语的游戏，这正如George Orwell所指出的： Things like the

9、 continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan，can indeed be defended，but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face，and which do not square with the professed aims of political partiesThus political language

10、has to consist largely of euphemism，question-begging，and sheer cloudy vaguenessDefenseless villages are bombarded from the air，the inhabitants driven out into the countryside，the cattle machine-gunned，the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets：this is called pacificationMillions of peasants are ro

11、bbed of their farms and sent trudging along the roads with no more than they can carry：this is called transfer of population or rectification of frontiers. People are imprisoned for years without trial, or shot in the back of the neck, or sent to die of scurvy in Arctic lumber camps：this is called e

12、limination of unreliable elements. 五角大楼的委婉语也颇为独出心裁。为了掩盖侵略战争的本质，国防部官员把它称为international armed conflict (国际武装冲突)；对美国空军来说，空袭只是air support(空中增援)，在原苏联领空的侦察飞行则仅仅是一种overflight (越界飞行)。军方为了尽量缩小暴力破坏的程度，把杀死敌人称为neutralize the adversary(压制对手)，把伤亡称为circadian deregulation(生理节奏的反常)。为了掩盖战争中失败的真相，五角大楼的官员会说：“退却(retreat

13、)?我们没有退却这个词，我们把这叫做撤出(exfiltration)或战线调整(an adjustment of the front)。我们也没有战败(defeat)，我们把这叫做战略撤退(strategic withdrawal)。”进入核子时代以来，官方尽力掩盖核大战的威胁，委婉语的使用也达到了高潮。大量有关战略核武器的用语如deterrence(威慑)和 first strike capability(第一次打击能力)等，从不提nuclear(核子)这个词，也不提它可能导致人类的毁灭。五角大楼英语在美国官方中甚为流行，对政府语言、公众会话和新闻媒介的影响也最为深远。 美国国务院的委婉语尽

14、量借自五角大楼，此外，其委婉曲折的外交辞令也毫不逊色。外交官员常常尽量缩小国际紧张局势的严重性，让公众对其真正的动机和国内外问题产生模糊的印象。当两位外长举行了一次useful and businesslike meeting(有益而一本正经的会晤)，其实是一次什么问题也没有解决的会晤；当两位总理进行了一次serious and candid discussion(认真而坦率的讨论)，事实上是存在着重大分歧。谈及国内经济问题时，外交人员会用deflation(通货紧缩)或rolling readjustment(周期性重新调整)来代替depression(经济萧条)。当“雾谷”(美国国务院)的

15、人士告诉你There is a need for more fully informed judgments(你需要更富有见识的判断)，他是在耍外交辞令：You dont know your elbow from a hole in the ground(你不能凭一知半解就下结论)。 2职业委婉语(occupational euphemism)。在当代英美社会里，人们为了装饰门面，提高某些行业的社会地位，常常创造一些悦耳动听、冠冕堂皇的委婉语来称呼某些职称或职业，如：sanitary engineer(=plumber)管子工 meat technologist(=butcher)屠户 pri

16、son officer(=gaoler)监狱看守 rodent operator(=rat catcher)捕鼠工 clairvoyant reader(=fortune teller)算命卖卜者research consultant(=file clerk)档案(卷宗)管理员 funeral director(=undertaker)承办丧葬者，殡仪员 plant superintendent，supervisor(=foreman)工头，领班 aisle manager(=floorwalker)百货公司的巡视员、招待员 proprietor of loan office(=pawnbro

17、ker)当铺老板 public relations counselor(=press-agent)新闻广告员 member of the oldest profession(=prostitute)妓女 洛杉矶市政府曾通过一项决议，要求公众不要把警察称为 cop，而应采用一种较为尊敬的称呼：law enforcement officer；选美竞赛的一位获胜小姐因隐瞒婚史而被取消资格，她说：“I know in my heart Im not a liar，Im just a prevaricator”使用这种委婉语大多出自一种有趣的心理，即措辞越好听，其身份便越高贵。3学校委婉语。教师为了不挫

18、伤学生和家长的自尊心，也常常使用委婉语，于是，迟钝或呆笨的学生是unflamboyant(不浮夸)，低能儿是subnormal(智力逊常)、exceptional(special)child(情况特殊的孩子)。纽约市一所小学曾汇编过一本小册子，作为学校向学生家长汇报学生在校表现的指南，以下是校长建议教师应该使用的一些委婉语：Harsh Expression Euphemism (Avoid) (Use)1. Lies撒谎 Shows difficulty in distinguishing between imaginary and factual material2. Cheats作弊 Ne

19、eds help in learning to adhere to rules and standards of fair play3Steals偷窃 Needs help in learning to respect the property rights of others4Is a bully恃强欺弱 Has qualities of leadership but needs help in learning to use them democratically 当今英美社会的委婉语正在不断推陈出新，其流行之势几乎遍及各行各业。委婉语固然可以使人们避免许多难堪的局面，减少不必要的摩擦，调

20、节人际间的关系，但过多地使用委婉语却给人一种闪烁其词、矫揉造作的印象。许多委婉语还被用来掩盖事实，欺骗公众，影响人们直接的思想交流，因而引起了英美语言学者的深切关注。EMcMahan和SDay在“The Writers Rhetoric and Handbook”一书中曾指出： Such indirectness may seem amusing, but people also use a sinister kind of euphemism to mask realities that ought not be concealedThe CIA，for instance，substitut

21、es the vague phrase “terminate with extreme prejudice” for the ugly word “murder”The Pentagon refers to weapons designed to kill people as “antipersonnel implements”. Instead of “bombing”，the Air Force speaks of “protective reaction strikes”Such transparent attempts to make killing human beings soun

22、d inoffensive are dangerously misleading 二、含蓄(Implicitness) 英美民族富于幽默，表达时常常不把要说的话直接说出来，而是用某种间接、含蓄的方式来陈述。汉语也有含蓄表达法，但较常用作修辞手段。总的说来，汉语比较倾向于直截了当，而英语则比较常用克制陈述、间接肯定、委婉否定和婉转暗示的表达方式。 1克制陈述(understatement)；以含蓄的语气故意把大事化小(make big things seem trifle)，用轻描淡写的言辞来加深对方的印象。这种保守又谨慎的表达法在英国中上阶层的口语里尤为流行。AMaurois以下的一段话很能说

23、明英国人含而不露的(reserved)性格：An Englishman will say “I have a little house in the country”；when he invites you to stay with him you will discover that the little house is a place with three hundred bedroomsIf you are a world tennis-champion，say “Yes，I dont play too badly”. If you have crossed the Atlantic

24、alone in a small boat，say “I do a little sailing”. 这种有节制的(controlled)而又漫不经心的(casual)曲言(meiosis)，往往带有幽默和冷嘲的味道： 1)It was nothing; a pinprick. 没什么。刺耳的话而已。 2)He had five sandwiches and a quart of milk for his snack 他吃了五个三明治，喝了一夸脱牛奶，作为他的小吃。 3)He had a mansion in the country and another little place in to

25、wn 他在乡下有一座大厦，在城里还有个小地方。 英国人说话含蓄、克制、幽默，这在一篇介绍有关英国人的性格(“The English Character”)的文章中可以找到更多的例证： In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm，emotion，passion etc，often accompanied by appropriate gesturesThe Englishman is somewhat differentOf course，an Englishman fee

26、ls no less deeply than any other nationality，but he tends to display his feelings far lessThis is reflected in his use of languageImagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girlWhereas a man of more emotional temperament might describe her as an exquisite jewel”, “divine”, precious”, th

27、e Englishman will flatly state Um, shes all right”. An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting，Its not bad，you know，” or on seeing a breathtaking landscape he might convey his pleasure by saying，“Nice，yes，very nice”The overseas visitor m

28、ust not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement, he must realize that all right”，not bad”, and “nice”, are very often used as superlatives with the sense of first-class”，“excellent”，beautiful”This special use of language，particularly common in English, is known as understat

29、ement 2间接肯定(1itotes)：用反对语的否定来表示肯定，这种弱式双重否定往往能产生比直接肯定更加强烈的印象，如用no rare occurrence代替a frequent occurrence，用no small代替great。汉语也有这类反语，如“未尝不可”、“难免错误”、“不虚此行”、“不无遗憾”、“没有白干”等，但较多采用直接肯定，如：1)To my no small astonishment，I found the house on fire 我发现房子着了火，这使我大吃一惊。2)It serves no little purpose to continue public

30、 discussion of this issue继续公开讨论这一问题是大有用处的。3)The press，Tory and Labor alike，concerned with these great questions 英国保守党和工党两派报纸，对于这些事关重大的问题并不是漠不关心的。 4)There is, no untroubled pace in this troubled world 这多灾多难的世界没有任何太平的乐土。 5)Martin (who was very generous with his money)ordered another glass of punch，whi

31、ch they drank between them，and which had no effect of making them less conversational than before(CDickens) 马丁(用钱很慷慨)又叫了一杯香甜混合饮料，两人共饮，这反而使他们俩谈得更加起劲了。 6)Not infrequently an unpopular prisoner，stoned by the mob while helpless，was fortunate if he emerged with，no greater permanent injury than the loss o

32、f an eyeEven death from wounds so inflicted was not altogether unlikely or unprecedented. (Daniel Defoe)当一个令人讨厌的囚犯无能为力时，受到暴民抛来石块的砸打, 结果只瞎了一只眼，不能不算运气。因为莫说致残，就是丧命，也不是完全不可能的，也不是完全没有先例的。 用否定之否定的方式(the not un-habit)来表达间接肯定，有时候确实比直接肯定更为准确、微妙，如用not unkindly，not unnaturally或not unjustifiably比用kindly，naturally或justifiably较为婉转，且显得有分寸。但滥用这类反语却会妨碍直接的思想交流。George Orwell曾用以下一例告诫人们要注意这种倾向：“A not unblack dog was chasing a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field” 英语还常用其他一些否定的形式拐弯抹角地表达强烈的肯定意义，汉语则往