每日英語 #089: Profanity in Music 音樂中的髒話

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Profanity in Music 音樂中的髒話

In recent years, it has become more and more common to see popular songs with an “expletive” (an offensive word one says when angry or having strong emotions) in the title. At one point in 2011, there were three “top” (most popular) songs with an expletive in the “chorus” (the group of lines that are repeated in the song) that couldn’t be played on the radio “uncensored” (with the offensive material covered over) or “modified” (changed to different lyrics or the word removed).

近年來，流行歌曲的標題中出現“髒話”（一個人在生氣或情緒激動時說出的冒犯性詞語）變得越來越普遍。2011年的某個時候，有三首“熱門”（最受歡迎的）歌曲的“副歌”（在歌曲中重複的一組歌詞）中有髒話，因此無法在廣播中“未經審查”（掩蓋冒犯性內容）或“修改”（更改歌詞或刪除該詞）後播放。

“Pushing the envelope” (trying to move beyond the limit or what is considered acceptable) has always been a part of pop music. When Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin“ came out in 1984, it was “shocking” (very surprising) to most people. Although “virgin” (a person who has never had sex) is not an expletive, it was not a word you’d expect to hear “bandied about” (used casually), at least in the mid-1980s. Madonna wanted to shock listeners and that’s what these more recent singers wanted to do.

“突破極限”（嘗試超越極限或被認為可以接受的範圍）一直是流行音樂的一部分。當瑪丹娜的歌曲《像處女》在1984年推出時，對大多數人來說是“令人震驚的”（非常令人驚訝）。雖然“處女”（一個從未有過性行為的人）不是髒話，但這不是一個你會“隨意談論”（隨意使用）的詞語，至少在20世紀80年代中期是這樣。瑪丹娜想要震驚聽眾，而這正是這些近期歌手想要做的。

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a “federal” (national) agency that enforces indecency laws, or laws that are related to what is and is not appropriate for “broadcast” (transmission on radio, TV, etc.). The FCC does not keep a list of words that are not allowed, but it has standards. According to their website: “The FCC has defined “profanity” (obscene language) as “including language so ‘grossly’ (clearly; entirely) offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to ‘amount to’ (be the same as) a ‘nuisance’ (annoyance; something that bothers others).”

聯邦通信委員會（FCC）是一個“聯邦”（全國性的）機構，負責執行猥褻法律，或與“廣播”（在廣播、電視等上傳輸）相關的適當和不適當內容的法律。 FCC 沒有保留不允許的詞語列表，但它有標準。根據其網站：“FCC 將“髒話”（淫穢語言）定義為“包括語言，這些語言對實際聽到它的公眾成員來說是如此‘極其’（明顯；完全）冒犯，以至於‘相當於’（與……相同）‘滋擾’（煩惱；使他人煩擾的事情）。”

重點單字

1. Expletive 髒話 /ˈɛksplətɪv/
2. Chorus 副歌 /ˈkɔːrəs/
3. Uncensored 未經審查的 /ʌnˈsɛnsərd/
4. Modified 修改的 /ˈmɒdɪfaɪd/
5. Pushing the envelope 突破極限 /ˈpʊʃɪŋ ði ˈɛnvəloʊp/
6. Shocking 令人震驚的 /ˈʃɒkɪŋ/
7. Virgin 處女 /ˈvɜːrdʒɪn/
8. Bandied about 隨意談論 /ˈbændid əˈbaʊt/
9. Federal 聯邦的 /ˈfɛdərəl/
10. Broadcast 廣播 /ˈbrɔːdkæst/
11. Profanity 髒話 /prəˈfænɪti/
12. Grossly 極其地 /ˈɡroʊsli/
13. Amount to 相當於 /əˈmaʊnt tuː/
14. Nuisance 滋擾 /ˈnjuːsns/