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前有为了争取政治上的投票权的女权运动，后有赫敏女神艾玛在联合国发起He For She 的讲话，女权运动的发展之路并不平坦，但是女性在各领域的地位越来越高也让人们听到了女性的声音。然而，根深蒂固的思想观念真的就此消失了么？
Eight words that reveal the sexism at the heart of the English language 八个词揭示了英语的核心——性别歧视
As Oxford Dictionaries comes under fire for sexist definitions, the history of terms that refer to women shows how deep negative attitudes go
牛津词典部分词汇有性别歧视意味，因而遭受抨击，女性术语的历史演变向人们展现了深层的消极态度
‘I am a gentil womman and no wenche’: from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Merchant’s Tale, c1386. Photograph: AlamyWednesday 27 January 2016 11.44 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 27 January 2016 11.51 GMT
“我是一个有教养的女性”出自杰弗里·乔叟The Merchant’s Tale, c1386。
阿拉米拍摄于2016年1月27日
Linguists call it collocation: the likelihood of two words occurring together. If I say “pop”, your mental rolodex will begin whirring away, coming up with candidates for what might follow. “Music”, “song” or “star”, are highly likely. “Sensation” or “diva” a little less so. “Snorkel” very unlikely indeed.
对于常以组合形式出现的两个词语，语言学家称之为固定搭配。例如，我说“流行”，你的头脑会开始飞速思考，会出现以下备选词语，其中，最可能的是“音乐”、“歌曲”或者“歌手”，可能性稍低的有“网红”或“天后”，而像“通气管”这种词几乎是不可能联想到的。
What do you think of when I say the word “rabid”? One option, according to the dictionary publisher Oxford Dictionaries, is “feminist”. The publisher has been criticised for a sexist bias in its illustrations of how certain words are used. “Nagging” is followed by “wife”. “Grating” and “shrill” appear in sentences describing women’s voices, not men’s.
当我说到“偏激的”你会联想到什么？对此，《牛津词典》给出的答案是“女权主义者”。该字典出版社也因为字典中某些词的引用例证带有性别歧视色彩而遭受批评。例如，“唠叨”常用于形容“妻子”，“尖叫”“刺耳”等词用于形容女性的声音，几乎不用于形容男性。
One of the points of Oxford Dictionaries, part of Oxford University Press (OUP), is to show how words are used in the real world. And that is their response to allegations of sexism. “The example sentences we use are taken from a huge variety of different sources and do not represent the views or opinions of Oxford University Press,” they said in a statement.
作为牛津大学出版社的一部分，牛津词典的解释中有一点是展示词语在现实生活中的用法，同时这也是对于性别歧视指控的回应。在一则声明中工作人员解释道：“字典中所引用的例子来源甚广，并不代表出版社本身的观点。”
In other words, it’s not the dictionary that’s sexist, it’s the English-speaking world. Why choose “feminist” over, say, “rightwinger”, “communist” or “fan”, though? As if not quite convinced by its own explanation, the OUP is now “reviewing the example sentence for ‘rabid’ to ensure that it reflects current usage”.
换言之，并不是字典本身具有性别歧视意味，而是整个英语环境。解释“偏激”，为什么非要选取“女权主义者”，而不是诸如“右翼分子”、“共产党员”、“粉丝”这些词呢？显然，牛津大学出版社的回复也不能使他们自己信服，其正尝试修订“偏激”的例句，以确保它反映了当前的使用情况。
That can only be a good thing. But a word of warning: it might not deliver the answer you’d hope for. Perhaps “rabid” is collocated with “feminist” more often than with those other words (if the data the OUP uses includes online discussions, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case). Sexist assumptions find their way into speech and writing for the simple reason that society is still sexist.
这当然是好的做法。但是我要提醒一下结果也许并不尽如人意。也许相较于其他词，“偏激”常用于解释“女权主义者”（如果牛津出版社的资料来源包括网上讨论的话，我就不会惊讶有这样的结果），性别歧视存在于演讲以及文章中，归根结底还是因为这是一个存在性别歧视的世界。
Language, as the medium through which we conduct almost all relationships, public and private, bears the precise imprint of our cultural attitudes. The history of language, then, is like a fossil record of how those attitudes have evolved, or how stubbornly they have stayed the same.
无论是显性的还是隐性的，作为人际交往媒介的语言都承载了文化态度的清晰印记。语言的历史如同化石一样，记录了这些文化态度是如何逐步形成的，以及它们是如何顽强保持不变的。
When it comes to women, the message is a depressing one. The denigration of half of the population has embedded itself in the language in ways you may not even be aware of. Often this takes the form of “pejoration”: when the meaning of the word “gets worse” over time. Linguists have long observed that words referring to women undergo this process more often than those referring to men. Here are eight examples:
当涉及女性时，语言所传达的是令人失望的信息。这种对于女性的诋毁早已神不知鬼不觉的嵌入语言中。人们常将这种现象称为“语义转贬”——随着时间流逝，词汇含义逐渐转为贬义。语言学家早就注意到“语义转贬”常发生在与女性有关的词语上。以下就此举了8个例子：
Mistress
情妇
The female equivalent of “master”, and thus, “a woman having control or authority” – in particular one who employs servants or attendants. It came into English with this meaning from French after the Norman conquest. From the 17th century onwards, it was used to mean “a woman other than his wife with whom a man has a long-lasting sexual relationship”.
“mistress”是“master”的对应词，指“有控制力或权威的女人”——特别指雇有仆人或侍从的人。诺曼征服后，这一词语由法语演变而来。从17世纪开始，这个词用来形容“除了妻子外，男性长期保持性关系的女性。”
Hussy
粗野女子
This once neutral term meant the female head of a household. Hussy is a contraction of 13th-century husewif – a word cognate with modern “housewife”. From the 17th century onwards, however, it began to mean “a disreputable woman of improper behaviour”. That’s now its only meaning.
该词曾作为中性词，指“女家长”。Hussy是husewif的缩写，husewif出现在13世纪，与现在人们常说的housewife(家庭主妇）同词源。然而，从17世纪开始，该词开始表示“可耻的、行为不检点的女人”，同时这也是它唯一的现有含义。
Madam
女士
The female equivalent of “sir”, a woman of high rank, is still used in formal contexts as a mode of address. From the late 18th century it was also used to mean “a conceited or precocious girl or young woman; a hussy, a minx”, alternatively, a kept mistress or prostitute, and finally, from the late 19th century, the female manager of a brothel.
该词用于称呼女性，与“sir（先生）”一词对等，指拥有较高地位的女性，作为一种称呼的方式，现人们仍在正式的语境下使用该词。从18世纪后期开始，它也被用于表示“自大的或早熟的女孩或年轻女子；粗野女子；轻佻女子”，又或者是“被包养的情妇或妓女”，最后还有一个是从19世纪后期开始的，表示妓院的老鸨。
Governess
女家教
From the 15th century onwards, “a woman who holds or exercises authority over a place, institution, or group of people”. Compare it with “governor”. Over time it drastically narrowed in scope and fell in status, coming to mean “a woman responsible for the care, supervision, or direction of a person, typically a child or young lady”.
从15世纪开始，该词用于表示“掌握职权并能对一个地方、一个机构或一个群体行使权力的女性”。它是“governor”的对应词。随着时间推移，该词的指代范围开始急剧缩小，地位也有所降低，人们开始用它来表示“负责对特定人员进行照看、监管和引导的女性，尤其是孩子或小姐”。
Spinster
老处女
This occupational term originally meant simply someone, usually a woman but possibly a man, who spun yarn or thread. Since a woman without a husband might have to rely on spinning as a source of income, the term became associated with unmarried women, eventually becoming the legal way to refer to one. The more loaded use of it to refer to “a woman still unmarried; esp. one beyond the usual age for marriage, an old maid” begins in the early 18th century.
这一职业术语一开始仅用于表示从事纺织工作的人，通常是女人，但也可能是男人。也许是那些失去丈夫的女性不得不依赖纺织作为收入来源，自那开始该词与未婚女性扯上关系，最终也成为一种合法的指代方式。从18世纪早期开始，人们开始越发频繁地用该词来指代“处于适婚年龄但仍未婚的女性；老处女”。
Spinster originally meant simply someone who spun yarn or thread.
Spinster一开始只表示从事纺织工作的人。
Photograph: Alamy 摄影师：阿兰密
Courtesan
交际花
One of the most dramatic shifts in meaning, from the female equivalent of “courtier” – someone who attends the court of a monarch – to a form of prostitute, which is now its only meaning.
这也是含义变化最戏剧性的词汇之一，起初，“courtesan”是“courtier”的女性对应词。从“朝臣”——出席君主主管法庭的人，变为指“某一类型的妓女”，如今只剩下“名妓”这一含义。
Wench
少妇
A 13th-century word meaning a female infant or a young unmarried woman quickly acquired negative connotations: from the late 14th century, in Langland and Chaucer it is used to mean “a wanton woman; a mistress”.
该词起源于13世纪，指女婴或年轻的未婚女子。很快，它便拥有一个负面含义：从14世纪后期开始，在兰格伦和乔叟的作品中，它被用于表示“淫荡的女子或情妇”。
Tart
轻佻放荡的女人
Collins dictionary says that this is a 19th-century contraction of “sweetheart”, a term of endearment, particularly to women. From 1887, however, it is attested as meaning “a female of immoral character; a prostitute”.
柯林斯词典指出，该词产生于19世纪，是“sweetheart(甜心）”的缩写，是一种爱称，尤指对女性的爱称。然而，从1887年开始，人们将其定义为“具有不道德品性的女性；妓女”。
Thinking about the male equivalents of some of these words throws their sexism into sharp relief. Master for mistress; sir for madam; governor for governess; bachelor for spinster; courtier for courtesan – whereas the male list speaks of power and high status, the female list has a very different set of connotations. These are of either subordinate status or sexual service to men. The crucial thing to remember is that at one time, they were simply equivalents.
这些女性术语对应的男性术语明显突出了其中的性别歧视意味。“大师/主人（男）”对应“情妇”，“先生”对应“轻佻女子”，“执政者（男）”对应“女家教”，“单身汉”对应“老处女”，“朝臣”对应“名妓”。然而，用于描述男性的词语清单显示出权力与较高的地位，用于描述女性的词语清单则有截然不同的含义。这些词都体现出女性的从属地位或作为为男性提供性服务的工具。人们需要铭记的关键在于，在某段时间里，这些分别描述男女的词语在含义上是对等的。
These eight words show how social conditions leave their mark on the language. The process of pejoration may take place below the level of consciousness, but in historical perspective, the direction of travel is obvious. Have the achievements of the feminist movement percolated down through the many layers of our language? The Oxford Dictionaries controversy suggests not. Can the words we use to describe women avoid the fate of hussy, mistress and courtesan? There’s hope, but only time will tell.
这八个词向人们展现出社会环境在语言身上刻下的印记。语义转贬的过程有可能是在潜移默化地进行着，但在历史层面上看来，它的方向是明显的。女权运动的成果是否真正渗透到语言的核心了呢？牛津词典所引发的争论表明，并没有。人们用于描述女性的词语能否逃离像“hussy”、“mistress”及“courtesan”那样的命运呢？希望还是有的，但时间会证明一切。
外媒简介
《卫报》是英国的全国性综合内容日报, 是一张自由民主派的报纸，代表左翼，读者多是知识界和年轻人。在欧洲知识界，《卫报》的影响力超过了任何一张报纸。 报纸严肃和独立精神的定位也从创刊者泰勒开始。泰勒确立了《卫报》成功传承的三大传统：精确完整的报道标准；关注及服务社团的商业利益；绝对独立自主的立场，不受党派政治领导人左右。
1. Sensation：n.1.a feeling that you get when something affects your body
2. the ability to feel through your sense of touch
3.a general feeling or impression that is difficult to explain; an experience or a memory
4.very great surprise, excitement, or interest among a lot of people; the person or the thing that causes this surprise
2. Diva：n. 1.a famous woman singer, especially an opera singer
2.an attractive and famous woman, especially a performer or singer
3. Rightwinger: n. 1.a person on the right wing of a political party
2.a person who plays on the right side of the field in a sports game
4. Fossil: n. 1.the remains of an animal or a plant that have become hard and turned into rock
2.(informal)an old person, especially one who is unable to accept new ideas or adapt to changes
5. contraction n. a shortened form of a word or words 缩写
6. cognate with 与......同词源
7. disreputable adj. Lacking respectability in character or behavior or appearance 声名狼藉的，可耻的，不光彩的
8. conceited adj. If you say that someone is conceited, you are showing your disapproval of the fact that they are far too proud of their abilities or achievements. 自负的，自大的
9. precocious adj. A precocious child is very clever, mature or good at something, often in a way that you usually only expect to find in an adult.早熟的
10. prostitute n. A person, usually a woman,who has sex with men in exchange for money.妓女
11. brothel n. A building where men can go to pay to have sex with prostitutes.妓院
12. infant n. a very young child（birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk 婴儿，幼儿
13. wanton adj. If someone describes a woman as wanton, he or she disapproves of her because she clearly enjoys sex or has sex with a lot of men.淫荡的，淫乱的
14. subordinate n. If someone is your subordinate, he or she has less important position than you in the organization that you both work for. 下级 adj. Lower in rank or importance次要的，从属的
15. controversy n.discussion and argument about something, often involving strong feelings of anger or disapproval.争议，争论
翻译：吴茂&许佳 校对：李晶晶 策划：黄梅
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