七大英国上流社会规避词-英语点津

英国在历史上一直是一个有着明确阶级意识的国家，而不同的阶级有属于自己的不同的言语方式。上层阶级不会轻易地去使用让他们看上去不是那么“gentle”的语言，社会人类学家凯特·福克斯将七个上层社会敬而远之的词称之为“The Seven Deadly Sins（七宗罪）”。

一宗罪：Pardon

Pardon在我们看来是应用最为普遍的词了，没听懂时来一句“Pardon?”就能问清楚说话人刚才说了什么。但是在英国的上层社会看来，这个词可是用不得的！凯特·福克斯提出可以用一个小小的测试来分辨不同的阶级，但这也正体现出了英国存在比较明显的阶级意识。

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".

这个词被上层和中上层阶级视为眼中砂。这儿有一个分辨阶级的好方法：当你和一个英国人说话的时候，故意说得快一点让他们听不清楚，那么这时，一个中下层阶级的人就会用“pardon”，而中上层阶级的人会用“What”或者“What-sorry”或者“Sorry-what”，但是上层阶级和工人阶级的人可能都会说“What”。

二宗罪：Toilet

七大英国上流社会规避词

"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".

当一个想跻身上流社会的人说了个“Toilet”，那么上层社会的人马上就会为之色变。因为上流社会会用到“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".

有一个讲究的中下层阶级因为“napkin”的发音太像“nappy”，他想要一个听起来更优雅的词，便创造出“serviette”。所以当中上层以及上层阶级的人发现他们的孩子跟着出于好意的下层阶级保姆学会说“serviette”时，她们不得不费心思将孩子们改回到说“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”这个词本身并没有问题，只不过如果用“dinner”而不是“lunch”来形容午饭，就是工人阶级的特点了。将晚饭称之为“tea”也是工人阶级的一个特点，上层人士称其为“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.

你可以问问主人他们是怎么称他们的家具的。如果他们将那种能坐两个人或者更多人的椅子为“settee”或者“coach”，那么他们所属的阶层不会高于中层阶级。如果他们称其为“sofa”，那么属于中上或者上层阶级。

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.

那他们是怎么称呼放沙发的房间的呢？放settees的是“lounges”或者“living rooms”，放sofa的是“sitting rooms”或者“drawing rooms”。“Drawing room”曾经是唯一正确地形容这些房间的词，后来中上层的人们觉得用“Drawing room”来形容房子里一个普通的小房间显得有点傻、有点假，所以“sitting room”便成为了他们普遍接受的说法。

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”这个词一样，“sweet”本身并没有阶级色彩，但是当它用错地方时，它就带上了这样的色彩。上层和中上层阶级的人坚持认为餐后的甜点应该称为“pudding”而不是“sweet”，“afters”，或者 "dessert"。所有这些词都是下层阶级的人使用的，不被接受的词。