翻译大赛稿件.doc

第二十四届韩素音青年翻译奖竞赛

汉译英稿件

姓 名：何鑫

学 号：111003008

专 业：英语语言与文学

联系方式：18298268196

Language and Social Status
Actually the language one speaks is inextricably linked with the social status one holds. In my memories of the life in Australia, a neighbor is aimed at senatorial run, so he get up very early per day to practice the pronunciation so that his speech can sound not only luscious but gentle.
Of course, the language stands for one’s social status, especially in multinational and multicultural society. This “status” is also a knowledge structure that shows the background of the culture, the degree of knowledge and even the location of the social group you come from, and so on.
Languages can influence the cognition of the culture. For instance, some researches found out that as for these Chinese who are bilingual, when they are asked these questions related to cultural viewpoints, their answers are more authentic than being asked in English. The funny thing is that when we use Putonghua to ask those from Hong Kong and Macao who speak Cantonese about the culture and belief in China, their responses are usually more like the flavor of British expressions than being asked in Cantonese.
In fact, for these Chinese learning to speak foreign languages, most of them is not the real “bilinguals”, but “the people using bilinguals”. The latter is based on the languages and expressions, while the former is pursuant to the minds and lifestyles. However, the process is not static but flexible.
Therefore, what a language learner focuses on is actually a sort of social relationship, which was built by his understanding of striding over the time and space. As a result, what he faces is not only about language, but more multiple and shifting problems about social status.
Studies also indicated that a person’s speaking style is variable according to social environment and the one you speak to. Generally speaking, one’s speaking manner tends to swim with the tide, while sometimes it can also have special points. For example, when I arrive in Beijing, my “accent of Beijing” becomes thicker unconsciously. But when my British friends are in Australia, their “British accent” can be kept more apparent. Perhaps they’d like to indicate their social position in this way.
In the process of adjusting to other cultures, people can hold positive or negative choices for their attitude to the mother tongue. Some people weaken their first language standard desperately as they’re concentrating on other major cultures actively. While some others pay more attention to this aspect, for they consider it as an advantage.
As a rule, if the language a community use is the kind people look up to (like the language the princess and peers speak in Britain), people will become socially superior, and the members can also show exceptional characters intently to maintain their positive features. Certainly, there are still some others trying to draw closer with this sort of speaking manner.
The language one speaks can also become the standard by which others make remarks on you. According to the researches, people can also tell the social status, the degree of education, the kindness, the intelligence, the abilities and even the wealth you have through your language.
Now you can see the significance of your language. Languages imply people’s comprehensive value as dresses decorate one’s physique. In a word, the language shouldn’t just be regarded as a kind of tool, but a sort of one’s inner quality.