Instead of Try

Bar man / barmaid Bar staff

Businessman Executive, business executive, manager, entrepreneur,

Business owner, financier

Chairman Chair, chairperson

Congressman Member of Congress, representative,

Congressional representative

Fireman Fire-fighter

Housewife/househusband Homemaker

Tradesman Trader, small business owner, retailer, dealer

Workman Worker

It is also recommended to avoid noting gender when it is unexpected to you (woman electrician, male secretary) or using any of the ‘etter” or –ess” endings: use instead actor, poet, author, usher, waiter, villain etc.

What does not change? Titles such as Duke and Duchess, Abbott and Abbess, and any historical names (The Green Mountain men)

Man as false generic

Nowadays if one wants to sound PC one should eliminate generic uses of “man” and the masculine pronoun in speech either by using different terms or by using plural or passive constructions:

Instead of Try

Time waits for no man Time waits for no one

Man-hours Total hours, employee hours, hours worked

Manmade Artificial, handmade, homemade

Manpower Workforce, personnel, human resources

(After Michele A. Berdy, the journal for translators Bridges )

Text 2: Render the following text into English:

Политкорректность: игра во что или кем?

Все изучающие английский язык рано или поздно сталкиваются с понятием политкорректности. Обычно политкорректность представляют как некую игру в тотальную вежливость, как некий странный каприз (whim) (политических деятелей, феминисток, «зеленых») употреблять одно слово вместо другого. Однако этот «каприз» имеет гораздо более глубокие корни и гораздо более обширные «сферы влияния», чем это может показаться.

Речевой этикет (etiquette)

Под политкорректностью часто принято понимать идеологию, предписывающую (prescribing) употребление «нейтральных» терминов, заменяющих прямые называния (naming) явлений. С точки зрения сторонников этой идеологии, политкорректность должна помочь сгладить (to smooth) различия и противоречия в обществе , т.к. «свои имена» оскорбительны для тех, кого ими называют.

Появление этого вида политкорректности относят к концу XX века и связывают с обострением (aggravation) расового вопроса в Америке. Считается, что это движение началось с африканских носителей английского языка, которых возмущал его «расизм». Слово ”black” (черный) они потребовали заменить на «афро-американец». Это движение было довольно быстро подхвачено феминистскими движениями, которые, в частности, протестуют против «маскулинности» (ориентации на мужчин (aiming at)) языка. Так, например, в английском языке названия профессий содержат слово «мужчина» (пожарный, почтальон и т.п.). Если следовать правилам политкорректности, то их следует заменять на нейтральные словосочетания – борец с огнем, разносчик почты и т.п.

Сторонниками политкорректности утверждается, что главное в этом движении- установление дружеских взаимно уважительных отношений между социальными группами. Поэтому и существует категория слов и выражений, подлежащих замене на нейтральные: инвалид – человек с физическими особенностями, бедный – экономически ущемленный (disadvantaged) и т.п.

Однако в широком смысле слова под политкорректностью подразумевается практика такой замены слов в политических суждениях, которая бы моделировала восприятие политической ситуации в том ключе, в котором выгодно говорящему. Так, политически корректные стандарты настаивают в том числе на употреблении замен, отвлекающих внимание от негативных явлений действительности, например, война- конфликт, бомбардировка – воздушная поддержка

Также используемые политиками местоимения (pronouns) могут быть «политически корректными» и «политически некорректными».

Выбор политиком личных местоимений зависит от того, как он себя идентифицирует. Ответы на простые вопросы «Кого имеет в виду политик, говоря «мы», «вы», «они»? В каких случаях он употребляет местоимение «я» могут многое рассказать о его самоидентификации. Многие ораторы успешно контролируют употребление этих местоимений, чтобы сформировать у аудитории необходимые им представления. Так, Барак Обама, в противоположность Джорджу Бушу, моделирует такое значение местоимения «мы», которое бы говорило о том, что он отождествляет (to identify) себя с аудиторией.

Однако политкорректность является не только инструментом оратора или политика. В каждую эпоху общество склонно «запрещать» употребления одних слов и поощрять употребление других. Исследования того, что именно запрещается, может многое сказать об эпохе и обществе. (по материалам сайта www.study.ru)

Class 7. Extreme sports

Text 1. Lonnie Bissonnette Interview: What Lies Within Us.

When Lonnie speaks about his BASE jumping adventures, his voice changes tone and emotions fly left and right as if he is a composer creating a musical score. He described his Angel Falls, Venezuela jump as such: “That place called to me. I am so glad that did that jump; you know the tallest waterfall in the world. Angel Falls was a magical place for me that held so much in a spiritually emotional way. The place spoke to me; it was so gorgeous and majestic. I fondly recall the first jumps off of the KL towers in Malaysia. Seeing the hundreds of spectators cheering for us, which was different than skulking around in the dark to jump was a great experience. Niagara Falls was a big jump; there are so many jumps that were amazing for me for various reasons.”

His BASE philosophy reads as if it’s the tag-line for a BASE recruitment poster:

“My philosophy is to just enjoy. Enjoy the experience. You know, it’s not… I don’t think BASE jumping is about numbers. It is about the experiences and the friendship you make. You know a lot of jumps I don’t remember and those are just number jumps. Then there are tons of memories and stories that are more important than the numbers. I think you should just try to get the most out of every jump you do.”

The BASE jump that stands out as one might expect is his 1100 f. jump at Perrine Bridge, in Twin Falls, Idaho which resulted in his paralysis leaving him with an every present reminder of what can go wrong. He tells me, “That one, of all my jumps, replays in my mind most often and is the most vivid”.

When asked if he had any regrets, “Yeah, I regret that on that particular jump I tried to do too much, I was organizing it, I designed the dive, I was taking care of some of the lower experienced people who were on the jump, I basically was doing everything. I was the last person to climb over the rail even though I had the most difficult job on the jump. I guess the regret is, that I regret that I didn’t let someone else take care of the organizing the jump, and let me focus on the task at hand, the jump itself.

There is a lot of background story to the jump as well as there were a lot going on in the jump, that I don’t want to get into. Either I could have done one of two things; I could have taken on all the responsibilities of planning the jump and went flat and stable. Or I could have relinquished and given everyone else the responsibilities and tell them you do this and you do that and concentrate on the quad. I really wanted to do the quad on my 1100 jump, so I tried to do it al. That would be my one regret.”

In discussing his family reaction to the accident his “take it to the extreme attitude” lightens with serious statements about Base jumpers, “manning up”.

Do you think that your family viewed that accident as just that, “an accident”, which could have occurred in a car accident or the other scenario? Did BASE ever come into the conversation or were they more concerned for your emotional well-being and moving on with life?

“Some of them had a really hard time with it. My oldest boy had a tough time with it. I never got that impression from any of my family (that if only I hadn’t BASE jumped!). I think they had for the most part, brothers, sisters, parents, the adults, had known eventually it was going to happen. I tried to prepare them too, because I was pretty sure it would happen. It’s a numbers game and if you keep playing the game long enough , you number is going to come up.

I have always believed that I was going to die BASE jumping; from when I stood on the edge for the very first time in doing my first BASE jump. I had a deja vu moment standing on the edge and it freaked me out. Because it was like how can I look down here and know everything that I was seeing. I recognized it as if I had been here for a hundred times, a thousand times. I have thought about it and truly believe this is how I’m going to die. I have told my family from day one that this is how it is going to happen.

My kids are getting older now, they understand more now than at the time of my accident. My little guy was only 9, so for him, it didn’t really effect him much. They called him at his best friend’s house where he was for a sleepover and told him “Dad had been hurt really bad in a BASE jump” and he went back to riding his bike, it was kind of like “I guess the doctors will fix him”. My oldest boy was 14, my accident affected him in a deeper sense. “ Yeah, he understood and withdrew from me for a time.”

I believe, that if you are going to go out there and get into any sports where you can be killed or worse crippled, then your family should know of all the risks ahead of time. Personally, I don’t like hiding stuff. Of course, you are always going to get people who argue, “I don’t want my family to worry”, but you know, they are going to worry if you go camping or when you’re in a car also.. Keeping them in the dark and hiding things from them, I don’t agree with that, does not sit well with me. I have always taught my boys, if you make a mistake or choose a path that deviates from the norm, stand up, take your grief, face the music, because to me… hiding it, is being a coward.”

I ask Lonnie if he would ever give up BASE jumping if his sons were to ask him.

He pauses for a moment: “That’s a tough one.”

I ask instead, “Would your sons ever ask you to give up BASE jumping?”

“No, I can’t picture my kids ever asking that of me. My kids get it; they get me as a person”.

Lonnie tells me repeatedly that he isn’t special. That he does not do it because he thinks it makes him cool, or “because he has some death wish.”

He jumps because it fills a void inside like nothing else does, bringing him closer to his dream of human flight. Life while jumping becomes vivid color, rushing at him “as if your face pressed up against a HD flat screen and the sound is turned up”.

(taken from Lonnie Bissonnette Interview www. basejumping. com)

Questions for discussion:

1. Describe the guy’s philosophy behind his BASE jumping activity.

2. What were the reasons for his accident?

3. Does he make his family aware of how dangerous his activity is?

4. What is your opinion on BASE jumping? Do you believe that people can do what they want or you think it is to be prohibited?

5. Can you imagine yourself doing this?