2005-05-12 17:56:39維尼婷
English classroom-維尼婷又找到有趣的文章啦
這篇文章出自VOA news，我將內容貼出來，我試著不查任何單字直接讀這篇文章，Enjoy the reading！！！
Everyone's a Big Shot -- Just Check Out Their Titles
Last month, bosses across America observed "Administrative Professionals Day" by taking their administrative professionals out to lunch. Some bought their "administrative assistants" flower arrangements.
You see, we no longer dare call these people "secretaries." "I'm not a secretary," one woman here at VOA huffed one day. Her proper title, she'll have you know, is "admin officer." You see, the word "secretary" is just too servile for these sensitive times. People aren't "salesmen" any more. Lest they suffer low self-esteem, they're "sales associates" or "account executives."
These high-falutin' (fancy) titles are called "euphemisms." They're names created to soften or puff up one's status or function. Just as companies don't fire people (they "downsize" ), we have invented all sorts exceptionally dignified job titles.
Custodians don't empty our wastebaskets. Members of the "building-services staff" do. "Attorneys," not mere lawyers, represent us after "law-enforcement officers" -- not police and certainly not "cops" -- arrest us. Hard-hat oil workers in Iraq are "civilian contractors." If we can't come up with a lofty-enough title for you, we make you a "coordinator" of this or that so it looks spiffy on a business card.
Writer Michele McInerney at the Kansas City Business Journal has found the perfect example. Mere painters don't paint your house any longer, she discovered. "Liquid recoating specialists" do the job.
Wait till the "team leaders" who took America's "administrative professionals" out to lunch last month hear about that one!
我覺得語言學習有趣的原因就是因為：透過另一種語言，我們得以窺探別人的文化。這篇文章主要說明了美國人為不同職業發明了一些title，這些title可以使得普通的職業看起來變得“蓋高尚”，而這種手法就是所謂的euphemisms，我聽過的例子是殘障者不再叫做handicapped而是“physical disability”，藉著這篇文章我又看到一些有趣的用詞，我整理出如下的對照（左邊是原本我們習慣的稱呼，右邊是被“美化”過的頭銜）：
secretary＝“admin officer”
salesmen＝"sales associates" or "account executives”
companies “fire” people＝ they "downsize"
Custodians＝building-services staff
lawyers＝Attorneys
police or cops＝law-enforcement officers
Hard-hat oil workers＝civilian contractors
painters who paint your house＝Liquid recoating specialists
有趣嗎？我在第六篇的省思雜記中有提到台灣失敗的英文教學，我想失敗的原因之一也有“功利的學習目標”這個因素在裡面，人們學英文通常是希望能“用”，能用在聽力、閱讀、寫作、口試、以拿到通過的成績單（TOEFL、GRE、GMAT、GEPT、TOEIC… you name it）為final goal，於是我們懂得英文和別人懂得都差不多，我們不會懂得比別人多，也不會透過英文去瞭解英語國家的文化（我可不是一味崇洋，因為我懂得外文只有英文^^，也比較知道怎麼找相關的學習網站，所以在此以英文當例子），如此的學習態度，當然是離開學校就恨不得再也不要和英文有關係，基本上連外文系的學生都會有痛恨英文的時候，所以如何將英語學習化為有趣，要看個人的學習心態了，我想在未來的社會，我和英文應該是不可能斷交的，所以我想培養自己對英文的興趣，在這裡和大家分享這篇文章，希望讓想放棄英文或對英文學習失望的人，可以拾起一點信心。當我們能對語言學習不再是功利主義取向的時候，我們才算是真正的在學習！！
Everyone's a Big Shot -- Just Check Out Their Titles
Last month, bosses across America observed "Administrative Professionals Day" by taking their administrative professionals out to lunch. Some bought their "administrative assistants" flower arrangements.
You see, we no longer dare call these people "secretaries." "I'm not a secretary," one woman here at VOA huffed one day. Her proper title, she'll have you know, is "admin officer." You see, the word "secretary" is just too servile for these sensitive times. People aren't "salesmen" any more. Lest they suffer low self-esteem, they're "sales associates" or "account executives."
These high-falutin' (fancy) titles are called "euphemisms." They're names created to soften or puff up one's status or function. Just as companies don't fire people (they "downsize" ), we have invented all sorts exceptionally dignified job titles.
Custodians don't empty our wastebaskets. Members of the "building-services staff" do. "Attorneys," not mere lawyers, represent us after "law-enforcement officers" -- not police and certainly not "cops" -- arrest us. Hard-hat oil workers in Iraq are "civilian contractors." If we can't come up with a lofty-enough title for you, we make you a "coordinator" of this or that so it looks spiffy on a business card.
Writer Michele McInerney at the Kansas City Business Journal has found the perfect example. Mere painters don't paint your house any longer, she discovered. "Liquid recoating specialists" do the job.
Wait till the "team leaders" who took America's "administrative professionals" out to lunch last month hear about that one!
我覺得語言學習有趣的原因就是因為：透過另一種語言，我們得以窺探別人的文化。這篇文章主要說明了美國人為不同職業發明了一些title，這些title可以使得普通的職業看起來變得“蓋高尚”，而這種手法就是所謂的euphemisms，我聽過的例子是殘障者不再叫做handicapped而是“physical disability”，藉著這篇文章我又看到一些有趣的用詞，我整理出如下的對照（左邊是原本我們習慣的稱呼，右邊是被“美化”過的頭銜）：
secretary＝“admin officer”
salesmen＝"sales associates" or "account executives”
companies “fire” people＝ they "downsize"
Custodians＝building-services staff
lawyers＝Attorneys
police or cops＝law-enforcement officers
Hard-hat oil workers＝civilian contractors
painters who paint your house＝Liquid recoating specialists
有趣嗎？我在第六篇的省思雜記中有提到台灣失敗的英文教學，我想失敗的原因之一也有“功利的學習目標”這個因素在裡面，人們學英文通常是希望能“用”，能用在聽力、閱讀、寫作、口試、以拿到通過的成績單（TOEFL、GRE、GMAT、GEPT、TOEIC… you name it）為final goal，於是我們懂得英文和別人懂得都差不多，我們不會懂得比別人多，也不會透過英文去瞭解英語國家的文化（我可不是一味崇洋，因為我懂得外文只有英文^^，也比較知道怎麼找相關的學習網站，所以在此以英文當例子），如此的學習態度，當然是離開學校就恨不得再也不要和英文有關係，基本上連外文系的學生都會有痛恨英文的時候，所以如何將英語學習化為有趣，要看個人的學習心態了，我想在未來的社會，我和英文應該是不可能斷交的，所以我想培養自己對英文的興趣，在這裡和大家分享這篇文章，希望讓想放棄英文或對英文學習失望的人，可以拾起一點信心。當我們能對語言學習不再是功利主義取向的時候，我們才算是真正的在學習！！