英國在歷史上一直是一個(gè)有著明確階級(jí)意識(shí)的國家，而不同的階級(jí)有屬于自己的不同的言語方式。上層階級(jí)不會(huì)輕易地去使用讓他們看上去不是那么“gentle”的語言，社會(huì)人類學(xué)家凱特·福克斯將七個(gè)上層社會(huì)敬而遠(yuǎn)之的詞稱之為“The Seven Deadly Sins（七宗罪）”。

一宗罪：Pardon

Pardon在我們看來是應(yīng)用最為普遍的詞了，沒聽懂時(shí)來一句“Pardon?”就能問清楚說話人剛才說了什么。但是在英國的上層社會(huì)看來，這個(gè)詞可是用不得的！凱特·福克斯提出可以用一個(gè)小小的測試來分辨不同的階級(jí)，但這也正體現(xiàn)出了英國存在比較明顯的階級(jí)意識(shí)。

This word is the most notorious pet hate of the upper and upper-middle classes. Here is a good class-test you can try: When talking to an English person, deliberately say something too quietly for them to hear you properly. A lower-middle class will say "Pardon"; an upper-middle will say "sorry" (or parhaps "What- sorry?" or "Sorry- What"); but an upper class and a working class person will both just say "what".

這個(gè)詞被上層和中上層階級(jí)視為眼中砂。這兒有一個(gè)分辨階級(jí)的好方法：當(dāng)你和一個(gè)英國人說話的時(shí)候，故意說得快一點(diǎn)讓他們聽不清楚，那么這時(shí)，一個(gè)中下層階級(jí)的人就會(huì)用“pardon”，而中上層階級(jí)的人會(huì)用“What”或者“What-sorry”或者“Sorry-what”，但是上層階級(jí)和工人階級(jí)的人可能都會(huì)說“What”。

二宗罪：Toilet

"Toilet" is another word that makes the higher classes flinch or exchange knowing looks, if it is uttered by a would-be social climber. The correct upper-middle/upper term is "loo" or "lavatory".

當(dāng)一個(gè)想躋身上流社會(huì)的人說了個(gè)“Toilet”，那么上層社會(huì)的人馬上就會(huì)為之色變。因?yàn)樯狭魃鐣?huì)會(huì)用到“l(fā)oo”或者“l(fā)avatory”，而非“Toilet”。

三宗罪：Serviette

It has been suggested that "serviette" was taken up by squeamish lower-middles who found "napkin" a bit too close to "nappy" and wanted something that sounded a bit more refined. Upper-middle and upper-class mothers gets very upset when their children learn to say "serviette" from well-meaning lower-class nannies, and have to be painstakingly retrained to say "napkin".

有一個(gè)講究的中下層階級(jí)因?yàn)椤皀apkin”的發(fā)音太像“nappy”，他想要一個(gè)聽起來更優(yōu)雅的詞，便創(chuàng)造出“serviette”。所以當(dāng)中上層以及上層階級(jí)的人發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的孩子跟著出于好意的下層階級(jí)保姆學(xué)會(huì)說“serviette”時(shí)，她們不得不費(fèi)心思將孩子們改回到說“napkin”。

四宗罪：Dinner

There is nothing wrong with the word "dinner" in itself: it is only a working-class hallmark if you use it to refer to the midday meal, which should be called "lunch". Calling your evening meal "tea" is also a working-class indicator: the higher echelons call this meal "dinner" or "supper".

“dinner”這個(gè)詞本身并沒有問題，只不過如果用“dinner”而不是“l(fā)unch”來形容午飯，就是工人階級(jí)的特點(diǎn)了。將晚飯稱之為“tea”也是工人階級(jí)的一個(gè)特點(diǎn)，上層人士稱其為“dinner”或者“supper”。

五宗罪：settee

You could ask your hosts what they call their furniture. If an upholstered seat for two or more people is called a settee or a couch, they are no higher than middle-middle. If it is a sofa, they are upper-middle or above.

你可以問問主人他們是怎么稱他們的家具的。如果他們將那種能坐兩個(gè)人或者更多人的椅子為“settee”或者“coach”，那么他們所屬的階層不會(huì)高于中層階級(jí)。如果他們稱其為“sofa”，那么屬于中上或者上層階級(jí)。

六宗罪：Lounge

And what do they call the room in which the settee/sofa is to be found? Settees are found in "lounges" or "living rooms", sofas in "sitting rooms" or "drawing rooms". "Drawing room" used to be the only "correct" term, but many upper-middles and uppers feel it a bit silly and pretentious to call, say, a small room in an ordinary terraced house the "drawing room", so "sitting room" has become acceptable.

那他們是怎么稱呼放沙發(fā)的房間的呢？放settees的是“l(fā)ounges”或者“l(fā)iving rooms”，放sofa的是“sitting rooms”或者“drawing rooms”。“Drawing room”曾經(jīng)是唯一正確地形容這些房間的詞，后來中上層的人們覺得用“Drawing room”來形容房子里一個(gè)普通的小房間顯得有點(diǎn)傻、有點(diǎn)假，所以“sitting room”便成為了他們普遍接受的說法。

七宗罪：Sweet

Like dinner, this word is not in itself a class indicator, but it becomes one when misapplied. The upper-middle and upper classes insist that the sweet course at the end of a meal is called the "pudding" -- never the "sweet", or "afters", or "dessert", all of which are declasse, unacceptable words.

跟“dinner”這個(gè)詞一樣，“sweet”本身并沒有階級(jí)色彩，但是當(dāng)它用錯(cuò)地方時(shí)，它就帶上了這樣的色彩。上層和中上層階級(jí)的人堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為餐后的甜點(diǎn)應(yīng)該稱為“pudding”而不是“sweet”，“afters”，或者 "dessert"。所有這些詞都是下層階級(jí)的人使用的，不被接受的詞。

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（來源：滬江英語 編輯：崔旭燕）