What is left unsaid is often more powerful and poetic
Biljana Scott, 12 May 2012
Implicit communication is vital to diplomacy – as we can keep our options open while not causing offence
[1] Why use implicit communication? Wouldn't life be so much simpler if people just said what they meant? Perhaps, but it would also be much poorer, for it would lack the power of poetry and possibility. Although most self-help books on public speaking and effective communication focus on clarity, everyday language draws extensively on the more covert art of the unsaid: suggestion, insinuation, connotation and other forms of implicit communication. The very abundance of terms with which we differentiate nuances of what hasn't quite been said suggests that this is an area of experience that matters to us.
词汇词组：
1） Implicit/ɪmˈplɪsɪt/：隐晦的，含蓄的
例：These assumptions are implicit in his writing.
2） Draw on：利用，应用，使用
例：The novelist draws heavily on her personal experiences.
3） Covert/ˈkoʊvɜːrt/：隐蔽的，秘密的
例：He stole a covert glance at her across the table.
4） Insinuation/ɪnˌsɪnjuˈeɪʃn/：影射，暗示
例：She resented the insinuation that she was too old for the job.
5） Connotation/ˌkɑːnəˈteɪʃn/：隐含意义，联想的意义
例：The word ‘professional’ has connotations of skill and excellence.
6） Abundance/əˈbʌndəns/：大量的什么东西
例：Exotic plants grew there in great abundance.
7） Differentiate/ˌdɪfəˈrenʃieɪt/：区别
例：It's difficult to differentiate between the two varieties.
8） Nuance/ˈnuːɑːns/：细微差别
例：Her singing has both warmth of sound and delicacy of nuance.
重难点句：
The very abundance of terms with which we differentiate nuances of what hasn't quite been said suggests that this is an area of experience that matters to us.
那些大量的能够让我们区别没有讲的话里的细微区别的术语，说明了这是一个对我们很重要的经验领域。
分析：整个句子的谓语是suggest，说明/表明的意思。主语的核心词是the very abundance of terms, 后面的with which we differentiate nuances of what hasn’t quite been said是后置定语，来修饰the very abundance of terms。This is an area of experience中的this指的是implicit communication，that matters to us又是一个定语。来修饰an area of experience。
[2] So why does it matter? One reason is that by not committing to a position or proposition overtly, we can keep our options open for longer. A definition of so-called "diplomatic language" is language that sits on the fence. Equivocation doesn't only provide us with room for manoeuvre, but also allows for plausible deniability: one can't be held accountable for what one hasn't said. Although fudging serves the speaker well, it may frustrate those parties who require decision and commitment.
词汇词组：
1） Overtly /oʊˈvɜːrtli/：明显地，公开地
2） Sit on the fence：保持中立
3） Equivocation /ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃn/：含糊话，模棱两可的话
例：These actions must be condemned without equivocation.
4） Manoeuvre /məˈnuːvər/：策略，技巧
例：You will be asked to perform some standard manoeuvres during your driving test.
5） Accountable /əˈkaʊntəbl/：负责任的
例：Local authorities should be publicly accountable to the communities they serve.
6） Fudge /fʌdʒ/：回避，搪塞，敷衍
例：This solution is a fudge rushed in to win cheers at the party conference.
重难点句：
Equivocation doesn't only provide us with room for manoeuvre, but also allows for plausible deniability: one can't be held accountable for what one hasn't said.
模棱两可的话不仅可以给我们空间去施展策略，也能够给我们合理的否认权：人们是不用对自己没说的话负责任的。
分析：主句的框架是not only，but also的句式，不仅怎么样，还怎么样。Provide sb with sth，给某人提供什么，另一个句型，allow for sth，允许如何的意思。Be accountable for或者hold accountable for，负责任的意思。
[3] Another reason for preferring implicit communication has to do with face: because in-your-face remarks tend to cause offence, politeness often involves the use of indirect language. Loss of face can all too readily lead to retaliation and the escalation of conflict. The damage caused by WikiLeaks was not so much in the content of the cables, but in the fact that this content was broadcast: by projecting private communications into the public domain, the judgments they contain are "out there" and can't be taken back (See Steven Pinker's analysis of the film When Harry met Sally in his lecture Language as a Window into Human Nature. In its second sense of "politeness" and "consideration" therefore, diplomatic language serves the interests of the other party by not causing offence, while also serving our own interests by sparing us the consequences of offence caused.
词汇词组：
1） Retaliation /rɪˌtæliˈeɪʃn/：报复
例：The shooting may have been in retaliation for the arrest of the terrorist suspects.
2） Escalation /ˌeskəˈleɪʃn/：升级
3） Domain /doʊˈmeɪn/：领域，范围
例：Financial matters are her domain.
重难点句：
Another reason for preferring implicit communication has to do with face: because in-your-face remarks tend to cause offence, politeness often involves the use of indirect language.
另一个倾向于使用隐晦交流的原因和“面子”有关：因为当面说的话容易造成冒犯，文明礼貌就需要使用间接的语言。
分析：prefer更倾向于，更喜欢什么。For是一个介词后面用doing的形式，所以我们用preferring，has to do with sth，和什么有关，face在这里，我们理解为面子的意思，这也是一种connotation，而后面的in-your-face就是当着你的面，当面的意思，remarks，言论，接下来的tend to do sth，指的是有什么的倾向，更容易发生什么。
[4] A third and vitally important reason for resorting to implicit communication concerns persuasion: we are much more likely to win someone over if we lead them to the conclusions we want them to reach than if we tell them what to think or do. One way of achieving this is through the use of connotations, which pack a whole story into a capsule. Consider the terms "security fence" and "apartheid wall": both refer to the same edifice between Israel and Palestine, but each tells a very different story.
词汇词组：
1） Vitally /ˈvaɪtəli/：至关重要地
例：Education is vitally important for the country's future.
2） Resort /rɪˈzɔːrt/ to：诉诸于
例：They felt obliged to resort to violence.
3） Apartheid /əˈpɑːrtaɪt/：（南非实施的）种族隔离制
例：Nelson Mandela spent many years fighting against apartheid.
4） Refer /rɪˈfɜːr/ to：提及到
例：The victims were not referred to by name.
5） Edifice /ˈedɪfɪs/：巨大的建筑
例：Their new manifesto hardly threatens to bring the whole edifice of capitalism crashing down.
重难点句：
A third and vitally important reason for resorting to implicit communication concerns persuasion: we are much more likely to win someone over if we lead them to the conclusions we want them to reach than if we tell them what to think or do.
第三个要使用隐晦交流的至关重要的原因是和说服有关：如果我们把对方引导到我们希望他们到的地方而不是直接告诉他们如何去做怎么去想，会更容易说服别人的。
分析：resort to是一个非常好的词组，但是你查字典的时候很可能看到的中文解释是“诉诸于”，完了，“诉诸于”什么意思啊？你在此生的语言应用的过程当中可能都遇不到一个让你想到诉诸于的情景，怎么办，那这个词组就死了，resort to，你就把它理解成，使用，采取什么就好了，而且，他后面多是跟一些不好的负面的手段。win sb over说服某人或者取胜的意思，两个if分别引导的条件状语从句，另外than对比两个条件状语从句，如果我们怎么样而不是怎么样，就能够more likely to win someone over，更容易说服别人。
[5] Metaphors and analogies similarly pack a story in a capsule, as illustrated by the "roadmap" to peace, "war" on terror, or another "Vietnam". Metaphors frame an argument by transferring our understanding of one thing on to a different area of experience. Their appeal is in offering an accessible way of thinking about something we might otherwise find hard to grasp, but they do so by telling only part of the story and leaving the rest to be inferred. In filling out the unsaid along the lines intended by the metaphor-maker, we are in effect complicit in our own manipulation. Diplomacy, it has been said, is "the art of letting the other party have things your way".
词汇词组：
1） Metaphor/ˈmetəfər/：暗喻，隐喻
例：He uses the metaphor of fire to represent hatred.
2） Analogy/əˈnælədʒi/：类比
例：The teacher drew an analogy between the human heart and a pump.
3） Appeal/əˈpiːl/：呼吁，恳求
例：The child's mother made an emotional appeal on TV for his return.
4） Otherwise/ˈʌðərwaɪz/：要不然
例：Shut the window, otherwise it'll get too cold in here.
5） Infer/ɪnˈfɜːr/：推断
例：Readers are left to infer the killer’s motives.
6） In effect：有效果，事实上
例：In effect, the two systems are identical.
7） Complicit/kəmˈplɪsɪt/：同谋关系的，串通一气的
例：Several officers were complicit in the cover-up.
重难点句：
Their appeal is in offering an accessible way of thinking about something we might otherwise find hard to grasp, but they do so by telling only part of the story and leaving the rest to be inferred. In filling out the unsaid along the lines intended by the metaphor-maker, we are in effect complicit in our own manipulation.
他们的恳求/意愿或者说目的，是为了提供一种能够理解的，看得见摸得着的思考方式，而如果没有这种提供的话，我们是很难明白或者理解的，但是，她们这么做也只是告诉我们故事的一部分，剩下的就留给我们自己去推断了。为了能够填补上比喻者想表达的但没有说的剩余部分，事实上，我们就必须使用一些手段。
分析：前半句是相对来说，比较好理解的，appeal是一个什么东西，就是offering了一个accessible way of thinking， otherwise，要不然的意思，要不然，我们就find hard to grasp了，不好理解了。但是又不能全告诉你，那没告诉你的，又怕你真的想不出来，所以我们在整个讲话的过程中都要用到一些技巧，才能真正做到，话不说全，但你还能听懂，所以in effect，事实上，效果上的意思，在最终的结果上we are complicit in our own manipulation. 这句话的理解就是，我们肯定是要用一下手段的，manipulation，不要再只想着操纵的意思了，要不然，otherwise，这个词就又死了。另外 sb is complicit in sth，我们就直接理解为某人参与进来了什么，他在其中的概念。千万不能仅仅理解为同谋关系串通一气，那就太狭隘了，narrow or single-minded。回过头，简单说一下in effect和in fact的区别，它俩在词义上有一定的重叠，in effect强调的是结果怎么样，in fact是在说明一个事实情况。比如说in effect， two systems are identical.和in fact, two systems are identical. 前者说的是两个系统在效果上一模一样，可能本身过程区别很大，而后者in fact指的是两个系统几乎是一模一样的，操作过程也几乎一样。
[6] Is the use of implicit communication primarily self-serving then? Not all social dynamics are necessarily self-interested, or if they are, the "self" may involve a larger group. This is the case where what is not said need not be said, because it is understood. When we "speak the same language", we understand one another without having to spell out our meaning, as is typified by humour, irony, shared allusions and other forms of coded communication. Here, the unsaid serves to create and consolidate a sense of community.
词汇词组：
1） Self-serving/self-interested：为自我服务的/为自身利益的。Self- 这个前缀指的是以自我的什么，后面可以加形容词名词等构成一个新的词汇。
2） Dynamic /daɪˈnæmɪk/：动态，动力
例：Market dynamics are working in the company’s favour.
3） Typify /ˈtɪpɪfaɪ/：是…典型
例：the new style of politician, typified by the Prime Minister
4） Consolidate /kənˈsɑːlɪdeɪt/：加固，加强
例：Italy consolidated their lead with a second goal.
重难点句：
When we "speak the same language", we understand one another without having to spell out our meaning, as is typified by humour, irony, shared allusions and other forms of coded communication.
当我们说“同一种语言的时候”，我们不用刻意地去解释说明就能够理解彼此，幽默，讽刺，共通的暗示或者是其他形式的密码交流，这些都是典型的例子。
分析：spell out表示的是清楚地说明解释的意思。As在这儿引导了一个非限定性定语从句，一定程度上和which引导的非限定性定语从句有点像，但从句和主句如果在逻辑上是一致或者互补的关系的话最好是用as，相反的情况下最好是用which，举个简单的例子，来看一下：she gets divorced again, which is unexpected.和she gets married again, as is expected. Be typified by sth的句式，翻译过来就是，sth是什么的一类典型例子或者代表，回到文中，就是幽默/讽刺等等是刚才提到的整句话的意思的一类典型代表。Shared指的是共同拥有的。
[7] Finally, the unsaid is packed with the power of possibility. Poetry and politics share common ground when it comes to potential, promise and redress, as suggested by the adage: "We campaign in poetry, but govern in prose." In so far as explicit communication is the tip of the iceberg, implication is its submerged under-structure: unsaid, often unseen, potentially lethal yet at times unutterably beautiful.
词汇词组：
1） Redress /rɪˈdres/：赔偿，纠正
例：to seek legal redress for unfair dismissal
2） Adage /ˈædɪdʒ/：谚语，俗语
例：According to the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words.
3） Prose /proʊz/：散文
4） In so far as：至于，到….程度
例：That's the truth, in so far as I know it.
5） The tip of the iceberg：冰山一角
例：This figure represents only the tip of the iceberg, since as many as 90% of cases go unreported.
6） Lethal /ˈliːθl/：致命的，至死的
例：The snake’s venom is rarely lethal to humans.
重难点句：
Finally, the unsaid is packed with the power of possibility. Poetry and politics share common ground when it comes to potential, promise and redress, as suggested by the adage: "We campaign in poetry, but govern in prose."
最后，为说的话包含着可能性的力量。当涉及到可能性/承诺和赔偿的时候，诗歌和政治是有共通性的，正如那句谚语所说，“竞选就是写诗，在任就是作文。”
分析：be packed with，包含着什么东西，share common ground，有着共同性，when it comes to sth，当谈及到，当涉及到什么的时候，as在这儿表示正如，同样引导了一个非限定性定语从句，只是从句中省去了be动词，就变成了一个非谓语的形式。那句谚语，理解起来就是，政客们在竞选的时候，就像是写诗一样，美好的词汇堆砌起来，空话套话各种说，但等到上任管理的时候就不一样了，就像写散文一样，要有具体的内容，要通俗易懂，实实在在。
[8] From equivocation to consideration, from persuasion to in-group consolidation, from threat to thrall, implicit communication plays an important role not only in diplomacy, but in everyday communication. We have a choice either to master the unsaid or to be mastered by it.
词汇词组：
1） Thrall /θrɔːl/：控制，奴役
例：She was in thrall to her emotions.
重难点句：
From equivocation to consideration, from persuasion to in-group consolidation, from threat to thrall, implicit communication plays an important role not only in diplomacy, but in everyday communication. We have a choice either to master the unsaid or to be mastered by it.
从模棱两可到细致入微，从说服到劝服到集体巩固，从要挟迫使到奴役舒服，晦涩的交流术不仅在外交上发挥着重要的作用，也在我们的日常交际中扮演者重要的角色。我们可以去选择，是掌握不说的技能还是被不说所掌控。
分析：play an important role in sth，在什么重起着重要的角色作用。Not only，but also表示不仅怎么样而且怎么样。
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