法国总理因口音被嘲

Outdated Parisian snobbery towards regional accents

第一段

No sooner had jean Castex been appointed than Parisians seized upon their new prime minister's most distinctive feature: his regional accent. Born in the Gascon town of Vic-Fezensac, Mr Castex speaks with a south-westen twang. Locals take pride in the "accent that sings", which stems from Occitan, the local language .Yet Parisian mockery was thinly disguised . A Paris-Match journalist called it a "gravelly post-match rugby accent". A broadcaster said that his accent was more commonly reserved for rugby commentators or weathermen.

重点词汇

• seize

  • to take something quickly and keep or hold it:

    • I seized his arm and made him turn to look at me.
    • He seized the chance/opportunity of a free flight with both hands (= with eagerness or enthusiasm).

• distinctive

  • Something that is distinctive is easy to recognize because it is different from other things:

    • a distinctive smell/taste
    • She's got a very distinctive voice.

• accent

  • the way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words

    • He's got a strong southern/Boston accent.
    • She's French but she speaks with an impeccable English accent.
    • I thought I could detect a slight Canadian accent.

• twang

  • to make a noise like that of a tight string being quickly pulled and released:

    • He twanged the guitar string.
    • The springs twanged.
    • We heard a twang as the cable broke.

• stem

  • a central part of something from which other parts can develop or grow, or which forms a support

    • The stem of a plant is the straight part that grows above the ground and from which leaves and flowers grow.

• Parisian

  • from, belonging to, or relating to the city of Paris in France:

    • She's got that Parisian chic.
    • a person who comes from Paris

• mockery

  • the act of mocking someone or something:

    • Bill's mockery of his dad was cruel, but it made us laugh.
    • The trial was a mockery - the judge had decided the verdict before it began.

• thinly

  • made or done so that something is not thick:

    • a thinly populated area
    • thinly planted seedlings

• disguised

  • having an appearance that hides the true form:

    • In Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night", Duke Orsino falls in love with the disguised Viola.
    • In the book, the author gives a thinly (= only slightly) disguised account of his own early teaching experiences.

• gravelly

  • If a voice, especially a man's voice, is gravelly, it is low and rough.

• rugby

  • a sport where two teams try to score points by carrying an oval ball

    • Tom plays rugby every Saturday.
    • He's built like a rugby player (= he is very big and strong).
    • a rugby team/ball/game

• reserved

  • Reserved people do not often talk about or show their feelings or thoughts:

    • a quiet, reserved woman
    • The English have a reputation for being reserved.

  • Reserved tickets, seats, etc. are ones that you have arranged to be kept for you:

    • May I sit here, or is this seat/table reserved?

• commentator

  • a reporter for radio or television who provides a spoken description of and remarks on an event, especially a sports competition, as it happens:

    • a radio commentator
    • a sports/football commentator.

第二段

Few members of the Parisian elite hang on to their regional accents ,if they once had one. When Jules Ferry, a Third Republic education minister,imposed French as the sole language in schools in the 1880s, nursery teachers were told to "correct the flaws in pronunciation or local accent." Dropping a northern ch'ti accent, or a southern drawl, is often a prerequisite for survival under Paris's unforgiving social codes. French broad-casters, unlike those in Britain, still speak in identical metropolitan tones.

重点词汇

• elite

  • the richest, most powerful, best-educated, or best-trained group in a society:

    • 子主题 1

      • the country's educated elite
      • a member of the elite

• hang on

  • to wait for a short time:

    • Sally's on the other phone - would you like to hang on?
    • Do you need the toilet right now or can you hang on for a while?
    • Hang on a minute - I'll be with you in a moment!

• imposed

  • to officially force a rule, tax, punishment, etc. to be obeyed or received:

    • Very high taxes have recently been imposed on cigarettes.
    • udges are imposing increasingly heavy fines for minor driving offences.
    • The council has imposed a ban on alcohol in the city parks.

• sole

  • being one only; single:

    • y sole objective is to make the information more widely available.
    • The sole survivor of the accident was found in the water after six hours.
    • She has sole responsibility for the project.
    • I have sole charge of both children all day.

• nursery

  • a place where young children and babies are taken care of while their parents are at work:

    • Does Jake go to a nursery or a childminder?
    • This type of nursery care may well be the best choice for your child.
    • We've fitted up the spare room as a nursery.
    • The office complex has an on-site nursery.
    • The nursery has 30 babies on the books and 13 on the waiting list.

• flaw

  • a fault, mistake, or weakness, especially one that happens while something is being planned or made

    • I returned the material because it had a flaw in it.
    • There's a fatal flaw in your reasoning.
    • This report is full of flaws.
    • a character flaw

• prerequisite

  • something that must exist or happen before something else can exist or happen:

    • Passing a written test is a prerequisite for taking the advanced course.
    • Public support is a prerequisite for/to the success of this project.
    • They had to agree to certain conditions as a prerequisite of being lent the money.

• metropolitan

  • relating to a large city:

    • he Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
    • He was drawn to the metropolitan glamour and excitement of Paris.
    • a metropolitan area

• tones

  • a quality in the voice that expresses the speaker's feelings or thoughts, often towards the person being spoken to:

    • I tried to use a sympathetic tone of voice.
    • Don't speak to me in that tone of voice (= angrily), young lady!
    • t wasn't so much what she said that annoyed me - it was her tone.
    • She tends to adopt a falsely cheerful tone when she's upset about something.

第三段

There are exceptions. Charles Pasqua, interior minister under President Francois Mitterrand, kept his Provencal accent. Francois Bayrou, a centrist politician from the south-west ,occasionally lets his filter through . Jean-Michel Aphatie, a broadcaster originally from the Pyrenees, is well-known for retaining his . Given the backlash against the global-lising elite, an accent can in fact hint at a precious link to le terrain, or local region, which may have helped Mr Castex-a high-flying technocrat-get the job

重点词汇

• exception

  • someone or something that is not included in a rule, group, or list or that does not behave in the expected way:

    • Men are usually quite good at map-reading but Tim is the exception.
    • There are exceptions to every rule.

• interior

  • the inside part of something:

    • The estate agent had pictures of the house from the outside but none of its interior.
    • The car's interior is very impressive - wonderful leather seats and a wooden dashboard.

• centrist

  • supporting the centre of the range of political opinions

    • The policy will alienate independents and centrists.
    • Her campaign so far suggests that she would try to bridge the divide between the party's liberals and centrists.

• occasionally

  • sometimes but not often:

    • I see him occasionally in town.
    • Occasionally I'll have a piece of chocolate, but it's very rare.
    • You're bound to forget people's names occasionally.

• broadcaster

  • someone whose job is to speak on radio or television programmes:

    • He was a famous broadcaster in the 1930s.
    • They claimed that they had more correspondents around the world than any other broadcaster.

• retain

  • to keep or continue to have something:

    • She has lost her battle to retain control of the company.
    • He managed to retain his dignity throughout the performance.
    • She succeeded in retaining her lead in the second half of the race.
    • have a good memory and am able to retain (= remember) facts easily.

• hint

  • something that you say or do that shows what you think or want, usually in a way that is not direct:

    • He's dropped (= given) several hints to the boss that he'll quit if he doesn't get a promotion.
    • Did she give you any hints about where she was going?
    • You can't take (= understand) a hint, can you? Just go away and leave me alone!

• precious

  • of great value because of being rare, expensive, or important:

    • a precious moment/memory
    • Clean water is a precious commodity in many parts of the world.
    • The museum is full of rare and precious treasures.

• technocrat

  • an expert in science or technology who has a lot of power in or influence with the government or industry:

    • We believe there is a danger in policy-makers blindly trusting the technocrats.
    • Technocrats do not always have the marketing skills necessary to be successful businessmen.

第四段

Parisians may now have to overcome their glottophobie, or snobbery against regional accents. A law professor in Toulouse called the fuss about Mr Castex's "irritating condescending Parisianism ". As for Mr Castex, when asked , as he inevitably was , he feigned surprise."I've got an accent?" he asked , adding:"i'm proud of my accent, i am what i am."

重点词汇

• snobbery

  • behaviour and opinions that are typical of a snob:

    • She accused me of snobbery because I sent my sons to a private school.

• fuss

  • a show of anger, worry, or excitement that is unnecessary or greater than the situation deserves

    • She made such a fuss when Richard spilled a drop of wine on her blouse!
    • It's all a fuss about nothing.
    • I don't see what the fuss is about - he seems like a fairly ordinary-looking guy to me.
    • They tried to arrange a ceremony with as little fuss as possible.

• irritating

  • making you feel annoyed:

    • an irritating habit
    • There was one irritating delay after another.

• condescending

  • treating someone as if you are more important or more intelligent than them:

    • I hate the way he's so condescending to his staff!
    • His condescending attitude offended his teammates.

• inevitably

  • in a way that cannot be avoided:

    • Their arguments inevitably end in tears.
    • Such a large investment inevitably entails some risk.
    • The investigation into the air crash would inevitably apportion blame to certain members of the crew.

• feigned

  • to pretend to have a particular feeling, problem, etc. :

    • You know how everyone feigns surprise when you tell them how old you are.
    • She responded to his remarks with feigned amusement.