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文章來源:http://blog.udn.com/corecorner/4736888

 

近來校園頻傳霸凌事件,「霸凌」這個字一下竄紅起來,原來「霸凌」取英文字bully 譯音,bully一詞是指「逞威風、欺凌的人」,音與義都說得過去。今天世界公民周報我們就來談談這個有意思的字bully。

 

Bully最直接的聯想就是bull(公牛),我們說上漲的市場叫bull market,牛頭犬也就叫做bull dog。Bully一定就是負面意思嗎?

 

 

霸凌以外的Bully

 

 

查一查Yahoo字典,發現Bully這個字其實意思不少:

 

(名) 恃強欺弱者; 惡霸、皮條客        
He is a bully with a coward‘s heart. 他是個色厲內荏的傢伙。 

 

(動) 威嚇, 脅迫; 欺侮人     
The new boy was constantly bullied at school. 新來的男孩在校老是被人欺侮。 

 

(形)【口】特好的, 第一流的      
What a bully idea! 多妙的主意!

 

(副) 很、極、突出地   
I like swimming bully well. 我非常喜歡游泳。 

 

(插)【口】好, 妙   
Bully for us! 好啊!

 

有極度正面也有極度反面的意思,英文的奧妙也恰恰在這裡。

 

Bully pulpit是大好講壇

 

假如你以為bully只是欺負人,那就很難瞭解英文俚語裡有一個「bully pulpit」,中文譯成「大好講壇」。Bully pulpit的解釋: an important job or position that someone can use to persuade other people to accept their ideas (指能提供機會闡明自己觀點的重要職位)。

 

例句:The presidency had been transformed from a bully pulpit on Pennsylvania Avenue to a stage the size of the world. 總統的職位已從賓州大街的大好講壇轉移到世界範圍的舞臺上去了。

 

 

把“bully” 以「唬人」,「仗勢欺人」,就會看不懂這句話。喬志高先生編的「最新通俗美語詞典」裡舉了個例子,當年粗豪的美國總統老羅斯福曾學年輕人大叫Bully!,恴思是(好極了!太棒了!)。紐約時報專欄作家Maureen Dowd有一句話「The problem with the Bush administration is that its bully pulpit is all bully and no pulpit(布希政府的毛病是百分之百強橫,百分之零講道理)。一句話點出了bully的兩層意思。

 

 

 

 

從cyber-bully到workplace bully

 

資訊技術越來越發達,人與人之間的溝通方式也很多元化,催生了很多新的社會元素,比如原來會有“校園霸凌”,現在就有了“網霸”,專門利用網路、手機等電子設備在虛擬的空間裡對看不順眼的人進行攻擊,這類人在英文裡叫做cyber-bully。

 

Cyber-bullies may disclose victims' personal data (e.g. real name, address, or workplace/schools) at websites or forums or may pose as the identity of a victim for the purpose of publishing material in their name that defames or ridicules them. Some cyber-bullies may also send threatening and harassing emails and instant messages to the victims, while other post rumors or gossip and instigate others to dislike and gang up on the target.

 

 

網霸們可能會在網站或者論壇上公佈其攻擊對象的個人資料(如真實姓名,地址,工作或學校地點等),也有可能會以對方的名義發佈一些會讓人名譽受損的內容。還有些網霸會給對方發送威脅或騷擾郵件、簡信,也有的會四處散佈謠言使對方成為別人圍攻的對象。

 

 

上班的人經常報怨老闆苛刻?同事排擠?很多人說這些都是職場暴力的一部分,於是也有所謂的workplace bully。

 

 

If the equivalent of the schoolyard bully is now sharing your cubicle or -- worse -- is your boss, you're not alone. More than 1 in 3 workers report being bullied at work, according to a Zogby International poll. Nearly three-quarters of the bullies are in managerial positions. Executive coach Laura Crawshaw, author of "Taming the Abrasive Manager: How to End Unnecessary Roughness in the Workplace," has identified five signs that your boss is a bully. The signs include overreacting to situations, micromanaging others, acting in a superior and condescending way, humiliating employees in front of colleagues, and taking a threatening stance, as in, "It's my way or the highway."

 

 

假如你在辦公室也有在校園被同學欺負的感受,你不是唯一有這樣感受的人。根據一採樣,有三分之一的人感受到辦公室暴力,霸凌者四分之三是主管。專家指出判斷老闆是不是欺負人的五項指標:過度反應、雞毛蒜皮的事也要管、頤指氣使,有優越感、在別的同事面前羞辱你,用威脅言語,像「照我的方式做,不然就滾蛋」這類的話。 

文章來源:http://blog.udn.com/corecorner/4736888

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