英国留学生论文如何善用幽默的原则

英国留学生论文如何善用幽默的原则

写英国留学生论文的人常听说不要用幽默来表达观点。虽然这个告诫用心良苦，但完全不用幽默又太过头了。幽默是有效的沟通方法，而写作学术论文本就该懂得运用各种沟通方法。本系列文章说明如何用适当的方式，在英国留学生毕业论文中有效运用幽默。
Writers of academic papers are cautioned against employing humor to communicate their points. The caution is well-intentioned, but outright prohibition of lightly humorous material goes too far. Humor is a valid method of communication and authors of academic papers should have every method at their disposal. This series of columns will describe how humor can be effective and acceptable in scholarly writing. Each part in the series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

1st Humor Guideline – Use it Carefully 
幽默原则第一条－幽默要小心运用

One of the rules laid out for writers of serious papers is… don’t try to be funny. There is wisdom in such counsel. It indeed is wise not to try to be funny. Every comedian who has died on stage when his humor falls flat can attest that nothing is more painful than failing to connect with an audience. Academic writers often present their material to an audience of one, who grades the material even more mercilessly than a nightclub crowd. So, yes, if humor is not your forte, don’t try to force it on your professor. But if you do have talent for turning an amusing phrase, use it.
写作严肃文章有一条清楚的规定－不要假装风趣。这条忠告是有道理的，假装风趣确实不聪明。喜剧演员如果曾经因为幽默失灵在台上尴尬不已，都可以告诉你，最讨厌的莫过于和观众失去交流。学术论文的观众只有一位，而且评论起来比喜剧观众更不留情。所以，如果幽默不是你的强项，不要硬塞给教授，但如果你真的擅长写作幽默风趣的文字，就尽管写吧。

Nearly every person—of course, some don’t have a clue—knows whether he is amusing in his expression. Yet even those who have such talent don’t always employ it effectively. They joke too much, and too much of any good thing usually is bad. They try to amuse people at inappropriate times, when solemnity clearly is preferred. They perhaps get too raw in their jesting or become slapstick in their delivery. Scholarly writers certainly will not impress anyone with any of the above. So, as much thought should be given to the context of humor as to the humor itself.
几乎每个人都知道自己的表达是否风趣（当然就是有些人会搞不清楚），但有幽默感的人也不是每次都能运用自如，他们可能开太多玩笑，而任何好事情一旦过头往往就成了坏事。他们想逗人笑的时机不对，有时显然严肃正经比较好。有时他们也可能把玩笑开得太粗俗或变成一场闹剧。写作学术文章如果犯了上述毛病，就绝对写不出优秀作品。所以除了幽默本身必须仔细构思，运用幽默的场合也要好好思考。

Knowing when to inject an amusing comment is even more delicate in academic writing than in show biz. That’s because the goal is not to amuse per se but to communicate a larger point. If a humorous expression distracts a reader from a thread of thought, it is detracting from the paper rather than contributing to its success. Therefore, in a paper as in every other venue, timing is important. A light comment should slip into the flow of thought as naturally as any other element of the writing and for the same reason: to move the reader toward a desired conclusion.
比起喜剧表演，写作学术文章时更难拿捏下笔诙谐的适当时机，因为学术文章的宗旨不是讨好读者，而是沟通重要的观点。如果幽默会分散读者对文章脉络的注意力，那就对论文有害无益。因此，写论文时如果要运用幽默，一如在其他场合运用幽默一样，时机最重要。诙谐妙语就像其他的写作技巧，必须沿着文章理路自然融入，因为它们的目的都是要说服读者接受文章的结论。

2nd Humor Guideline – Use it Seriously 
幽默原则第二条－幽默要慎重使用

Have you heard the one about the funnyman who became a surgeon? He left his patients in stitches. This joke might be amusing if the hearer of it is familiar with the colloquial phrase “in stitches,” which means laughing uncontrollably. If the phrase is unfamiliar, the stab at humor is only puzzling—and puzzlement is never a strength in an academic paper. Therefore, any writer making a comic allusion should be sure that the language of the humor is universal, or at least is in the vernacular of a grading professor. Puzzling humor is worse than leaden use of words.
你听过一个笑话吗？有个喜剧演员当了外科医生，结果病人都笑得阖不拢嘴（译注：这个笑话用了双关语，原文 He left his patients in stitches，stitches 有缝线的意思，「in stitches」指笑得停不下来）。如果听的人知道口语词「in stitches」是让人爆笑不止的意思，那这个笑话就很好笑。如果听的人不知道，就会看不懂原本的幽默，而看不懂绝对算不上学术论文的优点。因此，写作时如果要做幽默的比喻，要确定这种表达一般人都看得懂，或至少用的口语，打分数教授看得懂。看不懂的幽默，比沉闷的表达还糟糕。

More to the point, the insertion of a humorous aside or reflection always should help drive a narrative forward. It should help build momentum and add to a logical string. If it does none of that, it is doing the opposite—it is slowing and frustrating a reader. When a writer senses that his message is not crisp and lively, and chooses to be humorous in an effort to give it some “zip,” he has chosen unwisely. Reworking an entire body of writing to enliven it is always the best choice. Only if resorting to humor genuinely energizes a paper and advances a message is it acceptable.
更重要的是，穿插诙谐的题外话或意见时，一定要能加强叙述、产生动能，并增强逻辑。如果一项都做不到，就会造成反效果，让人读得慢且充满挫折。如果作者发现内容不够生动有力，决定运用幽默笔法好给文章一点活力，这个决定其实不太明智。最好的选择应该是重写整篇文章，让文章更有生气。幽默必须能同时让文章更生动，并且能推展文章要旨。

Because humor has, by definition, a comic side, it must be used purposefully. Scholars are purposeful in their scholarship, all learning being a serious and gratifying undertaking. It is, in a phrase, no joking matter. Consequently, any humor that comes across as levity, or frivolous, is out of character with scholarly writing. Therefore, any writer who uses all proven communication techniques—including humor—indeed runs the risk of failing. However, if he succeeds, his reward is peer and professorial recognition as a disciplined, powerful communicator.
因为幽默本来就有滑稽好笑的一面，所以运用时必须深思熟虑。学者钻研学问是很慎重的，做学问是件认真且有收获的工作，简单来说，不是件开玩笑的事。因此，幽默如果给人随便或轻浮的印象，就不适合学术著作。写作时运用幽默等各种有效的沟通技巧，的确有可能失败。不过如果成功了，就能展现娴熟有力的沟通能力，受同侪和教授称道。

3rd Humor Guideline – Use it Sparingly 
幽默原则第三条－幽默要节制使用

Humor in an academic paper is rare because it is virtually proscribed. Beginning writers are advised—make that… strictly warned—not to employ humor for the sensible reason that it is a difficult communication technique. Consequently, many beginning writers mature without ever having used an amusing aside or light touch. They simply do not use humor. That’s regrettable. Those willing to employ humor in a paper—in such light sprinklings that they almost honor the prohibition—can earn the respect of professors for communicating clearly and engagingly.
学术文章几乎不许运用幽默，因此很少看到幽默。新手作者都听过这个建议－应该说是严格的告诫－不要运用幽默，因为幽默是个困难的沟通技巧。这个理由很合理。因此许多新手作者在磨练成长中，从来不曾在文章里穿插风趣或轻松幽默的文字，完全和幽默保持距离，实在很可惜。至于愿意在论文里运用幽默的人， 尽管只是轻描淡写，好像也同意不该用幽默一样，但却因为表达清晰生动而能获得教授青睐。

Here’s an example: In describing the reaction of a laboratory rodent, a writer might straight-forwardly observe, “The mouse smelled the tainted sugar, its nose reacting to the injected block, and returned to its cage.” That is a serviceable statement, but this is better: “The mouse sniffed at the sugar cube, sneezed, and turned tail on the treat.” Nothing in this recounting of the lab experience is frivolous, funny as such, or distracting. Yet the reader is given a gently arresting image that has the power to tease out a smile… that of a scampering, sneezing, retreating mouse.
举例来说，描述实验室里老鼠的行为时可以平铺直叙：「老鼠闻了加药的糖，鼻子对注入药物的方糖起反应，然后回到笼内」。这段描述还可以，但不如下面这段：「老鼠嗅了嗅方糖，打个喷嚏，转身离开」。这段描述完全不轻浮、滑稽，也不会分散专注力，但意象能吸引读者，呈现出一只蹦蹦跳跳、打喷嚏、转身跑掉的老鼠，让人忍俊不禁。

A less disciplined writer might have gone overboard and written…”The mouse seemed to suspect the sugar contained a mickey, turned, and ran back to Minnie.” While this allusion to Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse is cutely apt—a “mickey” is a secretly drugged drink or food—it tries too hard to incorporate them. The result is a tangent for a reader, a detour rather than continued forward movement of a narrative. Humor should not be used often, and never employed with a heavy hand, because the result is neither funny nor effective.
如果作者不够严谨，可能会写得太过火：「老鼠似乎怀疑糖里藏了米奇，转身，跑向米妮。」这个迪斯尼卡通米奇米妮鼠的譬喻尽管可爱又机智，，因为「米奇」（mickey）也指偷偷下了药的食物饮料，但用在这里却斧凿太深，结果让读者分心，干扰叙述而非让叙述更流畅。幽默不该用得太频繁，而且绝不能太过火，否则读起来既不有趣也发挥不了作用。

4th Humor Guideline – Use it Surprisingly 
幽默原则第四条－幽默要出人意表

Comedians or naturally humorous people in social conversation are entertaining because they surprise listeners with something they say. When the mind is expecting to hear one thing and unexpectedly hears something else, it reacts. Researchers who explore how the brain reacts to unexpected stimuli affirm what lay observers already know to be true: Surprise stimulates learning by arousing the brain and drawing attention to a stimulus. Because humor surprises, academic writers should not forfeit it as a tool in stimulating and connecting with readers.
喜剧演员或有幽默天分的人平常聊天时很有趣，因为他们说的话让人意想不到。如果心里原本预期听到某件事，但意外地听到另一件事，便会有反应。有些研究人员探索大脑如何对意想不到的刺激反应，证实一般人都观察到的事实：意外能激发大脑注意刺激，可促进学习。幽默让人意想不到，因此写作学术文章时，不应排斥用幽默来刺激读者、和读者交流。

On the other hand, people who reach for humor all the time in their communication injure their cause: They they accomplish just the opposite: They become too predictable. Surprise and predictability are communication opposites. When listeners or readers suspect that a punch line or a humorous twist is coming, they wait for it like vultures, ready to devour it if it isn’t lively. In the same way, academic writers who regularly inject humor set up themselves for failure. So, surprise readers. Deftly inject some well-chosen, amusing words at critical moments and win them over.
然而，有些人沟通时无时无刻都想表现幽默，反而会妨碍交流、适得其反，因为他们的行为太容易预料了。沟通时，「出人意表」和「不出所料」作用刚好相反，听众或读者如果觉得接下来会出现诙谐笑料或风趣转折，就会像秃鹰一样等着，如果幽默不够活泼就会遭到吞噬。同样的，写学术文章一再固定表现幽默，那就是在自讨苦吃。所以要出其不意，在关键时刻巧妙地加入几句精心挑选、风趣诙谐的话，这样就能收服读者的心。

A professor or academic adviser will react appropriately to an amusing aside—that is, he will instantly become more engaged and more comfortable with the writer. This will happen if the surprise gently lifts his spirits, doesn’t detract from the point being made, and merges seamlessly with the sentences immediately preceding and following. The humor should seem to be natural expression and be thoroughly integrated into the serous flow of the paper. When this happens, a reader will be moved by the engaging sentence without pausing to consider just what moved him.
教授或指导教授读到穿插的笑话会有适当的反应，读起文章很快会更加投入、更轻松愉快。要有这种效果，幽默必须出乎意料、令人精神一振，也不会转移读者对观点的注意力，并和前后文融合得天衣无缝。幽默要表达地自然，并彻底结合文章的走向脉络。如此一来，读者会受生动的文句打动，但不会停下来思索打动他的是什么。