語法學 高齢少子化社會 生命倫理學的死刑争議

 例句一（語法學：句法為何重要）

原句

Syntacticians, who maintain that grammar is not a mere set of classroom prescriptions but the system that lets speakers combine a finite vocabulary into an unbounded number of sentences, point out that "The dog bit the man" and "The man bit the dog" contain exactly the same words yet describe opposite events, and that "I saw the man with the telescope" can mean two different things depending on where the phrase "with the telescope" attaches in the structure, facts which show that understanding a sentence requires more than knowing what each word means.

斷行排列

Syntacticians,

　who maintain that grammar is not a mere set of classroom prescriptions

　but the system

　　that lets speakers combine a finite vocabulary

　　into an unbounded number of sentences,

point out

　that "The dog bit the man" and "The man bit the dog"

　　contain exactly the same words

　　yet describe opposite events,

　and that "I saw the man with the telescope"

　　can mean two different things

　　depending on where the phrase "with the telescope"

　　　attaches in the structure,

　facts

　　which show

　　　that understanding a sentence requires more

　　　　than knowing what each word means.

主句

Syntacticians point out that the same words can describe opposite events, and that one sentence can mean two things.（主詞之後接 who 子句，動詞 point out 要等到很後面才出現，兩個 that 子句以 and 並列）

拆成短句

句法學者指出一些事實。（主句）

這些學者主張語法不只是課堂上的規定。（who 關係子句，not...but... 結構）

語法是一套系統。（but 之後的名詞組）

這套系統讓說話者把有限的詞彙組合成無限多的句子。（that 關係子句）

「狗咬人」與「人咬狗」用的字完全相同。（第一個 that 子句）

兩句卻描述相反的事件。（yet 並列動詞）

「I saw the man with the telescope」可以有兩種意思。（第二個 that 子句）

差別在於「with the telescope」在結構中依附在哪裡。（depending on 片語，內含 where 名詞子句）

這些都是事實。（同位語 facts）

這些事實顯示，理解一個句子所需的，不只是知道每個詞的意義。（which 關係子句，內含 that 子句與 more than 比較結構）

中譯

句法學者主張語法不只是課堂上的規定，而是讓說話者把有限的詞彙組合成無限多句子的一套系統，他們指出，「The dog bit the man」與「The man bit the dog」用字完全相同，卻描述相反的事件，而「I saw the man with the telescope」則可依「with the telescope」在結構中依附的位置而有兩種意思，這些事實顯示，理解一個句子所需的，不只是知道每個詞的意義。

例句二（高齡與少子化社會：扶養負擔與政策）

原句

Demographers who study societies in which fertility has fallen well below the replacement level while life expectancy continues to rise, warning that the old-age dependency ratio, which measures the number of people aged sixty-five and over relative to those of working age, will roughly double within a generation, contend that governments which rely solely on cash incentives for childbearing are unlikely to reverse the decline, because the decision to have children, shaped by housing costs, job insecurity, and the unequal division of domestic labor, responds less to modest subsidies than to the conditions that determine whether young adults feel able to commit to a family.

斷行排列

Demographers

　who study societies

　　in which fertility has fallen well below the replacement level

　　while life expectancy continues to rise,

　warning that the old-age dependency ratio,

　　which measures the number of people aged sixty-five and over

　　　relative to those of working age,

　will roughly double within a generation,

contend

　that governments

　　which rely solely on cash incentives for childbearing

　are unlikely to reverse the decline,

　because the decision to have children,

　　shaped by housing costs,

　　job insecurity,

　　and the unequal division of domestic labor,

　responds less to modest subsidies

　　than to the conditions

　　　that determine whether young adults feel able

　　　　to commit to a family.

主句

Demographers contend that governments are unlikely to reverse the decline.（主詞之後接 who 子句與 warning 片語，動詞 contend 要等到很後面才出現，because 子句再補充理由）

拆成短句

人口學者提出主張。（主句）

這些學者研究某類社會。（who 關係子句）

這類社會的生育率已降到遠低於替代水準。（in which 關係子句）

同時預期壽命持續上升。（while 子句）

他們警告一件事。（warning，現在分詞片語）

老年扶養比將在一個世代內大約倍增。（warning 的受詞 that 子句）

老年扶養比衡量六十五歲以上人口相對於工作年齡人口的數量。（which 非限定關係子句，內含 relative to）

只仰賴生育現金誘因的政府不太可能扭轉衰退。（contend 的受詞 that 子句）

原因是生育決定對小額補貼的反應，不如對其他條件的反應強烈。（because 子句，比較結構 less...than...）

生育決定受到住房成本、工作不穩定與家務分工不均所左右。（過去分詞片語 shaped by，三個並列名詞）

那些條件決定年輕人是否覺得有能力組成家庭。（that 關係子句，內含 whether 名詞子句與不定詞）

中譯

研究生育率已降到遠低於替代水準、預期壽命卻持續上升之社會的人口學者警告，衡量六十五歲以上人口相對於工作年齡人口數量的老年扶養比，將在一個世代內大約倍增，因而主張只仰賴生育現金誘因的政府不太可能扭轉衰退，因為受住房成本、工作不穩定與家務分工不均所左右的生育決定，對小額補貼的反應，不如對那些決定年輕人是否覺得有能力組成家庭的條件來得強烈。

例句三（生命倫理學：死刑的爭議）

原句

Abolitionists who contend that capital punishment cannot be reconciled with the dignity of the person, pointing to the irreversibility of an execution and to statistical evidence that wrongful convictions, which have been documented even in systems with elaborate appellate review, fall disproportionately on the poor and on racial minorities, face retentionists who, appealing to the retributive principle that the gravest crimes deserve the gravest penalty, reply that the moral weight of the victims' suffering cannot be discharged by a sentence which the offender may expect to outlive.

斷行排列

Abolitionists

　who contend that capital punishment cannot be reconciled

　　with the dignity of the person,

　pointing to the irreversibility of an execution

　and to statistical evidence

　　that wrongful convictions,

　　　which have been documented

　　　　even in systems with elaborate appellate review,

　　fall disproportionately on the poor

　　and on racial minorities,

face retentionists

　who,

　　appealing to the retributive principle

　　　that the gravest crimes deserve the gravest penalty,

　reply

　　that the moral weight of the victims' suffering

　　cannot be discharged by a sentence

　　　which the offender may expect to outlive.

主句

Abolitionists face retentionists who reply that the moral weight of the victims' suffering cannot be discharged.（主詞 Abolitionists 之後接 who 子句與 pointing 片語，動詞 face 要等到很後面才出現）

拆成短句

廢死論者面對保留死刑論者。（主句）

這些廢死論者主張死刑與人的尊嚴無法調和。（who 關係子句，被動語態）

他們指出處決具有不可逆性。（pointing，現在分詞片語）

他們也指出統計證據。（與上一個 to 片語並列）

證據顯示錯誤定罪不成比例地落在窮人與少數族裔身上。（evidence 的同位語 that 子句，兩個並列的 on 片語）

錯誤定罪即使在設有繁複上訴審查的制度中也有紀錄可查。（which 非限定關係子句，現在完成被動）

保留論者援引報應原則。（appealing，現在分詞片語，插在 who 與 reply 之間）

報應原則主張最嚴重的罪行應受最嚴厲的刑罰。（the retributive principle 的同位語 that 子句）

保留論者回應。（who 子句的主幹）

被害人所受痛苦的道德分量無法由某種刑罰來清償。（reply 的受詞 that 子句，被動語態）

加害人可能預期活得比那種刑罰更久。（which 關係子句，省略受詞後置，expect to outlive）

中譯

主張死刑與人的尊嚴無法調和的廢死論者，指出處決具有不可逆性，也指出統計證據顯示，即使在設有繁複上訴審查的制度中仍有紀錄可查的錯誤定罪，不成比例地落在窮人與少數族裔身上；但他們面對的保留論者援引最嚴重的罪行應受最嚴厲刑罰的報應原則，回應被害人所受痛苦的道德分量，無法由加害人可能預期活得比它更久的刑罰來清償。

三句的共同提醒

例句一的主詞 Syntacticians 後面連著 who 子句，子句內用 not...but... 對比兩個名詞組，動詞 point out 要等到很後面才出現。point out 之後是兩個以 and 並列的 that 子句，第二個 that 子句內有 depending on 片語，其中 where 名詞子句的動詞 attaches 殿後。句尾的 facts which show that... 是前面兩個事實的同位語，內含 more than 比較結構。

例句二的主詞 Demographers 後面連著 who 子句與 warning 片語，動詞 contend 要等到很後面才出現；warning 之內的 which 子句插在 ratio 與 will double 之間。because 子句的主詞 the decision 與動詞 responds 之間，被 shaped by 過去分詞片語（三個並列名詞）隔開，建議先抓 Demographers contend that governments are unlikely 這條主幹。

例句三的主詞 Abolitionists 與動詞 face 之間隔著 who 子句與 pointing 片語，片語內有兩個以 and 並列的 to 結構，後一個的 evidence 帶著 that 同位語子句，其中 wrongful convictions 與動詞 fall 之間又插入 which 子句。retentionists 之後的 who 子句被 appealing 片語切開，reply 才是該子句的動詞。

另外，例句三涉及死刑議題，這裡只是學術層面的倫理爭論，無意傾向任何一方立場。