社會階層化 social stratification

 社會階層化 social stratification

● 字源

Stratification 由 stratify（分層）加名詞字尾 -ation 構成。stratify 來自中世紀拉丁文 stratificare，是 stratum（鋪開的一層）加 -ficare（源自 facere，做、使成為）而來，字面意思是「使成為一層一層」。這個詞最早用於地質學，指岩層的分層；二十世紀初社會學借用，指社會成員依財富、權力、聲望等被排成上下等級的結構。同源詞有 stratum / strata（層）、stratosphere（平流層）、substratum（底層）。中文譯為「社會階層化」或「社會分層」，是不可數名詞。

● 例句（70字長句）

Social stratification, which sociologists define as the ranking of people into unequal layers, endures not because anyone openly defends it but because those who hold wealth, knowing that tutors and connections matter more than talent alone, invest in their children early, so that inequality, once established, reproduces itself across generations, although critics, whom the statistics increasingly support, argue that such patterns, if left unchallenged, will eventually harden into rigid castes.

● 排列為比較容易閱讀的方式

Social stratification,

which sociologists define as the ranking of people into unequal layers,

endures

not because anyone openly defends it

but because those who hold wealth,

knowing that tutors and connections matter more than talent alone,

invest in their children early,

so that inequality,

once established,

reproduces itself across generations,

although critics,

whom the statistics increasingly support,

argue that such patterns,

if left unchallenged,

will eventually harden into rigid castes.

● 分解為原初的短小句

Social stratification endures.

（全句主幹：主詞 stratification，謂語 endures；後面的 not because ... but because ... 說明它為何持續。）

Sociologists define social stratification as the ranking of people into unequal layers.

（which 為非限定關係代名詞，指 stratification，在子句中作 define 的受詞；define A as B 表「將 A 定義為 B」。）

Anyone openly defends social stratification.

（not because 所否定的理由；it 指 stratification；anyone 在否定脈絡中表「任何人」。）

Some people hold wealth.

（those who ... 相當於 people who ...，who 作子句主詞；those 為先行詞。）

They know something.

（knowing that ... 為現在分詞構句，主詞與主句的 those 相同，表「同時具備的認知」，相當於 as they know that ...。）

Tutors and connections matter more than talent alone.

（that 子句為 know 的受詞；more than 表比較；alone 置於名詞後作形容詞，表「單憑」。）

They invest in their children early.

（invest in 為「投資於」；early 為副詞，修飾整個動作；這是 because 子句的真正謂語。）

Inequality is established.

（once established 為省略的時間副詞子句，還原為 once it is established，once 表「一旦」。）

Inequality reproduces itself across generations.

（so that 引導結果子句，表「以致」；itself 為反身代名詞，表不靠外力自行複製；across generations 表跨越世代。）

Critics argue something.

（although 引導讓步副詞子句；argue that ... 後接名詞子句作受詞。）

The statistics increasingly support critics.

（whom 為非限定關係代名詞，指 critics，在子句中作 support 的受詞，故用受格；increasingly 為副詞，表「越來越」。）

Such patterns are left unchallenged.

（if left unchallenged 為省略的條件子句，還原為 if they are left unchallenged；left 為過去分詞，unchallenged 為受詞補語性質的形容詞。）

Such patterns will eventually harden into rigid castes.

（argue that 之後的名詞子句主幹；harden into 表「硬化成」；eventually 表「終究」；rigid 修飾 castes。）

● 文法解析

非限定 which 子句與 not because ... but because ...：

Social stratification, which ... layers, endures 先以 which 子句補充定義，再以 endures 交代主幹。接著 not because anyone openly defends it but because ... 先否定一般預期（有人公開辯護階層），再提出真正原因。讀者要記住主詞 stratification，等到 endures 才完整。

those who 與現在分詞構句 knowing：

but because those who hold wealth ... invest 中，those who hold wealth 是主詞，真正的動詞 invest 要等到插入語結束才出現。knowing that tutors and connections matter more than talent alone 夾在主詞與謂語之間，表這些人「明白」資源比天賦更重要，因此投資；它同時交代了動機。

so that 結果子句與 once established：

so that inequality, once established, reproduces itself 以 so that 表結果，承接「早早投資」之後的後果。once established 是省略主詞與 be 動詞的時間子句，插在主詞 inequality 與謂語 reproduces 之間，說明不平等一旦成形便自行延續。itself 強調不需外力介入。

although 讓步子句與非限定 whom：

although critics ... argue 引出轉折：階層雖然延續，批評者仍提出警告。whom the statistics increasingly support 是非限定關係子句，先行詞是 critics，whom 在子句中作 support 的受詞，所以 support 後面不再接受詞。主詞 the statistics 置於 whom 之後，這是受格關係代名詞子句的典型語序。

if left unchallenged 與 argue that 名詞子句：

argue that such patterns ... will eventually harden into rigid castes 中，that 子句為 argue 的受詞。such patterns 與 will 之間插入 if left unchallenged，是省略主詞與 be 動詞的條件子句，表「若不受挑戰」；全句以最強烈的後果 rigid castes 收尾。

● 參考翻譯

社會階層化（社會學家將它定義為把人們排成不平等的層級）之所以持續存在，並非因為有人公開為它辯護，而是因為握有財富的人（明白家教與人脈比單憑才能更重要）及早對子女投資，以致不平等一旦形成，便跨越世代自我複製；儘管批評者（統計數據日益支持他們）主張，這類模式若不受挑戰，終將硬化成僵固的種姓。

● 逆向工程

不要看原來的整個長句，只看分解出來的短句小句，試試倒頭回去寫出完整的長句。