女性開始講粗話，性別歧視問題就解決了？

Earlier this week I put an empty jar on top of my kitchen counter with a label saying “No swearing”. This device is supposed to stop my daughters from breaking linguistic taboos: if they curse, they have to deposit a dollar in the jar.

前些天我在廚房操作臺上放了一只空玻璃罐，上面貼了一張標簽“不準講粗話”。我打算用這個東西阻止我的女兒們打破語言禁忌：她們要是講粗話，就得往罐子里投進一美元。

But the device is also meant to control me. In recent months, as stress has risen in these politically tumultuous times, swear words have been popping out of my mouth. So I have committed to honour that dollar pledge as well, in a bid to prevent my daughters from copying me.

而這個玩意兒對我也是一個約束。最近幾個月，政局動蕩壓力俱增，害得我有時也忍不住說臟話。因此我保證我也要遵守拿美元立誓的規(guī)矩，以免女兒們跟我學(xué)壞。

Is this just a piece of domestic trivia? Perhaps. But, as anthropologists have long argued, the way that cultures define “swearing” is a barometer for social norms. And when it comes to western culture today, the question of whether we do (or do not) swear reveals some interesting points about changing gender roles — and the internal conflicts that these keep throwing up.

這只是一件家常小事嗎?也許吧。然而，誠如人類學(xué)家們一直認為的那樣，不同文化界定“粗話”的方式是社會規(guī)范的晴雨表。而說到當今的西方文化，我們到底有(沒有)講粗話?這個問題還揭示出一些有關(guān)性別角色轉(zhuǎn)變的有趣事實——以及這些性別角色轉(zhuǎn)變帶來的內(nèi)部沖突。

To understand this, take note of some fascinating research conducted by Barbara LeMaster, a linguistic anthropologist at California State University, and presented at the American Anthropological Association in Minneapolis last month. She recently examined the patterns of swearing among American men and women during the past century, drawing on survey data, historical records and published texts.

要理解這點，可以關(guān)注一下加州州立大學(xué)(California State University)語言人類學(xué)家芭芭拉•樂曼思特(Barbara LeMaster)所作的一些有意思的研究。她在2016年11月在明尼阿波利斯舉行的美國人類學(xué)協(xié)會(American Anthropological Association)會議上陳述了這些研究。近期，她考察了過去一個世紀美國男性和女性講粗話的規(guī)律，借鑒了大量調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)、歷史記錄和已發(fā)表的文獻。

She started by noting that most western swear words fall into three categories: they refer to sex, excrement or religion. That, in a sense, is no surprise: the reason swear words have the power to shock is that they disregard conventions and break taboos. In the case of American culture, sexual activity, excrement and religion are considered respectively to be private, “dirty” and sacred. Thus talking about these concepts in public and/or with disrespect overturns boundaries.

首先她注意到，大部分西方人說的臟話可以分成三大類：性、排泄物或宗教。從某種意義上說，那不足為奇：臟話有語出驚人的效果，就在于它們對規(guī)矩置若罔聞，而且百無禁忌。就美國文化而言，人們認為性行為、排泄物和宗教信仰分別是私密的、“骯臟的”和神圣的。因此在公眾場合及/或無禮地談?wù)撨@些話題，會顛覆人際交往的邊界。

But language is never static and swearing is no exception. When LeMaster looked back at how men and women spoke a century ago, she noticed a striking gender divergence: men who were angry employed words linked to sex, excrement and religion (ie phrases similar to modern swear words). However, women “had special language”, LeMaster said. They used phrases that subverted religion in a more subtle manner, such as “oh goodness” or “my gracious”, as well as others that no longer offend, because religion has lost its dominant cultural role.

但是語言從不會一成不變，臟話也不例外。當樂曼思特回顧一個世紀前男人們以及女人們的說話方式時，她發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個驚人的性別差異：男性發(fā)怒時會說那些跟性、排泄物和宗教有關(guān)的污言穢語(即跟現(xiàn)代的臟話相似)。然而，樂曼思特說，女人們則“有專用語”。她們在使用那些冒犯宗教的詞語時，會用一種比較文雅的表達方式，比如“哦，天吶”或“我的老天爺”，以及另外一些不再被視為冒犯的表達方式，因為宗教已經(jīng)失去了其在文化中的主導(dǎo)地位。

The reason for this split is not hard to find: a century ago, male and female roles were separated in many areas of life, and the cultural ideal of “femininity” presented an assumption that women should be subordinate, meek and submissive. Talking like a man — in an aggressive, crude way — was taboo.

這種差異出現(xiàn)的原因并不難發(fā)現(xiàn)：一個世紀以前，在眾多生活領(lǐng)域中，男女分工明確，且理想的“女性特質(zhì)”被假設(shè)為，女人應(yīng)該是從屬的、溫順的、唯命是從的。像男人一樣說話——口氣強硬、粗魯——是被忌諱的。

Today, the concept of “acceptable” female behaviour has shifted: women are politicians, business leaders, scientists, soldiers and journalists. They still do not have quite the same cultural freedom as men; just look at the opprobrium heaped on Hillary Clinton or the way that forceful women are often described as “bossy”. But as roles have shifted, speech expectations have changed — and continue to change.

如今，對于“可接受”的女性舉止，人們的觀念已然改變：女性可以成為政客、商界領(lǐng)袖、科學(xué)家以及新聞工作者。但她們?nèi)耘f不能享有與男性等同的文化自由;只要看看公眾對希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)的大加責難，或是人們形容女強人的慣用語“專橫”便能了然。但是，隨著女性的角色改變，人們對于女性談吐的預(yù)期也發(fā)生了變化——而且仍在不斷改變。

When LeMaster looked at how people swear today she discovered that women are using as many swear words as men, if not more. “Women have started to use the strong language used by men, but men are not using the words used by women [a century ago].” And while the balance of words associated with sex, excrement and religion varies, this distinction now reflects religion and class as much as gender.

在觀察當今人們怎么講粗話時，樂曼思特發(fā)現(xiàn)，如今女性說出的臟詞在數(shù)量上與男性不相上下，甚至可能更多。“女人們開始講以往只會出自男性之口的粗話，不過男人們卻沒使用(一個世紀前的)女性用語。”同時，盡管與性、排泄物及宗教相關(guān)的詞語在比重上有所不同，但這種差異現(xiàn)在既反映性別，也反映宗教和階層。

Is this a good thing? Many readers might howl “No!” And since I am a creature of my own cultural environment and biases, in some senses I share this dismay: I hate the idea of a world shaped by “foul” language, particularly if it involves my daughters.

這是件好事嗎?很多讀者也許會高呼“不是!”而因為我也是由自身所處的文化環(huán)境和各種偏見塑造出的個體，所以在某種意義上，我也同樣感到沮喪：我憎恨一個由“粗鄙”語言堆砌的世界，特別是如果我的女兒們也身處其中。

Hence my introduction of that swearing jar.

所以我才想出了臟話玻璃罐的主意。

Then again, the fact that swearing is now an equal-opportunity practice is cheering in some ways. Winning the right to shout “f**k you!” without needing to apologise (too much) was never a feminist ideal; and it is utterly trivial compared with the infinitely more serious issues that women are grappling with today. But the only thing worse than a world where people shout obscenities is a place where this is only culturally permitted for men. Language, like much else, should be gender blind.

可話說回來，罵人如今已成為一種機會均等的行為，從某種角度看，這也是可喜的。爭取到大罵“**你!”而無需(太多)道歉的權(quán)利從來不是女權(quán)主義的理想;況且比起當下女性正竭力應(yīng)對的嚴肅得多的問題，這根本微不足道。但是，比人人都污言穢語更糟的是在文化上只準男人們口無遮攔。和其他許多事情一樣，語言應(yīng)該是“性別盲”的。

So maybe it is time for men to start copying old-fashioned female speech, and for all of us to limit ourselves to saying “goodness” or “darn”. That might sound peculiarly mild or mealy-mouthed. It might even leave us fuming in these volatile times. But now, more than ever, a little extra civility, respect and graciousness could go a long way — for women and men. It might even help to create a more equal world.

所以，或許是時候讓男人們學(xué)學(xué)以前女人們的談吐，然后讓我們所有人在感嘆時只限于說“上帝”或“可惡”。這可能聽起來過于溫和或拐彎抹角。這甚至可能讓我們在當今動蕩時代氣不打一處來。但是，當今比以往任何時候更突出的是，多一點文明禮儀、尊重和善意可能大有裨益——對男人和女人皆是如此。這甚至有可能有助于創(chuàng)建一個更加平等的世界。