Political Correctness

1. Political Correctness Bill Bryson

2. Bill Bryson(1951--) • a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before returning to the US in 1995. In 2003 Bryson moved back to Britain, living in the old rectory of Wramplingham, Norfolk, and was appointed Chancellor of Durham University.

3. The first thing to realize about Bill Bryson is that he fits everywhere and nowhere, which is perhaps the very thing that has given him the ability to share places with all of us so vividly. • a journalist and travel writer • An American with a British soul • Bryson is mild of voice and manner. He articulates his thoughts -- in person and on paper -- in a no-nonsense manner that, nonetheless, always leaves room for fun.

5. What do you think of the following expressions? • 女人真是头发长见识短。 民工到哪里都是大包小包的！ 可恶的黑鬼！ 快看，是个侏儒！

6. Bias • prejudice • discrimination

7. Words cut more than swords • The pen is mightier than the sword. • Words can be used as a shield or a weapon. • Language is connected with an ideology. There is a significant interplay of language, power and politics..

8. What is Political Correctness? • a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts, and, as purported by the term, doing so to an excessive extent. • The avoidance of forms of expression or actions that exclude, make little of, or insult certain racial, gender, or other identity groups. • It covers a wide area in the use of language and concepts and is most evidently at work in a multicultural society.

9. Motivation • To prevent people being offended; to compel everyone to avoid using words or behavior that may upset homosexuals, women, non-whites, the crippled, the stupid, the fat or the ugly.

10. To be less offensive: Examples

11. when an issue is tailored, so as not to offend someone at the expense of accuracy and integrity of the opinion, people who are politically correct may no longer be honest and upfront. • Political correctness, when used excessively, is first and foremost an attack on free speech, and clear thinking.

12. It has been abused by various extremists. Freedom of speech, of the press, and even of thought are undermined. • In current usage, the term is primarily pejorative. • The converse term "politically incorrect" came into use as an implicit term of self-praise, indicating that the user was not afraid to ignore constraints associated with political correctness.

13. Sarcastic---using words that are the opposite of what you mean in order to be unpleasant to sb.讽刺的、挖苦的;表示苟刻伤人的讽刺和嘲笑 • Sarcasm: a taunting, sneering, cutting, or caustic remark; gibe or jeer • It is praise which is really an insult; sarcasm generally involves malice, the desire to put someone down, e.g., "This is my brilliant son, who failed out of college.“ • When giving feedback avoid sarcasm or highly negative remarks. • Satire is the exposure of the vices or follies of an individual, a group, an institution, an idea, a society, etc., usually with a view to correcting it. Satirists frequently use irony.含有暴露某种东西，尤其是邪恶或愚蠢的讽刺之意

14. Satire is used to show foolishness or vice in humans, organizations, or even governments, by using sarcasm, ridicule, or irony. • Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”

15. Irony: the discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, what is said and what is done, what is expected or intended and what happens, what is meant or said and what others understand, or two or more incongruous objects, actions, persons juxtaposed. • 意味着一种微妙的间接表达出来的讽刺 • An example of irony is someone who talks a lot having nothing to say when asked a question.

16. Run counter to -----be the opposite of, to conflict with 相抵触，与—背道而驰 • The findings ran counter to all expectations. • Your suggestions run counter to what we arranged yesterday.

17. Respectability---the fact of being considered socially受尊敬、体面、名望、得体 • People with respectability有地位的体面人 • They got married for the sake of respectability. • Respectable---deserving respect 值得尊敬的、符合体面人身份的 • Earning a respectable income is everyone’s dream.

18. Respectful----showing respect表示尊敬的、恭敬的 • Keep a respectful silence • Keep a respectful distance • Respective---belonging to each of those in question各自的 • We took our respective ways home. • Go to your respective places.

19. Fill in blanks with respective, respectable, respectful: • It is hardly ______ to attend a funeral in heavy make-up. • When the professor entered the auditorium, everyone stood up and kept a ______ distance. • Earning a ______ income is everyone’s dream. • Candidates will be elected for the committee according to their ______ strengths.

20. Paragraph One • What’s the state motto of Maryland? What’s wrong with its original translation? Why is everyone satisfied with the altered version? • How does the author introduce the topic in this paragraph? • Fatuous---very silly without seeming to know it愚蠢的 • A fatuous comment/grin • The Chief was left speechless by his aide’s fatuous remark.

21. Emboss---to decorate metal, paper, leather etc. with a raised pattern凸印 • Stationery embossed with the hotel’s name • The hotel’s name was embossed on the stationery. • Stationery----n. materials for writing • Stationary----a. standing still, not moving • A stationary target is easier to aim at.

22. Hit on/upon----find by lucky chance or have a good idea about • I hope that someone will hit upon a solution to our problem. • Ingenious----showing cleverness or skill精巧的、心灵手巧的 • an ingenious device/cook • Ingenuous----inexperienced, simple, trusting and honest单纯的，天真的 • An ingenuous smile • You are too ingenuous. 你太老实了。

23. Fill in blanks: • He is so ______; he can make the most remarkable sculptures from the most ordinary material. • I don’t think she lied at all. I believe she is an ______ person.

24. Rather than宁愿，不做而代之以 • 后接动词原形时，表示主观抉择。 He told a lie rather than get his friend into trouble. Shall we go for a walk rather than watch television? • rather than 后接不定式时，不定式可以带to，也可以不带to，但当rather than位于句首时，则只能接不带to 的不定式。 I decided to write rather than(to) telephone. They prefer to die fighting rather than(to) live in enslavement. Rather than allow the vegetables to go bad, he sold them at half price. • 还可接动名词： I always prefer starting early, rather than leaving everything to the last minute. He was engaged in writing a letter rather than reading the newspaper.

25. Paragraph Two • Are all issues of sensitivity in language easily solved as were the Maryland motto? • Who coined the term “political correctness”? When did it carry a pejorative tone? What are mass media’s opinion towards it since then?

26. Would that • Would introduces a subjunctive that-clause to express an unfulfilled wish or a desired condition但愿，要是—就好了 • Would that we had seen her before she died. • Would that I came to last week’s class to attend the quiz.

27. Negative word+ words in comparative degree/negative words +so …as: This structure indicates a superlative degree. • Nothing is so easy as this. • Nothing is easier than this. = This is the easiest thing. • Paraphrase: • If only all sensitive problems concerning the use of language could be solved as easily as the legislators in Maryland solved the problems of the motto by providing it with a new translation. Unfortunately, other problems will not be so easily resolved.

28. Polarity----the situation when two tendencies, opinions oppose each other截然对立、两极化 There is a growing polarity between the left and right wings of the party. A polarity exists between the opinions of the government and those of the trade unions.

29. All-embracing---including or covering everything无所不包的、概括一切的 Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything is an all-embracing work. • Take on ---assume, put on a quality带有 Once cooked, the shellfish will take on a shade of red. A chameleon takes on the color of its surroundings.

30. pejorative (adj): (fml) (of a word, phrase, etc.) expressing disapproval or suggesting that someone or something is of little value or importance derogatory vs. commendatory • Range from---to The children’s ages in our summer camp range from 5 to 15.

31. Paragraph three • What are the two opinions revolving around PC? • Such usage threatens speech freedom. • Some new inventions sound ridiculous. Two Beliefs

32. What does Bill Bryson think of Beard and Cerf’s expressions used in their book? • These words are excessively cautious, and pompous, failing to express the meaning clearly. • Examples:

33. Distill down to---boil down to归纳起来 This long article can be distilled down to the writer’s general distrust of globalization. • Shanghai----v. trick or force someone into doing something诓骗、胁迫 We were shanghaied into agreeing to their demands.

34. Sanitize---make less unpleasant, clean sth. Thoroughly净化、消毒 • This sanitized account of his life does not mention his time in prison. • Sanitary---a.卫生的 • Poor sanitary conditions keep potential tourists from visiting China.

35. Neologism---a new word or expression新义 • The term “user-friendly” is a neologism that has entered everyday speech from the computer industry. • Make capital out of ----use to one’s advantage • The opposition parties are sure to make political capital out of the government’s difficulties.

36. Euphemism—a pleasanter, less direct word used instead of one unpleasant thought • We are daily exposed to different situations in our life. • Some experiences are too sensitive to bediscussed, e.g. death, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability, etc. • to have sex with = to sleep with • to go to the toilet = to powder one’s nose, to wash one’s hands • The term “early retirement” is nearly always a euphemism for forced unemployment.

37. Euphemism and PC • PC： Euphemism with attitude

38. Paragraph 4 • In what circumstance might these excessively cautious expressions be harmful? • When picked up by others and considered as a spiritual guide • More examples:

39. The Gospel • A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus. According to the bible, the "gospel", is also defined as the "word" that comes forth out of the mouth of God. • In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. • The first four books of the New Testament containing the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. • Figuratively, it means sth. that is believed to true. E.g. What I told you about doing business is gospel. • Matthew马太福音, Mark马可福音, Luke路加福音, John约翰福音

40. if :(used before adj to introduce a contrast) although It was thoughtless if well-meaning.用意虽好，考虑欠周。 He’s a real gentleman, if a little arrogant at times. • if anything: (used to express a tentative opinion or after a negative statement to say that the opposite is true.) If anything definite can be said, this is it. 若能有把握地说出来，其实是这样的。 I’d say he was more like his father, if anything. 若非要说出来像谁不可，我倒认为他略象他父亲。 He is not thin---- if anything he’s rather on the plump side.他可不瘦， 按说还有点胖。

41. Domiciled----a. having one’s official place of residence在固定住所生活 to be domiciled in the United Kingdom He is currently domiciled in Berlin. • Concoct-----make sth. by mixing or combining parts调制、配制 The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. He concocted a splendid meal from the leftovers.

42. Padding----soft material that is placed inside 衬垫；words that are used to make a speech or a piece of writing longer, but that do not contain any interesting information赘语，凑篇幅的文字。 • These are the kind of phrases that politicians put in their speeches for a bit of padding.

43. 第4段译文 • 这种事情本身无伤大雅，完全可以一笑置之。可偏偏有人经常把它们奉若神明，还当成福音加以传播。例如，《国家》杂志1992年曾有一篇文章，大谈政治纠偏运动中“荒诞可笑的新词”，还举了一些例子----如用“非出自本意居住”指代“无家可归”，用“言语上受到挑战”指代“哑的”---只可惜这些词全是在比尔德和瑟尔夫杜撰出来塞进那本怪异《手册》的，旨在博人一笑，故不足为凭。

44. Paragraph 5-6 • What are the reasons for the authors to create contrived neologisms? • Sensitive topics • Widely accepted usage • Jokes made by the creators • Sociologists or military people’s preferences • Unreliable secondary resources • Become ridiculous when used satirically

45. Justifiable----reasonable, that can be justified有理由的，情有可原的 • Justifiable pride无可非议的自豪感 • Many critics assert that the violence of the revolutionary years was justifiable on the grounds of political necessity.

46. Date rape • often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent.

47. Pro-choice: support for the legalization of abortion • holding the belief that a pregnant woman should have the right to choose abortion. • It is in contrast to the pro-life movement. Pro-life campaigners argue for the rights of fetuses and for prohibition or restriction of abortion. pro-lifers hold the view that the human fetus is a person and therefore has a right to life.

49. Verify---v. to make certain that a statement is true • Verification---n. • The defendant’s statement was verified by several witnesses. • These details are impossible to verify. • Barbed----a. sharp and unkind, especially in judging a person or their ideas挖苦的、伤人带刺的

50. Paragraph 7 • What is often overlooked in the discussion of PC? • Dismissive----a. considering a person or an idea to be not worthy of attention or respect轻蔑的、鄙视的 • Dismissive of sb./sth. • Mr. Jones was dismissive of the report, saying that it was riddled with inaccuracies. • A dismissive gesture/tone • Shrug dismissively