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翻译一编文章

4 23, 2008 成都生活

The use of deferential (敬重的) language is symbolic of the Confucian ideal of the woman, which dominates conservative gender norms in Japan. This ideal presents a woman who withdraws quietly to the background, subordinating her life and needs to those of her family and its male head. She is a dutiful daughter, wife, and mother, master of the domestic arts. The typical refined Japanese woman excels in modesty and delicacy; she “treads softly (谨言慎行)in the world,” elevating feminine beauty and grace to an art form.

Nowadays, it is commonly observed that young women are not conforming to the feminine linguistic (语言的) ideal. They are using fewer of the very deferential “women’s” forms, and even using the few strong forms that are know as “men’s.” This, of course, attracts considerable attention and has led to an outcry in the Japanese media against the defeminization of women’s language. Indeed, we didn’t hear about “men’s language” until people began to respond to girls’ appropriation of forms normally reserved for boys and men. There is considerable sentiment about the “corruption” of women’s language—which of course is viewed as part of the loss of feminine ideals and morality—and this sentiment is crystallized by nationwide opinion polls that are regularly carried out by the media.

Yoshiko Matsumoto has argued that young women probably never used as many of the highly deferential forms as older women. This highly polite style is no doubt something that young women have been expected to “grow into”—after all, it is assign not simply of femininity, but of maturity and refinement, and its use could be taken to indicate a change in the nature of one’s social relations as well. One might well imagine little girls using exceedingly polite forms when playing house or imitating older women—in a fashion analogous to little girls’ use of a high-pitched voice to do “teacher talk” or “mother talk” in role play.

The fact that young Japanese women are using less deferential language is a sure sign of change—of social change and of linguistic change. But it is most certainly not a sign of the “masculization” of girls. In some instances, it may be a sign that girls are making the same claim to authority as boys and men, but that is very different from saying that they are trying to be “masculine.” Katsue Reynolds has argued that girls nowadays are using more assertive language strategies in order to be able to compete with boys in schools and out. Social change also brings not simply different positions for women and girls, but different relations to life stages, and adolescent girls are participating in new subcultural forms. Thus what may, to an older speaker, seem like “masculine” speech may seem to an adolescent like “liberated” or “hip” speech.

这是从07年六级考试中摘出的一编阅读,觉得很好就翻译一下:

使用敬重的语言是女性儒家思想的象征,而这种儒家思想在日本已经统治了保守派的规范.这种思想呈现了一个女性:她静静地退到后面,服从她的生活,满足家庭跟丈夫的需要.她是很有责任感的女儿,母亲,家庭艺术的大师.典型且优雅的日本女性很擅长于谦虚谨慎的作风.她们在这个世界上谨言慎行,把女性的美貌和雅致提升到一种艺术的形式.
近来,大家普遍注意到年轻女性的表现与传统的女性语言思想不相符.她们很少使用敬重的女性形式,甚至使用一些男性的很强硬形式的作风.这当然就引起了很大的关注,导致日本媒体大声疾呼的反对女性语言失去女性化.确实,我们没有听说过’男性语言’直到人们开始对女孩普遍把男孩跟男人的行为据为己有.我们对女性语言的堕落有很多的想法跟感情-当然这被看作是女性思想跟道德的部分缺失.通过媒体正式地进行的全国范围内的民意测验,这种感情就被具体化了.
Yoshiko Matsumoto(人名)认为现在的年轻女性大概从没使用过跟传统女性一样多的非常敬重的语言形式.毫无疑问,这些年轻的女性也会慢慢成熟,而使用这种非常礼貌的形式.毕竟,这不仅仅是女性气质那么简单,更多的是一种成熟,一种精炼的象征.并且它的使用可能暗示着某种拥有社会关系的改变.有人可能会设想那些小女孩使用极其礼貌的形式是在玩过家家游戏或者是效仿跟比她们年长的女性,只是一种追求时尚-就象小孩子在玩游戏时用尖叫的声音摹仿老师或者妈妈的说话方式.
年轻的日本女性越来越少使用敬语这个事实,是一种社会的语言的改变信号.但还不足以确定的说是一种女性男性化的标志.在某些场合,这可能是女孩自认为有男人威信的一个信号.但这不同于说她们在努力寻求这被男性化.Katsue Reynolds觉得当今女孩正在使用更多的固执己见的语言策略,为的是能够在校内或是校外与男孩竞争.社会的改变带来的不单单是女性地位的不同,更多的是人生阶段不同的故事,同时年轻的女孩正加入到新的培养形式.最后一句’Thus what may, to an older speaker, seem like “masculine” speech may seem to an adolescent like “liberated” or “hip” speech’不知道怎么翻译才好……请大家翻译.

Tags: 07年六级阅读翻译