Professor Pedantic 教授的考究學問
TPS的編輯教授在此歡迎關於學術文章的所有詢問，當然，其實他並沒有足夠的時間給你。他擁有終身教職的教授身份，也是著名的學術巨作作者。即便如此，他仍大方地接受你們的詢問。將關於學術方面的詢問寫在下方，你將獲得教授的親自指導，陶冶對學術的探索與啟發。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: I sometimes must cite a researcher with an unusual first name and I don’t know if the person is male or female. I can’t even find a photo to help me. This is a recurring problem. How can I avoid such confusion?
有時候，我必須引用的研究者有個很特別的名字，我不知道對方是男是女，甚至找不到照片幫助判斷。這個問題常常發生，該怎麼避免這種窘境？
Life would be a bit simpler if there were a universal rule about the naming of boys and girls. But then we all would break it, wouldn’t we? That’s because naming a child is too personal a thing to be regulated. No, we must carry the names we are given and, more to the point, sometimes puzzle out the gender of a person with a seemingly androgynous name. You are on a good track in researching for a photo, though occasionally photos can deceive, too. LinkedIn and other professional networking Internet sites often will contain valuable ID clues, including a photo.
如果為男孩女孩命名有個統一的規則，事情就好辦了。不過要是真有規則，我們也會打破規則，對吧？為小孩命名是很私人的事，無法規範；我們得用父母給我們的名字，更重要的，有些名字看起來很中性，難以判斷性別。你找照片是正確的，雖然照片有時也會騙人。LinkedIn 等專業網站通常包含有用的身分線索，例如照片。
If a person is only cited in a brief footnote or other addenda, the full name can be used without elaboration. However, if the style of the report requires titles in front of names and the person in question has not earned a doctorate, then Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss is required; it indeed poses a problem when the person’s gender—and marital state!—is unknown. This is exacerbated if the person is quoted more than once within a report. The second usage of the person’s name in text typically calls for a pronoun, and the only choices you have are she/her and he/him. Dilemma!
如果只是在簡短的註腳或其他附錄中引用某人，寫出全名就可以了，無須進一步解釋。但是，如果你用的論文格式必須在名字前加上稱謂，引用的人又沒有博士學位，就必須寫出 Mr.、Mrs.、Ms.、或 Miss，如果不知道對方的性別－以及婚姻狀態－確實會造成問題。若一篇報告中引用同一人兩次，問題就更嚴重，第二次提到同一個人時，一般必須用代名詞，你只好寫成「她／他」，或「她的／他的」了，真令人為難！
Here’s what I would do: 1) Scour the Internet for journal articles by the person, which might contain pronoun clues or photos; 2) Explore online for articles in professional publications that might give more identifying information; 3) Check with your librarian and professor—a person of sufficient stature for citation should be known to peers in the field; and 4) Contact the person directly with this request: “I am citing your excellent work in my paper and am wondering how you prefer to be addressed in a second reference.” Then wait for an answer from her/him.
我的解決方法是：1) 在網路上用對方的名字搜尋期刊文章，文章裡可能有代名詞或照片；2) 搜索網路上專業期刊的文章，或許會找到更多身份的訊息；3) 詢問圖書管理員或教授。若對方成就足以受到引用，同領域的研究人員應該都會認識；4) 直接連絡對方，詢問：「我在論文中引用您傑出的研究成果，不曉得文中第二次提到您時，該如何稱呼比較恰當？」接著靜候她／他的回音。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: I sometimes must cite a researcher with an unusual first name and I don’t know if the person is male or female. I can’t even find a photo to help me. This is a recurring problem. How can I avoid such confusion?
有時候，我必須引用的研究者有個很特別的名字，我不知道對方是男是女，甚至找不到照片幫助判斷。這個問題常常發生，該怎麼避免這種窘境？
Life would be a bit simpler if there were a universal rule about the naming of boys and girls. But then we all would break it, wouldn’t we? That’s because naming a child is too personal a thing to be regulated. No, we must carry the names we are given and, more to the point, sometimes puzzle out the gender of a person with a seemingly androgynous name. You are on a good track in researching for a photo, though occasionally photos can deceive, too. LinkedIn and other professional networking Internet sites often will contain valuable ID clues, including a photo.
如果為男孩女孩命名有個統一的規則，事情就好辦了。不過要是真有規則，我們也會打破規則，對吧？為小孩命名是很私人的事，無法規範；我們得用父母給我們的名字，更重要的，有些名字看起來很中性，難以判斷性別。你找照片是正確的，雖然照片有時也會騙人。LinkedIn 等專業網站通常包含有用的身分線索，例如照片。
If a person is only cited in a brief footnote or other addenda, the full name can be used without elaboration. However, if the style of the report requires titles in front of names and the person in question has not earned a doctorate, then Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss is required; it indeed poses a problem when the person’s gender—and marital state!—is unknown. This is exacerbated if the person is quoted more than once within a report. The second usage of the person’s name in text typically calls for a pronoun, and the only choices you have are she/her and he/him. Dilemma!
如果只是在簡短的註腳或其他附錄中引用某人，寫出全名就可以了，無須進一步解釋。但是，如果你用的論文格式必須在名字前加上稱謂，引用的人又沒有博士學位，就必須寫出 Mr.、Mrs.、Ms.、或 Miss，如果不知道對方的性別－以及婚姻狀態－確實會造成問題。若一篇報告中引用同一人兩次，問題就更嚴重，第二次提到同一個人時，一般必須用代名詞，你只好寫成「她／他」，或「她的／他的」了，真令人為難！
Here’s what I would do: 1) Scour the Internet for journal articles by the person, which might contain pronoun clues or photos; 2) Explore online for articles in professional publications that might give more identifying information; 3) Check with your librarian and professor—a person of sufficient stature for citation should be known to peers in the field; and 4) Contact the person directly with this request: “I am citing your excellent work in my paper and am wondering how you prefer to be addressed in a second reference.” Then wait for an answer from her/him.
我的解決方法是：1) 在網路上用對方的名字搜尋期刊文章，文章裡可能有代名詞或照片；2) 搜索網路上專業期刊的文章，或許會找到更多身份的訊息；3) 詢問圖書管理員或教授。若對方成就足以受到引用，同領域的研究人員應該都會認識；4) 直接連絡對方，詢問：「我在論文中引用您傑出的研究成果，不曉得文中第二次提到您時，該如何稱呼比較恰當？」接著靜候她／他的回音。
Posted at 2012-07-27 10:28:52
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