Changing the Accent: A Ticket Out of Discrimination?改個口音就能擺脫歧視？

阿曼達·科爾　吳曉雷/譯

Accentism—discriminating against someone because of their accent—has a long history in the UK， where the way someone speaks is often an easy way to tell their social class. People with working-class accents are frequently criticized and encouraged to speak “properly.” This is true even for people who have achieved fame or success in the media or politics.

口音歧視，也就是因某人說話有口音而對其加以歧視的現象，在英國可謂由來已久。在英國，一個人的社會地位如何，往往只消聽一聽他說話的方式便一清二楚。有工人階級口音的人時常遭到批評，也時常受人督促說話要“得體”。即便是媒體上或是政界中功成名就的人，也概莫能外。

But changing the way one speaks isnt necessarily a fix. When people with working-class accents begin to speak in a more “posh” way， it is often seen as inauthentic and insincere. The latest example is Victoria Beckham， whose accent in a video has been subject to criticism.

但改變說話方式未必就能解決問題。有工人階級口音的人，一旦變得“談吐優雅”，往往又會被人認為裝腔作勢、虛情假意。最近的例子就是維多利亞·貝克漢姆，她在一個視頻中的口音就受到批評。

Victoria Beckham was born in Essex and raised in Hertfordshire， and her husband David Beckham was raised in east London. Despite the couples enormous wealth and success， they come from working-class backgrounds and continue to be seen as such. They have previously been labelled “chavs”， a contemptuous， stereotyped moniker of the working class.

維多利亞·貝克漢姆在埃塞克斯郡出生，在赫特福德郡長大，而她的丈夫大衛·貝克漢姆則在倫敦東部長大。盡管夫妻二人財力雄厚，成就卓著，但他們來自工人階級家庭，而且人們始終認定他們工人階級的出身。以前人們給他們貼上了“低俗青年”的標簽，這是一種輕蔑工人階級、帶有刻板印象的稱呼。

Their accents have typically included working-class， vernacular linguistic traits from London or southern England more broadly. In 2014， David Beckham was voted one of the British publics least pleasant voices. In 2010， Victoria Beckham was slated for both her appearance and her accent when she was a guest judge on “American Idol.”

貝克漢姆夫婦的口音表現出了典型的工人階級和地方土語特征，這些語言特征源自倫敦，或者寬泛地說，源自英格蘭南部。2014年，大衛·貝克漢姆當選英國口音最不好聽的公眾人物之一。早在2010年，維多利亞·貝克漢姆擔任《美國偶像》客座評委時，她的裝扮和口音就為人苛責。

U.S. paper， The Village Voice， wrote， “I always thought a British accent made people sound smart but I guess I was wrong.” Her fellow British judge， privately educated Simon Cowell， was not criticized for his very standard， southern English accent.

美國報紙《鄉村之聲》如是說：“我先前總以為英國口音讓人聽起來很聰明，看來我錯了?！焙途S多利亞一同擔任評委的英國人西蒙·考埃爾因為接受過私立教育，說著一口標準的英國南方口音，從沒有人對他說三道四。

A makeup tutorial video posted by Victoria Beckham revived longstanding speculation that the Beckhams are changing their accents and even having elocution lessons.

維多利亞·貝克漢姆發布的一個美妝教學視頻重新喚起了人們長久以來的猜測——貝克漢姆夫婦可能在改變口音，甚至還特意上了演講課。

Changing accents

改變口音

We all have different accents. We can speak in different ways depending on factors like who we are talking to， our emotional state， the formality of the situation and the topic of conversation. But our accents can also change throughout our life， depending on the ways of speaking we are exposed to， depending on where we live and who we talk to （footballer Joey Barton1 was a remarkable example）.

我們每個人都有多種口音。我們可以用不同的方式說話，而影響因素多種多樣，比方說：我們和誰交談，我們的情緒如何，說話的場合正式與否，還有談論的話題是什么。然而，從小到大，我們的口音也一直在變。我們接觸到的人都有什么口音，我們住在哪里，經常跟什么樣的人說話，都影響我們的口音（足球運動員喬伊·巴頓就是個絕佳的例子）。

Even Queen Elizabeth II experienced accent change throughout her life， which matched the subtle changes happening in standard southern English. Research has also found that Glaswegians2 who are fans of the soap opera “EastEnders” are more likely to speak with elements of a cockney accent.

就連女王伊麗莎白二世一生中也經歷過口音的變化，正好匹配標準南方口音發展中的細微變化。另有研究發現，喜歡看肥皂劇《東區人》的格拉斯哥人，說話更可能帶有倫敦東區的口音特征。

A person with a working-class accent may also consciously adapt their accent if they feel it holds them back or they are perceived as unintelligent （which probably is the case）. Changing your accent is no easy feat， and the burden is greater for those whose accent is further from the standard.

如果一個人認為自己的工人階級口音會阻礙自己的發展，或是讓自己聽上去不夠聰明（事實很可能如此），那他也可能會有意識地改變自己的口音。然而，改變口音絕非易事。對于自身口音與標準發音差異很大的人來說，改變口音的難度更大。

There are also examples of people with standard accents suddenly and uncharacteristically speaking with less standard and more working-class accents， such as politician Ed Miliband when talking to comedian Russell Brand. Miliband was seen as hospitably finding an “accent on common ground” in a generous act of extending familiarity.

不過，也不乏反例。有些人本來發音標準，突然之間一反常態地用不太標準、偏向工人階級的口音說話。政治家埃德·米利班德就在此列，他與喜劇演員拉塞爾·布蘭德說話時就帶上了口音。在人們看來，米利班德此舉屬于體貼地為雙方找到了“共同的口音基礎”，不啻為一種拉近關系的大度之舉。

But when a person is thought to have begun speaking more “posh”， like Victoria Beckham （and also Meghan Markle3）， they can be unfairly ridiculed as fake or pretentious. Victoria Beckham perfectly exemplifies how working-class people are criticized for speaking， no matter how posh their accent is. It is being working-class that is the problem.

然而，一旦人們認為某人變得“談吐優雅”，就像維多利亞·貝克漢姆（還有梅根·馬克爾）這樣，那此人可能就要被人們有失公允地譏諷為裝模做樣、拿腔拿調。維多利亞·貝克漢姆的例子充分說明了工人階級如何因為說話這件事而受人指責，不管他們可以把話說得多優雅。真正的問題在于他們是工人階級。

Working-class accentism

歧視工人階級口音

My own Essex accent is often brought up when sharing my expertise in linguistics. On a BBC radio interview， the presenter read aloud a listeners text： “Try getting someone who can speak correctly if youre going to talk about grammar.” My experience is not unusual for academics with working-class accents.

在我分享語言學方面的專業見解時，我的埃塞克斯口音常常遭到批評。有一次，我在接受英國廣播公司的電臺采訪，主持人大聲播報了一則聽眾留言：“要在節目里講語法，還是先找個說話沒口音的人吧?！边@樣的經歷對于和我一樣帶有工人階級口音的專業學者來說并非罕事。

People in the public eye with working-class accents are constantly singled out. Rylan Clark was slammed for t-glottalling （dropping t） on “The One Show.” A BBC announcer was criticized for th-fronting （“thriller” as “friller”）.

那些帶有工人階級口音的公眾人物也常常被人挑刺。賴蘭·克拉克因為在《獨家秀》節目中把t發成聲門閉塞音（吞掉t的發音）而備受苛責。還有一位英國廣播公司的播音員因為把th發成舌前音（將thriller說成friller）而遭到批評。

Debate constantly ensues about whether Angela Rayner， the deputy leader of the Labour party， sounds sufficiently “professional” in Parliament. And Alastair Campbell4 wrote about Priti Patel5： “I dont want a home secretary who cant pronounce a G at the end of a word.”

工黨副黨首安杰拉·雷納在議會發言時聽上去夠不夠“稱職”？這個問題不斷引發爭議。普麗蒂·帕特爾也曾遭到阿拉斯泰爾·坎貝爾筆伐：“她連單詞詞尾的G都發不出來，我可不想要這樣的內政大臣?！?/p>

Lord Digby Jones singled out sports commentator Alex Scott for saying “swimming” as “swimmin” in her Olympics coverage. She hit back that she was proud of her working-class accent， to which Jones accused her of “playing the class card.” He insisted it was “not about accents” but instead， “It is about the fact that she is wrong. You do not pronounce the English language ending in a ‘g without the ‘g.”

迪格比·瓊斯爵士曾點名批評體育解說員阿萊克斯·斯科特，說她在播報奧運會時總把swimming說成swimmin。斯科特還擊說她頗為自己的工人階級口音自豪。針對此言，瓊斯爵士指責斯科特“打階級牌”。他堅稱，這“并非口音問題”，而是“她發音出錯的問題。如果英文單詞以g結尾，你就不該不發這個音”。

Comments like these demonstrate a spectacular misunderstanding of basic linguistic principles. Beyond this， saying swimmin—or indeed， dropping t or th-fronting—has everything to do with both accent and class. Across Britain， working-class people are the most likely to speak with accents that mark out where they are from and are the furthest removed from Queens English.

上述種種論調無不說明，語言學常識引起的爭議竟然如此之大。在爭議的背后，無論是把swimming說成swimmin、吞掉t的發音，還是把th發成舌前音，其實都與口音和階級密切相關。就整個英國而言，工人階級的口音大概最為明顯，一聽就知道他們來自何處，而他們的口音與女王說的英語差異最大。

If working-class accents are not seen as appropriate in the media， politics and academia， then working-class people are not seen as appropriate in these domains. The commonplace notion that accent pedantry is actually just upholding good diction， decent standards， clear articulation or the inherent “correctness” of English is a rickety scaffolding for accent prejudice that keeps working-class people in their place.

如果媒體、政界和學術圈都認為工人階級的口音不夠得體，那么在他們看來工人階級也不適合在這幾個領域發展。有種老生常談的觀點認為，講究口音其實只是主張發音準確、言談得體、口齒清晰，或是英語固有的“得體性”。這種觀點不過是搖搖晃晃的腳手架，撐起了對口音的歧視，而正是這種歧視把工人階級固定在了自己的位置上。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）