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

一宗罪：Pardon

Pardon在我們看來是應用最為普遍的詞了，沒聽懂時來一句“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看來，這個詞可是用不得的！凱特·福克斯提出可以用一個小小的測試來分辨不同的階級，但這也正體現出了英國存在比較明顯的階級意識。

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".

這個詞被上層和中上層階級視為眼中砂。這兒有一個分辨階級的好方法：當你和一個英國人說話的時候，故意說得快一點讓他們聽不清楚，那么這時，一個中下層階級的人就會用“pardon”，而中上層階級的人會用“What”或者“What-sorry”或者“Sorry-what”，但是上層階級和工人階級的人可能都會說“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".

當一個想躋身上流社會的人說了個“Toilet”，那么上層社會的人馬上就會為之色變。因為上流社會會用到“loo”或者“lavatory”，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".

有一個講究的中下層階級因為“napkin”的發音太像“nappy”，他想要一個聽起來更優雅的詞，便創造出“serviette”。所以當中上層以及上層階級的人發現他們的孩子跟著出于好意的下層階級保姆學會說“serviette”時，她們不得不費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”這個詞本身并沒有問題，只不過如果用“dinner”而不是“lunch”來形容午飯，就是工人階級的特點了。將晚飯稱之為“tea”也是工人階級的一個特點，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高于中層階級。如果他們稱其為“sofa”，那么屬于中上或者上層階級。

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的房間的呢？放settees的是“lounges”或者“living rooms”，放sofa的是“sitting rooms”或者“drawing rooms”。“Drawing room”曾經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”來形容房子里一個普通的小房間顯得有點傻、有點假，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”這個詞一樣，“sweet”本身并沒有階級色彩，但是當它用錯地方時，它就帶上了這樣的色彩。上層和中上層階級的人堅持認為餐后的甜點應該稱為“pudding”而不是“sweet”，“afters”，或者 "dessert"。所有這些詞都是下層階級的人使用的，不被接受的詞。

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（來源：滬江英語 編輯：崔旭燕）