【BBC 听力】Should We Use Jargon

来源: BBC Learning English
等级: Upper Intermediate (B2)
时长: 约 8 分钟
学习目标: Listening & Vocabulary / 商业英语
发布日期: 2024年12月16日

课程简介 (Introduction)

工作场所充满各种术语，有些人对此感到厌烦。术语在工作中真的有用吗？

在本集中，Pippa 和 Phil 讨论了何时使用术语、何时避免使用术语的问题，并邀请了多位专家分享见解：

  • Anna Maloney：伦敦金融报纸 City AM 的记者，每周撰写专栏探讨不同的企业术语
  • Anne Curzan：密歇根大学语言学家
  • John Fiset：加拿大新斯科舍省圣玛丽大学教授

节目探讨了为什么人们既讨厌术语，却每天又在使用术语，以及如何恰当理解和运用这些表达方式。

本期节目由 BBC World Service 的 Business Daily 联合制作。

播放音频

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听力原文 (Transcript)

Phil: Hello and welcome to Learning English for Work and our special series all about jargon. I’m Phil.

Pippa: And I’m Pippa. In this series, we’ve been talking about some of the strange words and phrases we use at work: business jargon.

Phil: As we’ve mentioned in the series, lots of people find jargon annoying or difficult to understand, so today, we’re going to look more at why we use jargon and whether it’s helpful in our working lives.

Pippa: Find a transcript for this episode to read along on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Phil: Now, earlier this year, we made a programme all about jargon with our colleagues at Business Daily, a BBC World Service business series. Their reporter Ed Butler spoke to Anna Maloney, a journalist at the London financial newspaper City AM.

Pippa: And Anna’s been writing a new column highlighting a different piece of corporate jargon each week.

Ed Butler: So, Anna. Let’s just pick up the paper.

Anna Maloney: Yeah.

Ed Butler: So what’ve we got here?

Anna Maloney: Today we’re highlighting stakeholder which I think is a particularly insidious one.

Pippa: Anna’s jargon of the week is stakeholder. Now, this means anyone who’s involved in a company and has an interest in it being successful. So employees are stakeholders, but also the people who own the company are stakeholders, the customers, the clients, all of those kinds of people. But Anna says the word stakeholder has become jargon. She calls it insidious, which means it is gradually causing harm.

Anna Maloney: Most often when you’re referring to a stakeholder, I think people usually are referring to themselves. You know, we need to consider key stakeholders in this decision for everyone to come back in the office five days a week. What that means is, well, I’ve grown rather accustomed to my Friday morning yoga and I don’t want to be back in the office.

Ed Butler: Exactly. You’ve been doing this column for nine months, right?

Anna Maloney: Yes.

Ed Butler: How do people respond to it? Your readers?

Anna Maloney: This has been one feature that our readers have really engaged with. They’re our biggest culprits, but also the biggest haters and I think this is a key feature. You know, we all love to hate it. But, statistically, you know, some of us are also… we’re using it every day.

Phil: Anna says that readers of the newspaper really enjoy the column. But those readers are the same people who use the jargon Anna writes about all the time at work.

Pippa: So, we’ve got here people are complaining about this jargon, but actually they’re the ones who use it.

重点词汇与短语 (Key Vocabulary)

English中文释义词性例句
stakeholder利益相关者n.We need to consider key stakeholders in this decision.
deep dive深入探讨n.Let’s do a deep dive into the data to understand the trends.
cascade层层传递v.Information cascades from management down to employees.
synergy协同效应n.The synergy between these two departments will improve efficiency.
insidious暗中危害的adj.Anna calls “stakeholder” insidious jargon that gradually causes harm.
jargon专业术语/行话n.Business jargon can be annoying but people use it every day.
culprits罪魁祸首n.Readers are both the biggest culprits and biggest haters of jargon.

精彩选段与解析 (Transcript Highlights)

关于术语的"矛盾心理"

Anna: “They’re our biggest culprits, but also the biggest haters… we all love to hate it. But, statistically… we’re using it every day.”

解析: 职场人士往往是术语的受害者，同时也是"制造者"。这种爱恨交织（love-hate relationship）的关系是职场语言的一大特色。人们一边抱怨术语，一边又每天使用它。

术语的"伪装"功能

Anna: “I think people usually are referring to themselves. You know, we need to consider key stakeholders in this decision…”

解析: “Stakeholder"这个词常被用来掩饰个人利益。当有人说要"考虑关键利益相关者"时，往往其实是在说自己的需求（比如不想每周五天都回办公室上班）。

术语的双重性

Phil: “So, we’ve got here people are complaining about this jargon, but actually they’re the ones who use it.”

解析: 这揭示了术语使用的矛盾现象——批评者往往就是使用者。这种现象反映了术语在现代职场中的普遍性和难以避免性。

中文总结 (Summary)

本集节目深入探讨了商业术语（business jargon）的使用问题。主要内容包括：

  1. 术语的定义与实例：解释了 stakeholder、deep dive、cascade、synergy 等常用商业术语的含义。

  2. 术语的矛盾性：人们既讨厌术语，却又在日常工作中频繁使用。正如 Anna Maloney 所说：“we all love to hate it… we’re using it every day.”

  3. 术语的功能：有时术语被用来掩饰真实意图，让某些要求听起来更正式、更客观。例如用 “stakeholder” 来指代自己，使个人需求听起来像是集体利益。

  4. 对术语的态度：术语虽然令人厌烦，但在现代职场中几乎无法避免。理解并正确使用术语，对于职场沟通至关重要。

  5. 学习建议：建议学习者在掌握这些术语的同时，也要注意在适当场合使用清晰、简洁的语言。

学习思考 (Critical Thinking)

思考题：

  1. 为什么有些术语会演变成日常用语？ 例如 “finalise” 在60年代曾被厌恶，但现在已成为日常英语的一部分。

  2. 术语是否反映了企业文化？ 有专家担心商业术语的流行反映了企业文化在社会中占据了过大的比重。

  3. 你所在的工作场所使用术语吗？ 你认为这些术语是必要的还是有更好的替代方案？

  4. 如何在保持专业性的同时避免过度使用术语？ 思考如何在清晰沟通和专业表达之间找到平衡。

练习题 (Exercises)

1. 词汇匹配

将左侧的英语单词与右侧的中文释义连线：

  • stakeholder → a) 深入探讨
  • deep dive → b) 协同效应
  • cascade → c) 利益相关者
  • synergy → d) 层层传递

2. 填空练习

根据听力内容，补全下面的句子：

Anna says that readers are both the biggest ________ and biggest ________ of jargon.

When people say “we need to consider key stakeholders”, they are often referring to ________.

3. 思考问题

  • 你认为在工作中使用术语是利大于弊还是弊大于利？
  • 你能想到哪些只有你的行业才懂的术语？
  • 如果用简单的语言替代术语，可能会带来什么问题？

学习提示 (Study Tips)

  • 反复聆听：先完整听一遍获取整体理解，再听第二遍重点关注词汇和表达方式
  • 跟读模仿：注意语音语调，尤其是重点词汇的发音和重音
  • 实际应用：尝试在适当的工作场合使用学到的术语，观察同事的反应
  • 批判性思考：不要盲目使用所有术语，思考何时使用更合适
  • 拓展学习：关注 BBC Learning English for Work podcast 获取更多职场英语内容

标签: BBC, Learning English, Business English, Workplace Communication, Vocabulary, B2