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 once listened as a scholar talked about the need to make an academic paper not only content-rich and weighty, but also “charming.” That sounded too trendy to me and not very scholarly. Is there anything to the scholar’s suggestion?
我曾聽一位學者說，學術論文不只要言之有物，有所貢獻，還要「有魅力」。這觀念我是頭一次聽到，似乎不符學術規範，想請教您對這位學者的建議有何看法？
Do you wish to be charming? Do you wish to charm your professor? If we were honest, each of us would admit to wanting to be charming. After all, to charm is to be found extremely pleasing or delightful. How is that not desirable? The problem is that while all children are deemed charming, the quality usually is ascribed to someone of the opposite gender. Women find men charming and vice versa, whereas men usually aren’t “charmed” by other men, and so on. There is an unspoken seductive import to the word as it usually is employed in our conversations.
你希望自己有魅力嗎？希望博得教授的青睞嗎？捫心自問，每個人都會希望自己是個有魅力的人。畢竟所謂有魅力，便意味著你非常討人喜歡，讓人賞心悅目，這樣的特質怎可能有人不愛呢？不過，雖然我們會說小孩子討喜，魅力這個詞通常用來形容異性，例如有魅力的男性讓女性一見傾心，有魅力的女性讓男性傾國傾城，而同性之間則較少互相「吸引」。對話中若形容誰有魅力，往往隱含著一種無法言喻的誘惑。
The professor was not strictly thinking of seduction in recommending that writers strive to be charming. He was talking about writing appealingly. Some scholars believe that turgid writing is the way to capture the attention of peers, with pomposity always preferable to simplicity. Others have convinced themselves that colorless, didactic, and wooden writing is the way to communicate with academic peers. The scholar you mention obviously believes story-telling, vivid imagery, light humor, and irony are not prohibited in formal writing. They are effective.
當然，那位學者絕不是建議作者在字裡行間散發魅力，誘惑讀者，而是要寫得引人入勝。有些學者認為花俏的寫作方式能吸引論文評審，畢竟華麗向來比簡約容易入眼。但亦有人深信，樸質無華、循規蹈矩、一板一眼的寫作方法最能與學術圈同行溝通。你說的那位學者顯然不介意在正式學術論文中講故事、描繪生動畫面、表現詼諧風趣或譏諷挖苦。而這些方法確實有效。
After all, a reader who is charmed is more likely to be persuaded to a point of view, to be convinced of a proposition. The perhaps unfortunate truth is that men and women who are presentable and likeable are more promotable than unkempt and surly people, no matter their credentials. In the same way, while substance and research should not be compromised, nor the formatted rules of academic writing violated, there is wisdom in writing papers that are enjoyable, even fun, to read. Academic peers and professors are not immune to the appeal of charm.
若讀者深受文章吸引，便較可能被論點說服，接受某種見解。事實是，不論實力高低，登得了檯面、受人喜愛的人比起蓬頭垢面、陰沉抑鬱的人往往更有賣點。同理可證，若學術內涵與研究深度達一定水準，且不違反學術寫作格式，能運用點巧思讓論文讀起來趣味盎然，甚至引人發噱也未嘗不可，畢竟論文評審和教授們可不是一群不苟言笑的老學究啊。
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 once listened as a scholar talked about the need to make an academic paper not only content-rich and weighty, but also “charming.” That sounded too trendy to me and not very scholarly. Is there anything to the scholar’s suggestion?
我曾聽一位學者說，學術論文不只要言之有物，有所貢獻，還要「有魅力」。這觀念我是頭一次聽到，似乎不符學術規範，想請教您對這位學者的建議有何看法？
Do you wish to be charming? Do you wish to charm your professor? If we were honest, each of us would admit to wanting to be charming. After all, to charm is to be found extremely pleasing or delightful. How is that not desirable? The problem is that while all children are deemed charming, the quality usually is ascribed to someone of the opposite gender. Women find men charming and vice versa, whereas men usually aren’t “charmed” by other men, and so on. There is an unspoken seductive import to the word as it usually is employed in our conversations.
你希望自己有魅力嗎？希望博得教授的青睞嗎？捫心自問，每個人都會希望自己是個有魅力的人。畢竟所謂有魅力，便意味著你非常討人喜歡，讓人賞心悅目，這樣的特質怎可能有人不愛呢？不過，雖然我們會說小孩子討喜，魅力這個詞通常用來形容異性，例如有魅力的男性讓女性一見傾心，有魅力的女性讓男性傾國傾城，而同性之間則較少互相「吸引」。對話中若形容誰有魅力，往往隱含著一種無法言喻的誘惑。
The professor was not strictly thinking of seduction in recommending that writers strive to be charming. He was talking about writing appealingly. Some scholars believe that turgid writing is the way to capture the attention of peers, with pomposity always preferable to simplicity. Others have convinced themselves that colorless, didactic, and wooden writing is the way to communicate with academic peers. The scholar you mention obviously believes story-telling, vivid imagery, light humor, and irony are not prohibited in formal writing. They are effective.
當然，那位學者絕不是建議作者在字裡行間散發魅力，誘惑讀者，而是要寫得引人入勝。有些學者認為花俏的寫作方式能吸引論文評審，畢竟華麗向來比簡約容易入眼。但亦有人深信，樸質無華、循規蹈矩、一板一眼的寫作方法最能與學術圈同行溝通。你說的那位學者顯然不介意在正式學術論文中講故事、描繪生動畫面、表現詼諧風趣或譏諷挖苦。而這些方法確實有效。
After all, a reader who is charmed is more likely to be persuaded to a point of view, to be convinced of a proposition. The perhaps unfortunate truth is that men and women who are presentable and likeable are more promotable than unkempt and surly people, no matter their credentials. In the same way, while substance and research should not be compromised, nor the formatted rules of academic writing violated, there is wisdom in writing papers that are enjoyable, even fun, to read. Academic peers and professors are not immune to the appeal of charm.
若讀者深受文章吸引，便較可能被論點說服，接受某種見解。事實是，不論實力高低，登得了檯面、受人喜愛的人比起蓬頭垢面、陰沉抑鬱的人往往更有賣點。同理可證，若學術內涵與研究深度達一定水準，且不違反學術寫作格式，能運用點巧思讓論文讀起來趣味盎然，甚至引人發噱也未嘗不可，畢竟論文評審和教授們可不是一群不苟言笑的老學究啊。
Posted at 2013-02-07 10:54:03
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