田思怡譯
Hillary Clinton, no surprise, sounds the most feminine of the candidates on the campaign trail, commonly using phrases like "incredibly grateful" and "open our hearts." More surprising, the second-most feminine-sounding speaker is Donald Trump, who often talks about "my beautiful family" and "lasting relationships."
But unlike Clinton, Trump is just as likely to speak in overtly masculine language, especially favoring phrases like "absolutely destroy" and often using insulting words that tend to alienate women (and many men): "moron," "imbecile" and "loser."
一點都不意外,在投身競選活動的參選人中,希拉蕊.柯林頓說話最女性化,常用「感激不盡」和「打開我們的心」這類用語。比較意外的是,說話最女性化的第二名是川普,他常談到「我美麗的家人」和「持久的關係」。
不過,川普不像希拉蕊,他也喜歡說很有男子氣概的語言,尤其愛用「徹底摧毀」,而且常用會讓女性(和許多男性)反感的罵人字眼:「白癡」、「低能」和「失敗者」。
This is based on 126,362 words in publicly available speeches by the candidates through March 3 and in four debates analyzed by Textio, a company that uses software to evaluate language. Textio ranked the candidates' language in various areas, including gender associations, references to minorities and the frequency with which they talked about themselves versus talking directly to voters.
The company determines which phrases appeal to men or women based on which get statistically significant response rates from either sex. The way the candidates speak influences voters' perception of them, and could reveal clues about their core beliefs and which voters they are trying to sway.
Textio是家以軟體評估語言的公司,前述結論的根據是該公司對12萬6362個字的分析,這些字來自3月3日以前可公開取得的候選人演講及四場辯論。Textio從不同面向評比候選人的語言,包括性別關聯、提到少數族裔,以及相對於直接向選民說話,他們談到自己的頻繁程度。
這家公司決定男性或女性愛聽哪些用語,依據的是哪些用語在統計上獲得男性或女性回應的比率相當高。候選人說話的方式影響選民對他們的觀感,也可能透露有關他們的核心信念,以及他們想說服哪些選民的線索。
Clinton's language is often about coming together, and she mentions family five times as often as any other candidate. Trump's language is the most polarized between masculine and feminine, though he has been sounding more feminine over the campaign, perhaps to try to appeal to female voters.
希拉蕊的語言經常提到大家同心協力,她提到家庭的次數是其他候選人的五倍。川普的語言最兩極化,可以很有男子氣概,也可以女性化,不過,隨著選戰繼續進行,他說話愈來愈女性化,也許想討好女性選民。
There can be a double standard for women, linguists say. "If men add these little feminine flourishes, they have it both ways — they get admired for being tough and yet people like them," said Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University and author of "You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.""There's no question we have two standards that we use in evaluating male and female speakers,"said John Locke, a linguistics professor at City University of New York and author of "Duels and Duets: Why Men and Women Talk So Differently." "If she speaks forcefully, people will say she's strident or harsh. When a man does the same thing, we say that he's speaking with appropriate command."
語言學家說,對女人可能有雙重標準。喬治城大學語言學教授,也是「你就是不懂:男人與女人的談話」一書作者黛博拉.坦南說:「如果男人加點女性化的詞藻,他們可以雙贏──他們因為表現強硬而獲得讚美,而且人們也會喜歡他們。」紐約市立大學語言學教授、「二人決鬥與二重奏:為何男人與女人說話大不同」一書作者約翰.洛克說:「毫無疑問,我們評斷男性與女性說話有兩套標準。如果她說話強而有力,人們會說她尖銳或嚴厲。這麼說話的是個男人時,我們說他說話能掌控場面。」