每日一词:peoplekind还是mankind，加拿大总理特鲁多惹争议

编辑:给力英语新闻 更新:2018年2月6日 作者:纽约时报中文网(By YONETTE JOSEPH)

周一，加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多在渥太华。他的内阁成员中男性和女性人数相当。

加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多(Justin Trudeau)以挑战政界人士如何处理性别及与其相关的语言的边界著称。最近他似乎又这样做了。他告诉一名女性，她应该说“人类(peoplekind)”而不是“男类(mankind)”。

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is known for pushing boundaries on how politicians deal with gender and the language surrounding it. And he appeared to have done it again recently when he told a woman she should use “peoplekind” instead of “mankind.”

但周三，在这段交流的视频录像激起了人们对性别歧视的指责。几天后，特鲁多告诉记者，他闹了一个“愚蠢的笑话”。

But on Wednesday, days after video footage of the exchange spurred accusations of sexism, Mr. Trudeau told reporters that he had made “a dumb joke.”

“你们都知道，从过往的纪录来看，我一向不是讲笑话的高手。”他说。

“You all know that I don’t necessarily have the best of track records on jokes.”

这件事是如何引发争议的？以下是前情提要。

What was all the fuss about? Here’s a primer.

市政厅的母性之爱
Maternal love at the town hall

上周四，艾伯塔省埃德蒙顿的一个市政厅式的会议上，一名无法确认身份的女子称赞特鲁多“承认女性的能力和权力”。

The exchange occurred on Thursday in a town-hall-style meeting in Edmonton, Alberta. The unidentified woman complimented him for recognizing the “ability and power that women actually possess.”

然后她说：“母性之爱是改变人类(mankind)未来的爱”。

Then she said, “Maternal love is the love that’s going to change the future of mankind.”

“我们应该说‘peoplekind’，而不是‘mankind’。这更具包容性。”总理打断她说。

The prime minister interrupted her: “We like to say ‘peoplekind,’ not necessarily ‘mankind.’ It’s more inclusive.”

视频显示，人群中爆发出欢呼声。

The crowd cheered, footage shows.

“我们都可以相互学习，”他笑着说。

“We can all learn from each other,” he said, with a beatific smile.

但其他人没有。

But others were not having it.

批评声浪
Critics pounce

大部分的嘲笑来自英国、澳大利亚和美国的评论家，以及保守和极右翼的阵营。他们指责特鲁多的“美德信号”和过于追求政治正确。

Much of the derision came from British, Australian and American commentators, and from the conservative and far-right fringes. They accused Mr. Trudeau of “virtue signaling” and political correctness run amok.

保守小报《多伦多太阳报》(The Toronto Sun)指责特鲁多的“直男癌式的说教(mansplaining)”，并展示了它所谓的“失态”总理的三大失灵问题。

A conservative tabloid, The Toronto Sun, accused Mr. Trudeau of “mansplaining” and unfurled footage of what it called the “gaffe-tastic” prime minister’s top three malfunctions.

澳大利亚保守派评论员丽塔·帕纳希说，特鲁多使用“peoplekind”是为了“满足那些无论怎样也要无中生有，找出冒犯之处的人 ”。

The Australian conservative commentator Rita Panahi said Mr. Trudeau’s use of “peoplekind” was an attempt to “appease those desperate to find offense where none exists.”

支持特鲁多的人
In Trudeau’s defense

那时候，那个女人自己也笑了起来。“你说得对，确实如此。是的，谢谢你，“她告诉特鲁多。

Indeed, the woman herself laughed at the time. “There you go, exactly. Yes, thank you,” she told Mr. Trudeau.

加拿大一直在推动其他与性别中立有关的口头表达，其中包括使该国国歌性别中立的参议院法案。特鲁对此表示支持。

The debate comes as Canada has been pushing other gender neutral verbal expressions, including a Senate bill making the national anthem gender neutral. Though Mr. Trudeau wasn’t behind it, he was supportive.

他的粉丝们指出，他是自称是女权主义者的第一批男性领导人之一。他的内阁成员中男性和女性人数相当。他向最高法院提名了一名女性候选人。最近，在瑞士达沃斯的一次演讲中，他再次为两性平等和社会平等发声。

Fans note he is one of the first male leaders to brand himself a feminist. He nominated a woman to the Supreme Court and defended gender and social equality in a recent speech in Davos, Switzerland.

但人们仍然要问，“peoplekind”是个英文单词吗？
Is ‘peoplekind’ even a word?

不是。

No.

但，humankind是。

But humankind is.