Politics and the English language（英漢對照）

1、 most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the english language is in a bad way， but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it.大多數(shù)為英語而煩心的人都會承認，英語的處境不佳，并且我們不能通過有意識的行動而使這種情形有所改觀。our civilization is decadent and our language-so the argument run

2、s-must inevitably share in the general collapse.我們的文明頹廢不堪，語言也不能幸免，她不可避免的成為整體衰落的一份子。it follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism， like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. 隨之而來，任何反對濫用語言的努力都是感情上的復(fù)古主義者，就像那些傾向于蠟燭而非電燈，或是偏愛馬車而非飛機的努力一樣。u

3、nderneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.言外之意，這里隱藏著一種并不十分明細的信念，即語言是自然衍生的結(jié)果，并不是我們?yōu)樽陨碇愣鴦?chuàng)造的工具。now， it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not d

4、ue simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer.現(xiàn)在可以明白了，一種語言的衰落歸根結(jié)底都會有政治和經(jīng)濟上的原因：而不能簡單的歸因于一兩個蹩腳作家的不良影響。but an effect can become a cause， reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form， and so on indefinitely.但這種影響也可以是原因之一，而且能增強最初的原因并且在一種增強了的形式中產(chǎn)生同

5、樣的效果，如此反復(fù)。a man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure， and then fail all the more completely because he drinks.一個人可以感到失敗而溺于飲酒，而后由于飲酒而導(dǎo)致更大的失敗。it is rather the same thing that is happening to the english language. it becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish， bu

6、t the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.幾乎同樣的事情就發(fā)生在英語語言自身之上。她由于我們愚笨的想法而變得粗陋不堪，難以精確，而雜亂懶散的語言又使我們更容易產(chǎn)生愚笨的想法the point is that the process is reversible. modern english， especially written english， is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can b

7、e avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.問題的關(guān)鍵在于，此二者互為因果，是可以相互轉(zhuǎn)化的。現(xiàn)代英語，尤其是書面語，充斥著由于因襲而來的不良表達，而某人如果愿意為此多費心神，則可以完全避免。if one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly， and to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration: so that the fight against bad

8、 english is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers.如果一個人可以丟掉這些不良表達，他將可以更清晰準(zhǔn)確的思考，而清晰準(zhǔn)確的思考則是邁向政治重生的必要的第一步。 each of these passages has faults of its own, but quite apart from avoidable ugliness, two qualities are common to all of them. the first is staleness of imagery;

9、the other is lack of precision.每段文章的文句都有問題，避免行文粗陋了，但是他們有點兩點是共同的：比喻陳腐或缺少精確性。the writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not.作者或者有某種想法卻苦于表達，或者在不經(jīng)意間傳達了其他信息，又或者他根本不在乎他的字句是否表達了書面。this

10、mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern english prose, and especially of any kind of political writing.這種含混不清與全然無力的表達，是當(dāng)今英語文章最顯著的特點，而在任何政治性的寫作中，更是莫此為甚。as soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to t

11、hink of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house.一旦選中特定的論題，具體就化為抽象，幾乎沒人有能力思考說話的口吻，而這都已司空見慣。文章的選詞越來越少的考慮詞本身的含義，反倒是越來越多的由短語堆砌而成，一如預(yù)制的雞窩

12、那樣疊床架屋。i said earlier that the decadence of our language is probably curable. those who deny this would argue， if they produced an argument at all， that language merely reflects existing social conditions， and that we cannot influence its development by any direct tinkering with words and constructi

13、ons.先前說過，我們語言的衰落是能夠糾正的。那些反對此觀點的人會說，有些人很可以這樣立論，即語言僅反應(yīng)了存在的社會現(xiàn)狀，我們不能通過任何直接的只言片語的修補和建設(shè)就能影響到語言自身的發(fā)展。as far as the general tone or spirit of a language goes， this may be true， but it is not true in detail. silly words and expressions have often disappeared， not through any evolutionary process but owing t

14、o the conscious action of a minority.到目前為止，就語言的總體情況而言，可能是事實，但在具體情境中卻未必如此。愚笨的詞語和表達已經(jīng)漸漸消失，這并非通過任何進化過程，而要歸功于一少部分人有意識的抵制。two recent examples were explore every avenue and leave no stone unturned， which were killed by the jeers of a few journalists兩個晚近的例子， explore every avenue and leave no stone unturned

15、就是通過幾個記者的諷刺嘲笑才廢而不用的。there is a long list of flyblown metaphors which could similarly be got rid of if enough people would interest themselves in the job； and it should also be possible to laugh the not un- formation out of existence，to reduce the amount of latin and greek in the average sentence， to

16、 drive out foreign phrases and strayed scientific words， and， in general， to make pretentiousness unfashionable.還有一長串有問題的隱喻，如果人們有興趣的話可以通過相同的方式使其廢止使用，同時，使用not un形式的詞語小時也是題中之義，減少句子中的拉丁，希臘詞的平均數(shù)量，剔除外國短語和零散的科學(xué)詞匯，并且總的來說，要讓矯揉造作的語言早點退出歷史舞臺。but all these are minor points. the defense of the english language

17、implies more than this， and perhaps it is best to start by saying what it does not imply.但是這些都是細枝末節(jié)，包圍英語語言所暗示的遠比這些要豐富，但或許從沒有暗示的地方說起才是最好的方法。to begin with it has nothing to do with archaism， with the salvaging of obsolete words and turns of speech， or with the setting up of a standard english which mu

18、st never be departed from.這與復(fù)古主義，拯救廢棄的語言和用法，或是建立“標(biāo)桿英語”都毫不相干。on the contrary， it is especially concerned with the scrapping of every word or idiom which has outworn its usefulness.相反，它主要是想清理那些本身已經(jīng)被用濫了的詞語。it has nothing to do with correct grammar and syntax， which are of no importance so long as one m

19、akes ones meaning clear， or with the avoidance of americanisms， or with having what is called a good prose style.這與正確的語法和句法、是否避免了美國英語的特殊用法或是擁有優(yōu)美的散文風(fēng)格都關(guān)涉甚少，并且，一旦人們能夠清晰的表達意義，語法句法本身就沒有太大的重要性。on the other hand it is not concerned with fake simplicity and the attempt to make written english colloquial.另一

20、方面，這與虛假的簡單明了和力圖使書面英語口語化的工作也不想干。nor does it even imply in every case preferring the saxon word to the latin one， though it does imply using the fewest and shortest words that will cover ones meaning.這也并非暗示在任何情況下都熱衷于撒克遜詞而非拉丁詞，即使它確實暗示了用最少、最小的詞語來表達人們的想法。what is above all needed is to let the meaning cho

21、ose the word， and not the other way about.如上所述，我們的全部工作僅只是由意選詞，而不是相反。in prose， the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them. when you think of a concrete object， you think wordlessly， and then， if you want to describe the thing you have been visualizing you probably hunt about till y

22、ou find the exact words that seem to fit it.在散文寫作中，最糟糕的事情無異于向文字繳械投降。當(dāng)你默默地思考一個具體的物體，并且如果你想要描述出腦海中浮現(xiàn)的這個物體，或許你會冥思苦想，知道找到確切的詞語為止。when you think of something abstract you are more inclined to use words from the start， and unless you make a conscious effort to prevent it， the existing dialect will come ru

23、shing in and do the job for you， at the expense of blurring or even changing your meaning.當(dāng)你思考一些抽象的事物時，一開始你就更傾向與就使用現(xiàn)成的詞語，除非你能有意識的阻止這個過程，否則現(xiàn)成的措辭就會一擁而入，替你完成由意選詞的工作，取而代之的則是意義的含混不清甚至改變原意。probably it is better to put off using words as long as possible and get ones meaning as clear as one can through pic

24、tures or sensations.或許，人們應(yīng)該盡可能的不急于選測，只要能用圖片或是感覺將意義表達清楚就行。afterwards one can choose-not simply accept-the phrases that will best cover the meaning， and then switch round and decide what impression ones words are likely to make on another person.從今以后，你應(yīng)該選擇-而不是簡單的接受-最能達意的詞語，將其互相調(diào)換、考慮自己選用的詞會給別人造成什么印象。th

25、is last effort of the mind cuts out all stale or mixed images， all prefabricated phrases， needless repetitions， and humbug and vagueness generally.頭腦中最后的這道工序，能講所有陳腐的表述、混雜的意象、現(xiàn)成的詞語、不必要的重復(fù)、各式的花招謊言和模糊不清，從總體上得到削減。but one can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phase， and one needs rules th

26、at one can rely on when instinct fails. i think the following rules will cover most cases:但是人們經(jīng)常會懷疑一個詞或是一個短語的效果，并且需要一些當(dāng)本能失效時也能用來遵守的規(guī)則。我想下面的規(guī)則涵蓋了大部分的情況：1.never use a metaphor， simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.不要使用隱喻、明喻、以及其他你從報刊上看到的比喻手法。2.never use a long word whe

27、re a short one will do.在能用小詞的地方絕不使用大詞。3.if it is possible to cut a word out， always cut it out.如果可以剔除一個詞，剔除之。4.never use the passive where you can use the active.能用主動語態(tài)的不用被動語態(tài)。5.never use a foreign phrase， a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday english equivalent.如果你能從日常英

28、語中找到合適的對應(yīng)的詞，絕不使用外國短語、科學(xué)詞語和一些專門的行話。6.break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.如果按規(guī)則會說出粗野的話，立即打破上述規(guī)則。 these rules sound elementary， and so they are， but they demand a deep change of attitude in anyone who has grown used to writing in the style now fashionable.這些規(guī)則聽起來比較初級，他們

29、確實如此，不過對于那些已經(jīng)習(xí)慣于風(fēng)靡當(dāng)下的寫作風(fēng)格的人來說，在態(tài)度上的確需要一場深刻的改變。one could keep all of them and still write bad english ,but one could not write the kind of stuff that i quoted in those specimens at the beginning of this article.你可以遵守這些規(guī)則，而糟糕的英語卻不改往日，但不應(yīng)該寫出我在本文最開始給出的那些樣本。i have not here been considering the literary u

30、se of language, but merely language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought.在此，我并非是在考慮語言的文雅用法，只是在考慮語言作為表情達意，且不隱瞞或是阻止思考的工具而已。stuart chase and others have come near to claiming that all abstract words are meaningless, and have used this as a pretext for advocating

31、a kind of political quietism. stuart chase和其他一些人最近宣稱，所有抽象詞匯都是沒有意義的，并以此作為鼓吹一種沉默政治的借口。since you dont know what fascism is, how can you struggle against fascism? one need not swallow such absurdities as this, but one ought to recognize the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end.他們可能會說，既然你連法西斯主義是什么都不知道，反抗法西斯主義又從何談起呢？你大可不必輕信這種荒謬論調(diào)，但你應(yīng)該認識到，當(dāng)下混亂的政治處境與語言的衰敗是緊密相連的，你很可能通過注重語言的使用而帶來一些改進。if you simplify y