英人习俗：家屋，本文主要内容关键词为：习俗论文,家屋论文，此文献不代表本站观点，内容供学术参考，文章仅供参考阅读下载。
'An Englishman's home is his castle(1).He can't actually have the moat 1 and drawbridge 2,but he can make it bloody(2) difficult to get to',said an English taxi-driver.But an Englishman's home is much more than just his castle,the embodiment of his privacy rules(3),it is also his identity,his main status-indicator and his prime obsession 3.And the same goes for English women.This is why a house(4) is not just something that you passively 'have',it is something that you 'do',something that you 'work on'(5).
The English are a nation of nestbuilders.Almost the entire population is involved in DIY 4.at least to some degree.The most common motive for DIYing among the English car-park sample of typical nestbuilders was that of 'putting a personal stamp on the place'.This is clearly understood as an unwritten rule of home ownership,and a central element of the moving-in ritual(6),often involving the destruction of any evidence of the previous owner's territorial marking.
The way in which the English arrange,furnish and decorate their homes is largely determined by social class.This has little or nothing to do with wealth.Upper-class and uppermiddle-class homes tend to be shabby,frayed 5 and unkempt 6 in a way no middle-middle or lower-middle would tolerate,and the homes of the wealthiest working-class nouveaux riches 7 are full of extremely expensive items that the uppers and upper-middles regard as the height of vulgarity 8.The brand-new leather sofas and reproduction-antique dining chairs favoured by the middlemiddles may cost ten times as much as the equivalent items in the houses of upper-middles,who despise leather and 'repro'(7).An upper-class Tory MP once sneered 9 at fellow Tory Michael Heseltine by remarking that Heseltine had 'had to buy all his own furniture'-the put-down 10 implication being that only nouveaux have to buy their furniture:genuinely upperclass furniture is inherited.
When talking about one's house-move.it must always be deseribed as traumatic 11.fraught 12 with difficulty and disruption,even if in fact the process was completed smoothly and without noticeable stress.To describe them in any more favourable or even neutral terms(8) would be regarded as odd.possibly even as arrogant 13-as somehow implying that you are immune to the stresses and upsets afflicting all normal housebuyers.There is a modesty-rule(9) implied here as well.The more grand or desirable one's new residence,the more one must emphasize the troubles,inconveniences and 'nightmares' involved in its acquisition and improvement.One does not boast about one's purchase of a beautiful Cotswold cottage 14 or even a chateau 15 in France:one moans about the awfulness of the estate agents,the carelessness of the removal men,the obtuseness 16 of the local builders or the dire state of the plumbing 17,roof,floors or garden.
It is absolutely forbidden to ask directly what someone paid for their house(or indeed any item in their house):this is almost as unforgivably rude as asking them what they earn.The house-talk rules also state that it is not done to introduce the price paid for your own house into the conversation without good cause and suitable preamble 18.
It is considered incorrect to notice one's surroundings when visiting someone at home,and paying compliments is regarded as decidedly 'naff 19'.if not downright rude.It is generally advisable to be vague rather than specific in your compliments.The English tend to be terribly touchy 20 about their homes,and if you are too precise,there is always the danger of praising the wrong aspect of their latest improvement,or praising it in the wrong terms-calling a room 'cosy21' or 'cheerful',say,when your hosts were aiming for an impression of stylish elegance.
一个英国出租车司机说：“英国人的家就是他的城堡。他虽不能设置护城河沟和吊桥，但他却可以使之很难接近。”英国人的家还不仅仅是他的城堡，他个人私密的体现，而且表明他的个性，是他地位的主要标志和心中主要考虑的东西。英国女人也是如此。这就是家屋为何不仅仅是你被动“拥有”的东西，也是你为之“操作”、为之“花心思改善”的东西。
英国人是一个筑巢建窝的民族。几乎全国所有的人都自我经营，至少某种程度上说全如此。英国人筑巢建窝的典型样本是车库，是主人亲自动手干的，最普遍的动机是“在这块地上打一个个人标记”。人们都清楚，这就是标明家屋所有权的不成文规则，也是迁入新居必做的事情中很重要的一项，常常意味着要去掉屋子的前主人留下的任何标志所属地界的痕迹。
英国人对家屋进行整理装饰的方式大半由其阶级性决定，与富有程度关系极小或毫无关系。上层和中上层阶级的家屋反而显得陈旧破败、零零乱乱，使中中层乃至中下层的人都觉得难以忍受。最有钱的工人阶级暴发户家里摆满了极昂贵的物品，上层和中上层阶级的人则视之为极端俗气。中中层人士喜欢的崭新的皮沙发、复制的古色古香的餐室椅，比起中上层家里同样的东西可能价高十倍，可是中上层却瞧不起皮件和复制品。一位上层保守党下院议员有一次讥笑同样是保守党下院议员的迈克尔·赫塞尔廷，说赫塞尔廷“不得不购置自己屋里的所有家具”——言外的贬义是：只有新贵才自己买家具，真正的上层阶级的家具都是祖传的。
谈及搬家的事总是满嘴怨声，困难重重，一再受阻，即使事实相反，顺顺当当，并无明显的麻烦，也仍然叫苦。如果把搬家说成顺利的事，甚至用无关痛痒的词语描述，也都会被人看作古怪，甚至还有可能被人认为傲气，其意就像是你很特别，别人买了房搬家都会碰上困难和麻烦，你却免了。这其中还包含谦虚问题。搬进的新居愈富丽堂皇合人心意，就愈要强调从买房到装修所遇到的麻烦、不便和令人烦心的可怕经历。一个人不会夸耀自己买了英国西南部科茨沃德的漂亮别墅，或甚至买了法国的一处庄园，而是会对房地产中介商难以容忍的行为，对搬运人员的粗心大意，对当地建筑人员的迟钝以及管道铺设、屋顶和地板、花园等情况之糟，怨声载道，很不满意。
绝对不可直接询问别人花了多少钱购买房子（房内任何东西的价钱也不应问），提这类问题差不多就像问人家赚多少钱一样不礼貌，而且不可原谅。谈论家屋的规则是：如无充分的理由和适当的铺垫，言谈中不可涉及自己花多少钱买的房。
去英国人家里拜访时注意周边事物是不妥当的，讲赞美的话即使不算极为粗鲁，也会被人认为肯定“缺少品位”。要是你想称赞一番，最好含糊其辞，而不要讲得具体。英国人对自己的家屋十分敏感，要是你讲得太具体，也许你对他们最近的装修或改进该讲的没讲，不该讲的倒讲了，或者赞美的用词不当——例如主人本想给人以精美时尚的印象，而你却说这房间“舒适”“亮丽”。
Notes注释：
①这是一句名言，已成为英语谚语。moat和 drawbridge是古时城堡的标志物。
②bloody作状语是英式英语的用法，起强调作用，相当于extremely。
③rules指“常规表现”，可不译。
④house就是home，可见本文home一词应译“家屋”，而不应译“家”。
⑤此词组意思要从全文理解，不宜孤立取义。
⑥moving-in指“迁入新居”；ritual意为“按惯例必做的事情”。
⑦repro指上文的reproduction-antique。
⑧指“中性词语”，即无色彩、无轻重的一般论述。
⑨rule是本书作者的特殊用语，她把英国人的行为都归纳为某些规则。此处可不译。
标签：英国人论文;