TED演讲:奥威尔现象(2)

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　　in place of the officially dictated² version of events, 取而代之的是解读的官方版本，

　　leaving the individual completely dependent on the State's definition of reality itself. 使个人完全依附于政府定义下的“现实”。

　　The result is a world in which even the privacy of one's own thought process is violated, 这样的结果就是个人独立的思维过程被侵犯，

　　where one may be found guilty of thoughtcrime by talking in their sleep, 梦呓可能被认定是思想犯罪，

　　and keeping a diary or having a love affair equals a subversive³ act of rebellion. 写日记或者发生外遇被认为是反叛的颠覆性行为。

　　This might sound like something that can only happen in totalitarian regimes. 这听起来是极权政体下才可能发生的现象。

　　But Orwell was warning us about the potential for this occurring even in democratic societies. 但是奥威尔警示我们，这种现象在民主社会仍有可能发生。

　　And this is why "authoritarian⁴" alone does not "Orwellian" make. 这就是为什么单单“专制主义”并不等同于“奥威尔现象”。

　　In his essay, "Politics and the English Language," he described techniques like using pretentious⁵ words to project authority, 在他的《政治与英语语言》一文中，他描述了各种手段，诸如矫饰词汇来形容权威，

　　or making atrocities⁶ sound acceptable by burying them in euphemisms⁷ and convoluted⁸ sentence structures. 或者用委婉说法掩盖残暴行径，使其得到接受或者迂回扭曲句子结构。

　　But even more mundane⁹ abuses of language can affect the way we think about things. 更平常的语言滥用也可以影响我们的思维方式。

　　The words you see and hear in everyday advertising¹⁰ have been crafted to appeal to you and affect your behavior. 我们每天在广告中看到、听到的言论都是为了吸引观众和改变其行为而塑造的。

　　As have the soundbites and talking points of political campaigns which rarely present the most nuanced perspective on the issues. 政治竞选中的评述和论点亦是如此，这些都很少表达出细致的观点。

　　And the way that we use ready-made phrases and responses gleaned¹¹ from media reports or copied from the Internet 在我们使用这些媒体报道中现成的短语、评论，或者从网络上复制内容的时候，

　　makes it easy to get away with not thinking too deeply or questioning your assumptions. 很少再去深刻思考或者质疑前提假设。

　　So the next time you hear someone use the word Orwellian, pay close attention. 下一次你听到某人使用“奥威尔现象”这次词的时候可要注意了。

　　If they're talking about the deceptive¹² and manipulative use of language, they're on the right track. 如果他们说的是对语言的欺诈性和操控性的使用，那就是正确的使用方式。

　　If they're talking about mass surveillance and intrusive¹³ government, 如果他们说的是大规模监视和干预型政府，

　　they're describing something authoritarian but not necessarily Orwellian. 那他们更像是在说“专制主义”，而不一定是“奥威尔现象”。

　　And if they use it as an all-purpose word for any ideas they dislike, 如果他们试图用万能词汇描述他们反对的观点，

　　it's possible their statements are more Orwellian than whatever it is they're criticizing. 那么有可能他们的说法更倾向于“奥威尔现象”而非他们所批评的内容。

　　Words have the power to shape thought. 词汇有塑造思维的力量。

　　Language is the currency of politics, forming the basis of society from the most common, 语言是政治的流通货币，

　　everyday interactions to the highest ideals. 从日常互动到高级理想建立社会的基础。

　　Orwell urged us to protect our language 奥威尔劝告我们去保护我们的语言，

　　because ultimately our ability to think and communicate clearly is what stands between us and a world 因为思考和交流的能力正是我们与一个颠倒的世界之间的屏障，

　　where war is peace and freedom is slavery. 在那里，战争即和平，奴役即自由。

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