TED演讲:奥威尔现象(1)

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　　chances are you've heard the term Orwellian thrown around in one context or another. 那么你很有可能听说过“奥威尔现象”频繁地出现在不同的语境中。

　　But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means, or why it's used so often? 但是你曾停下来想过这个词究竟是什么意思吗？它为什么被这样频繁地使用？

　　The term was named after British author Eric Blair known by his pen name George Orwell. 这个词是以英国作家埃里克·布莱尔命名的，他的笔名就是乔治·奥威尔。

　　Because his most famous work, the novel "1984," depicts¹ an oppressive society under a totalitarian government. 因为在他最著名的作品《1984》中描述了一个被极权主义政府压制的社会。

　　"Orwellian" is often used simply to mean authoritarian². 所以“奥威尔现象”经常被简单地指代专制主义。

　　But using the term in this way not only fails to fully³ convey Orwell's message, 但是这样使用它不仅没能完全传达奥威尔的意思，

　　it actually risks doing precisely⁴ what he tried to warn against. 甚至有可能适得其反。

　　Orwell was indeed opposed to all forms of tyranny, 奥威尔确实是反对各种形式的专政，

　　spending much of his life fighting against anti-democratic forces of both the left-wing and the right. 他倾其一生对抗反民主力量，不论是左翼还是右翼。

　　But he was also deeply concerned with how such ideologies⁵ proliferate⁶. 但是他也非常担心这种思想滋生扩散的方式。

　　And one of his most profound insights was the importance that language plays in shaping our thoughts and opinions. 他最著名的一个见解就是语言在塑造思想和意见中起到重要作用。

　　The government of "1984"'s Oceania controls its people's actions and speech in some ways that are obvious. 《1984》中的大洋国政府用一种明显的方式控制了人们的行动和言语。

　　Their every move and word is watched and heard, 他们的一言一行都被监视，

　　and the threat of what happens to those who step out of line is always looming⁷ overhead. 行为异常的下场时刻威胁着所有人。

　　Other forms of control are not so obvious. 其他的控制形式没有这么明显。

　　The population is inundated⁸ with a constant barrage⁹ of propaganda made up of historical facts and statistics manufactured in the Ministry¹⁰ of Truth. 所有的人民都被蒙蔽在“真理部门”捏造的所谓“史实”和数据中。

　　The Ministry of Peace is the military. Labor¹¹ camps are called "Joycamps." 和平部负责军事，劳动营被叫做“欢乐营”。

　　Political prisoners are detained and tortured in the Ministry of Love. 政治囚犯被“友爱部”囚禁和折磨。

　　This deliberate irony¹² is an example of doublespeak, 这种故意的讽刺就是“双重思想”的一个例证，

　　when words are used not to convey meaning but to undermine it, corrupting¹³ the very ideas they refer to. 言语不为传达却为扭曲其含义，曲解了每个观点的本意。

　　The regime's control of language goes even further. 政权的言语控制还有更甚。

　　Eliminating words from the English language to create the official dialect of Newspeak. 剔除媒体发布中的英语词汇以塑造官方说法。

　　A crudely limited collection of acronyms¹⁴ and simple concrete nouns 一个简陋、满是缩写和简单名词的集合，

　　lacking any words complex enough to encourage nuanced or critical thought. 缺乏能够表达细微和关键观点的复杂词汇。

　　This has an effect on the psyche¹⁵ Orwell calls, "Doublethink," 这就产生了一种被奥威尔叫做“双重思想”的心理现象。

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