China Crisis Required Sensitivity and Subterfuge

How refreshing to get a lesson in the nuances of language, and an exercise in the kind of critical thinking that extends beyond what the meaning of the word "is" is.

Love, as in "love is never having to say you're sorry", is one sappy cliché. It's harmless enough as a staple of the language of puppy love, but big-dog love can require an apology to a loved one when you're wrong — and often when you're right. You could ask Cupid.

But not in the give-and-take between foreign countries, where love never has anything to do with it. Nevertheless, diplomacy sometimes requires the sensitivity and subterfuge of the language of love. Finding the delicate balance, as in relationships between men and women, is the game of diplomacy.

Some conservatives thought George W. Bush should have used tougher language in the initial stages of the crisis on Hainan Island by calling our pilots "hostages". Many liberals thought he was too tough when he said this accident could undermine our hopes for a "productive relationship".

The speculation quickly changed from who would say what, and when, to something like "he said, he said". The advantage went to whoever got to write the subtitles.

The Chinese quibble endlessly over words, and which shade of purple to say them in. Did the president express enough grief over the death of the Chinese pilot? Was he "feichang wanxi" (very sorrowful) or merely "feichang bao qian" (very sorry)? Imagine the misery of the translator assigned to convert the tor­tured syntax of George Bush into "feichang" anything. We should be grateful we have a laconic president who doesn't make a big deal over feeling another's pain. (Whatever Bill Clinton would have said, and he would have said a lot, every hour on the hour, no one could have translated it into two or three Chinese words.)

But how refreshing to get a lesson in the nuances of langu­age, and an exercise in the kind of critical thinking that extends beyond what the meaning of the word "is" is. An imaginative teacher could use this linguistic crossfire to stress the complexi­ties and subtleties of language and the different ways language reflects different cultures.

Few scholars any longer study rhetoric, and as a result most of us have a limited knowledge of the infinite shades of gray (or purple) in the art of persuasion and translation. Words, which actually have precise meanings, are often flung about with aban­don, even by people who regard themselves as educated. But every language offers a different set of rhetorical possibilities, and none are more formidable than the languages of China. Me­dia Studies Journal, which examines the media and its impact on society, devotes an entire issue to the specific difficulties in re­porting about China.

With 4,000 years of civilization, China has consistently pro­duced leaders and advisers who seem especially artful in using language to their advantage, understanding all too well that cruel and brutal rule must be "glossed over with a soft veneer", writes Dai Qing, a Chinese dissident and onetime reporter for a Chi­nese daily.

The Chinese specialize in a technique which they euphemis­tically call "guiding public opinion". What they mean is "cen­sorship". It's the language equivalent of "saving face" and it's what the Chinese government tried to impose on the United States with demands for an "apology".

In China, the government speaks to a reporter in clear and precise language about how that reporter should approach his story. Explains Dai Qing: "Say it this way and not that, for no other position shall be tolerated", or better yet, "Saying it this way is to your advantage, for if you insist on the opposite, well, then just let's wait and see".

This approach sets the parameters for how the Chinese re­port a story to their own people. "Sorry" was the word they had to have us say so they could tell their people that the United States had apologized. It was less important what we apologized for than that we used a word the government could manipulate. So the United States said it was "very sorry that the entering of China's space and landing did not have verbal clearance".

The Chinese wanted us to accept the blame for the collision, but President Bush finally made them understand they weren't going to get that. Stalling became counterproductive and the Chinese government began to worry that the situation could spin out of control.

"Wisdom", Confucius might say, "is knowing when to cut bait", especially when you've got other fish to fry.

Tasks to the text:

A.

Make out what happened on April 1, 2001, paying attention to such words and phrases as "hostages", "the death of the Chinese pilot", "the collision".

 

1. Explain the title and the subtitle.

2. Prove that the president's statement to the press wasn't well-balanced.

3. Explain the difference between the English and Chinese lan­guages as understood from the text.

4. Prove that the author is critical of scholars and translators. State if the author is critical or approving of Chinese leaders and advisers.

5. Explain the implication of the last sentence.

B.

1. Explain the following idioms: to save face, to cut bait, to have other fish to fry. Find them in the text and translate the sentences into Russian.

2. Recall all the synonyms to the word "subterfuge".

3. Find the sentence in the text with the verb ending in "vert". Paraphrase it.

4. Give examples of tough language.

5. Give examples of euphemisms in the text.

Comprehension questions:

1. Why does the author speak about the language of love and the language of diplomacy? Do they have anything in com­mon? What is it? Who is Cupid?
2. What do the reactions of different groups of people to the president's statement prove?
3. Why is it challenging to translate into Chinese and to report about China?
4. What are the limitations of modern education according to the article?
5. What is the language of saving face?
6. How did the Chinese authorities manage to bridge the gap between the president's actual words and the sought-for re­sult?
7. What actually propelled the crisis in Sino-American relations?

 

Exercise 14

 

Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. Some conservatives thought George W. Bush should have used tougher language in the initial stages of the crisis on Hainan Island by calling our pilots "hostages".

2. Whatever Bill Clinton would have said, and he would have said a lot, every hour on the hour, no one could have translated it into two or three Chinese words.

3. "Sorry" was the word they had to have us say so they could tell their people that the United States had apologized.

Exercise 15

Explain in English the following word combinations related to language. Give their Russian equivalents.

 sappy cliché

sensitivity and subterfuge of language

tough language

tortured syntax

linguistic crossfire

complexities and subtleties of language

infinite shades/nuances of language

clear and precise language

Exercise 16

Translate the word combinations into Russian. In what context are they used by the author?

to find the delicate balance between

to quibble over words

the art of persuasion and translation

impact on society

to use language to one's advantage

to guide public opinion

to gloss over smth with

to manipulate a word

to have verbal clearance

to spin out of control

Exercise 17

Use the word combinations from the exercise above in the fol­lowing sentences.

1. Politicians skillfully_____ and artfully _____ different words when addressing the public.

2. The aim of the mass media is not only to convey information but also to _____ both inside the country and abroad.

3. Only some scholars possess knowledge of various shades of language when exercising _____.

4. Communication gap stems from the inability to _____ when arguing about personal matters.

5. The talks aimed at reaching an agreement and preventing the situation from _____.

6. The war's_______ and on the future development of the country was tremendous.

7. The authorities demanded that reporters should _____ recent heavy losses and told them how they should approach their stories if they wanted to survive.

8. The Chinese authorities _______ because they want­ed the US to accept the blame for the collision.

1. The plane entered the airspace of a foreign country without_____ and thus ran the risk of being shot down.

Exercise 18

Translate the following sentences into English using the studied vocabulary.

1. Английский язык, будучи языком германской группы, испытал, начиная с XI века, сильнейшее и многократное воздействие французского. Около 55 % слов в англий­ском — заимствования из французского или из латин­ского при посредстве французского; весьма сильно влия­ние французского в синтаксисе и заметно в морфологии.

2. Понятие стиля у римских писателей периода империи было очень развитым и тонким. Оно относилось, кроме всего прочего, к литературной речи.

3. Умелое обращение со словами, знание бесконечных их оттенков и нюансов необходимы дипломату в его искус­стве убеждения и перевода.

4. Повсеместное распространение всеобщего образования и грамотности, сглаживание различий между городом и деревней привели к становлению общенационально­го языка с его бесчисленными оттенками и нюансами.

5. Другой ученый эпохи Буур (Bouhours) писал, что фран­цузский язык «нашел секрет, как соединить краткость не только с ясностью и точностью, но и с чистотой и с бла­говоспитанностью; французский язык прибегает к мета­форе только тогда, когда не может без нее обойтись, он ненавидит гиперболу, столь ценимую соседями». (Буур иронизирует над итальянскими и испанскими языками).

6. Как в политике, так и в дипломатии для достижения сво­их целей необходимо в совершенстве владеть искус­ством убеждения, умело играть словами, используя их с выгодой для себя.

Exercise 19

Consider a new list of phrases containing instances of doubles­peak and euphemisms. Explain in plain English what they really mean.

1. HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES have been used in TECHNICAL SURVEILLANCE for decades.

2. One of my best friends is currently categorized as a DIS­PLACED HOMEMAKER .

3. Military commanders usually warn soldiers not to FRATER­NIZE with the local population.

4. ARTIFICIAL DENTURES are believed to have inspired peo­ple with confidence.

5. Make sure your niece does not bring a DARKEY into the family.

6. The company spent $12 million on CONTRIBUTIONS.

7. The army BROKE OFF CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY.

8. A true NEW RUSSIAN can hardly do without a LAND­SCAPE ARCHITECT.

9. He took us by surprise in our BIRTHDAY SUITS.

10. The Americans were shocked when they heard about the num­ber of CRIMINAL OPERATIONS performed annually on schoolgirls.

Exercise 20

Can you identify the euphemistic expressions in the sentences below? What do they really mean?

1. At the end of the evening, the minister seemed to be tired and emotional.

2. The president admitted that the statement he had made yes­terday was no longer operative.

3. When the lawyer questioned him closely, the civil servant admitted that he may have been economical with the truth.

4. He is no longer in the best of health.

5. A man is helping police with their enquiries.

To be Politically Correct, PC, means to be correct accord­ing to a set of liberal opinions, that black people and wom­en should have equal chances to get jobs, education etc.

The newest edition of Random House Webster’s College Dictio­nary boasts more new words than any of its competitors. Besides it has a chapter called "Avoiding Insensitive and Offensive Lan­guage", which tells us that we should avoid "emphasizing the differences between people" and think of language as a way "to­ward rectifying the unequal social status between one group and another."

Before reading the text below ponder over the following ques­tions.

1. Is political correctness always acceptable? What distortions could it cause?

2. Which words could you think of as discriminatory? What ex­amples of gender-neutral language can you come up with?

3. Should language be politicized or not?

WINNER AS A DIRTY WORD

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