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 slipped up in my concluding section and used the pronoun “you” in describing the impact of a certain economic practice, saying “This will produce baleful consequences for you as a consumer.” My professor jumped on it and bumped my grade lower. Didn’t he overreact?
我不小心在結論的部份犯錯，用了「you」這個代名詞描述特定經濟實踐所帶來的影響。句子是這麼寫的：「This will produce baleful consequences for you as a consumer。」教授看了非常不滿意，把分數打得更低了。他是不是反應太過激烈了？
Far be it from me to know why your professor reacted as he did, particularly when I know so little about the paper. Was the inappropriate pronoun use an example of the academic paper’s weak structure generally? Has it been a problem that your professor has addressed at length previously? Sometimes even temperate instructors can lose their patience when it appears a student refuses to learn principles taught again and again. So without indicting your professor for reacting hastily, let’s simply revisit the general prohibition of 2nd person pronouns from academic writing.
我不知道你的教授為何反應這麼激烈，尤其是在對你的報告所知甚少的情況下。然而不當地使用代名詞，不正好是一般學術論文架構薄弱的例子嗎？你的教授以前是否曾談過這個問題？如果學生一再忘記教過的寫作原則，就連脾氣最好的教授也會感到不耐煩。所以，與其控訴教授反應過度激烈，倒不如重新溫習一般學術文章禁用的第二人稱代名詞。
In your example, “you” refers to the reader—your professor—as a consumer. Is that how you view your professor? Are your professor’s shopping habits applicable to the paper, and even if they are, is your purpose in writing the paper to advise him or her about how to shop? Of course not. Yet in dragging your professor into the paper by personalizing the reader with “you,” you have made him a conversation partner. Now instead of being just a reader, your professor feels some responsibility to contribute to the conversation, which he did by grading the paper lower!
在句子中，「you」將讀者－也就是你的教授－比喻成消費者。這真是你對教授的看法嗎？你的論文有談到教授的購物習慣嗎？還是論文的寫作目的是建議他如何購物呢？想當然爾，一定是否定答案。不過用「you」個人化讀者，除了把教授拖下水，也讓他成了你的談話夥伴。但他可不光是讀者而已，你的教授認為他對談話內容有責任，而他也確實把分數打低了。
You have unwittingly provided a perfect example of why maintaining academic distance in writing of papers is so important. This rule can be violated when a professor asks for such personalization. Some subjects, such as a first-person account of an expedition, erode the rule because the writer is of central importance and the writing can be consistently personal. Otherwise, for a writer to establish an “I-You” relationship with a reader is a failure of craft that leads to discomfort in a reader and, in some cases, to a disappointing grade for the writer.
在不知情的狀況下，你的句子成了個好例子，可用於說明撰寫學術文章時保持距離的重要性。這條規則只有在教授特別要求此類個人化的寫作才可違反。但有些主詞不在此限，像是以第一人稱記述的遠征故事；這是因為作者才是關鍵，而且一般文章也可維持一致的個人化。此外，試圖與讀者建立「I-You」的關係除了會讓讀者感到不快，在某些情況下，還會帶來令人失望的成績呢。
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 slipped up in my concluding section and used the pronoun “you” in describing the impact of a certain economic practice, saying “This will produce baleful consequences for you as a consumer.” My professor jumped on it and bumped my grade lower. Didn’t he overreact?
我不小心在結論的部份犯錯，用了「you」這個代名詞描述特定經濟實踐所帶來的影響。句子是這麼寫的：「This will produce baleful consequences for you as a consumer。」教授看了非常不滿意，把分數打得更低了。他是不是反應太過激烈了？
Far be it from me to know why your professor reacted as he did, particularly when I know so little about the paper. Was the inappropriate pronoun use an example of the academic paper’s weak structure generally? Has it been a problem that your professor has addressed at length previously? Sometimes even temperate instructors can lose their patience when it appears a student refuses to learn principles taught again and again. So without indicting your professor for reacting hastily, let’s simply revisit the general prohibition of 2nd person pronouns from academic writing.
我不知道你的教授為何反應這麼激烈，尤其是在對你的報告所知甚少的情況下。然而不當地使用代名詞，不正好是一般學術論文架構薄弱的例子嗎？你的教授以前是否曾談過這個問題？如果學生一再忘記教過的寫作原則，就連脾氣最好的教授也會感到不耐煩。所以，與其控訴教授反應過度激烈，倒不如重新溫習一般學術文章禁用的第二人稱代名詞。
In your example, “you” refers to the reader—your professor—as a consumer. Is that how you view your professor? Are your professor’s shopping habits applicable to the paper, and even if they are, is your purpose in writing the paper to advise him or her about how to shop? Of course not. Yet in dragging your professor into the paper by personalizing the reader with “you,” you have made him a conversation partner. Now instead of being just a reader, your professor feels some responsibility to contribute to the conversation, which he did by grading the paper lower!
在句子中，「you」將讀者－也就是你的教授－比喻成消費者。這真是你對教授的看法嗎？你的論文有談到教授的購物習慣嗎？還是論文的寫作目的是建議他如何購物呢？想當然爾，一定是否定答案。不過用「you」個人化讀者，除了把教授拖下水，也讓他成了你的談話夥伴。但他可不光是讀者而已，你的教授認為他對談話內容有責任，而他也確實把分數打低了。
You have unwittingly provided a perfect example of why maintaining academic distance in writing of papers is so important. This rule can be violated when a professor asks for such personalization. Some subjects, such as a first-person account of an expedition, erode the rule because the writer is of central importance and the writing can be consistently personal. Otherwise, for a writer to establish an “I-You” relationship with a reader is a failure of craft that leads to discomfort in a reader and, in some cases, to a disappointing grade for the writer.
在不知情的狀況下，你的句子成了個好例子，可用於說明撰寫學術文章時保持距離的重要性。這條規則只有在教授特別要求此類個人化的寫作才可違反。但有些主詞不在此限，像是以第一人稱記述的遠征故事；這是因為作者才是關鍵，而且一般文章也可維持一致的個人化。此外，試圖與讀者建立「I-You」的關係除了會讓讀者感到不快，在某些情況下，還會帶來令人失望的成績呢。
Posted at 2012-12-28 13:52:37
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